The ultimate split-stay thread

[loves to dive]

I would love to do a split stay but have read people have trouble with their magic bands at the second resort. They said they checked out at the first and then had to have their magic bands reprogrammed because they would not open the door for the next resort. A couple people said this and said it took a while to get the bands reprogrammed to work.

I have two of each color and the only problems I've ever had have nothing to do with the split stay. First time we had problems we were doing a split with 2 nights AKV and 3 nights BWV. Arrived at AKL and none of our bands would work. CM said it was because I had too many active but my son and DIL only had 2 so that couldn't have been the problem. They messed with them at the front desk for about 1/2 hour 45 min. then sent us to our rooms and said try them. Mine worked, the kids' didn't but we left the room went to supper and came back and all worked. No problem at BW. The only other time I've had problems was a split stay with ASsp 1 night and move to YC. No problems at check in at YC but room wasn't ready so I went to the parks. Got the text that the room was ready to but to see the front desk. When I saw the front desk I even went up to it and spoke to a person (cause you know I figured just seeing it wasn't going to do me any good). The CM said they were having problems with my MB which I had used to get into at least 2 parks that day, they took it and about 3 CMs huddled over it, told me someone would have to escort me to my room then bring it to me when they got it fixed. They had it to me before I even got the curtains open. I've done at least 3 other split stays and had no problems.

 

[PrincessNelly]

I was coming to this thread to ask about multiple bands and saw your post.. so you had 3 new ones per person plus 2 each... so a total of 5 per person? And they all worked for any portion of your stay, correct? I am asking because as somewhat of a fashionista, I love the idea of coordinating my band to my outfit or theming our bands to our plans that day. I kind of would love to bring the 2 new bands we will get for this trip, plus my 2 old bands so I would have a total of 4. DH would probably only wear 1 since he always gets boring gray, ha! Kids would have 3 each. Is this just a recipe for disaster? I am wondering if it is difficult to keep them all straight and whether there are technical glitches.

We have over 11 bands between the both of us. Never had issues. The only thing we learned is that, if you purchase a band in the parks, you may need to have it reset at your resort or it will not be able to open the room door.

 

[ReluctantDisaholic]

I was coming to this thread to ask about multiple bands and saw your post.. so you had 3 new ones per person plus 2 each... so a total of 5 per person? And they all worked for any portion of your stay, correct? I am asking because as somewhat of a fashionista, I love the idea of coordinating my band to my outfit or theming our bands to our plans that day. I kind of would love to bring the 2 new bands we will get for this trip, plus my 2 old bands so I would have a total of 4. DH would probably only wear 1 since he always gets boring gray, ha! Kids would have 3 each. Is this just a recipe for disaster? I am wondering if it is difficult to keep them all straight and whether there are technical glitches.

The only glitch we had was my daughter's one band. Other than that, we just wore whichever we wanted, and they all worked fine.

This year the CM at the Poly checked all our bands (from our first night at ASMo and the ones he gave us at the Poly) when he gave us our bands so we knew right away they all worked.

 

[gorkt]

I love split stays at WDW! With a little smart planning, it feels like taking two vacations in one. As you can see in my siggy, we have done a lot of split stays as a family. This year in November we are trying two hotels I have never been to, the Poly for two nights, and OKW for seven. I am trying to maximize my plan around each resort. We are doing mostly MK days with dinners at MK area resorts for the Poly days, and then we are going to be spending our OKW days mostly at Epcot for the food and wine festival and checking out Disney Springs plus a few universal days thrown in. I am a little nervous about the magic band switchover but hopefully things will be okay.

 

[gorkt]

When the kids were little, I did a split stay where we spent two days at the All-Star Family Suites. What I did in order to keep from unpacking was to take one large carry-on that had two days worth of clothes for everyone plus swimsuits. I never even touched the other bags until we checked into our second resort. I'm not sure I will be able to get away with that this time, but I will try. It just made things SO much easier. I am doing only two days at the Poly for cost reasons (that resort is $$$$) and DVC availability reasons (nothing at any DVC was available for F&W half marathon) but it does make it easier to have an uneven split stay like that in terms of planning. I did a 5/5 split stay one time, and I never really felt like I ever settled into either resort. With a full week at OKW, which I hear is very chill, I should be able to relax a bit. I am a bit nervous about getting a room somewhat close to the hospitality house at OKW since we won't be renting a car. I will just pray to the room request gods that we get lucky.

