The ultimate split-stay thread

[Dreamin192]

I'm still struggling with our upcoming stay and availability is getting scarce, at least for rooms with discounts. DH wants to try club level but doesn't want to pay club level price our whole trip. I found availability at Poly Villas but only at the end of the trip. Would it be disappointing to spend a few days at Beach Club Club level then switch to a Poly villa? Better off in a standard room at beach club then switch to Poly? DH thinks it will be hard to stay one night at one resort then move to Poly for the remaining 10 nights. Unfortunately it isn't available our first night. With three kids I'm thinking it would be easier to do the switch before getting settled someplace else.

So to recap lol:

1. 5 nights BC garden 6 nights Poly Villa
2. 1 night BC garden 10 nights Poly Villa
3. 5 nights BC Club 6 nights Poly Villa

 

[thisismyusername]

I think scenario 3 would be my favorite option! There's nothing better than an Epcot/MK split, IMO. And five days is more than enough time to fully experience each resort. In my experience, it's less hassle to move midway than after one night. It's still close to the same amount of packing/unpacking and time out of your vacation.

 

[thisismyusername]

Hello Split-Stayers! We are usually a stay in one place couple, but for our 10th wedding anniversary I'm thinking it would be nice to move our last night to GF from AKL. The GF main building is on my bucket list (I've only stayed in the outer building) and our dinner plans for that evening will be at V&A. I'm thinking we'd bring our luggage over by taxi after checkout at AKL, and then either spend the day at the pool or fishing on bay lake.

Does this sound like a solid plan? I'm not sure how bad it would be to do a switcheroo and I'd like to do something special, but I don't want to make the day annoying. TIA for help!

I love this plan! It's always so nice to wrap up a vacation with a nice and leisurely day at one of the nicest and most romantic resorts on property! As you pack up from AKL, just leave what you need for the last two days/overnight in a separate bag--it will make the switch and the packing/unpacking much easier.

 

[thisismyusername]

(I originally posted this as it's own thread, but then I found this one! So much knowledge!)
We leave in three weeks (yay!) for a 9 day trip. We start off staying off-site for 2 nights and then check into POR, followed by SSR. The POR part of the stay includes our park tickets. Based off what I'm reading here, we should be able to activate our tickets through Guest Services prior to our POR check-in, correct?
Has anyone had any luck securing FP ahead of their check-in date? TIA!

Sorry--you are probably on your trip and I didn't see your question until now, but yes, you should have been able to activate your tickets prior to your POR arrival. And, as far as I know, there is no activating FP prior to your arrival, unless you have an active AP (in which case, the window opens 30 days before you travel without a resort reservation.) I hope you are having/had a great trip!

 

[thisismyusername]

We have booked a split stay for May 29-June 7,2016 and my head is spinning! We are checking in to Poly late on the 29th with MMW with DDP and 5 day tix with water park option. We check out on June 3 for a 3 day cruise on the Dream (managed to book both Royal suites plus the 1 BR suite in between!!) then Disney bus back on the 6th for one night RO at the Beach Club. I am wondering if anyone has tips on dealing with luggage? Also, wondering if I will be able to book FP for the last day when the 60 day window opens. We are planning to use our last ticket at Epcot and my little ones are adamant about including Frozen Ever After. Did I mention that I am bringing 14 guests? Trying to avoid chaos here!

What an awesome trip! Yes, you should be able to make your FP reservations for the final day (or two days) when your initial window opens. Good luck with planning for that many people!

 

[thisismyusername]

So, I read this thread and I just want to clarify a 180 + 10 ADR reservation question.

Part 1 of our stay is Sunday, October16th thru Sunday, October 23rd. Can I make a Bibbity Bobbity Boutique and Cinderella's Royal Table reservation for Sunday, our checkout day (which also happens to be our check in day)? Is it possible to book online or with a phone call, giving the CM our part1 reservation number?

