Split stays: Annoying or Awesome?

[Couchy]

Dh and I did it this past Christmas. We did 2 nights YC and 3 nights Dolphin. We did not like it. We hated packing and unpacking and never really felt settled. DH said never again.
I am actually leaving in 3 days and staying the first night at the Dolphin before moving to the BC for 6 nights. I am only doing this because I have points for a free night at the Dolphin so it allowed me to add an extra day for free, and Dh will not be there for the first night so he does not have to deal with it.

 

[momjkm]

I have been stalking this topic for months--- and have decided to do it! I am taking just my daughter (18) this August for 7n at POR and then 2 nights at BC. (trying to financially figure out a 3rd lol...) She will do her own packing.... and I made a 10am ADR for Cape May on our transfer day so I think we will take a taxi to the new resort.

We went to Cali last summer and had 3 hotels in 10 days which I just realized this week was a split stay lol (the last was in Anaheim )

I agree with little ones it would be more stressful or with a husband who is set in his ways ( mine could be a problem but he isn't invited! this trip)....

THERE is a question here:
Since we are taking a taxi to the new resort, they will still be able to put refridg items in cold storage for me, right? I know I can leave bags but wanted to double check the cold stuff....


The tip to plan activities around where you are staying was great advice... I am going to do Illuminations now when we are at the Beach Club instead of earlier in the trip and fighting the sea of people exiting Epcot in the front. THANK YOU!

 

[Deb & Bill]

...THERE is a question here:
Since we are taking a taxi to the new resort, they will still be able to put refridg items in cold storage for me, right? I know I can leave bags but wanted to double check the cold stuff....

Yes, they will put it in cold storage.

 

[dsnycrzy]

I have done split stays for years. We would do Nick Hotel for 3 nights, then WDW for 5 or so nights, then off site for 6+ days to actually relax. We havent done Nick in years because my DS (16 now) grew out of it. but at the very least we do both onsite and off site. This year we went bonkers and I will let you know if it goes smooth sailed, or sink the ship.

CBR 3nights PORFQ 3nights POP 2nights Celebration Suites 7nights.

I am organizing our moves as far as what goes in and what stays in the car so I'll see how this works out with my kids being older (which doesnt mean better bc teenagers speak their own language

 

[readytogotodisney]

We're trying our first split stay on our next trip in January. Three nights at BLT and then 2 nights at BWV.

It'll be part of the kids surprise, they think we're only staying 3 nights, so when we pack up we'll head to the parks and tell them we have until 4 or so before we have to leave (either Epcot or HS so we can take the boat to BWV). From there I'll ask if anyone cares that I go to BW bakery for my favorite cheesecake brownie, and then we'll tell the kids that we're staying there for another 2 nights.

We're not the type to unpack at all, so I don't think the move will be a big deal for us. But I will be planning on packing two bags (one for each resort), or maybe the duffel bag for dirty clothes.

I don't know if split stays will be a common thing for us, but I'm excited to try it!

 

[sadiespicks]

Add me to the list of loving split stays. We do it every time. The move is very easy and being able to experience different resorts is great. It also can be beneficial to on site transportation. We try to stay near MK for part of our trip and near Epcot for the other. At least some of those days we don't have to get on a bus or monorail.

Looking forward to another split stay this year.

 

[party of 3]

We just started doing split stays on the last 3 times. We LOVE it!!!! Because my dream is to try them all once and decide who is the BEST!!! So far I love the Poly, my ds (10) says WL and dh also says Poly. This trip we are doing 5 days at Coronado and 5 days at Beach Club. We usually save the fancy ones for the 2 leg of the trip. Something to look forward too.

 

[CanadianPaco]

If you believe they are a hassle, then they will be. For me, I believe the fun of a new resort is worth it so I find them amazing.

I love this attitude!! If I could only convince DH... oh one day!

 

[JerseyJanice]

We've done them twice and had a great experience both times.

I personally wouldn't bother for a short trip, but if I can divide our stay so it's at least 3 nights or more at each resort, it almost feels like two trips in one.

 

[Karabee]

Awesome Did my first one last fall and it just so happens we will have to do a mini one this coming November because we booked 3 nights at SSR, but decided to fly down a night early and so we're going to stay at POP. I find them to be pretty easy and a fun way to see some different places. In fact, DBF and I are headed to Seattle for vacation next week and I couldnt decide where to stay because 2 looked to great- so we're doing a split stay in Seattle

 

[mickeyluv'r]

We like split stays.

One trick is packing correctly. It is also a help if you have a car.

The downside is the time it takes. It always takes us some time, but it is still very doable.

One aspect with Disney is 'packages'. You are much better off doing the second stay as a room only booking. If you are attempting a split stay during free dining type promos- you kind of miss the free dining at the second resort. (You may however find a bigger % off deal).

We once did a split where our first night was room only, and the second part was apackage. It was great, except that we HAD to go to the second resort to get our tickets/meals credits. It forced me to take a relaxation day. Normally I'm eager to get to the parks.

The only other considerations are that if you have WDW transfer stuff then it won't arrive until after 3 or 4pm. Also, you can't really transfer perishable foods items or medicines- like anything you must keep in the fridge. (cookies would be fine) Your stuff stays in normal temps AC controlled areas- but not in a fridge. To get around the lugggage delay, you can stow things in the park lockers, but that's never appealed to me. You could also wear your bathing suits under your clothes all day.

