Doing 2 Hotels in 1 Trip for 1st Time

[sconti]

Hello. From January 15-23 I am doing a WDW trip in which I am staying at 2 hotels during the same visit for the first time (Pop Century for 4 nights and Animal Kingdom Lodge for 4 nights...couldn't afford AKL for all 8 nights).

I was just wondering what people that have done this in the past have thought about it. Was it worth the time to switch? Did it break up your trip nicely? Did it make your trip feel longer? Or, even feel almost like 2 trips in 1?

Thanks.

 

[napnet]

I did 1 night in Dolphin then 2 nights in Pop Century. It wasnt that bad since we drove but my wife did want to stay in the Dolphin longer I am sure since you are staying in 2 Disney Properties they can move your bags for you so it shouldnt be that bad.

Personally i liked the change, sure i would have loved to stayed in the Dolphin longer but it was nice for the one night to splurge!

 

[Teenchy]

I've done it several times. I guess the key for me was just to live out of the suitcase. Its to much trouble unpacking everything and then doing it all over again. Not to mention leaving something behind (Which I did once in a closet).

The only other down side is if your room is not ready for an early check in (try to request it) Then you will have to leave your bags and move on to the parks and then check -in later. I good idea if this happens is to plan that day as a pool day at the resort and wear your "suits" or pack a small bag with the stuff you need and spend that day at your old or new resorts pool. Then check from time to time if the room is ready.

The good side is being able to check out the many different amenities and details of each resort. I love so much about many of the resorts and this is a good way to find your favorites!

 

[Hakunamatata]

Let the resort know what you are doing and they will transport your luggage for you to the new resort. We stayed at three resorts on our last trip, Pop Century (2 nights), Saratoga Springs (5 nights), and All Star Movies (6 nights).

My biggest recomendation is always....ALWAYS go from smaller to larger. We were very cramped feeling after checking out of our two bedroom DVC room into the ASM room....but we had a great time anyway.

 

[a2grafix]

I am planning a four-day stay in February-March 2006 and I have decided to stay in two hotels on WDW property. My first two nights will be at the Shades of Green, because I am military, and follow that up withe one-night at one of the All-Star resorts.

I'm actually looking forward to it because the trip is turning out to be very economical, from the Internet-only airfare roundtrip to the hotel prices.

Hey, good luck and enjoy. I know I will.

 

[Nicole]

I have done this on several trips. In fact last December I stayed three nights at All-Star Music, four nights at CBR and two nights at the Dolphin! I drive to WDW so it's no big deal at all.

I enjoy this because it's the only way I'm going to reach my goal of staying at all the resorts - back in March we stayed one night at the Beach Club before moving to Shades of Green (the one night at BC cost more than the three nights at SoG!!)

It does cut into your park time, but there is so much to do at most of the resorts that we don't usually do any parks on "moving day," instead we use the pools or game rooms at the hotel we're checking out of (you can use them the whole day, even after checkout time) or go mini golfing or to DTD. It's also a great day to do dinner at one of the resorts.

Have fun!!

 

[WDWRLD]

We did it this summer for the first time. We had resies for POR departing on july 3. In april we tried to add 2 more nights with no luck. We did get a reservation at the Poly for the 3rd and 4th. Dont get me wrong we had a great time but basically we wasted a day. We checked out of POR after staying 9 nights. After packing all our stuff(seems like we take home twice as much as we bring) and getting to the Poly at noon we checked our bags and headed to the pool. Needless to say it started raining, then pouring. The rain lasted all afternoon. finally at 5pm our room was ready. We were told since everyone was arriving for the fourth they were behind on checkins. After being wet from the pool and rain we were ready to get dry only we had no suitcases. We called Bell services and they said that our bags would be right up. An hour later and 30 min past our PS we got dry cloths. My point is dont plan anything for that day.

 

[shmmrname]

We too are splitting our time between two hotels, though only because we found it impossible to stay at the one we desired for the whole vacation. Thus, we are staying two nights at the Hilton at DTD, and on JAN 2 we will be moving over to PO:FQ for the remaining nights.
It's looking to be a hassle, but not too bad. Only time will tell...

 

[fredtom]

My wife and I have resort hopped several times so that we can experience the differences of each location. It is fun and worthwhile if you're staying multiple nights at each resort, buy I wouldn't necessarily recommend it if you're only staying one or two nights. Since each Disney resort is a unique adventure on its own, it makes it seem like you're taking separate vacations.

If you don't want to hassle with your luggage yourself, just call bell services when you're ready to check out of your first room and ask that they transfer your luggage to the next. Then spend the day doing whatever you like, and check into your next resort later in the afternoon. The bags are usually transferred between 1:00 and 3:00 PM and should be waiting for you. You can go directly to the bellstand to retrieve your luggage, or give your claim ticket to the front desk and ask if they will have a bellman deliver the bags to your room. Be sure to tip upon baggage pickup and delivery, and have a blast!

1989-- CBR & GF
2001-- POR & CSR
2002-- AKL
2003-- AKL, Poly & Wonder
2004-- BWV, SSR & OKW
Sept. 2005-- VWL & BWV
Nov. 2005-- OKW

 

[Laura]

I did that this year for the first time. We did 6 nights at Wilderness Lodge and 4 nights at the Polynesian. It was awesome! It definitely felt like 2 vacations. It was great to spend a full week in Disney, check out of the resort, and instead of going home just go to a better resort and stay a few more days!

