Split Stays

[silverhaze269]

What's your opinion on doing a split-stay vacation?

I'm trying to plan my next trip, and ideally would love it to be 2 weeks long at at the Poly, but that just can't happen, so I was thinking about doing a split-stay. I'm still not sure if 2 weeks will be doable, thanks to trying to get time off at work.

Anyway, if we were to do a split-stay it might be 4 days at CSR/5 days at the Poly, or vice versa if the 2 weeks can't happen...or maybe a week at each resort if we can go for 2 weeks. Have you ever done this (not necessarily at these resorts), and if so, how has it worked out for you?

 

[elaw]

What's your opinion on doing a split-stay vacation?

I'm trying to plan my next trip, and ideally would love it to be 2 weeks long at at the Poly, but that just can't happen, so I was thinking about doing a split-stay. I'm still not sure if 2 weeks will be doable, thanks to trying to get time off at work.

Anyway, if we were to do a split-stay it might be 4 days at CSR/5 days at the Poly, or vice versa if the 2 weeks can't happen...or maybe a week at each resort if we can go for 2 weeks. Have you ever done this (not necessarily at these resorts), and if so, how has it worked out for you?

Split stays are awesome!!! .... it's like multiple vacations in one. I strongly recommend doing the moderate resort first though.

 

[nkereina]

I have not done it but if I was going for a week or longer, I'd consider it. I think it would be easiest if you have a car since you can transfer your own luggage, but if you don't mind being "homeless" for a few hours, bell services will transfer your luggage. I agree with PP to do the mod first. Then it will build up to Poly, and you'll have something to look forward to!

Have you looked into renting DVC points? It allows you to stay deluxe but for mod prices, basically. I don't know if you can stay at non-DVC resort though on rented points, I've only looked into it for the Villas.

 

[sharadoc]

We did it in June, staying 3 nights at Contemporary Theme Park View, then moving to OKW for a week.

We packed separately for the Contemporary and left a lot of stuff in the van.

We loved having the experience of the theme park view, but didn't feel settled until we moved to OKW.

The way you're proposing could be fine since you're truly splitting your time and will be at each resort for enough time. I think it's a great idea for trying something out, or staying somewhere that's out of your price range.

You'll never know until you try it. If you go often enough, it won't ruin your trip if you don't like it - will it?

 

[pepe of ohio]

We sort of got forced into one, once....we wanted the Poly for 9 nights but they only had 6....so we decided to try AKL for the forst 3 before moving to the Poly...seeing we heard good things about AKL and never stayed there....

Well, we checked into AKL and didn't care for the whole resort, layout, food and transportation and couldn't wait to get out of there and on to the Poly, which we've a few stays at....we only use Disney transportation so we decided to leave AKL very early and get on with our vacation at the Poly...

We go down to Bell Services, and they give us a hassle over our groceries and drinks.....hey they were in the fridge and sweating and all we had were the grocery bags they came in....we had to go to the gift shop and beg for plastic bags and cartons....(weren't friendly at all)...that done we finally bus to the Poly, hoping our room might be ready.....nope....since we had nothing planned, and not wanting to get all sweaty and hot at a park, we decided to peruse the resort...again hoping our room might be ready alittle early....

Long story short...we get the call the room is ready and up we go only to be told our luggage and stuff won't be delived until after 3 pm....nothing said leaving the AKL....so now we have a room, no luggage or supplies.....can't do the pool, can't have a beer....just sitting there.....3 pm comes and goes....around 5 pm they deliver...

That was enought to cure me of splits, even though we weren't planning on this one, enough was enough....don't see no sense in them....waste of a day....we like to check in and then move into our resort for the duration and then go home...if another resort catched our eye, we'll do it on another trip....no splitting a stay and losing that move day for us.....It's bad enough packing at home and packing to leave but to do that during a vacation, along with the items in the fridge......no thank you......

 

[Kim1964]

We have done split stays every year since 2006. I agree with doing the lower category first and moving up. I prefer at least 3 nights in the first resort before moving, though we've done two.

 

[MHSweb79]

We did 4 nights at POFQ and 4 nights at they Poly, and there was no hassle on moving day. We were told about the luggage delivery being later in the afternoon, so it wasn't a big deal. If you need your luggage ASAP, just take a cab instead of letting Bell Services handle it. Overall it was quite simple, even transferring our park admission from the old KTTW card to the new one.

