To Split Stay or Not Split Stay...

[rachdd]

HELP! I am booked for 7 nights at the Wilderness Lodge. I have the option to split stay the first four nights at WL then move over to Animal Kingdom Lodge for the last three nights. I have never done a split stay and I have never stayed at AKL. Can anyone give me pro's and or con's who have done it before. We will be there from 11/28-12/5 if that makes a difference.
THANKS!

 

[dansdad]

To us there is no con to a split stay. You will get to experience 2 wonderful resorts in the same trip. Whenever we do a split stay we don't like to lose any park time so on transfer day we have Bell Services come get our bags, we tell them we are moving to resort #2, we check out of resort #1, head to a park for the day, head to resort #2 around 4 or 5PM and check in. We head to the room, call Bell Services and shower/get ready for dinner while waiting for our bags. Easy Peasy.

 

[100acreHiker]

I feel like for 7 days, it may not be worth the energy it takes to split your stay. If you were going to be there for 10 days, then I would say absolutely go for it. I, personally, would not want to deal with the hassle and lose hours of park time (or resort relaxation time) to pack up all of our stuff, check out, travel to another place, check in, settle in and unpack. But that's just me; lots of other people here love taking in a new resort and don't mind the time involved. They're both beautiful resorts.

 

[Amunet]

We've done split stays before (AKL/CBR & AoA/POR). For us, the split was more stressful then it's worth. Being able to try different resorts is very much a PRO in the split stay category, but the biggest CON is not being able to relax. Being in the parks all day and coming back to relax is just nice without having to worry about check-out times (until the vacation is over of course) or check-in times.

I can see the definite pros for split stays and I think it's a good idea for most people.
BUT If you're the type of person that has anxiety about traveling/moving plans, it may be a good idea to not. But really, we thought we'd like split stays until we tried it.

Honestly, you won't know until you try, so go for it and see what happens!

 

[mousehockey37]

We did our first split stay last September. It was also our first DVC rental experience. We got to see 2 different resorts (SSR and AKL Kidani). We did the first 4 nights at SSR then switched over to AKL Kidani.

Pros to the split stay are it could actually SAVE you money. The resorts are not all priced the same. When we rented points, it wound up a lot less than I thought because of how the points broke down over the days of the stays.

The best thing I liked about it was that it gave me the chance to "try" 2 different resorts and if you weren't happy with the first one, you weren't stuck there the entire trip.

I will warn though that depending on your room (if AKL Kidani) it can be quite the walk from the lobby to your room (as in, the hallway never seems to end), but if you have a Savanna view, seeing the animals off your balcony is well worth it!

 

[jperrot1]

When we split stay, we like to visit the parks by each resort. For your stay we would visit MK when at WL and then AK at AKL. We did split between Swan (walked to Epcot and boat to HS) and then Poly (MK and Epcot). I think your idea is a good one and I would put some "which things are we close to" strategy into it. Planning is half the fun in a WDW trip.

 

[soar2014]

I did a split stay between POLY and CR, loved it. I had no issues with the move, all I did was pack my bags and go. Bell services did the work. How is that stressful? We stayed for 7 days. It all depends on you, I wanted to move after day 3 and go to a new resort.

 

[OThopeful35]

We did a split stay on our last visit (POP/POFQ). We had bell services transfer our luggage. It was nice to stay at 2 resorts but I think that may be our last split stay. I prefer to check in and get comfortable.

 

[emmysmommy]

Aside from the fact that we've done split stays for nearly every Disney trip I say DO IT to stay at AKL! I adore that resort. You'll feel like you have two vacations in one trip.

 

[HairyChest]

Id only do a split stay if its the only way i can afford a deluxe and im staying at least 4 nights at each. It makes my vacay feel shorter somehow to split. Also remember you can visit any resort and hang out there and then enjoy your own resort for the whole trip instead of moving.

 

[loves to dive]

I've done two split stays and have another one booked for early May. First was Pop/BWV, second POR/OKW and this one is AKL/BWV. I love them since I get to experience different resorts. I don't have to worry about transferring luggage since I drive down and have my car so that might make a difference. I've done it for as little as 3 nights. I pack two different bags and use a tote for my toiletries and kindle/Laptop, I have one of those hanging toiletries bags which fits perfect in a tote and I just have to take it out and hang it on the door and not even unpack it. When I leave one resort I just switch to the other bag for the new resort. I usually check out after breakfast, which for me is around 7 or 8 in the morning and drive to my new resort and go ahead and check in. If my room isn't ready, no big deal I just head over to whatever park I'm doing that day and come back and go to my room later in the day when it's ready. According to the parking at the resort, I either leave my bags in the car or go ahead and give them to bell services to take to my room. Easy, no stress and I enjoy different resorts.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