 

[jdvm]

It's a question of mentality. My wife and family like to unpack only once and make me do almost anything to prevent them from having to re-pack and move. As you can see from the other posts, this doesn't bother a lot of folks who like change and adventure and aren't concerned by the inconvenience of moving. Do keep in mind that you have to check out several hours before the stated check-in time of the resort to which you're moving. And, if you're moving from one vacation club to another there is the issue of stuff in the fridge that you'll likely have to toss. Good luck.

 

[swimmom]

We would like to stay in two resorts on our next trip and do the MYW with the dining plan as well. Do you have to book two seperate reservations and have a day that MYW over laps?

 

[tink rules]

I just did it this past week.

I have in the past changed hotels - I stayed over at the Disney Institute when it first opened and then went on to the Polynesian for several days, but that was like two different experiences that it worked out well for me.

This time I booked 4 days at ASMusic and 6 nights at the Grand Floridian...(talk about going from extremes!!!) The 4 days at the ASM gave me the extra time to wander and see alot more of the holiday stuff. There were pro's and con's. It did waste a day for me in between resorts. I moved my own luggage because I had a car (unfortunately I was a bit further away from the parking lot and it was a little problem only for me because I have a disability involving my arm and neck) I probably could have requested help, but the resort was overrun with the Pop Warner people and I just didn't think ahead on it...

I purposely scheduled a breakfast out (Whispering Canyon- great breakfast!!!) at the WL so that I could see the decorations there and kill some time in between. We checked in at the GF and of course our room wasn't ready yet. We went over to the MK so we could wander and do a few things. They had given us a card to call back to check and see when our room was to be done but it wasn't. I was hurting pretty bad because I had woken up sick that morning and I really needed to lay down and nap a bit. Our room was done at 3 PM and I know that's when it is promised... so that was ok.

I'm not sure how long it takes Disney to move luggage between resorts - didn't have to do it this time. Did it myself.

I just feel that I wasted alot of time - a whole day, but I was there for 10 nights so on day wasn't too much. If you are there on a tight schedule, you may want to considder that when you are moving around.

 

[Did Knee]

Hi!,
The wife and I are thinking of doing this for our 2006 trip. We always stay at the WL, but we are thinking this year of staying first two days at the Swan or Dolphin, to make it easier to see Illuminations and Fantasmic in the evenings. My concern is the drawbacks. First I have heard about extra charges at the S&W including much higher partking. Also, I understand that I wouldnt be able to book an MYW package for the whole trip (first 2 days in the world without a key to the world!). No package delivery from the parks because Im only at S&W 2 days, loss of plus options due to the shorter MYW tickets. All this makes it seem like a bad idea. What do you guys think of my concerns?

 

[DisneyAnna]

Just a note of caution if you're planning on doing a package -- according to my agent, hotel hopping negates the possibility of doing a package because you'd have to book your hotel stays (at least within the resort) as room only and then you'd have to purchase your park passes separately.

So, if you're flying down and do not plan on visiting any other Orlando area attractions, then hotel hopping may not be the best choice UNLESS there's a fantastic deal on room only reservations that would allow you to recoup some of the cash you'd have to spend on regular park passes.

If I'm entirely wrong, someone please correct me! LOL

 

[Bimmy56]

We have done this a couple of times - the only way I can afford to stay at the GF or Poly is to stay the last 2 days of the trip.

We stay at our hotel until check out time, have our luggage transfered by bell services, and take the bus to DD. We have lunch and do our shopping, so it's not really a wasted afternoon, then take the bus back to our new hotel. Usually, our luggage is already there. For us, it's very exciting, like starting the vacation over again.

 

[dnswalker]

Hotel hopping

Just a note of caution if you're planning on doing a package -- according to my agent, hotel hopping negates the possibility of doing a package because you'd have to book your hotel stays (at least within the resort) as room only and then you'd have to purchase your park passes separately.

So, if you're flying down and do not plan on visiting any other Orlando area attractions, then hotel hopping may not be the best choice UNLESS there's a fantastic deal on room only reservations that would allow you to recoup some of the cash you'd have to spend on regular park passes.

If I'm entirely wrong, someone please correct me! LOL

Not sure if you are entirely wrong, but we just booked one of these split accomodation vacations, and it seemed pretty easy. We are staying at the Pop Century for 4 nights and the Contemporary for 7 nights.

When we called, we told the travel consultant what we wanted to do and asked her to make it work. They ended up putting our 10-day passes on the Pop reservation as well as the plane tickets and the Contemporary is hotel only. Now, I may have ended up paying a little more this way, but my husband has always dreamed of staying at the Contemporary since his first visit to WDW in 1972 and we just were not able to swing the expense for the full 12 days we are staying in Orlando.

 

[jesserin]

Just a note of caution if you're planning on doing a package -- according to my agent, hotel hopping negates the possibility of doing a package because you'd have to book your hotel stays (at least within the resort) as room only and then you'd have to purchase your park passes separately.

So, if you're flying down and do not plan on visiting any other Orlando area attractions, then hotel hopping may not be the best choice UNLESS there's a fantastic deal on room only reservations that would allow you to recoup some of the cash you'd have to spend on regular park passes.

If I'm entirely wrong, someone please correct me! LOL

You are 90% right - however there are ways to get around this... If you want a MYW package (excluding Dining) it's no big deal - simply book your first hotel as a package with the tickets being for your entire duration of the trip - for example:

4 nights at the all star with an 8day MYW ticket... your second reservation would be a room only res. It's not terribly difficult - only more-so if you want the dining plan.