The irony is that we all agreed we liked POFQ much better than the Poly.

We're doing another split stay - POFQ/ Beach Club - in February and looking forward to that. We have never stayed in an Epcot resort so it will be cool to be able to walk right into the World Showcase.

 

[AHundredMinusOneDay]

I have done a split before and have nothing but great things to say about the experience. I dropped off bags early on the morning of check out at resort 1 at concierge, checked out, headed to a park, then went to the new resort after a day at a park, checked in, and my bags were waiting on me in the new room.

I had absolutely no hassle, at all. I do recommend staying fairly organized at the first resort, though. That saved me a lot of time; I didn't completely unpack my bags, so it took less than thirty minutes to pack everything back up to move to the new resort.

 

[goofyredraider]

We have not, but we do have one planned, much for the same reason- POR did not have two days available I needed. We are staying at POR for 6 nights and then moving over to BC for the other 6 nights.

 

[Masonmj84]

We frequently take vacations where we stay in different hotels different nights. Last summer, for example, we took a vacation where we were in Montreal, New Hampshire, Vermont, Lake Placid, and Lake George over 9 nights. We didn't find this to be tiring at all. And we find that staying in a whole bunch of different places makes the vacation seem longer (like taking multiple vacations in one) and more interesting.

One secret is that we never completely unpack. We just take the outfit we need for the day out of the suitcase and have a big bag for dirty clothes. The rest of the unused, clean clothes just stay in the original suitcase(s). When we move, the dirty clothes bag goes into an orignally partially empty suitcase (or we quickly consolidate 2 suitcases with unused, clean clothes to make room for the dirty clothes bag).

In addition, we like to eat well on vacation (so the signature restaurants appeal to us). And we like to go to different restaurants every night. On the other hand, we try to get our kids to bed as early as possible (so we don't want to spend a lot of time traveling between the restaurant and our room).

Based on all of this, the idea of split stays really appeals to us. While we haven't yet tried one at Disney, we're planning on it. Our thinking for transfer day is to check bags with bell services when leaving Resort 1, go enjoy a park, and then check into Resort 2 later in the afternoon. We also plan to pack a little day bag that includes swim wear so we can still enjoy the pool etc. at Resort 2, in case our checked bags haven't yet arrived.

 

[Belleandtinker]

We have our 3rd split stay booked for May. We thoroughly enjoy it.

We've done two moderates in one visit twice and one deluxe/one moderate in one vist once. Loved them all.

Why?
* Easier to pick two resorts instead of one resort.
* For long visits, a change is always good. Variety
* Forces you to clean up and do laundry half way through.

We've had no problems with luggage, tickets, etc. We check out of one resort in the morning and go to a different one in the afternoon.

Have fun!

 

[jennyjinx3]

Hi! Just wondering if we decided to do a split stay, (we are staying for 10 days at POR in Sept 2012) what is the deal with the tickets? We have free dining and 10 day MYW no park hopper. Would we have to pay for two separate sets of tickets ? By this I mean a four day and then another 6 day ticket? Or would they allow us to just pay once for a 10 day ticket. Any info appreciated.

 

[silverhaze269]

Hi! Just wondering if we decided to do a split stay, (we are staying for 10 days at POR in Sept 2012) what is the deal with the tickets? We have free dining and 10 day MYW no park hopper. Would we have to pay for two separate sets of tickets ? By this I mean a four day and then another 6 day ticket? Or would they allow us to just pay once for a 10 day ticket. Any info appreciated.

By the sounds of what someone mentioned earlier, I think you would be able to get your remaining days from resort 1 transferred to "key to the world card" at resort 2, but calling Disney to confirm wouldn't hurt.

And thanks for the input guys! It sounds like it could be doable

 

[bethclayton]

It sounds like the best way to do it is to just make sure you spend the whole day of the switch at a park. It seems to me that the people who were happiest with their decision, did it that way. You come back, your room is ready, luggage is there, voila.

