Split stays?

[jlm196]

I am thinking about doing a split stay for our next trip. Can anyone give advice from experience on why we should or should not split our stay.
The 2 resorts would be BC and CSR. We do not rent a car. We have 2 boys 6 and 8. We are going in oct 2014 for 9 or 10 days to celebrate my 40th and our 10 year anniversary.

We could afford BC for the whole trip but I want to add on extras like. MNSSHP and a fantasmic dining package. It just seems like an awful lot of money for a room you don't spend much time in.

We are also going 1 day to legoland and possibly universal- I have to see if the boys will be tall enough to make universal worth the money.
Thanks!

 

[RamrodinTonight]

I've only done a split stay once: I was wait listed for a few days at BWV but they never became available so I started my trip at SSR. Although SSR was not to my liking---the resort was fine I just prefer others for the price---the split part went well. I don't think the split itself should be a factor in your choice, you simply leave one resort in the AM and return to another in the afternoon. The deciding factor should be if, by spending a few days at CSR you will be able to do more things you want and enjoy activities you otherwise could not. If so, book!

 

[Babsy]

Almost every trip to WDW that is longer than 5 days, I stay in at least 2 resorts. It feels like 2 different vacations. Every resort has something unique to offer and I enjoy staying in them all. The resort is not just a bed to me, though. Due to health issues, I spend quite a lot of time at the resort. It is great to stay within walking distance of Epcot (BC) and then walking distance of MK (CR). It feels like living in the actual theme parks! Or even spending some time in a caribbean island (CBR) and then going to Africa (AKL).

If staying in a moderate or value, you can save $$$ during that part of your stay that will allow you to afford a really nice deluxe room for the rest. Whee!!

It's double the fun with 2 resorts. And Disney makes it so easy to move. They move the bags for you from your first resort to the second. If you use packing cubes like I do, it takes only a few minutes to throw your things in a bag and give it to Bell services to move for you. Go to the theme park of your choice and when you leave just check in at your new resort!!

Easy and fun AND can be more affordable! What's not to like?

 

[Marionnette]

I am thinking about doing a split stay for our next trip. Can anyone give advice from experience on why we should or should not split our stay.
The 2 resorts would be BC and CSR. We do not rent a car. We have 2 boys 6 and 8. We are going in oct 2014 for 9 or 10 days to celebrate my 40th and our 10 year anniversary.

We could afford BC for the whole trip but I want to add on extras like. MNSSHP and a fantasmic dining package. It just seems like an awful lot of money for a room you don't spend much time in.

We are also going 1 day to legoland and possibly universal- I have to see if the boys will be tall enough to make universal worth the money.
Thanks!

Have you considered renting DVC points at a BCV studio? Seven nights in October 2014 would cost 107 points. At $14/point, you're talking an average of $214/night. Adding 2-3 nights would run about the same amount, depending on whether the additional nights are weekdays or weekends. You could stay the whole time at BCV for just a little more than the rack rate of CSR.

The only problem would be actually getting a BCV reservation for October. The Epcot area DVC resorts are very popular during the Food & Wine Festival. You would almost have to get BCV owner to make the reservation for you. Other DVC owners have a difficult time finding anything when they try to make reservations when their 7-month window opens.

 

[Mr. Pig]

The reasons you give (save money on part of the trip since you are not in the room that much) is a classic reason to do a split stay. We have often done split stays and rented a car for just a couple days in the middle. This way we have a vehicle so we move our own luggage when we want to and we do our offsite travel to Universal, Sea World or wherever then.

 

[karenklo]

We just did a split stay in July. It was great! Different pools and environments made it so much fun!! The only downside I can think of was that 6 days of our tickets were on the POFQ KTTK cards. When we checked into the Poly, we still had to have the POFQ cards as tickets, but the Poly cards for charging and entry to the CL building. I think I would split the tickets next time. The bands may make the situation different, but I have not heard from anyone using MBs during a split yet.

 

[snykymom]

Are you talking about a package (tickets & dining), or room-only, with tickets purchased separately?

If you want a package at both resorts, the downside is that you have to purchase at least a one-day base ticket (two if it's free dining) for each reservation. Many people will buy a ticket that covers both resorts with their first reservation, and a one-day ticket that they don't use for the second. This makes sense because the tickets are "front-loaded" (days 1-4 are expensive; days 5-10 are about $10 each on an adult ticket). Unused tickets (the one with the second reservation) never expire so you can hold onto them for another trip.

If it's a room-only (and of course this is with a package, too), the only disadvantage is packing up! Bell services will transfer your luggage from one resort to the other; you will need to be present in the room for them to deliver it, but that can after you come back from a park!

 

[Jack&Ryan'smom]

Just got back from my split stay. Did 2 nights room only at POP then 5 nights at CSR. It worked out great! We got magic bands for our stay at POP. When we got to CSR they weren't sure how and if our bands would work since they aren't part of the test. Well they did work perfectly the entire trip!