 

[bnk1120]

I just returned from a split stay between CSR and SSR. No problems at all with the magic bands. I did online check in for each resort and never went to the front desks at all.

 

[mom2ryandy]

Hi all- I skimmed through this thread and didn't come across an answer to a question I was thinking about. Hoping someone can help. I have a split stay coming up with free dining on both sides. First leg is a Pop stay with quick service plan. A few days later we move to Boardwalk and get the Disney Dining Plan. What happens to my quick service credits on the day I check out of Pop and into Boardwalk? Do they need to be used in between check out and check in? Or will those credits be added to the B'walk stay? Thanks - and sorry if this was asked I just didn't find this answer.

 

[Fall1]

Hi all- I skimmed through this thread and didn't come across an answer to a question I was thinking about. Hoping someone can help. I have a split stay coming up with free dining on both sides. First leg is a Pop stay with quick service plan. A few days later we move to Boardwalk and get the Disney Dining Plan. What happens to my quick service credits on the day I check out of Pop and into Boardwalk? Do they need to be used in between check out and check in? Or will those credits be added to the B'walk stay? Thanks - and sorry if this was asked I just didn't find this answer.

You probably already have an answer to this by now, but they would expire when you check out of Pop, so make sure you use them all!

 

[jlnten17]

I need help selecting which resorts for our Feb split stay. We have stayed at AKL and The Poly but visited WL, BC/YC, CR and GF. Our kids are 1 and 4 so we spend most of our time at MK but try to do at least 1/2 day HS and AK and a day or at 2 EPCOT. I really would like to try BC/YC, GF, CR and WL but have a very hard time leaving The Poly. We love the small size of the longhouses, it seems quiet and more private. And I LOVE DOLE WHIPS! I am also considering the cabins at Fort Wilderness because I thought the kids might like that and the Chip n Dale sing a long. We have spent a lot of time in the parks in the last couple of years and want more resort time this trip. So what would you pick? The monorail is so handy (and we will have a car) GF/Poly? Or maybe GF/BC (or Poly/BC)? WL/CR? Or maybe something I haven't even mentioned?

 

[FoodieFriend]

We're taking the big plunge into split stays! We started at 1 resort for 12 days into 4 resorts in 12 days.... Hope we're not overdoing it! We'll see how we like it. I'm taking lots of advice from this thread especially in regards to moving between Disney resorts. But now we have to customize 3 Magic Bands EACH?? craziness.... we might decline a set or two!

 

[DANAW]

Hi all- I skimmed through this thread and didn't come across an answer to a question I was thinking about. Hoping someone can help. I have a split stay coming up with free dining on both sides. First leg is a Pop stay with quick service plan. A few days later we move to Boardwalk and get the Disney Dining Plan. What happens to my quick service credits on the day I check out of Pop and into Boardwalk? Do they need to be used in between check out and check in? Or will those credits be added to the B'walk stay? Thanks - and sorry if this was asked I just didn't find this answer.

We are doing our first split stay next month.We are paying for dining for each leg of the trip..I was told by Disney the meal plan with the first leg of our trip would expire at midnight the day we checked out..so our meal plans would basically overlap the last day of our first leg and the first day of our second leg of our trip...hope this info is right

 

[mrs moon]

i am doing a slit stay next yr ,starting with AOA for first 3 nights RO, then poly 10 nights with uk free dining&tickets...Can i claim my tickets 3 days earlier than at check in at the Poly..also can i claim my disney mug earlier or is that tied with dining plan

 

[moesy4]

Does bell services come to your room to pick up your bags or do you have to bring them all down to the front? If so, where is bell services located at AsMu? Do you red tags or do they tag them somehow?

 

[princessemsmom]

You probably already have an answer to this by now, but they would expire when you check out of Pop, so make sure you use them all!

We are doing our first split stay next month.We are paying for dining for each leg of the trip..I was told by Disney the meal plan with the first leg of our trip would expire at midnight the day we checked out..so our meal plans would basically overlap the last day of our first leg and the first day of our second leg of our trip...hope this info is right

Which of these are accurate? Normally, I know they expire at midnight - and I cannot imagine they are different for a split stay. Last year we did a split and they were good until midnight - but our 2nd reservation was room only. So logically the midnight expiration is correct?!?