Part 2 of our stay is Sunday, October 23rd thru Friday, October 28th.

If I can't make the reservation 180 days from my Part 1 check in day and I have to wait 180 days from my Part 2 check in day, do you recommend changing our BBB/CRT day to Thursday 10/20? From what I understand, BBB/CRT are hard reservations to get and should be made toward the end of your booking window.

You should be able to make your reservation for your check out day from the first reservation without any worry since it's within the 10 day window and there are no breaks in reservations within the 10 days. Disney does not end reservation availability on the last night that you sleep on property--they allow you to make reservations through the next day since many guests don't leave until the evening.

 

[thisismyusername]

We are doing a split stay for our upcoming trip.
Here is the breakdown:
1. BC pool/lagoon view, 2 nights, dining, 8dPH/WPF&M tix
2. AKL savanna view, 3 nights, dining
3. GF theme park view, 2 nights, dining

I am concerned about QS and snack credits. I know they expire at midnight on check out day but my concern is the overlap days. Will it automatically make sure I use my remaining credits on reservation number 1 that are set to expire that night BEFORE it begins to use credits from reservation 2?

I hope I am being clear in my explanation. If not, here is my feared scenario...
It's day 3, we check out of BC (we have already done online check in for AKL). We have 3 snacks and 4QS left for BC but our AKL credits are now also available. Will it deduct the credits from the NEW package before using the ones from the OLD package?

It will! You shouldn't have any problems at all, and if you do, just simply take your receipts to the concierge and they will straighten everything out for you. Just keep in mind that your credits from the previous reservation will expire at midnight on the day you check out, so you're not going to be able to carry over all 8 snack credits to the last day of your GF reservation like someone without a split stay would be able to do.

 

[thisismyusername]

So ... Haven't read through the stay yet - but considering split stay at 3 places over 8 nights. Am I nuts?

2 (or 3) WL - we love it there. Did 3 nights at the end of our last trip there and wished we had done 4. Our kids LOVED the pool.

Yacht Club - 2 or 3 nights. We stayed there 5 nights at the beginning of our stay last time - adults loved it and its proximity to Epcot and HS - and for me, very relaxing! Kids preferred the poll at WL (more manageable for them, I think).

Poly - 2 or 3 nights. Would like to do at least 3 here because this would be our first time staying there. Love the idea of fireworks from the beach.

Probably looking at Friday - Saturday or Saturday - Sunday in late July.

Had been thinking 2 WL, 3 YC, 3 Poly (for me, the trip is as much if not more about relaxing at the resorts than the parks). But - 3 places over 8 nights might be asking for trouble Thought I'd post here for opinions

Kids will be 9 and 6. This will be our last trip to Disney for a while (I hope - said that last year too ).

Rates are very good at all 3 places. (Approx. $200, $270 and $250).

I think only you can answer this question well. You know your family and their temperament to moving. Are they looking forward to it and see it as an adventure, or will they consider it a hassle and be grumpy about the time away from the park, and the hour or so inconvenience of moving resorts? In my experience, as long as you are well organized and everyone is excited about the moves and the opportunities to try new resorts, I'd go for it! But if you think that your kids don't have the tolerance for moving, or your spouse might not either, I might suggest picking either WL or the Poly (not both) and BC as I always think that a MK resort followed by an Epcot resort is the best type of split. Good luck with making your decision!!

 

[DINKsAtDisney]

I love this plan! It's always so nice to wrap up a vacation with a nice and leisurely day at one of the nicest and most romantic resorts on property! As you pack up from AKL, just leave what you need for the last two days/overnight in a separate bag--it will make the switch and the packing/unpacking much easier.

That's an excellent idea with the dual suitcases! Now I just need a discount to pop up for those 2 days because the price right now is bananas!!

