Split stays - why?

[Magic3forme]

We do it to save on points with DVC.. we are staying CL at Jambo for spring break for 3 days... but dont want to pay all the points for the entire week -- so we are staying at Boardwalk.... and its a chance to try different resorts.

 

[jennybdis]

We're doing 3 hotels during our upcoming 10-day vacation. Our first night, we'll stay at POR. The following morning, we'll check into BC for the bulk of our trip (5 nights), which has the dining plan attached to it. And then we'll finish out our trip at BW in a deluxe club level room with no dining plan.

We have several reasons why we wanted to do a split stay:

A: We only have stayed on property once (YC), and loved that hotel. After that trip, we started considering buying resale DVC at either BC or BW, but didn't want to make a significant investment without having stayed at either resort (I realize we're not staying in the villas, but at least we'll get a feel for the resort). We can kill two birds with one stone with a split stay.

B: We also want to try a moderate. If it's nicer than we think, perhaps we'll skip DVC all together as it might be cheaper to just take trips whenever we want and stay at the moderate level. However, we didn't want to stay at a moderate the whole trip having never been at one before (what if we didn't like it and regretted our decision and were kicking ourselves for the whole trip?). One night seems plenty for us to get a feel for sleeping in the room and doing a little resort exploring.

C: I wanted the dining plan. My husband wanted CL. It would be silly to have both CL and the dining plan, so this was our compromise: Part of the trip is in a non-CL room with dining, and the other part of the trip is in CL room without dining. We're hoping to get a feel for how much food we need to buy staying CL, too (and if it's worth it) as we're pretty sure we'll drop the dining plan on subsequent trips since our second child will be classified as an adult (and eats like a child). Anyway, obviously, we needed two separate reservations for the dining plan portion and then the CL portion, so why not stay at two separate resorts since we'd have to change rooms anyway?

 

[vinmar4]

We were afraid of trying split stays at first because of the packing issue but we did it last year for the first time and stayed half of our days at our home resort AKV and the other half at the BWV. We all loved it that we got to experience two different resorts, it felt like two different vacations. We loved the fact that we could just walk to our favorite park, Epcot and take the boat to HS our second favorite park. My DS loved it that he could just walk to Epcot to buy stuff early in the morning if we did not want to get up yet. We want to do split stays now and try all the different deluxe resorts. We just have to learn to pack better to make things easier on us but they will move your luggage for you from resort to resort and also your groceries if you have any. Last year was also my first year that I cooked a couple of meals in our one bedroom and the kids loved to have a home cooked meal, my DH also loved a good spicy authentic Mexican meal so this year we will buy only what I'm cooking at AKV and then go and get some other stuff for the BWV. I don't like to cook when I'm on vacation but after all the restaurant food, we really missed and need a home cooked meal in between.

 

[jackemail]

I like to do split stays with a Magic Kingdom resort and an EPCOT resort. Easy access to 3 of 4 parks that way.

 

[Bob NC]

I'm too anal about getting the type of room I want in the location I want. I can't imagine going thru that twice in one trip.

I also like to unpack and just not have to worry about moving for 7 or 8 days.

I have had situations where there was no occupancy and we have had to move halfway thru the week, maybe it's in my head but the vacation feels longer if I stay in the same place without the hassle of packing and moving.

 

[elaw]

I do every time. I am a light packer and never unpack so moving isn't an issue. I like having a different experience.

I like to do split stays with a Magic Kingdom resort and an EPCOT resort. Easy access to 3 of 4 parks that way.

In addition to the above, it allows us to try different resorts and still stay at our favorite resort on the same trip. We sometimes stay a couple/few days at a moderate resort at the beginning of our stay to offset the cost of CL at the deluxes too.

 

[eeyoresmom]

We do split stays because it feels like two seperate vacations depending on the resorts you pick. Next week we will be at BLT for 5 nights followed by AKV for 4 nights. VERY different themed resorts. I have learned the hard way that splits only work for us if we are doing a minimum of 3-4 nights in each resort. Occasionally if we are on a late arriving flight, we will stay in a value or offsite that night, but I don't feel like my vacation has started until I get to our "real" resort. I also don't like doing 1 night here, 5 nights there 1 night there, two resorts are it for me unless it is for longer stays.

