Split Stays - Where Do I Start?

[jhaig]

We are looking at doing a split stay for a 2-week trip next fall and I wanted to start getting info on the logistics of planning such a trip. The two resorts we had in mind were Yacht Club for one week and Wilderness Lodge for the next. What is the best way to start planning a split stay trip as far as planning dining reservations (is it two separate trips needing two sets of ADR's?), is it two separate resort reservation numbers, how to arrange transport of your stuff between resorts, etc.- got lots of questions I guess!

 

[Maggie'sMom]

We are looking at doing a split stay for a 2-week trip next fall and I wanted to start getting info on the logistics of planning such a trip. The two resorts we had in mind were Yacht Club for one week and Wilderness Lodge for the next. What is the best way to start planning a split stay trip as far as planning dining reservations (is it two separate trips needing two sets of ADR's?), is it two separate resort reservation numbers, how to arrange transport of your stuff between resorts, etc.- got lots of questions I guess!

I've never done a split stay, but I do know it is two separate reservations, each with it's own confirmation number. For ADRs, you will be able to book the first 10 days of ADRs using the confirmation number from your first resort reservation under the 180+10 rule. That is, 180 days before your check-in date, you can book ADRs for the first 10 days of your trip. For the last 4 days of your trip, you'll have to wait until 180 days from your second resort check-in date.

Bell services can transport your luggage.

 

[Karabee]

I love split stays!
You will need 2 reservation numbers as the PP stated, and your dining reservations will be split a bit (first 10 days vs. last 4 days). But it's really simple.
I would pick which resort you want the first week vs. the second, which could depend alot around any activities that are happening at a certain park. For example, if I was going to be there before and during the Food and Wine fest I would stay at WL before it started, and then during Food & Wine fest stay at YC - something like that.
As for luggage - Disney makes this super easy since you can drop off your luggage at your first hotel bellhop, spend the day out and about and Disney will bring your luggage to the second resort. That being said, this happens around 4 pm so if you want your luggage in hopes you will be able to check in early, I would just take a cab to the second resort and check in and store the luggage if it's not ready yet. We took a cab and our room was ready so we just checked in and get into our room, which made things so much easier rather than waiting for our luggage to arrive.
I think for a 2 week trip, switching up resorts will be so nice!

 

[PoohsFan1]

I've never done a split stay, but I do know it is two separate reservations, each with it's own confirmation number. For ADRs, you will be able to book the first 10 days of ADRs using the confirmation number from your first resort reservation under the 180+10 rule. That is, 180 days before your check-in date, you can book ADRs for the first 10 days of your trip. For the last 4 days of your trip, you'll have to wait until 180 days from your second resort check-in date.

Bell services can transport your luggage.

PP pretty much covered it. However, if you are planning on doing packages with the DDP for each of the resorts, then you will have to keep track of which KTTW cards have the remaining Table Credits/Snack Credits left, if you have any of course . I know lots of people have questions about the tickets on a split stay, unfortunately I really don't have an answer for you unless you buy the tickets before you leave, but if you are doing packages, then hopefully someone else will come by and answer that question for you.

As for transfer day, on the day you are transferring over to the other resort, make sure you give Bell Services a call (try to do it before 11am) and have them pick up your luggage because they only transfer luggage between 1pm and 3pm (or maybe 4pm). When the bellman comes, let him know you are checking out of resort A and will be checking into resort B. The bellman will tag all of your luggage and then give you a slip so you can give the bellman to resort B for luggage retrieval.

Not sure if you are planning on using ME or not, but when you make your ME reservations, I would call ME directly and then let them know that you are arriving at one resort but want to be picked up at another resort. They will take care of you with no problems. If you want to do it on the computer, I think you can now go to WDW's website and go to the ME reservations page, which I believe you could put in all of the information in there too (split stays too), but I like to call and talk to a "real" person, especially for split stays. I hope I am not forgetting anything....don't worry about split stays, Disney makes it as easy and painless and possible .

