The ultimate split-stay thread

[hopeful4fl]

We are all set for a split stay this coming Jan.
4 days in AKL, Savannah view. Will need to keep my 5 year old nephew jumping over the balconies
5 days in VGF. Excited about it, since will be first stay there.

Thanks to idea providers on this thread.

 

[Pats Dragon]

Don't know if this has been said yet but we were unable to get a cm to over ride the 180-10 split stay rule for ADRs. Had to wait until 180 days for our third hotel. Consequently didn't get Adrs that we wanted.

 

[RobynPrincess]

We are split stayers! This coming trip we are preparing for a shocking 4 different hotel rooms (3 different resorts), it was meant to be 3 different rooms but we managed to squeeze an extra day in. So we are now 1 night OKW, 6 nights club level AKL, value room AKV for 13 nights and then 4 nights VGF.

 

[disneyshan]

I have a question - we have a split stay coming up in August.

1. Room plus Dining - AoA for 2 nights
2. Room plus tickets - Yacht Club for 6 nights

We check out of Art of Animation on August 20 and want to head right to Hollywood Studios and then go back to Yacht club to check in. Would this work? Our tickets are tied to our second reservation and not the first, but we'll have magic bands already and I've already done online check in, so the tickets should work, right? Or do I need to go to Yacht club and physically check in to get them activated?

 

[Monykalyn]

I may have overlooked it - but, i didn't see a response to this. I'm considering a similar strategy for my Jan 2016 trip… Does anyone have any tips?? Thanks!

I kinda of did this.
Our split stay started with Disney-3 days each at CBR then BC. The checkout day of BC(a Sunday) we spent the day at Stormalong Bay. We have a timeshare condo for the next part of our stay (but the week started Saturday-didn't want to spend any homeless time). We then settled into condo-but early am Tuesday we went to Royal Pacific at Universal to check in, get our Express passes, hit the Club lounge for an hour for breakfast (decided to splurge on CL for our overnight stay)-then went to the park for Early Entry. We only stayed one night at RPR but well worth it for express pass-we went the second week of June, midweek, and we wouldn't have been able to do a 1/3 of what we did without the EP. Four our family of 5 it was cheaper to stay overnight than outright buy EP-especially as the hotel EP are unlimited (we did MiB 3 times in a row one evening-the reg line was 45 min wait). While the EP isn't good for the headliner WWoHP rides the EE helps knock those out before crowds get bad. The next morning we hit the parks, came back and checked out before 11 checkout time and had bell services hold luggage while we went back to parks.

We did have a car and I can't imaging trying to do this with a taxi or shuttle though-I know it can be done but car is very convenient-and we needed one anyway for offsite part of vacation This biggest thing is getting to hotel early enough to check in and get your EP taken care of before heading over for Early entry; it is super easy to get this taken care of but need to allot enough time. We got to hotel around 6:40, checked in, got our EP, went to lounge for breakfast and were on our way to parks around 7:25 or so. we got to gates just after EE peeps were being let in so we weren't first and upfront, but the line for FJ was still only about 20 minutes when we got there. Universal is a lot of fun!

 

[gocolts]

I have a split stay question....can reservations overlap? I have a DVC rental from Aug 30-Sept 6......was thinking of doing a free dining at Pop from Aug 27-Sept 3.....Pop room would be empty for a couple of nights, but I would still be getting QS Dining until the 3rd....My theory is that I need passes regardless, so by extending my stay at Pop past Aug 30, I am basically paying $110 (the room rate) a day for QS dining for 4, instead of $168 a day, for Aug 30-Sept 3.....Does this make sense?

 

[lilluv117]

I'm sure you could make it work! That's some good thinking. You could probably set up a new MDE account for the free dining stay if you aren't able to have 2 reservations on the same account at the same time. Let us know how it works out!

 

[honeybunches]

This is such a great thread! Thanks a bunch for laying it all out in a way that's easy to understand.
We're staying for 9 nights this time, so I'm trying to convince my husband to do a split stay. He's hesitant about it, but I think it would be fun!

 

[LuvDaisy&Minnie]

Has anyone done a split stay with a night at a Universal resort in the middle? Any tips for doing this? We're trying to budget for the express pass & it seems that 1 night at a Universal Hotel will get us an unlimited express pass for 2 days at Universal. Thanks for any help you can give!!

I may have overlooked it - but, i didn't see a response to this. I'm considering a similar strategy for my Jan 2016 trip… Does anyone have any tips?? Thanks!

We did this. POFQ, then to Universal, back to Poly. We took a taxi to universal, and I THINK it cost around $20. We checked in, got our Express Pass at the Universal hotel, and left our luggage with bell services there. We did not get there in time to use early entry for our first day (you could if you left Disney extremely early), but we did take advantage of it the 2nd and 3rd day we were there. We stayed 2 nights and bought 2 day tickets with extra day free from Undercover Tourist. Then we had the option of staying at Universal that 3rd day and then to Disney that evening or going back to Disney early to hit park there. We decided to use the 3rd day ticket (left luggage with bell services again) and then went and checked in at Poly that evening after we were done at Universal (by taxi again). We had no problems! We are spoiled to the Universal Express pass and early entry, so it was definitely worth the move for us. We planned trip a little late so this is just the way it worked out due to discounts and availability at both places. Is there anything specific you wanted to know?

