Split Stays--Why do people do them?

[Iowamomof4]

We did a split stay because we had the opportunity to spend a few nights at a deluxe resort (club level to boot!) on my friend's military discount. We planned to start at CBR, then move to BC for the remainder of the trip. Not long before our trip, we realized we would likely arrive the night before and there wasn't availability to add a night at CBR, so started with one night at AOA (we had wanted to try it out anyway, so it was a good excuse!). Although we generally enjoyed each resort, our experience of moving from one to another was awful (we had our own vehicle so we decided to move ourselves to save money and because I didn't like the idea of handing my belongings over to a stranger). We did have MEGA difficulties with various parts of our account (no charging privileges at CBR at first, trouble using our dining plan at BC) over the course of our stay. I will work very hard to avoid a split stay in the future but it was fun to see 3 different resorts at 3 different levels on our first ever visit to WDW.

 

[MasterGracey84]

I've done a few split stays. One reason is I like some variety and like to experience different resorts. Also, money has been a factor. I may can't afford a fully funded stay at a Deluxe for my entire trip, but I can for a couple of nights if compounded with a value or moderate.

 

[TheDisneyDoll]

I'm kind of doing one next month. My friends and I are all going out together but flights were way cheaper for me to stay an extra night so I thought what the heck! One of my friends is a cast member so we scoped out deals and ended up getting a good deal at Bay Lake Tower, which is a dream stay for us! Even though it's only going to be one night and we won't be in the room long.
It became SUPER worth it after they announced the christmas parade taping will be the same days. It will be great to be able to walk over to Magic kingdom for the tapings, plus we're doing the party the night before. It was worth the premium for the room even for just the one night.

 

[smiths02]

I haven't done it, but I'm considering it for our next trip. First 6 nights in a suite at AoA, then next 3 at Beach Club. Reasons I am considering it:
We really liked AoA last trip...a suite is awesome and theme is great for kids, but I wanted to change scenery as you stated. While we could technically stay BC/YC the whole trip, I don't think that would be the wisest use of our money. We would also miss the space and theme of AoA...and we definitely can't afford a 2 bedroom suite at BCV. So I thought of split stay. We can handle 3 nights with one bathroom, I think.

Once I started thinking out our plans, it looked like our last 4 days would/could be in the YC/BC/Boardwalk area (June 18th could be a DHS day, June 19th hoping for fishing expedition for oldest DS and DH then Epcot, June 20th a special birthday and we wanted dinner at Yachtsman, no park tickets left so hanging out at the Boardwalk and Stormalong Bay seems fun, June 21st departure day-wanted a character meal and BC has Cape May)
At AoA, we will probably use our own car a lot to get around. I feel the move will be a little hassle factor with packing and such, but then we have 3 days/nights where we wouldn't have to use the car at all. Also, since we have two days we have no tickets for (our APs expire), it would seem nicer to spend those at a Deluxe in an entertaining area instead of just hanging out at AoA

I might decide I'm crazy and change my plans, though. Right now, we are just booked AoA...I will wait at least until after I make ADRs to book the split stay so I don't have any trouble with that. As far as FP+, this would only impact one park day for us, and that would be our second day at Epcot for the trip, so I'm not worried. As far as moving our stuff, like I said, we'll have our own vehicle, so I don't think that will be *as* hard.

 

[abbiep]

We are doing one for one night at AKL and then moving over to POFQ. We have never stayed at AKL and couldn't afford to stay the entire trip but added a night at the beginning of the trip and decided to stay at AKL for the night. Looking forward to it. I saw several people mention about the bags. So when I check out, I can leave my bags at AKL and they will move them to POFQ for me? That's cool if that's how it works.

 

[Vivianne]

We're 2 adults no children.

1. Because we like them.

2. We're staying near the parks we're visiting. MK & Epcot. Contemporary & Swan, POFQ on our arrival day. We're going to DS on that day. We just walk to the parks or in the case of MK use the monorail. Take time to enjoy the hotels. Hop on the monorail, dine at one of the resorts in the vicinity and explore the resorts. I don't like the idea of unpacking, we just live out of our suitcase & I pull out the outfits the night before for the next day. Plus, we're going to the beach on the 2nd week of our vacation. I realize a lot of people wouldn't like it but it works for us.

Oh yes, we drive.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

with DVC it is usually lack of availability (I have a split stay coming up because no single resort was available for the entire 4 nights) or the desire to either save points on some of the trip or be closer to a different area of WDW on part of the trip. Like, trying out the Polynesian and then moving to Boardwalk to be closer to Epcot.

I don't unpack because then there is less chance that I will leave something behind. It all goes back in the suitcase.

 

[disneypanda11]

We're doing a 1 day + 5 day split stay on our next trip. Day 1 is a late afternoon arrival with no parks. Instead we're planning to visit Disney Springs and will be spending that night at POR because 1) it's WAY cheaper than adding a night onto the BC reservation to basically only sleep there and 2) we love the convenience of the boat transportation between POR and Disney Springs. Then we'll move onto the BC for the heart of our trip. We won't be unpacking anything at our first stop-- we're just two adults so we can live out of the suitcase that night.

We will definitely consider split stays for any and all future trips. We prefer to stay in Boardwalk area hotels near Epcot and HS, but for our MK days, it sure would be more convenient to be at the Poly or the GF. Not sure why we never thought to do this before!

 

[mummabear]

We end up doing it because you can only book for 14 nights with the packages and we always stay longer than that-we do stay at the same resort because we arent interested in packing and moving!