We intended to do it that way, but changed our game plan, and it stunk. We moved from GF to Poly and were supposed to just spend the day at MK. Well, it ended up pouring rain at MK for a prolonged period of time, so we headed to the Poly since we thought our room would probably be ready, we were soaked and tired and just wanted to get settled in. Our room was in fact not ready, and in the end, we wasted a good chunk of the day feeling very homeless with no luggage, no dry clothes (it was December and cold), etc. Additionally, during the GF (beginning) portion of the stay, we just never felt settled, because we knew we were leaving for the Poly. Bottom line, lots of people love it so I think it is worth a try, but just plan carefully!

 

[sharadoc]

Hi! Just wondering if we decided to do a split stay, (we are staying for 10 days at POR in Sept 2012) what is the deal with the tickets? We have free dining and 10 day MYW no park hopper. Would we have to pay for two separate sets of tickets ? By this I mean a four day and then another 6 day ticket? Or would they allow us to just pay once for a 10 day ticket. Any info appreciated.

They would allow you to pay for all your days on one ticket, but you can't transfer your free dining. The best wasy to do it is to stay at the first resort with free dining, then transfer to another room with a room discount. You must buy 2 days for free dining, or 1 day if you pay for the dining plan, so your second hotel would be room only and pay for dining out of pocket.

Split stays work best when you just want to pay for dining out of pocket. Gets complicated with a dining plan and I would only recommend it for veterans, maybe after you've been there a few times and understand what you like and how you vacation at Disney.

 

[dtstampz]

Dh and I just did a split stay: CSR/Polynesian. I opted to get a cab to take us to the Poly, and it was less than $12. We had our luggage with us, and our room was ready so we were set! We also used our moving day as a slower-paced down day, which was needed.
I'm planning another split stay for May!

 

[Sue M]

What's your opinion on doing a split-stay vacation?

I'm trying to plan my next trip, and ideally would love it to be 2 weeks long at at the Poly, but that just can't happen, so I was thinking about doing a split-stay. I'm still not sure if 2 weeks will be doable, thanks to trying to get time off at work.

Anyway, if we were to do a split-stay it might be 4 days at CSR/5 days at the Poly, or vice versa if the 2 weeks can't happen...or maybe a week at each resort if we can go for 2 weeks. Have you ever done this (not necessarily at these resorts), and if so, how has it worked out for you?

We love split stays for our longer trips. Just did a 7 night POR & 5 night BC split. It's like having 2 different vacays

 

[MinnesotaMouseketeers]

We have never done a split stay, yet. But we plan on doing a minimum of a seven day WDW stay in the future. We have been to WDW enough times that we do make the resort part of our vacation experience along with the parks. And we would have no problem taking the middle day of our vacation and using it as a Resort moving day. But I would want at least seven days.

As a previous poster said; it makes it a little easier to decide which resort you want to stay at if you have two to stay at. I do have a difficult time deciding which resort for this trip each time we go. My goal is to stay at as many WDW resorts as I can before I can no longer enjoy/make trips down there. After our upcoming trip we will have six down How many to go


Unfortunately we couldn't stay more than the six nights for our upcoming trip in two weeks.

 

[mirage0306]

We haven't done it yet, so I'm not speaking from experience, but I'll tell you our plan. For our trip next June, we have 4 nights at CBR planned and then we are moving to BWI for 4 nights. On moving day, the plan is to check out of CBR and have bell services take our bags over to BWI. We'll go to Epcot for the day and then in the mid-late afternoon, walk over to BWI, check in, and go from there.

We never really unpack on vacation, so I am thinking that if we sort our clothes into two suitcases (one for each resort) and just use the suitcase earmarked for CBR while we're there, it should work okay. I hope! LOL.

 

[OThopeful35]

We haven't done it yet, so I'm not speaking from experience, but I'll tell you our plan. For our trip next June, we have 4 nights at CBR planned and then we are moving to BWI for 4 nights. On moving day, the plan is to check out of CBR and have bell services take our bags over to BWI. We'll go to Epcot for the day and then in the mid-late afternoon, walk over to BWI, check in, and go from there.

We never really unpack on vacation, so I am thinking that if we sort our clothes into two suitcases (one for each resort) and just use the suitcase earmarked for CBR while we're there, it should work okay. I hope! LOL.

This is the same idea I have for our first split stay in August. We are staying 5 days at CSR and 7 days at BWI. We are going to move on our Epcot day.