Why do people switch hotels mid-trip?

[AllieV]

I've seen several references to people switching hotels after one or two nights. Is this to be close to the park you're going to that day, or just to experience a nicer hotel for one night? Is it worth it? I'd hate to unpack and repack. Plus, where do you put your bags for those lost 4 or more hours between checkout and checkin?

Just curious and may consider for the future. Thanks.

 

[kappyfamily]

We are staying moderate for the first 2 nights and then switching to deluxe for the last 5 because the first two are peak rates and then change to regular season rates. As far as what happens to the bags we will have a car and will drive over to the new hotel and give our bags to the front desk to hold until our room is ready, sometimes it is ready right away.

It's also a good way to see some different hotels. We are looking fwd to it!

 

[Lehuaann]

Our reason is to experience downtime at Dlx hotels during days we won't be at the parks. Plus we don't want to pay Dlx prices our entire trip which last anywhere from 9-11 nights. The switch is fairly easy; we use bell services and don't unpack.

 

[4 The Love Of Disney]

we did all 3 All Star ( Movies, Music and Sports ) in a 12 night trip. Gave us a chance to compare all 3 from what they offered for kids programming, ambience, etc.

It was kind of fun - and the kids loved it. It wasn't all that bad either from a packing and unpacking type thing. The moving of the suitcases was easy too

This time we are doing Port Orleans Riverside and Boardwalk Inn ( but this time we have a cruise trip on the Dream in the middle )

 

[TisBit]

Some people like to try different resorts and would be ok packing and moving. Some people as PP's, for special rates or certain perks of a hotels location might change for a couple of days.

For DVC members, all the above still apply (lower point costs, trying new things) and also add in that they might need different room sizes. Our last trip was 10 days I think...and we stayed in three different resorts. But, we also went down early stayed in a studio and then a friend and her family joined us so we moved to a Treehouse Villa....then we had a work schedule change that allowed us to stay a few days after so we moved to a one bedroom. Since we were going to move rooms anyway, trying a new resort just made sense.

 

[Kim1964]

The first time we did it was because airfare was higher than we expected, and it was the only way to stay within our budget without decreasing the length of the trip. Now we do it for a couple of different reasons. Sometimes the kids and I go down a couple of days before DH arrives, and when it's just the three of us, a moderate or value room is fine. This year we are splitting our time between WDW and US/IoA, so we are moving to RPR after a week at WDW to take advantage of FOTL and the extra hour at WWoHP.

We always rent a car so the move isn't a big deal. I don't mind repacking, since I don't have to do it well enough to check it onto a plane, just well enough that it will fit in the car until our new room is ready.

 

[kaffinito]

The first time we did a split stay it was because FD came out and I couldn't make up my mind about which resort to stay at - so we did three.

Now I do them so we can stay at an old favorite and try a new one, or because finances dictate that we stay in a value before staying in a mod or a deluxe, or because we're on DVC points and need another resort for the beginning or end of the trip.

Last trip I flew, didn't have a car, and it was super easy to let Bell Services know that I was transferring to another resort. I had a day bag packed, and went to DTD before checking into my next resort. Once it was past 3:00 I called and my luggage was delivered to my new room. It's very easy to do.

 

[sharona]

We had originally booked 8 nights at Pop then I got a 40% off deluxe pin in the mail and decided to change our last 3 nights to AKL. For us, we had been talking about staying at AKL but didn't want to pay for deluxe the entire stay - especially the first 5 days when we're really focused on the parks. We'll be ready for some pool time and a hot tub by day 6!

As for packing/unpacking, we usually hang a few things but mostly we live out of our suitcases so that won't be an issue for us. We have a car to store our bags in on transfer day but I've been told that bell services handles if pretty well if you use them. It's our first split stay so I can't really say if it will be as easy as I hope.

I don't think I'd do a split stay with multiple young children as that would seem like a lot of extra work since young families don't usually travel light and the kids can't help w/ the packing/moving.

 

[pigletto]

I've seen several references to people switching hotels after one or two nights. Is this to be close to the park you're going to that day, or just to experience a nicer hotel for one night? Is it worth it? I'd hate to unpack and repack. Plus, where do you put your bags for those lost 4 or more hours between checkout and checkin?

Just curious and may consider for the future. Thanks.

We typically take longer trips. Part of it is to offset cost. For example I had a 40% off code for the Poly last time.. but it didn't cover all my dates so we stayed 4 nights at a mod with a different discount and moved to the Poly for another 7 nights.

This upcoming trip we rented DVC points for 8 nights. After a month or two we realized we could get some more vacation time and decided to add 4 nights to the start of our trip. Well we can't change our current ressie, so we're exploring other options for the first 4 nights. We'll also likely be spending 2 of those first few days at Universal. So we are in the process of deciding where we want to stay for the start of our trip.. and we will likely be looking to go with a cheaper option.. a value or a mod with our CAA discount.

So for us it comes down to cost and we also really like trying new resorts. I don't find it a pain to move at all. I would if it were a shorter trip because it does require packing up and moving around. That would bother me if I had limited park time.

 

[mb_uh]

We did a split stay at Pop/off property

a. to save money
b. to try dxdp but for only 4 days
c. not to have to pay for DISNEY when we went to the beach, and did Orlando stuff.