 

[rlthomas7]

We wanted to stay in a Nemo suite when AoA opened and our little guy was 4. But for a family of 3, a suite is expensive and wasteful. So we booked CSR with free dining for most of the week when we did our park days, and transferred to our suite at AoA for our last full day and night. Worked well for us! Saved us a ton of money rather than staying at AoA all week!

 

[DougEMG]

We like split stays because we can try out different resorts. I especially like splitting the time between a monorail resort and an Epcot resort. If we can't get at least 5 days in the resort, we won't do the split.

Last year we did a 4 way split at VGF, then BCV, then BLT and then BWV. Everyone really liked doing that. Next two trips are split tips again with POLY & BWV & Universal and then VGF & BWV and Universal.

 

[disneynutz]

We do it for 2 possible reasons. For longer vacations we split it up, a MK resort and an Epcot resort, it's like 2 vacations. The other reason is when we feel like the deluxe DDP, we stay for 2 or 3 nights on the plan and then move to another resort without the plan.

Bill

 

[cedricandsophie]

We always do a split stay in March. We usually stay two weeks. I love the animal kingdom club level but only have enough points to book 4 nites there while my husband is in Vero beach at the same time seeing spring baseball games. Then when my husband joins me we usually move to old key west for the rest of the time. We love it there. Or sometimes we split between old key west and wilderness. For the trip between AK and old key west, I usually take a cab. The last two years we have been able to get right int our villa at old key west by 11 am. So we can gt unpacked and right to the pool. We may g to parks one day out of the two weeks we are there. If we move between old key west and wilderness, then I try to schedule thst move on the day there is an Atlanta Braves game at the ESPN park so we can go to a baseball game after we move out of old key west and before we can check into wilderness. Doesn't seem like that much trouble at all.

 

[Canuck16]

We actually did a split/split/split say on our trip last year.

We started at the HH at Universal for 2 nights, then moved to POR for 6 nights and then finished our stay at BC for 6 nights.

We loved staying at the different resorts. We couldn't afford a deluxe for the entire length of our stay so we started off at a moderate. We loved the grounds at POR and being able to take the boat to DTD from the resort. We loved Storm along Bay at BC and how close it was to Epcot and HS. Being able to walk to Epcot and the boat to HS was amazing!

We would do it again to be able to see different resorts as we don't get to WDW that often due to the travel from the Northwest.

 

[loves to dive]

We did a split stay because we had the opportunity to spend a few nights at a deluxe resort (club level to boot!) on my friend's military discount. We planned to start at CBR, then move to BC for the remainder of the trip. Not long before our trip, we realized we would likely arrive the night before and there wasn't availability to add a night at CBR, so started with one night at AOA (we had wanted to try it out anyway, so it was a good excuse!). Although we generally enjoyed each resort, our experience of moving from one to another was awful (we had our own vehicle so we decided to move ourselves to save money and because I didn't like the idea of handing my belongings over to a stranger). We did have MEGA difficulties with various parts of our account (no charging privileges at CBR at first, trouble using our dining plan at BC) over the course of our stay. I will work very hard to avoid a split stay in the future but it was fun to see 3 different resorts at 3 different levels on our first ever visit to WDW.

In order to avoid issues with charging I always go to the front desk of resort 1 and check out and even though I do on line check in I always go to the desk to check in to have them check my MB. Since I check out and in around 7 am, there is rarely anyone else waiting and it doesn't take that much time and cuts down on any issues.

 

[kcpinwdw]

I couldnt decide between two temptations: being on the monorail line versus the stormalong bay. So, 4 days at Beach Club and 4 days at Poly split stay resulted. We didnt find the change over difficult at all, DIsney moved our luggage. While we did enjoy Stormalong Bay, we found Poly to be the best fit for our family. Next year we will feel more comfortable doing a full week there, now that we know what to expect! I would consider another split stay in the future if we were there a long time, but overall I agree it is nice not having to move.

 

[GeneralTso]

It's nice that Disney transports your luggage. That makes the task much easier.
This is definitely one of those "different strokes for different folks" situation.
We would not enjoy a split stay at all. Once we're unpacked and settled, we're dug in. The thought of getting all organized and packed again and move.....no. Not us.

 

[mountdew1]

Availability and a change of scenery are why we have done it. Our next trip is a split stay as well. It's really not that hard if you plan properly. One bag has your stuff for hotel A, the other bag has it for hotel B. Pack up, call bell services when you are all set, ask them to transfer it to your next hotel, and enjoy your day. When you get to the next hotel, call bell services and ask them to deliver to your room. As long as you go into it realizing your luggage may not get there til late afternoon (3-5 is what I've usually been told but have gotten it earlier) it's a fairly easy process.

 

[Iowamomof4]

In order to avoid issues with charging I always go to the front desk of resort 1 and check out and even though I do on line check in I always go to the desk to check in to have them check my MB. Since I check out and in around 7 am, there is rarely anyone else waiting and it doesn't take that much time and cuts down on any issues.

I did physically check in at CBR after reading about people having problems with split stays (though I didn't "check out" at AOA) and the CBR people assured me we were all set to go. It was very frustrating and not something most people will run into, I'm sure.

 

[Forevermarypoppins]

Is it solely because they crave the variety of experiencing different resorts? Or is there something else I'm missing? Because it seems like you could go through a lot of hassles to accomplish a split stay. I have read about people not being able to make FP or ADR for their whole trip at the same time. I have read about Magic Band difficulties. Not to mention that you have to pack up all your stuff and move in the middle of your trip. So what is the appeal?

For my "adults only trip" it was no hassle at all. And it was after MB's and there were no problems!
Reason: $$$ 3 nts Value and then unto a MOD to get a Discount Rate.

Would I do it again- ABSOLUTELY!!