I disagree about making it three nights. I find one night transfers to be quite worthwhile under the right circumstances. If you are just doing one night all you need is one msall overnight bag - more than that and you have to unpack. I've stayed one night at a value resort and the rest at a deluxe. We do that sometimes if we have a very late flight and a car. More than once, I was going to fly in on a Friday, but discovered we could go down Thursday night- stay at a value/offsite - and still save $$! The airfare was THAT much less. Sometimes we can stay that first night free using rewards points.

Another option for split stays- spend the last day super deluxe. It can be a 'budget' way to get the most out of a deluxe resort room view- or to take advantage of certain amenities- if it's not going to be a park day/rope drop day.

We've also done split stays where we drove to WDW. Spent one afternoon/night at the beach/recovering from the drive, then drove the next morning to WDW. It worked very well, but again we didn't unpack- just an overnight bag. If you stay at a place like Hampton Inn, which includes free breakfast, it's quite economical.

Oh - and let's not forget split stays to take advantage of the rest of Orlando. If you want to see almost anytign beyond the confines of WDW, a split offiste stay is a great way to go.

 

[papamouse1]

We LOVE split stays!

We are DVC so we get to try 2 resorts. Split stays are not without challenges, and we have heard some frustrating stories, but for we follow a basic plan and so far no issues to date

We always bring 2 suitcases, so once we get there, we make sure we only unpack what we will nedd for the days we're at the 1st resort, put all the rest in one suitcase and put it away, ready to go.

Transfer day, we put majority of what we've used inbag night before, then finish it off first thing after breakfast. We then have our bags picked up and transferred by the hotel and we head to our park for the day.

I usually call later in the day (give it plenty of time before you call) to see if our bags have arrived safely

When we return to our resort that night, check in and have bags delivered to new room while we finish up checking in

We have done this the last 4 years, and so far no problems... (knock on wood)

 

[abinormal]

Resurrecting an older thread to see what people think about doing something like stay at a value or mod for like seven nights, and a deluxe for two. Using the last part to relax, swim, and enjoy a fancier place that we couldn't afford for the whole trip.

 

[elaw]

We usually start out the first few days at a moderate which usually pays for our CL upgrade at the deluxes for the remainder of the trip.

 

[Yellosno]

Doing a split stay at AKL and BWI this coming up summer my personal strategy is never fully unpack and have one extra bag for laundry.

 

[Inga]

Done lots of split stays, more tricky without car or if you have groceries...and I have rarely not had to wait for check in and that is not my happy place. So we will stay at BCV for the entire stay this time.

When we have moved resort to resort, much better to move from lesser resort to better resort, going the other way around is depressing!

 

[MissionMouse]

... I didn't even realize it was possible until I came on these boards. It seems sort of annoying in a way because you gotta pack up all of your stuff and can't settle into your room. But it's nice that they take all of your luggage for you and move it.

So I am wondering what everyone's experiences are with these kinds of stays.

I am not sure if you are aware that officially there is no spilt-stay in the eyes of Disney...just two reservations. So the details matter like room only vs package, park tickets, DDP, deposits, payments, etc. One of the reasons you want at least 3 nights is to cover package requirements and another is just to have one day where you are not checking in and another day checking out.

You do lose time the day you check out of the first resort and can be without a room the day you switch resorts, if the second resort room is not available. You also will spend x amount of time the night prior to your check-out of the first resort packing. DDP tickets from the 1st resort need to be used by the end of the day you check out of the first resort. We pack light and leave our goods in our luggage. The more you settle in or collect Disney goods the more details you have to manage on move days. We always moved our own luggage via rental car, but cold storage on move day is available.

Overall, spilt stays are fine if you want to stay in more than one resort or need to break up a stay due to budget constraints. We did them to try a few resorts we were not 100% on and now we just stay at one resort no matter the length of our Disney stay.

 

[growinupdisney]

we are planning split stay this trip I have done them in the past but usually just for one night because of deciding to leave a day early. This trip has turned into 3different resorts, 1 offsite....we decided to leave a day early and won't be arriving in Orlando area til after midnight and really didnt want to pay for onsite hotel for just sleeping for a few hours so we can save $100 staying offsite. Then we will check in in to resort #2 for 2 nights because we really wanted to stay at AOA the whole time but only available for our last 4 nights.

Hoping it will work ok..we are DRIVING, not doing a package ROOM ONLY, planning on small bag for offsite 1 night, 1 suitcase for 2 nights, 1 suitcase for rest of week. Any bags we don't need will stay in car.

My plans are to pack up the night before and put in the car, all tolietries and night wear just take to car in the morning before we head to the park, we are planning on going to AK that day so we usually finish up there around 4 or 5 then the kids and I will take bus from AK and head to AOA and dh will take bus to other resort and get car and drive to AOA.

Or we could just drive straight to AK in the am and leave from there and head to AOA. We have always used disney transportation and never driven to the parks so I guess that would work better My kids love riding Disney buses its just another ride to them

 

[mmmears]

Awesome! We always split between two or three different resort areas and for my family it makes the trip much more fun. The hassle is minimal for us, and we don't rent a car -- we just let Bell Services move our luggage.

 

[pepe of ohio]

Annoying! Did one, that was enough... Cured us of the hassle and lost day...