We have considered doing a split at on site places for the following reasons

a. to try new resorts
b. not to have ddp or dxdp the entire time
c. take advantage of different discounts.
For example the kids play and stay is at rack rate so if you pay upfront to have all the tickets to be 7 days then stay 4 nights on this and do 3 more somewhere else with a % off you are doing much better, do dxdp on the first stay you can try 12 ts places and then qs oop for the rest of the trip.

 

[cluvsdisney]

We do split stays if we add an extra day to our vacation at the last minute or if we can't get the correct number of nights in our preferred hotel through DVC. For instance, we are going for a week in October but could only get 5 nights at the Boardwalk so we are going to AKV for the other 2.

We rent a car so we bring our bags to the second resort ourselves. The packing/unpacking thing doesn't take long since we do move our own stuff and since it's for a short amount of time we don't have to be super neat about it. For our upcoming trip, the 2 AKV nights are first so we'll have one bag that we'll need for those two nights and probably leave everything else packed until we get to the BWV.

 

[monkeybug]

We are doing a split stay to take advantage of two different discounts.
We are staying three nights at CSR with the kids play free and getting 7 day tickets, then switching to the Poly for 5 nights using the military 40% off rate.

 

[DCLbrideSept2009]

Our trips are USUALLY only 5-6 nights, so normally we wouldn't do a split stay. Although DH and I did do a 3-night split stay in July (without kids). But that was because it was a last-minute trip, we wanted BWV (we're DVC members) but it was only available 2 nights, so we did 1 night at SSR and 2 nights at BWV. This upcoming trip next month, we're staying 9 nights. First staying 5 nights at BWV (original trip plan). Then we added on 4 more nights but (1) didn't have enough points for BWV and (2) Two people are only staying the first 5 nights, which means we will move from a 2-bedroom (with 7 people) to a 1-bedroom (5 people). We are currently booked at OKW with a wait-list for Kidani. (Kidani, BLT and OKW are the only DVC with 1-bedrooms that accommodate 5 people.)

But it's really easy because Disney will transfer your luggage for you! Just have to keep in mind that (1) You may have up to 5 hours without a room on the day of your switch between check-out and check-in and (2) It could be even later for your luggage to arrive at the new resort. Just plan accordingly, and it's not a big deal.

 

[packofprincesses]

We are staying in a Family Suite for 6 nights and then switching to the Poly for 3 nights. I would have loved to stay Deluxe the whole time but it just wasn't as budget-friendly.

I guess doing split stays gives you the best of both worlds!

 

[kevallen]

We're doing a double split stay this October. We're using our Starwood Preferred Guest points to stay for 5 nights at the Dolphin but we wanted Magical Express so we rented DVC points to get a night on each end at the BWV. Total cost for 7 nights of lodging on property: $360.

So we thought it is worth it to walk to and from the Boardwalk from the Dolphin right next door.

 

[LuvLuvLuv]

we're doing a split stay this week. here's why:

- we originally booked may 7-14 akv savannah - one bedroom
- then the morning flight we wanted was sold out
- friday's flights were sky high
- thursdays flights were cheap
- since we had to add 2 days, we wanted to stay lower cost than a one br
- akv was sold out by this time
- we got a great deal on points for a studio at saratoga springs for 2 nights

we've never stayed at SS so it will be new to us! we plan on taking a cab over to kidani in the morning.

it's just how it ended up working out for us. it was cheaper to go for 9 nights than 7 nights with travel. it's our longest vacation ever and we're so excited!!

 

[ElizabethG]

We are doing our first split stay this year. We are DVC and booked 11 months out for BLT. A couple of months later, I decided I wanted to shift the trip, a little, and add couple of nights. BLT was booked, so we got 3 nights at Kidani followed by 8 nights at BLT. I am really excited about it now. I have never stayed at Kidani and can't wait for the savana views!

On check-out day, we will bring our bags to bell services, and they will transport them. We have lunch reservations in Downtown Disney, and then we will go to Disney Quest. After that, we plan to go to BLT and check-in. Then, MNSSHP that night.

 

[DSLRuser]

we did it this time to take andvantage of both of the recent promotions.

3 days at POFQ using "kids stay free promo"
4 days at beach club using "40% off room only"

we normally stay at deluxe resorts, but never paying full price. This is the first trip where my 3 year old needs a ticket, and the last trip where my 9 year old gets a child ticket. So i wanted to use a kid promo the one time they both qualified.

splitting the stays like this, and using both promos saved us in total arounfd $1,000. The only draw is we have to spend the first 3 days at pofq.

 

[Pakey]

We do it to have 2 different experiences and to have more convenient dining.

In October we are doing a split stay starting at AKV and then moving to BCV. We will do dining at AKL for the first few days and then have dining at Epcot/Epcot resort area for the last half of our stay.

We have done this for several of our most recent trips and prefer moving. We are light packers; we never unpack anyway. It takes 15 minutes in a cab ride to move; 30 minutes max to check in. But the time we save in the evenings for the dining is far greater. Added bonus; we get 2 completely different vacations within one.

 

[Fantasmiss]

We did on our previous trip, as we couldn't get a ressie at POP for the full 17 days. But it's nice with a bit of change, it's almost like 2 holidays in one

I've seen several references to people switching hotels after one or two nights. Is this to be close to the park you're going to that day, or just to experience a nicer hotel for one night? Is it worth it? I'd hate to unpack and repack. Plus, where do you put your bags for those lost 4 or more hours between checkout and checkin?

Just curious and may consider for the future. Thanks.