Stay in one resort or split your stay?

[LauraLap]

I'm thinking I want to try a couple of resorts on our next trip. Maybe 4 nights at AKV and then 4 nights at BCV (if available). Is this a pain in the butt? For those who have done it, did you wish you had just stayed at one resort?

 

[jekjones1558]

I think that I am in the minority on these boards, but I do NOT like split stays. The least I would prefer to stay in any one place is 7 days and we never go for more than 12 days at a time. If I want to try a different resort, I do it on a separate trip. Even a small amount of time spent packing, unpacking, re-checking in, etc. is too much time wasted on my vacation.

 

[Tozzie]

I'm thinking I want to try a couple of resorts on our next trip. Maybe 4 nights at AKV and then 4 nights at BCV (if available). Is this a pain in the butt? For those who have done it, did you wish you had just stayed at one resort?

I know some people do it but personally I don't want to waste time, packing and unpacking and moving while on vacation it just seems like a hassle to me, I also like to go back to the resort in the afternoon and either relax or go to the pool and if I had to move I wouldn't have a room to go back to. I may be wrong but by the picture it appears you have small children and imagine having to pack all of their stuff up to move. I guess it really depends on what you want to do but I personally wouldn't move if I had the choice

 

[allshookup]

Plus we fill up the cabinets & fridge with food & drink. I can't imagine having to pack that up too. I like trying new resorts also, I just make sure it's not during the same trip!

 

[alldiz]

If you don't mind packing/unpacking or living out of your suitcase....it can be great.
I personally love to have a split stay....Feels like 2 different vacations.
And it is nice to plan parks near each resort....and ADR's.
Happy planning

BTW....I usually just take a cab with my stuff and check into resort #2.
Kerri

 

[Golden Rose]

We haven't been to WDW as DVC members yet, but we have two trips booked for next year. We're doing one stay at a single resort and one split stay, and my guess is that will continue to be a pattern for us; about half the trips relaxing at one resort, about half the trips splitting our stay. (In my younger days, the only times I split my stays were to save a few dollars by staying at a moderate a few nights and a deluxe a few nights instead of at a deluxe the entire time.)

DH really doesn't like the idea of switching resorts... he says that makes it feel less like a relaxing vacation. He's willing to do it every once in a while, but he wants us to stay in one place at least half the time. We're splitting our fall stay because my mother and her SO are traveling with us. We wanted to stay at BWV during Food and Wine, but my mom really wanted to stay at AKV, so we're doing both. We'll see how it goes then. If DH really hates it as much as he thinks he will, I guess we'll just stick to one resort at a time for a while.

 

[danielle782001]

I am so confused about this subject....We are planning a trip for July 09...We have 200 developer points we have to use at SSR and another 282...We will be in Disney for 11 or 12 nights...We really did not want to spend the entire trip at SSR...But I think changing is going to be too much of a pain...

I am MOST worried about:
1) Making sure we have used our dining credits for the first resort before check-out night of switch day...This will take careful planning
2) The kids getting confused/upset...This is a really tough one because I know they would enjoy AKL or BC more, but I have an ADHD/Sesory Intergration Disorder kid that gets upset with change...we are planning SSR for the first stay to get them excited about the switch

Can those who do switch give us some good tips for a successful transition...PLEASE.

 

[wulfekamp]

We did it twice the first time was a pain the second was great. First time we spent a few days at BWV then moved to BCV. They lost our luggage going that short a distance. Second was great half the stay at AKL then moved to vero. LOVED IT.

 

[Tink-n-Belle]

I've done it twice!

Both times we switched 3 times

We had just bought into DVC and we only could get 3 nights at the BWV (made ressie only 4 months in advance ) so on the 4th night we switched to the BCV and then we went to VB for 2 nights. On the switch day we went to Epcot around 9:00, bell service got our bags and transferred them over the the BCV for us. At 4:00 we left Epcot and checked in. Our bags were already there and they brought them to our room and then we went to DHS for the evening. Very easy (except for the packing). Then we went to VB for 2 nights after that.

Last trip we stayed at the BWV for 4 nights, moved to the AKV 1 night and VB for 2 nights.
We didn't do the parks on the day of the move this time as I really wanted to enjoy the AKV just in case we never stayed there again. We packed up around 10:00 and went to DTD for the day. We had lunch and decided to go to the AKV around 3:00. We checked in, our bags were there and they were able to refridgerate our perishables. No problem that day either. The next day we packed up again (gotta love living out of a suitcase) and went to VB.

We just bought into BLT so now we own at BLT and BWV (my 2 favorites) and I will probably do split stays every year too, although my DH & DD hate moving!!! (like they pack ).

If you do decide to do it, try not to do a park day that day and go to the new resort and see if you can check in early and enjoy the resort. Or go to the park that is closest to the new resort so you can leave there and check-in and go back to the park without wasting a lot of time.

 

[RLRDA]

We did a split stay for a 9 night trip in 2007. We did 4 nights at SSR and 5 nights at AKV. We enjoyed it and didn't feel like it was a waste of our time. I just did our laundry in the villa before leaving SSR and instead of putting it away in the drawers I put it in our luggage. The day we switched resorts we planned on that being a non-park, hang around the pool/resort day. We thought it was great to experience two resorts in one trip. I probably would only do it for trips that are 8 or more nights (for my family, I mean). We're planning another split stay in 2009.

