Would your recommend splitting a stay to experience different resorts?

[Ragtime Gal]

We are only going for six days and are a family for five with a disabled daughter (she can walk but does tire easily).

We have thought about splitting our stay between two resorts just to experience more than one, but would anyone not recommend this? How much of a pain is moving?

Thanks!

 

[jekjones1558]

You will get varying opinions on this one. Many people enjoy split stays but I am not one of them. I like to unpack once and make myself at home. We always stay in a 1 bedroom minimum, so we also have groceries. Having a disabled child would be another factor that would make moving a bit more of a hassle. If you were staying 10 days or longer, maybe a split stay would be worth it. I think you would be better off trying different resorts during separate trips.
If you do decide to move, Bell Services will be helpful in storing your luggage and even refrigerated items at your new resort until your room is ready. Good luck. Have a magical vacation!

 

[starbox]

It would not be worth it to me to split a stay while at WDW - BUT, we frequently split stays with a trip to VB in the middle.

Last year we did:
Arrival night offsite
7 nights BWV
5 nights Vero Beach
1 night SSR


This year we did:
Arrival day offsite
5 nights AKV
4 nights Vero Beach
3 nights OKW

And next week, it will be
Arrival weekend offsite (2 nights)
2 nights BWV
3 nights Vero Beach
1 night BCV

We live a happy driving distance to Orlando - but not to Vero, so it's easiest for use to put Vero in the middle of a trip.

 

[CarolMN]

Are you OK with being "homeless" for a good part of the day you switch resorts? You cannot count on getting into a DVC unit until after 4 pm and you have to be out of your unit by 11 am. No late checkouts for DVC resorts.

I personally would not switch for a 6 day trip unless there were extenuating circumstances (couldn't get a continuous reservation, was visiting a non-WDW attraction and want to stay near it, etc.). To me, it would seem like all I was doing was packing and unpacking!

 

[BEASLYBOO]

We are only going for six days and are a family for five with a disabled daughter (she can walk but does tire easily).

We have thought about splitting our stay between two resorts just to experience more than one, but would anyone not recommend this? How much of a pain is moving?

Thanks!

Are you a DVC Owner? If so, what's the rush? You have till 2042-2057 in some cases to experience the different resorts. In the beginning of my DVC ownership and prior to the $95 fee I stayed at a different resort/hotel each and every stay till I found OKW to be the preferred place to rest my head.

If you seldomly vacation then perhaps it would make some sense to experience 2 different resorts during your stay, but I personally wouldn't bother. Once I've unpacked my suitcase and toiletries, I don't repack till it's time to head home, just my opinion (probably not even worth 2 cents). Some people seem to love doing it, to each his own.

Enjoy your vacation no matter where you end up!

 

[CarolynMink]

We just planned a vacation with a split for January: 3 nights at AKV and 4 nights at BWV. This is a special trip with just my husband and myself. We wanted the romance of AKV and the closeness of Boardwalk to Epcot.

The first time, we had to do a split was because I was planning a trip less than 3 months out. I could not get a week stay at one location over President's weekend. My family loved experiencing new resorts. We had 3 changes in one week. (That's what happens when you plan last minute.) This was not relaxing for me. I made my husband rent a car.

When we split our locations we have a car. I could not image the difficulty of resort hopping without a car.

Also, the point about the groceries is a big deal - since, you can not always get quickly in your new room. We only eat breakfast in our room and the use DDP, so that's not that a big deal to me.

Also, one night in one resort is not enough time to experience the feeling of that location. I know it is tempting to want to enjoy it all in one trip. But that is why we are DVC members. I can always look forward to planning that next stay with something new>

Good Luck and have a great stay.

 

[alldiz]

I think 6 nights is right on the edge for splitting and enjoying the benefits of each resort.

I agree with PP that you must be prepared for the "homelessness" during the day. For me I like a split....but i usually do a 5/3 night split.

I make the transition seamless. I take our luggage in a cab and check in and leave luggage with bell services. I then take a bus to the park that my family is at.....and took the bus to from resort #1.

We all then go back to resort #2....and have them send my luggage up.