We are doing a split 5 night/5 night both have DDP - so want to make sure I plan accurately!

Thanks

 

[arrical8]

For our current trip we have 2 reservations, different hotels, and our DDP and tickets are tied to the 2nd reservation. We have a pre-park opening breakfast at MK on the day the 2nd ressie starts. If we do online check in, can we use our dining plan and tickets or do we have to go to the hotel first? What time should we check out to make an 8:15 ressie at MK?

 

[maryj11]

Does bell services come to your room to pick up your bags or do you have to bring them all down to the front? If so, where is bell services located at AsMu? Do you red tags or do they tag them somehow?

I would like to know also, but for other resorts. Do we take our bags to bell services and do they need tags?

 

[Lehuaann]

For our current trip we have 2 reservations, different hotels, and our DDP and tickets are tied to the 2nd reservation. We have a pre-park opening breakfast at MK on the day the 2nd ressie starts. If we do online check in, can we use our dining plan and tickets or do we have to go to the hotel first? What time should we check out to make an 8:15 ressie at MK?

Assuming both reservations fall under the same MDE account, no, online checkin doesn't work that way with split-stays.

Do online checkin for both reservations. However, you need to physically check out of the 1st resort before you head over to the MK (important!), otherwise your DDP won't be activated on the 2nd resort reservation until the system auto-checks you out of the 1st resort reservation at 11 am.

I'd say checkout the earlier the better...hard to say because I don't know where you are staying or how long it will take you to travel to MK. 6 am is the earliest the system will allow for check in/out.

If you have any issues, visit MK GR. They are the best.

 

[arrical8]

Assuming both reservations fall under the same MDE account, no, online checkin doesn't work that way with split-stays.

Do online checkin for both reservations. However, you need to physically check out of the 1st resort before you head over to the MK (important!), otherwise your DDP won't be activated on the 2nd resort reservation until the system auto-checks you out of the 1st resort reservation at 11 am.

I'd say checkout the earlier the better...hard to say because I don't know where you are staying or how long it will take you to travel to MK. 6 am is the earliest the system will allow for check in/out.

If you have any issues, visit MK GR. They are the best.

AsMU to cabins at fort wilderness.

I already completed online check in. So if I check out of AsMU at say 6:30 and store my bags at bell services to be transferred, I can head to MK without going to the cabins beforehand? My tickets and dining plan will be activated and I can go to the cabins when I am done at MK?

 

[Lehuaann]

AsMU to cabins at fort wilderness.

I already completed online check in. So if I check out of AsMU at say 6:30 and store my bags at bell services to be transferred, I can head to MK without going to the cabins beforehand? My tickets and dining plan will be activated and I can go to the cabins when I am done at MK?

Yes and yes, that is the way it should work (with online check in activated).

Just to be certain, have the conceirge at AsMU check your bands after you've checked out to see if the DDP has been activated.

Btw, we (split) stayed at AKL and tried to check into the cabins at 7 am... system would not let them, so they sent us back to AKL to check out...not fun!

 

[mickey2minnie1]

I need help selecting which resorts for our Feb split stay. We have stayed at AKL and The Poly but visited WL, BC/YC, CR and GF. Our kids are 1 and 4 so we spend most of our time at MK but try to do at least 1/2 day HS and AK and a day or at 2 EPCOT. I really would like to try BC/YC, GF, CR and WL but have a very hard time leaving The Poly. We love the small size of the longhouses, it seems quiet and more private. And I LOVE DOLE WHIPS! I am also considering the cabins at Fort Wilderness because I thought the kids might like that and the Chip n Dale sing a long. We have spent a lot of time in the parks in the last couple of years and want more resort time this trip. So what would you pick? The monorail is so handy (and we will have a car) GF/Poly? Or maybe GF/BC (or Poly/BC)? WL/CR? Or maybe something I haven't even mentioned?

We are Poly lovers! I cannot leave it. It is our home base in Disney and a vacation in and of itself. I loooove the food offerings and the tropical feel of it all. We decide to do a BC/Poly split this trip. BC is fresh and new and we can do parks there before going home to the Poly and doing the MK. Nothing like seeing Wishes from the Polynesian knowing you are minutes from your room and not in the midst of 10s of thousands of people making their way out when you are exhausted.