 

[bobbiwoz]

I've done it with adults only, and I enjoy it. I wouldn't attempt it with the entire family group, except with a vacation that involved VB of course.

Once we used the bell services to move the bags, and on that trip, I stayed in 3 resorts. All of the baggage transfers went fine. Other times, we've had a car and moved ourselves.

Bobbi

 

[msabol01]

It's a little bit of an inconvience, but as your intent is to get to see a few resorts it not so bad as to avoid it. I would recommend having a decent plan on your move day.

Personally, I prefer to have my move day not be a park day, that way I can move and just relax. As I mentioned in another thread, I checked-in at the new resort first thing in the morning and inquired as to whether a room was available. When one is we move and get settled. When not, we hang out at the pool or room until check-out time, move to the new resort, and hang out at the pool or find some activity until the room is ready.

I say go for it, at least try it once to see if you don't mind the split stays.

 

[Buckeye Fan]

It's definitely a nice way to try out different resorts. I also think it depends, too, on whether you're buying groceries or not. It's a pain to move them, but it can be done.

If you do plan on trying it, make sure that you don't lose 2 days just waiting to check in to your resorts. For example, last spring, we couldn't check in at either resort until right at 4:00, and we just waited around the resort. So last trip, we knew we may have a wait. We packed a small carry-on with swim suits and sunscreen. When we got to VWL, our room wasn't ready. So, we dumped our stuff off with Bell Services, and hopped a bus to Blizzard Beach. We left Blizzard Beach and went to dinner at the Pepper Market, and it worked out perfectly. We got back to our room around 6:00, and everything was waiting on us, including our groceries from Garden Grocer!

My preference is to stay in one place, but we sometimes choose a split stay depending on when we travel. For example, we're going down in April during Spring Break. Because the points for a weekend stay are so high, we're staying at Pop Century the first two nights (Fri/Sat) we're there. We'll spend the remaining 6 days at AKV. We won't have groceries delivered until our first night at AKV (Sunday).

 

[adminjedi]

We split our last stay - 1 week BCV and 1 week AKV. It wasn't really any trouble to transfer. We paid for bell hop service and they managed to get all 22 suitcases/bags of groceries loaded onto one cart! We planned an ADR lunch and by the time we arrived at the hotel we could check in. Everything arrived safely in the transport, including a floral arrangement. We stayed long enough that it didn't chop-up our stay and kept it fun with fresh experiences. It was our first stay at AKV, and it was nice to be there last as we were in the mood to hang out at the hotel and relax a little more. I agree with others that you do visit the parks differently based on where you stay and we liked that too.

 

[bwvBound]

For those who have done it, did you wish you had just stayed at one resort?

We've tried split stays twice. Our annual visits are for a conference and we thought it might be fun to split our work related experience (at BWV) from the vacation days of our trip. Now that we've tried it: we won't bother in future. I'm looking forward to 10 nights in the same room in January!

Our first stab at moving was to save points switching from a 1BR at BWV to a studio at OKW for the final weekend. We had to do it (short on points) and it was "ok" overall. We certainly enjoyed the slower pace at OKW, riding the water bikes and thinking we were really on vacation.

The second attempt was supposed to be for "fun" switching from the 1BR at BWV to a 1BR Concierge at AKV Jambo House. The move was a huge waste of time thanks to AKV's Concierge check-in process and we were hugely disappointed with the room: small, dark, no closets, no bathroom cabinets for storage, no hooks for our robes and no jetted tub!! Room switching is a gamble and we lost big time. Our one thought, "We really should have stayed at BWV!!"

Nope, we don't plan to try it again.

 

[BEASLYBOO]

I've done the split stay twice and it was exciting to try two new resorts. Now that I've done them all, I much prefer to settle in and stay in one resort especially if we have a stay with many guests.

 

[dvc-NE]

My DW would not want me to intentionally book a split stay. Maybe if we were staying 2 full weeks, I might be tempted, but we never stay at Disney for that long. Not to sound cheap, but I really don't care for having to make additional tips to bell services because of moving and storing luggage more than you would normally do. This happened last trip when we had 2 nights at BWV and 1 night at BCV. It went relatively smooth, but we would have preferred the same room for the 3 nights.

 

[daisyduck123]

Our last trip was a split stay between AKV & BCV. We would absolutely do it again & hope to next summer. No, it was not a pain at all!

 

[danielle782001]

Okay, so we went for it...We have our split stay reserved...We are doing four nights at SSR (using our developer points) and 6 nights at AKL starting on the 1st of July...Wish us luck for an easy transition...

Thanks to those who provided some really great advice

 

[photobob]

I think that I am in the minority on these boards, but I do NOT like split stays. The least I would prefer to stay in any one place is 7 days and we never go for more than 12 days at a time. If I want to try a different resort, I do it on a separate trip. Even a small amount of time spent packing, unpacking, re-checking in, etc. is too much time wasted on my vacation.

I'm right there with you. To each his own, but I sure don't want to repack move to another resort and check in again.