 

[moobar25]

DDP on split stay is split too. All of your entitlements from the first resort expire at midnight the day you switch. DDP for second resort starts the day you check into it. You have to make sure to use up all of your 1st resort entitlements first or you lose them.

 

[rosanne91]

I have AKL booked for 5 nights. Can I add extra nights onto the package at a different resort or do I have to book a whole new ressie??

 

[wdwrich]

I have AKL booked for 5 nights. Can I add extra nights onto the package at a different resort or do I have to book a whole new ressie??

Since the extra nights will be at a separate resort, it will be a separate reservation (and separate package)- it will not be an extension of your original ressie.

 

[UberClaire]

If I do 3 nights at one resort and 3 nights at another, how do ADRs work? Will I have to make ADRs for the first 3 nights at 180 days out and then wait three days to make the ADRs for the next 3 nights or can I book them all together? Is there a way to link the two reservation numbers?

 

[Laurasw1977]

Also you might consider buying AP tickets cause if you do two reservation packages the park tickets will start over from first day price. Ince you will be there two weeks its usually cheaper buying AP tickets anyways and then you might get better deal on room too. Just check prices to see which is better for you.

 

[Masonmj84]

If I do 3 nights at one resort and 3 nights at another, how do ADRs work? Will I have to make ADRs for the first 3 nights at 180 days out and then wait three days to make the ADRs for the next 3 nights or can I book them all together? Is there a way to link the two reservation numbers?

You can make up to 10 days worth of reservations starting from the 180 day mark from your first resort reservation (when using that reservation to make your ADRs, the system doesn't care about your second reservation). So yes, you can book them all together.

One thing to be mindful of, however, is if you are on a dining plan and would like to link to that plan to avoid having to pre-pay at a credit card pre-pay restaurant (i.e., CRT or dinner shows). If your planned ADR date for the pre-pay restaurant is over the second resort stay, you will not be able to avoid credit card pre-payment by linking to your first resort dining plan (in other words, while you can book an ADR at a pre-pay restaurant that falls within your second resort reservation at the 180 mark from your first resort reservation, you cannot link that reservation to your second resort dining plan to avoid credit card pre-pay - instead you must wait until the 180 day mark from your second resort reservation in order to book & link to your second reservation's dining plan).

 

[Maggie'sMom]

Also you might consider buying AP tickets cause if you do two reservation packages the park tickets will start over from first day price. Ince you will be there two weeks its usually cheaper buying AP tickets anyways and then you might get better deal on room too. Just check prices to see which is better for you.

You do not need to buy an AP in this case. You can purchase up to 10 days on the MYW tickets. As long as you are not counting on using the dining plan for the second resort stay, there is no need to buy tickets with that reservation. If you are planning on using the dining plan, then it's more complicated because you must purchase the dining plan as part of a package which includes tickets. In that case, you would have to purchase at least 1 days worth of tickets on the second reservation in order to get the DDP. However, you can save those tickets and use them for a future trip.

 

[Masonmj84]

Here’s what I did for our upcoming Poly/BC split stay (4 nights at each).

1. Made reservations at our first resort (Poly) more than 180 days out (we needed two rooms, one for us and one for my parents).

2. At 180 days out, made all of our ADRs (for us and my parents) for the entire trip (at both resorts).

3. Waited patiently for room discounts (this, by the way, was the hardest part).

4. When room discounts finally came out, I applied them to our existing Poly reservations and then added new reservations at the Beach Club with the same discount (in our case, with two rooms needed at each resort, AP discounts were the better deal because the 5% difference between the AP and GP discounts was greater than the cost of upgrading one of us to an AP). All reservations, at this point, were ticketless and Magical Express was added to the front end of the Poly reservations and to the back end of the BC ressies.

5. Paid off the reservations using a Disney Visa rewards card.

6. Bought discounted MYW tickets at Undercover Tourist (also using Disney Visa rewards card).

7. Upon arrival at WDW, I will first price bridge my discounted MWY ticket by using it to go through a turn style at a park (to get credit for the current gate price) then, at Guest Relations, using mostly Disney Visa rewards points, I’ll upgrade that ticket to an AP (between the Undercover Tourist discounts and use of Disney Visa rewards points, the upgrade of my MWY ticket to an AP is basically “free”).