 

[thisismyusername]

... I am basically paying $110 (the room rate) a day for QS dining for 4, instead of $168 a day, for Aug 30-Sept 3.....Does this make sense?

I think that largely depends on who's in your group (all adults? or adults and two kids? little kids/big kids?) and where/what you plan to eat. Depending on the answers to that, you may spend less than $110 on 2 QS meals per day and a snack--or you may spend more. I think you really need to sit down and do the math to figure out if it makes sense.

 

[thisismyusername]

I have a question - we have a split stay coming up in August.

1. Room plus Dining - AoA for 2 nights
2. Room plus tickets - Yacht Club for 6 nights

We check out of Art of Animation on August 20 and want to head right to Hollywood Studios and then go back to Yacht club to check in. Would this work? Our tickets are tied to our second reservation and not the first, but we'll have magic bands already and I've already done online check in, so the tickets should work, right? Or do I need to go to Yacht club and physically check in to get them activated?

Yes. You will not need to physically check in at YC. Are you picking up your tickets early and going to a park during your AoA stay? If so, your tickets will be active on your MBs. If not, then you will just need to go to guest services at Hollywood Studios IF the MBs don't work at the turnstiles the day of your YC check in (it should work just fine, though). No matter what, you do not need to check in at YC first--all ticket issues can be dealt with at Guest Services at the park (or DTD).

 

[thisismyusername]

Don't know if this has been said yet but we were unable to get a cm to over ride the 180-10 split stay rule for ADRs. Had to wait until 180 days for our third hotel. Consequently didn't get Adrs that we wanted.

I'm sorry to hear this--I have been hearing quite a few people say lately that the CMs are not overriding the 180+ with split stays, and second (or third) calls are needed when the new reservation windows open. I may update the thread to reflect this information if more people report their experience and say the same (as of right now, it seems to be a YMMV type of thing depending on the CM). Good luck getting the ADRs you want--I bet if you keep checking, you'll get them eventually!

 

[mi*vida*loca]

I'm sorry to hear this--I have been hearing quite a few people say lately that the CMs are not overriding the 180+ with split stays, and second (or third) calls are needed when the new reservation windows open. I may update the thread to reflect this information if more people report their experience and say the same (as of right now, it seems to be a YMMV type of thing depending on the CM). Good luck getting the ADRs you want--I bet if you keep checking, you'll get them eventually!

I was told in February that they had recently updated the systems and they were no longer able to override. You just flat out can't do it anymore.

I had to call twice for my 10 day stay.

 

[Rhetts1stWDW]

Hi All!
I know I should read your 11 pages of wonderfully, helpful information. But I didn't. Sorry bout that.

But I would like to confirm I have the right information regarding a split stay. We have a free dining w/tickets booked Nov 9-14th at CBR. I decided to add Nov 7-9th at CSR. I was told by a phone CM as well as on the chat function of the Disney website that tickets can be pulled from the package and used before check in at CBR. They said this would have to be done at either the front desk at CBR or at a guest service counter at the parks. Does this all sound correct to you folks???

Also on the 9th we have a dinner booked in AK that I plan on using our first free dining credit for. Do we have to go to CBR to check in to activate our dining entitlements or will they automatically become active on the morning of the 9th??

Thank you all so much for the help.

 

[mmmears]

I was told in February that they had recently updated the systems and they were no longer able to override. You just flat out can't do it anymore.

I had to call twice for my 10 day stay.

This is not good news for me. We always do splits, but our last trip was before MDE so it was no problem to book it all at once. I feel like this is a "penalty" for doing a split stay, but we have to do so on our upcoming trip.

 

[kcpinwdw]

not good news for me

I know it is a big bummer. Just so you know I got all our reservations that I wanted despite having to call twice (website wasn't working my ADR days either!). I was pretty worried because all our MK days were our second half. It was still no problem getting what we wanted.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

This is not good news for me. We always do splits, but our last trip was before MDE so it was no problem to book it all at once. I feel like this is a "penalty" for doing a split stay, but we have to do so on our upcoming trip.

I ended up getting everything I wanted including BOG, Ohana, Chef Mickey, CRT. I had to call BOTH times since my +10 wasn't working online for either stay of my trip. I was highly annoyed. I was then told by a CM that ALL +10 has to be done over the phone. That the app and online only lets you do 180 days but nothing more. Who knows if that is true??

 

[kcpinwdw]

180 days but nothing more

Well that is totally not true, I had no problem booking my +10 for other trips. I'm pretty sure our check in days are about the same, (and I had to call both times too!) so the website was probably just glitchy for us! (and I think maybe had trouble recognizing the +10 since it was a travel agency booking?)

 

[mmmears]

Who do you call if it's not working? MDE or Dining? Or is there a special number to use?

 

[kcpinwdw]

Call the dining reservations number right at 7am (est) when they open. There are voice prompts but I think you can just say operator and get to a real person. (407) 939-1947