 

[Melanie415]

You should be able to make your reservation for your check out day from the first reservation without any worry since it's within the 10 day window and there are no breaks in reservations within the 10 days. Disney does not end reservation availability on the last night that you sleep on property--they allow you to make reservations through the next day since many guests don't leave until the evening.

Mahalo for your help! I really appreciate your split stay expertise! I am so excited for our probably only trip. 6 nights at Portofino bay, 7 nights a BLT Tpv and finally at BCV for 5 nights. If it wasn't for finding the disBoards and this thread, I don't think I would have tried it

 

[gravity01]

I've read often enough that one should not downgrade during a split stay, but I'm wondering if it might not be such a bad idea for us...

We'll be on a 10ish day trip and DH and I would like to stay at a monorail resort. However DD6 wants to sleep in a mermaid room more than she wants to breathe. The more I've thought about it, the more I think a compromise might be in order. You see, our only flight possibilities (we live on a little island with limited flights in per day) have us getting on the Magical Express at about 3am our final day. While money isn't the deciding factor on this trip, the practical part of me cringes at the idea of spending GF prices on a room that will literally serve as a roof over our heads for 8 hours. No pool, no restaurants, no unpacking, very limited use of transportation... just a room with fishies and mermaids.

So I'm wondering - will this seem like ending the trip on a disappointing note or will the fun theme override the deluxe-to-value downgrade?

 

[moesy4]

Question...we will be flying in and using ME with a one night stay at CBR, then heading over to Fort Wilderness. This is our first on site Disney trip, so I am not sure how ME works. Is it possible to somehow tag the bags to go straight to the Fort and they just hold them at bell services overnight? We plan to only need our carry ons that first night and would be headed over to the For earlier on Sunday but won't have a vehicle and would prefer to just have the bags end up where they will be needed.

 

[dansdad]

Question...we will be flying in and using ME with a one night stay at CBR, then heading over to Fort Wilderness. This is our first on site Disney trip, so I am not sure how ME works. Is it possible to somehow tag the bags to go straight to the Fort and they just hold them at bell services overnight?

Unfortunately no. But they will hold them for you at CBR. Then they will move them to Ft. Wilderness the next day.

 

[RaginforDisneyRoy]

Has anyone dealt with the DDP for the split stays and had issues with credits being applied appropriately. We are doing a DVC split stay at WLV and Poly, so my concern is that we will need to be certain the credits are taken off the WLV dining plan balance first before going into the Poly stay balance.

 

[xipotec]

My Split Stay Plan.....


See if this makes sense? Or if I am delusional or forgetting something. (reservations made already).

(RO) POLY Monday-Wednesday
(FD MMYW) GF Wednesday- Sunday (6 day tickets attached to this reservation.)

Monday: Arrive at WDW
Check-in POLY
Leave Suitcases with Bell Hop (?)
Goto HS, activate 6 tickets from MMYW PKG at customer service center
Return to POLY (Bags in room??)
Tuesday: Epcot
Wednesday: Check-out POLY
Bell Hop deliver suitcases to GF? (Or should we drop them off at GF?)
Check in GF
MK rope drop
Thursday:AK
Friday:MK
Sat Epcot
Sun: checkout.

Any suggestions are very welcome. We are WDW veterans but never have done a split stay.

 

[Upup4fun]

My husband and I are doing a split stay at AKL 3 nights and GF 5 nights. It's our first time doing this! We were planning on dropping our luggage with Bell Services and going to universal for the day and coming home by 6 for an 8pm Citricos ADR. I'd it a bad idea to go to universal on this day?

 

[Dismom820]

I have a few questions…i've been reading through the thread but i'm considering a my first split stay our next trip…we're doing a saturday to saturday stay wanting to spend the last two night in a different resort…pop century at first and POR royal rooms our last two nights…I'm aware you have to make two different reservations, my biggest concern is, we LOVE the fact that we can make payments by booking ahead…so if we make two different reservations will we be able to still do that? also, how will i be able to manage both? still on my disney experience, or through the disney website?? is it more of a headache than its worth? hahaha we wanted to originally do the whole week in the royal rooms but once we went through our budget, we decided we'd have to do a value resort, but I remembered split stays ARE possible and if we attempted it we could give the little princess a royal experience the last two nights of our trip…I just need some reassurance that this won't cause me to go insane trying to book and pay for this trip! hahah TIA

 

[Ceryssa]

My Split Stay Plan.....