I'm considering a split stay for the first time for our upcoming trip.
Our original plan was 2 nights renting points at BCV with a rental car, then drive to Miami, drop off the car, and board the Wonder for a 4 night cruise. Flying home from FLL. So that's already split and packing/unpacking twice.
Now, I found I was able to get Easter Monday off work so now we're free to fly down anytime that weekend. I have lots of SWA points so I can be flexible with the flights but my dilemma is the cost of resorts that time of year. A room at BC with the Orbitz discount is over $400/night. We have no plans to visit parks because they're crowded that time of year but we just want to enjoy the resort activities that we often skip over while visiting parks. We also have non-exp water park/DQ visits remaining and could do that as well.
He would love some time at WL. I guess my dilemma is more about whether or not to add onto an already planned out trip at an expensive time of year.

I'm glad to see that Disney CMs make it so easy. Did you leave your bags in your room or wait for bell services to get them?

 

[tcherjen]

I wanted to save some money so we did a split stay our last spring break trip. We did POR and AOA. 3 nights at each. DH did not enjoy the moving
so we probably won't do one again. I did save some money though

 

[roydavid7771]

I agree with the sentiment that a week is not enough time to truly enjoy both resorts. We did that a couple of years ago where we started at the VWL and ended the week at BCV. We found that we couldn't really enjoy and settle into each resort. Having said that, my wife and I always stay at a different resort for our first night on property. We usually do a value to save money, but we've also done deluxes just to say we've stayed there!

 

[_Fritzi_]

I honestly thought I'd HATE doing a split stay. I've always stayed at the Poly, but the kids really wanted to stay at AKL, so on our last trip we booked a split. I was surprised and VERY pleased with how easy Disney made it. We checked out of the Poly in the morning, called Bell Services who came to the room and picked up our bags. Spent the day in the parks and in the evening made our way over to AKL, checked into our rooms and called down for our bags. The packing and unpacking was only a minor inconvenience and I ended up enjoying our stay at AKL very much. We're seriously considering doing another split on our next visit. Perhaps Poly and WL.

 

[sharona]

If you are someone who unpacks and spreads out then it's a bit of a hassle. if you liive out of your suitcases while traveling and don't unpack, it's easy to changecresorts.. I think it also depends on party size and whether or not the kids are old enough to help pack up or if mom and dad will need to do it all.

 

[goofy4tink]

I do it all the time. The one thing I have to ask is how many times have you been to WDW? If you've been many times, it's not a big deal. But, if you've only been a few times, it might take up more time than you're willing to use up. I've made 5 changes in one trip before, but that was over a period of two weeks! I usually suggest that at least 3 nights are spent in each resort. If your room isn't ready at the new resort, you'll be 'homeless' for awhile...can be an issue if you're traveling with little ones. And I seldom use Disney to move my bags anymore...just takes too long. I now take a cab to the new resort, with my bags, and get checked in. Then, as soon as my room is ready, I can get my bags brought to my room.
I'm doing the ultimate switch in Nov/Dec.....4 nights at the Grand Californian, 7 nights at Boardwalk Villas!!

 

[animalkingdom15]

I was worried about the same thing with my upcoming stay Monday. However I'm going from one monorail resort (Grand Floridian to another monorail resort Contemporary) which I hope makes for a pretty smooth transition). It did feel kind of strange when doing the online check in for both resorts especially the part of checking out and checking in.

 

[gdrj]

HELP! I am booked for 7 nights at the Wilderness Lodge. I have the option to split stay the first four nights at WL then move over to Animal Kingdom Lodge for the last three nights. I have never done a split stay and I have never stayed at AKL. Can anyone give me pro's and or con's who have done it before. We will be there from 11/28-12/5 if that makes a difference.
THANKS!

We've done split stays sometimes out of necessity, others times to experience multiple resorts. The nice thing about when your going is that the Xmas decorations will be up. While others will disagree if switching to AKL I would definitely stay at Jambo House. Much like Wilderness Lodge the Lobby is tremendous and most of the restaurants, lounge and shops are in Jambo.

For us there has not been a Con for 2 hotels in 7 days. They truly make it a breeze by moving your luggage.

 

[GM24]

My husband and I, both in our 50's, love to do split stays. It's just the two of us, so it is not stressful at all. We call bell services in the morning, they pick up our luggage and tag it for the next resort, then we're on our way. We have breakfast and head to the park(s) of the day. We usually spend all day at the park(s), getting to the new resort around 6:00 p.m. We check in, either pick up our bags or contact bell services to bring them, and go to our new room. No stress, no lost park time, no lost resort time. I understand that if you are travelling with small children, or others who need mid-day breaks, this might not be the most convenient way to vacation. But, for us, it is a great way to experience multiple resorts. Last November we did a triple stay - POFQ, Yacht Club and Animal Kingdom!