 

[sunnydays28]

For our upcoming trip we will actually be at 5 different hotels, but I only really consider the WDW part a split stay.

Night 1: we'll stop at a Hampton about midnight, daughter will already be asleep in the car, take in one separately packed bag, sleep, shower, eat, leave early morning
Night 2-5: AoA LM room, because my daughter is turning 5 and this trip is all about her but actually I am dying to see a new resort and love Lion King and LM too, so it will def be a great way to kick off the trip and immerse ourselves in Disney
Night 6-9: POR Royal room, once again because this trip is all about her, but by this time dad and I will want a little less characters and chaos, and they have a hot tub for us and a pool slide for Z. We actually sought out a hotel with a hot tub for this part of the trip.
Night 10-12: beach hotel for our daughter's first trip to the ocean
Night 13: some hotel on the way home, depend in what time we leave the beach and what time we want to get home the next day, it may be a nicer one and we will spend time in that city, or a cheapo for crashing and leaving early

We are doing a split stay at Disney for pretty much all the same reasons as everyone else: POR is cheaper than LM for the entire trip, we are not a family that will go that often (about every 3-4 years) so want to experience a lot and know what we like/dislike for return trips, and dad and I want a little more adult themeing than AoA the entire time but we really want her to get the magic of Disney by being in the LM room. But I will also say split stays seem to only work well if everyone is easy going, which we are, and my husband is extremely helpful and accommodating, he is looking forward to the difference in each resort. While I am one to totally unpack for more than a 1 night stay, I am also very, very organized and can have us repacked and unpacked in about 20-30 minutes. And since we are driving down we have the luxury of using our car for storage and extras.

 

[cjnix29]

I love split stays. Feels like two separate vacations. But I would never stay in a place for less than two nights. Not worth it. I don't mind packing twice as there are only 3 of us.

 

[clanmcculloch]

We do it so that we can try a new resort without committing our entire vacation to that untried (by us) resort.

 

[kristenrice]

I've done two different types of split-stays. The first was just after DVC did a point reallocation. We only have 100 points and planned on staying in 1BR's but the reallocation changed that. In 2009, we went to AKV and stayed our first night in a value studio because our flight wasn't scheduled to arrive until 8pm anyway. I never unpacked our things and had bell services hold our DME luggage. The next morning, we checked in to a value 1BR and dropped off our other luggage at bell services before we headed out to the park. When we came back, our 1BR was ready and we had bell services bring up all of our bags. It was so easy and it saved us some points. In 2010, we did the same thing. First two nights, we stayed in a savanna-view studio (and got a standard view studio for my parents) and then we moved into a standard 2BR for the 6 of us. The move was simple!

In 2011, DSiL and I went together for her first trip ever. We stayed in a LV studio at BLT for the first two nights. On checkout day, we dropped off our luggage and headed to Epcot. Mid-morning, we walked to the BWV and checked in to our standard 1BR where we stayed for 3 nights. That was a perfect trip! We got to walk to 3 out of 4 parks, enjoyed F&W festival, visited TOTWL...all for 106 points! It was the first time I'd done a split-stay between two resorts and I wouldn't hesitate to do it again. I simply packed for the first two days in my carryon and the second stay went into my checked bag...no unpacking required.

So far, I've always added a DP to our studio stays so we never had any food to pack/repack. The next time we go to WDW, our oldest will be 10 so I don't think we will be doing any more DP's.

 

[WDWNext]

Usually my vacation consists of 2 totally different phases....
1. Touring phase - up early and get in late.
2. Relax mode - stay at the hotel entire day, maybe just walk around a bit.

For this combination the split stays will work wonders.... when I am in phase 1 (usually at the start of the vacation) we are unable to enjoy the resort at all. Ideally on the last day of phase 1 you should move over to the better resort. Who knows.... if you initially planned to stay at a mod, maybe with this configuration you could swing the deluxe too. Packing may or may not be a hassle depending on individual experiences. Luckily we do fine with it, the key is to let one person handle it.