8. While at Poly, we plan to have a rest/MVMCP day, 2 MK days, and then go to EP on our resort transfer day (i.e., check out of Poly, hop onto EP Monorail, enjoy EP, and then check into BC that afternoon). While at BC, we plan to have a HS day, an AK day, and a second EP day. We plan to have bell services transport our luggage between resorts.

 

[jhaig]

Here’s what I did for our upcoming Poly/BC split stay (4 nights at each).

1. Made reservations at our first resort (Poly) more than 180 days out (we needed two rooms, one for us and one for my parents).

2. At 180 days out, made all of our ADRs (for us and my parents) for the entire trip (at both resorts).

3. Waited patiently for room discounts (this, by the way, was the hardest part).

4. When room discounts finally came out, I applied them to our existing Poly reservations and then added new reservations at the Beach Club with the same discount (in our case, with two rooms needed at each resort, AP discounts were the better deal because the 5% difference between the AP and GP discounts was greater than the cost of upgrading one of us to an AP). All reservations, at this point, were ticketless and Magical Express was added to the front end of the Poly reservations and to the back end of the BC ressies.

5. Paid off the reservations using a Disney Visa rewards card.

6. Bought discounted MYW tickets at Undercover Tourist (also using Disney Visa rewards card).

7. Upon arrival at WDW, I will first price bridge my discounted MWY ticket by using it to go through a turn style at a park (to get credit for the current gate price) then, at Guest Relations, using mostly Disney Visa rewards points, I’ll upgrade that ticket to an AP (between the Undercover Tourist discounts and use of Disney Visa rewards points, the upgrade of my MWY ticket to an AP is basically “free”).

8. While at Poly, we plan to have a rest/MVMCP day, 2 MK days, and then go to EP on our resort transfer day (i.e., check out of Poly, hop onto EP Monorail, enjoy EP, and then check into BC that afternoon). While at BC, we plan to have a HS day, an AK day, and a second EP day. We plan to have bell services transport our luggage between resorts.

Sounds like a good plan, but also sounds like a lot of work during vacation.

 

[sndral]

As for transfer day, on the day you are transferring over to the other resort, make sure you give Bell Services a call (try to do it before 11am) and have them pick up your luggage because they only transfer luggage between 1pm and 3pm (or maybe 4pm). When the bellman comes, let him know you are checking out of resort A and will be checking into resort B. The bellman will tag all of your luggage and then give you a slip so you can give the bellman to resort B for luggage retrieval.
.

Thank you for this explanation. I am doing my first split stay in 60ish days and this info. is super helpful to me. I do have one question, I don't like twiddling my thumbs in my room, waiting for a bellman to arrive (I'm not exactly the patient type in those situations,) can I just wheel my own luggage down to the lobby of hotel A (GF) and have them send it over to hotel B (YC?) Alternatively, if I do opt to call & wait for the bellman will he give me my tag @ the room, and then I'm free to leave from the room and head straight to the monorail to hop over to Epcot?

 

[Laurasw1977]

You do not need to buy an AP in this case. You can purchase up to 10 days on the MYW tickets. As long as you are not counting on using the dining plan for the second resort stay, there is no need to buy tickets with that reservation. If you are planning on using the dining plan, then it's more complicated because you must purchase the dining plan as part of a package which includes tickets. In that case, you would have to purchase at least 1 days worth of tickets on the second reservation in order to get the DDP. However, you can save those tickets and use them for a future trip.

Thats why I said to check prices cause we bought AP tickets because we saved alot more money on our two week trip because even though the resort discount for everyone is out, the AP room discount ended up being cheaper cause of blackout dates and after buying two weeks of park hopper tickets it was cheaper to just do regular AP.