Many people let Disney transfer the luggage....eliminating the cab fee.....I just like to "know" where my stuff is.....and lots of times my room is ready so I go and get everything settled.
Kerri

 

[DeeCee735]

While I mostly prefer to stay in one place, I've also split stays for the very reason of experiencing other resorts. Our last trip was a six night trip and we did one night in AKV (resulting in an add-on ), three nights in our home resort of BWV, one night in HH (we drove to and from), and one night in a conceirge collection hotel - the Charleston Place (which is no longer on the conceirge collection list )

It was just DH and I, but I would have done the same trip with my grown kids. It wasn't so bad, we didn't rely on bell services to move us around because we had our car though, that maybe made it easier? I don't have experiences of moving around with Bell Services.

I do, however, plan on doing this split stay more often, now that we own at AKV and BWV, and love both places so much. We'll sometimes do half the trip in AKV and half in BWV.

If you think it won't be too inconvenient for your child, I'd say give it a go. Also, you might want to try keeping an "overnight" bag of a change of clothes and toiletries with you, checking out of one hotel and taking that bag directly to the next to check in and have Bell Services hold it just in case it takes longer than you anticipate for Bell Services to move the rest of your stuff?? Again, I can't speak from experience on that.

Good luck with your planning and have a great trip!

 

[DeeCee735]

ooops let me clarify, when I say we drove to and from I mean to Dis from home and back, thereby allowing an overnight stay in HH and Charleston Place on the way back to NY the last two nights of the trip.

 

[Lauralei]

I would have to agree with the majority here. Pick one resort and stay in it the whole trip, it will be more relaxing. It's not worth wasting half a day moving.

 

[vicki_c]

I'll guess I'll be the dissenter just based on one recent split stay. We had 2 nights at VWL and 2 nights at SSR. So, a, really short trip to consider a split stay definitely. But it worked out totally fine - we did have a studio and a short trip, so not so much to pack up. On checkout day at VWL, we just got up a little bit earlier, and had bell services grab our luggage. We drove (had our own car) to SSR and checked in - we could have had our room right then (7:15 AM), but we asked to be moved to another section.

We hit up the Studios for Star Wars Weekend and were there in plenty of time before rope drop and the opening show. We left the Studios at 3, called SSR and our room was ready and we went over. Our luggage was delivered within 15 minutes of getting to our room. We had fabulous service at SSR.

So moving didn't cost us any time at all, unless you count getting up about 30 minutes earlier than we would have.

What I liked best about it was I got to experience VWL and now know that I wouldn't really be happy staying there for an extended period of time. We're going for a week at Christmas at BCV. But if I hadn't stayed at VWL, I think I would have kept feeling like I was missing something by not staying there at Christmas. Now it's one less thing I have to worry about.

 

[Ragtime Gal]

Thanks for the input. Vicki, can you tell me why you didn't care for VWL? I'm liking the idea of the quick boat to the Magic Kingdom, but the isolation isn't appealing as we already live "in the woods" at home and so really like the goings on at the Boardwalk. That's why we were thinking of splitting between VWL and BCV or BWV if it's available.

Thanks!

 

[Brian Noble]

I hate packing and unpacking already---the last thing I want is to do more of it.

 

[vicki_c]

Thanks for the input. Vicki, can you tell me why you didn't care for VWL? I'm liking the idea of the quick boat to the Magic Kingdom, but the isolation isn't appealing as we already live "in the woods" at home and so really like the goings on at the Boardwalk. That's why we were thinking of splitting between VWL and BCV or BWV if it's available.

Thanks!

I really can't say I didn't like VWL, but that we liked SSR much better. We stayed at WL in the past and we enjoy the theming there (it was our 2nd favorite deluxe after the Poly). While we were there, we were perfectly happy and I would have not known the difference before going to SSR, because we hadn't been there before. So maybe what I should have posted was not that I wouldn't be happy at VWL for a longer time, BUT that I would be happIER at SSR. I was actually shocked at how much I liked SSR - it was way above my expectations and I'd be happy to stay there all the time (it's our home resort).

We already have a BCV trip booked for Christmas (and we're not changing that), but after staying at SSR, I was almost disappointed that we weren't staying at SSR the whole time. Hope that clarifies what I said before!

