Which to Choose for Christmas?

[DisneyStarWisher]

At 11 months out, I booked an AKV value studio for four nights in December. A little less than 7 months out, just playing around, I was able to grab one night at BRV, the last night of our trip. A couple of weeks later, I was able to grab the first night. I ended up waitlisting the other two nights, thinking if one came through, I would do a split stay between the two resorts. (I don't mind split stays if we end up going to parks close to the resort which saves time on transportation.) Well today, I was stalking the RAT and noticed one of my nights available, so I grabbed it and went in and deactivated that waitlist. By the time I was able to check everything, my other waitlist came through. I now have my original reservation at AKV, but I also have all four nights at BRV. I hate to let all my nights at AKV go since they are such a great value, but I really would love staying at BRV at Christmas, something I've never done before. We are thinking of adding on points at BRV specifically to stay around Christmas, so it would be nice to experience it before buying. Our plans are to do two park days to AK, DHS, and Epcot, park hopping once. We will also be doing the Christmas party (and it's much cheaper to do the party at the beginning of our trip rather than the one at the end so I will at least keep the first two nights at BRV). Our next two trips will probably be at AKV (hopefully one in a value studio and one in a standard 2-BR). Then I'm hoping to have our BRV points to use at Christmas. So knowing all of this, which resort should I choose, or should I do a split stay?

 

[KathyR]

For a shorter trip I would choose to not do a split stay. Since you have stayed at AKL before and are thinking to add on at BRV, I would stay at BRV this time for sure.

 

[Cyberc1978]

For a shorter trip I would choose to not do a split stay. Since you have stayed at AKL before and are thinking to add on at BRV, I would stay at BRV this time for sure.

I agree 4 nights are too short for a split stay. Unless you want the ddp for just 1 nt then I would maybe consider it, just maybe.

 

[suebeelin]

If you don’t mind splitting, that would be the best solution IMO. Plus it’ll be way easier going to the xmas party from BRV, on top of the 2 days at ak matching up with your 2 nights at AKL....

We tend to split only if we stay at least 3 nights, but that’s just us. Everyone is different...

 

[DisneyStarWisher]

Some background info: Last year, we did 3 nights at AKV and 2 nights at CCV. I used to hate split stays, but that was when we had kids with us. It was super easy to move resorts when it was just the two of us. We spent time at the resort and AK, DHS, and Epcot while we were at AKV. Then when we moved to CCV, we spent time at the resort and went to MK. I don't like being on a Disney bus forever, so trips from MK to AKV are not my cup of tea. I know for a fact that we want to be at BRV when we go to the Christmas party, but I keep thinking it would be nice to be at AKV when we go to AK. There are three options I am considering:
Option #1: 2 nights at BRV (eating at The Wave and WCC and going to the Christmas party) + 2 nights at AKV (going to AK, DHS, and Epcot)
Option #2: 3 nights at BRV (eating at The Wave and WCC and going to the Christmas party, DHS, and Epcot) + 1 night at AKV (going to AK)
Option #3: all 4 nights at BRV (doing all of the above)

We will not be doing the DDP. That is not the way we eat, plus it's not really a savings with the DVC dining discounts. The only consideration I have for doing a split stay is to save time on transportation.

When I retire in two years, our plan is to take 10-12 day trips, staying at one resort. We will stay at AKV for our fall trips and BRV (if we add on) for our December trips. But we will have an AP then and will probably go into only one park each day for just a couple of hours. We will also have our car and drive everywhere. This December we will be flying, so we will have to rely on Disney transportation. That's the only reason I'm considering a split stay.

Such a hard decision!