Does this make sense?

[King David]

I plan on going in Dec 2009 for 6 or 7 nights, and I though it would be fun to try 2 resorts (WL & Poly) while there...but when my wife called, they said the price would be more expensive than spending the entire time at the Poly because the park tickets would have to "reset" themselves-causing us to lose the "more you stay the less you pay benefit" when we changed Hotels- does this sound right?

If that is right, which place would you stay- assuming the $800 difference isn't a deciding factor? We've been to the Poly and loved it, and I almost don't want to bother with the WL because we were so happy with the Poly.

Oh yeah, our boys will be 7 & 8 at the time of the trip.

Thanks.

 

[DisneyJoe]

Unless you are getting a dining plan, you can book the first part of your trip as a package with tickets, and the second part as a room only booking with no tickets. Purchase enough days on the first part to cover the entire trip.

If you are getting dining, the second part of your trip would need at least a single day base ticket purchased per person.

 

[coltow]

Not sure about the ticket thing, I'm sure someone else can help out. I do, however, LOVE WL!!! I would stay here all the time if we could afford it. We are going to try POLY for the 1st time this December, so I can give you more insight when I return. We are most looking forward to being on the monorail.

 

[King David]

Thank you both for the quick replies!

 

[wvdisneyfamily]

Stay at the WL the whole trip! It is fabulous!

 

[CleveRocks]

Many CMs will sell you whatever they can, even if it is to your financial disadvantage.

Even if you buy tickets directly through Disney as part of a package, the number of days on your tickets can be more or fewer than the number of nights you are spending at a resort.

And if you are not buying the Disney Dining Plan, there are no substantial advantages to booking a package versus a room-only reservation.

Here's what I'm doing in a few months ... 3 days at Coronado Springs Resort and 4 days at Contemporary. We have no need for the Disney Dining Plan. I'll be buying 8-day park tickets as part of my CSR reservation. My reservation at Contemporary is a room-only reservation.

So even after I check-out of CSR, I still have my park tickets. I don't need to buy new ones just because I'll be staying at a second resort.

 

[sbkline]

If you're doing the dining plan, then she's absolutely right. You would have to buy tickets for each "leg" of your stay in order to get the dining plan for each portion. If you're not on the dining plan, then it makes no difference since, as others have said, you can buy your ticket at the local Disney store, then just book whatever room you want at whatever hotel or combination of hotels.

But just to give an idea on the price difference, here are some numbers from the 2006 Birnbaum book. Naturally, the prices will be different now, but the same general idea will apply. The following numbers are for base tickets (no parkhopping, etc), with every possible combination to add up to 7 days of park admission:

1 Seven day pass: $199

1 Six day pass and one single day pass: $196 + $59.75, for a total of $255.75

1 Five day pass and one two day pass: $193 + $119, for a total of $312

1 Four day pass and one three day pass: $185 + $171, for a total of $356.

Again, these are 2006 numbers, so expect the totals to be even higher now, but I'm sure the same general idea still applies; that if you must break up your tickets due to the dining plan in order to stay in two resorts, the best way to go is to get the 6 day pass and 1 day pass (if you're staying for 7 nights, that is), or the same idea if you're staying 8 days, etc.

 

[disneychic71]

The tips above all sound right. We split a trip a few years back between GF and WL, and I loved staying at both. Our favorite, however, is the Poly (just our personal pick). Staying at two resorts was fun, and gave us a taste of each, but pack/unpacking twice and checking in twice took up a lot of time we could have spent relaxing, so I don't know if I'd do it again.

You can't go wrong with Poly or WL--they are both incredible. Have fun!

 

[shoppingnut]

I plan on going in Dec 2009 for 6 or 7 nights, and I though it would be fun to try 2 resorts (WL & Poly) while there...but when my wife called, they said the price would be more expensive than spending the entire time at the Poly because the park tickets would have to "reset" themselves-causing us to lose the "more you stay the less you pay benefit" when we changed Hotels- does this sound right?

If that is right, which place would you stay- assuming the $800 difference isn't a deciding factor? We've been to the Poly and loved it, and I almost don't want to bother with the WL because we were so happy with the Poly.

Oh yeah, our boys will be 7 & 8 at the time of the trip.

Thanks.

I would book your trip with Kingdom Konsultants who are a sponsor of this board and are truly the best travel agents. They don't try to sell you stuff you don't need and are highly knowledgeable, so no worries. They will automatically apply any discount that may come along that you are eligible for, you don't need to be on the lookout for the discounts.