I think you will be happy at whatever DVC properties you visit!

 

[JimMIA]

I don't think your daughter's disability would be a factor unless she needs to go back to the resort and rest for a while each day. If she's good with visiting theme parks from 11 AM - 4 PM (even at a slower pace), I think she'd be fine. Of course, you know your daughter better than we do and her well-being is paramount.

You might also get lucky. You can't count on getting into your second resort prior to 4 PM, but we have found our rooms ready sometimes as early at 10:30 AM. It's possible that you could have a room to crash in early, but you probably would not have your luggage from the first resort.

I think it really depends on whether you can handle not having a room ready early.

 

[JimMIA]

I hate packing and unpacking already---the last thing I want is to do more of it.

The "Guy Method" is helpful to me.

I simply put my suitcase on the bed, and then dump the contents on the floor. In the morning, I pick up stuff from the floor and put it on. When I return home in the evening, I disrobe and place the dirty clothes in a different pile on the floor. At the end of the trip, I pick everything up from the floor and throw it into the suitcase.

What's the problem with packing and unpacking?

 

[photobob]

We wouldn't do it. We have done BWV and Vero on one trip, but I wouldn't change resorts while on property, it sounds like to much of a hassle and time wasted. If we want to try another resort we'll do it next trip. We unpack completely upon arrival and put all our clothes in the drawers. We also drive so we bring lots of food and drinks, so it would be an ordeal for us to move. I know others do it and enjoy it, but it is not for us.

 

[edk35]

We split our first stay as DVC members last Aug. We stayed at SSR for 5 nights then switched to BWV for 3 nights. It was nice staying in two different ones but I would never plan it that way again for such a short time at the second resort. I felt like we were barely there before it was time to pack again. Now we are doing a split stay this Sat. Gosh I like saying "this Sat." but we are staying OKW for 8 nights and then switching to BCV for 6 nights. For a trip of this length it is sorta like getting two different vacations. We plan on kicking back more OKW with more lazy starts to our mornings and not doing a park every day. When we go to BC we plan on doing EC a great deal and HS but also enjoying the SAB and BW area. So unless I had to split because of a busy time of year and not being able to get all my nights at one resort...I would just stay put probably. Like the first person said that responded..you will get various opinions on split stays. Have a great trip.

 

[MBELSANTI]

When I did a split stay in Feb between Pop and VWL, I took cab and paid $15 to go to VWL with my luggage. We checked it in at bell stand and went swimming. It was worth it to pay for the cab as we wanted to take our bags with. I cannot imagine schlepping bags on the buses LOL. Of course if you rent a car, then that's a different story.

Now on upcoming August trip, I will change rooms 4 times (3 resorts) in 8 nights. Days 1-5 are at same resort, but will be in studio on night 1 and then moving to 1 bedroom. Anyway, my plan is to use the move days to relax and hang out at the pool. I also planned it so that all 3 resorts ( BCV, BWV and Pop) are relatively in the same area. Pop is not in Epcot, but it is closest value to Epcot. I did this to minimize travel time between resorts. Maybe you would want to try staying at resorts near eachother like I did? Good luck on whatever you decide and have a great time!

 

[edk35]

When I did a split stay in Feb between Pop and VWL, I took cab and paid $15 to go to VWL with my luggage. We checked it in at bell stand and went swimming. It was worth it to pay for the cab as we wanted to take our bags with. I cannot imagine schlepping bags on the buses LOL. Of course if you rent a car, then that's a different story.

Now on upcoming August trip, I will change rooms 4 times (3 resorts) in 8 nights. Days 1-5 are at same resort, but will be in studio on night 1 and then moving to 1 bedroom. Anyway, my plan is to use the move days to relax and hang out at the pool. I also planned it so that all 3 resorts ( BCV, BWV and Pop) are relatively in the same area. Pop is not in Epcot, but it is closest value to Epcot. I did this to minimize travel time between resorts. Maybe you would want to try staying at resorts near eachother like I did? Good luck on whatever you decide and have a great time!

The resort you are leaving/checking out of will transfer your luggage for you to the next resort...no extra expense except tipping of course. It arrives within an hour or so.