 

[floridagirl61]

We are doing a spilt stay on our upcoming trip at the Beach Club. We will arrive late at night and take ME directly to POP. In the morning we will take a taxi to the Beach Club Villas where we will stay for 4 nights and then we will switch to the Beach Club CL for the next 4 nights. By doing this I am saving $1000 since I need 2 rooms at the Beach Club. On our "switch" day,
the only plans are to hang out at the pool, and we are only switching from one side of the resort to the other, so it's pretty easy. I have wanted to try out a villa and this seemed like a great opportunity to do so. My DH wanted to spend another Sunday at ESPN watching football and the flights were cheaper on Monday, soooo, we have another split, DH will be at ESPN on our final day and I will be enjoying SAB and the lounge before we once again check into POP for the night. We will leave first thing in the morning.

Sounds like alot of work, but it's fine with me

 

[Dis703]

I responded earlier about why we had a split stay with a mod and deluxe that we changed to only deluxe.

Well now I'm considering upgrading in our deluxe for just part of the trip. Mainly because I'd love to experience staying club level, but it's a huge splurge and I can't justify doing it the whole trip. So we could maybe get a taste of the good life, lol for just a couple days.

 

[TBLaube]

Sometimes we do split stays and sometimes we don't. The first split stay was on a cash reservation for POFQ and then a few days at AKL. the reason was due to the cost of the savannah view room. Then I bought into DVC at BLT, but due to being in the military, could never book a trip that far in advance. The alternative was to split stay due to availability and/or to try different resorts. Last May I did my first solo trip and couldn't decide between POR and POFQ so split the eight night trip. Next month, my boyfriend and I are going on our first WDW trip togther and I can't wait. We are doing four nights at AKV Kidani and then moving to SSR for three nights due to availability.

We come from San Diego so our trips are a minimum of seven nights always, but usually more. I wouldn't want to split on a shorter trip, but never an issue for me.

It is much easier doing a split trip without small kids in my experience. Much easier to pack up and move!

I love staying in different areas of WDW. We LOVE AKL/AKV for the convenience of location to AK and enjoy relaxing at the resort. We also love staying near DTD for the area. A split stay allows us to maximize the areas nearby and saves on bus time.

I am itching to stay at my home resort, BLT, and the Boardwalk area resorts someday!

 

[StephMS]

We are doing a split stay this year. It's just me and DH and I decided to spend 3 nights at his fave (YC) and 3 nights at my fave (POLY). Since it's just the 2 of us this time, I won't have as much to move, so I thought this would be the time to try it.

We are early risers and do the parks in the mornings, returning to the hotel for r&r in the afternoon. We are at the point in our lives where enjoying the resort and down time is as much fun as the parks (especially w/out kids in tow!).

Almost every evening I walk around the resort and may go back into a park for fireworks. DH will usually only accompany me once or twice. I thought it would be nice to have 2 different areas to explore instead of just one for 6 nights.

 

[disnut1149]

Hi
We're doing a split stay in Aug. I got a pin # with a room discount, so we're staying at Sports for 4 nights, then POR for 4 nights, mainly to save money. On our change resorts day, we'll just take our luggage by taxi with us, check in and enjoy the resort for the rest of the day. The POR stay will be our more relaxing part of the trip. We did a split stay before and it was really easy. Stayed at POFQ, then over to Wilderness Lodge. Didn't want to leave the lodge!!! We thought it's a fun way to experience different resorts.

 

[QTPie7375]

We are DVC. And couldn't get a whole week at wilderness lodge so we booked 5 nights there and 3 nights at our home resort SS. This is the first time we are doing that. I think I saw someone post that Disney will transfer luggage...is this true? I was wondering about that...

 

[TBLaube]

Disney will transfer. Just drop luggage off in the morning at bell services and let them know. They will transfer in the late afternoon/ early evening so plan on taking what you need out of the luggage. We were also required to be in the room before they would deliver. We do many split stays and it is quite simple and convenient.

 

[ocalla]

We are doing it for the first time this trip, although I've always wanted to. We usually stay at the BC and that is my happy place. But I have been wanting to stay at Poly too. So we are doing 5 nights at BC then 4 nights at Poly. I'm looking forward to it!

We are doing the BC/Poly split for the first time this year!! We LOVE BC and can't imagine not staying there, BUT I have always wanted to try other resorts. This way we get the best of both worlds