See if this makes sense? Or if I am delusional or forgetting something. (reservations made already).

(RO) POLY Monday-Wednesday
(FD MMYW) GF Wednesday- Sunday (6 day tickets attached to this reservation.)

Monday: Arrive at WDW
Check-in POLY
Leave Suitcases with Bell Hop (?)
Goto HS, activate 6 tickets from MMYW PKG at customer service center
Return to POLY (Bags in room??)
Tuesday: Epcot
Wednesday: Check-out POLY
Bell Hop deliver suitcases to GF? (Or should we drop them off at GF?)
Check in GF
MK rope drop
Thursday:AK
Friday:MK
Sat Epcot
Sun: checkout.

Any suggestions are very welcome. We are WDW veterans but never have done a split stay.

Unless you need your bags right away (which I'm assuming you don't since you'll be at MK), I'd just let bell services take them over. Then call down when you get back to GF and have them bring them up.

I have a few questions…i've been reading through the thread but i'm considering a my first split stay our next trip…we're doing a saturday to saturday stay wanting to spend the last two night in a different resort…pop century at first and POR royal rooms our last two nights…I'm aware you have to make two different reservations, my biggest concern is, we LOVE the fact that we can make payments by booking ahead…so if we make two different reservations will we be able to still do that? also, how will i be able to manage both? still on my disney experience, or through the disney website?? is it more of a headache than its worth? hahaha we wanted to originally do the whole week in the royal rooms but once we went through our budget, we decided we'd have to do a value resort, but I remembered split stays ARE possible and if we attempted it we could give the little princess a royal experience the last two nights of our trip…I just need some reassurance that this won't cause me to go insane trying to book and pay for this trip! hahah TIA

Honestly I don't know if you can make payments on a RO reservation...we had to book two separate ones due to availability issues so we paid for both in advance. You will be able to manage both through MDE though, yes. They will be listed one right after the other in the "hotel" portion. As far as being worth it--I think so, personally. Experiencing two different themed resorts is always fun for me.

 

[Mattysmom]

Very informative thread, thank you. First timer here and considering a split stay to take advantage of free DDP, which is only offered on the second half of the trip. Wondering if free dining is worth the effort. It would cover 6 of the 9 day trip. Is it possible to purchase 8 days of park tickets on the second 6 day DDP reservation but use them early, on the first reservation? So the first would be a room only reservation Thanks for the help!

 

[mevelandry]

My Split Stay Plan.....


See if this makes sense? Or if I am delusional or forgetting something. (reservations made already).

(RO) POLY Monday-Wednesday
(FD MMYW) GF Wednesday- Sunday (6 day tickets attached to this reservation.)

Monday: Arrive at WDW
Check-in POLY
Leave Suitcases with Bell Hop (?)
Goto HS, activate 6 tickets from MMYW PKG at customer service center
Return to POLY (Bags in room??)
Tuesday: Epcot
Wednesday: Check-out POLY
Bell Hop deliver suitcases to GF? (Or should we drop them off at GF?)
Check in GF
MK rope drop
Thursday:AK
Friday:MK
Sat Epcot
Sun: checkout.

Any suggestions are very welcome. We are WDW veterans but never have done a split stay.

It's easy to walk to GF from the POLY, DH and I took our own bags to the GF.

I suggest you check the option to get a room ASAP when you do your advance online check-in. Worst case scenario, if the room is not available when you get there, you can still leave your luggage at the Bell Hop stand and go to MK.