 

[PoohsFan1]

Thank you for this explanation. I am doing my first split stay in 60ish days and this info. is super helpful to me. I do have one question, I don't like twiddling my thumbs in my room, waiting for a bellman to arrive (I'm not exactly the patient type in those situations,) can I just wheel my own luggage down to the lobby of hotel A (GF) and have them send it over to hotel B (YC?) Alternatively, if I do opt to call & wait for the bellman will he give me my tag @ the room, and then I'm free to leave from the room and head straight to the monorail to hop over to Epcot?

No problem , if you don't want to call Bell Services to come get your luggage, you are more then welcome to take your own luggage down. Make sure you get your bags there by 11am (before they start transferring the luggage over to the other resorts). They will still give you the slip of paper you will need in order to retrieve your luggage at your second resort. Have a great trip and remember that you are in good hands when you are at Disney .

Once they take your bags away (if you do call for Bell Services), and they hand you the paper/tag you are free to do whatever you want. When we do split stays we always do it on a park day. We call early in the morning to have Bell Service take our bags and then we head off to the park until after lunch. When we are ready to take our break, we head over to our second resort to check in. If the room is ready, we head up to the room and then call Bell Service to bring up our bags, if the room isn't ready yet, then we go on our marry way (shopping or eating) until we get the page.

 

[Maggie'sMom]

Thats why I said to check prices cause we bought AP tickets because we saved alot more money on our two week trip because even though the resort discount for everyone is out, the AP room discount ended up being cheaper cause of blackout dates and after buying two weeks of park hopper tickets it was cheaper to just do regular AP.

Your answer made it sound as if you couldn't purchase tickets for the entire stay with the first package and they'd have to buy new tickets for each part of the stay regardless of whether they were using a DDP or not. Your post was immediately after the person asking about a 6 day split stay (3 days at each resort). The original post on this thread was from July and I'm reasonably sure that person has their split stay figured out by now. So your post appeared to answer the person with the 6 day stay, and in that case buying APs would likely be a waste. They could price out upgrading one ticket to an AP to qualify for the AP room discounts and TIW card, but even then I don't think it's going to work out to their financial benefit to do so, primarily because as you mention, the AP rates lately haven't been better than the GP discounts (ignoring the blackout date issue). For the OP with a 2 week trip, then the AP would definitely be something to look into, but not so much for the 6 day stay.

 

[sharadoc]

We packed separate bags for the first hotel so we didn't have to unpack everything out every bag. The other bags just sat and waited for the next hotel. Our split stay was 3 nights at the Contemporary and a week at OKW so we needed a lot less for the Contemporary stay.

 

[cmh314]

I just booked a split stay - 4 nights POFQ followed by 4 nights BCV (with rented DVC points). My question is, when I check in at the BCV can they take the remaining days of park tickets on our KTTW cards and transfer them to our new KTTW cards at the BCV or will we have to carry extra cards for the remainder of the trip? Not a big deal if we do have to carry the extra cards, but it would be more convenient if they can transfer them.

 

[Laurasw1977]

Your answer made it sound as if you couldn't purchase tickets for the entire stay with the first package and they'd have to buy new tickets for each part of the stay regardless of whether they were using a DDP or not. Your post was immediately after the person asking about a 6 day split stay (3 days at each resort). The original post on this thread was from July and I'm reasonably sure that person has their split stay figured out by now. So your post appeared to answer the person with the 6 day stay, and in that case buying APs would likely be a waste. They could price out upgrading one ticket to an AP to qualify for the AP room discounts and TIW card, but even then I don't think it's going to work out to their financial benefit to do so, primarily because as you mention, the AP rates lately haven't been better than the GP discounts (ignoring the blackout date issue). For the OP with a 2 week trip, then the AP would definitely be something to look into, but not so much for the 6 day stay.

I know for our trip next month the AP room discount saved me 800.00 more off room then the regular 30% general room discount. So that right there paid for regular ap no problem. Plus you get to buy tables and wonderland card that saves money. After 30 plus trips Ive always just been very careful not to except certain offers. One yr my ocd for pricing issues worked cause computer glitch got me 8 days at GF on corner room facing castle, dining, and tickets for family of four..... 2500.00 free dining and room discount and disney honored the glitch screw up.