First Split Stay -- Any Tips or Tricks?

[larryz]

Got a trip coming up in late September, and we're going to attempt our first split stay... clearly, we don't want the move between resorts (CSR to BC) to become the focus of the day, so does anyone have any tips or tricks on how to best accomplish this with minimal fuss and bother?

 

[DisneyJoe]

Call Bell Services early in the morning, ask them to come pick up your bags for a transfer to the Beach Club. They will come and tag your bags and give you a receipt and take them away. They may not get to the BC until 4pm or so, so make sure you have a day bag or backpack with you with items that you may need for the day.

You could go to BC and check in, you may or may not have a room at that point - or you can go to the parks and check in to BC later that day.

If you are doing 2 packages with dining things can get a little hairy on that changeover day with dining credits, but otherwise there should be no issues.

 

[Weather_Lady]

You can pack for a split stay in ways that save you time, as well. The goal is simply to package things in such a way that they don't get spread all over the room. Some suggestions:

- Simplify packing and unpacking by using packing cubes (or even just big Ziploc bags), color-coded or labeled for each person. Clothing for part 1 of your split stay (complete outfits) goes in one cube for each person, and clothing for part 2 in another. Toiletries and beauty products can be packed in 1 or 2 pouches or dopp kits, to be placed on or under the bathroom vanity. Miscellaneous items you're likely to need throughout both stays (laundry bag, clothespins, rain ponchos, phone chargers, etc.) go in another packing cube or two in the grownups' suitcases. To unpack, you simply unzip the cubes for that portion of your stay and place them in drawers (or stack in the closet). This way, you're never digging through a suitcase to find something, and packing back up is as simple as zipping the cubes back up and tossing them, and your dirty laundry, back in your bags. (I do redistribute things a little when re-packing: we bring a laundry bag and at the end of Part 1 of the split stay, the bag of dirty laundry goes in one child's suitcase, and the remaining clean clothes and shoes for both kids get repacked in the other child's suitcase.)

- Pack foodstuffs in a collapsible bin or shoebox, so that "unpacking" them is as easy as setting the bin on a dresser or counter, and the food doesn't get spread around the room.

- Bring "wet bags" or extra Ziplocs to use when re-packing, as you may have swimsuits that aren't completely dry.

- Train your kids/traveling partners to assist with a 90-second "room sweep" after you've packed up (we make a game out of it), opening drawers, looking under beds, etc., to make sure nothing is left behind.

(I'm a fan of eBags packing cubes, and their "pack-it-flat" toiletry case, so our bags for a split stay end up looking something like this, but without the straw hat, delighting my obsessive-compulsive side to no end!) There are many brands out there that offer similar products, however, at varying price points, which can be found everywhere from Macy's to Walmart.

 

[Willmark]

We did it on our last trip in May.

Have everything ready and go about your day. The bigger thing is to add time in for when your next room will be ready. It will NOT be ready at say 3 PM. With that in mind be prepared that you won’t have your stuff at the time they say it will. If you go in it’s that mindset you’ll save yourself some frustration.

 

[Minthorne]

We did it on our last trip in May.

Have everything ready and go about your day. The bigger thing is to add time in for when your next room will be ready. It will NOT be ready at say 3 PM. With that in mind be prepared that you won’t have your stuff at the time they say it will. If you go in it’s that mindset you’ll save yourself some frustration.

Yup. The biggest downside is the time you are homeless at Disney. Although on one split between Poly and Boardwalk we got the text our boardwalk room was ready at 11am just as we were checking out of Poly. That was nice.

 

[Willmark]

Yup. The biggest downside is the time you are homeless at Disney. Although on one split between Poly and Boardwalk we got the text our boardwalk room was ready at 11am just as we were checking out of Poly. That was nice.

I'm sure it happens, and that my experience is anecdotal. My point to the OP was be prepared to be without. Hope for the best, plan for the worst.

 

[larryz]

Thanks for the tips! We're going to have a car, so it's not like we'll be totally homeless (although I don't relish living in the car...), and since we're planning on Epcot for the day we transition, we'll be in the area any way.

We'll probably just throw our stuff in the trunk and park at BC like we're checking in... heck, we might even actually check in... just for S&Gs. We've been Fairy Godmothered as early as 9:00 am before, and we've also been Wicked Stepmothered as late as 5:00 pm. With our stuff in the car, we won't have to worry about the rooms not being ready.

 

["El Gran Magnifico"]

If you have a car - get up a bit earlier and hit BC as early as you can. Check in and drop your bags (give them a couple of bucks)....This entire process shouldn't take you more than 30 min..........then just go about your day and later you'll get a text informing you of the room number......eventually when you make it back to your room, your bags will be there waiting.

 

[LAM378]

I love split stays so much that I make my 10-person traveling party do them every trip! @Weather_Lady gave you excellent advice. How you plan and pack before you even leave home will make your split stay seamless.

Organize all your belongings into packing cubes and Ziploc bags. I pack separate Ziplocs for toiletries that go on the vanity, toiletries that go in the shower, stuff that goes in the stroller pocket, stuff that goes into my park bag, etc. I even have a separate baggie of stuff I hope to never use, like OTC meds. Unpacking at resort #1 basically just means taking the cubes and Ziplocs and putting them where they belong, not taking evvvvvvery little thing out of its bag, which makes it very simple to re-pack for resort #2.

That’s all there is to it — very mindful packing at home. Have fun!

 

[dreamfinder]

As suggested, pack accordingly. Keeping your bags split so you don't need to repack everything mid trip is helpful. And be prepared to be without your bags until 4-5PM on the day you move. You might luck out and have the luggage moved sooner in the day, but a good chance it will take until that point.

 

[slappy magoo]

What are your plans for the day?
Our next trip will be split as well (from Kidani to BLT), but that's a day we expect to be a "down day," not going to the parks. Instead, we'll make sure we have a bag of things we'll need in the car (we have reservations for Cali Grill that night). After breakfast we'll have Bell Services get the rest of our stuff, we're going to to some more looky-looing at Kidani, one last dip in that pool, then drive over to BLT and take a dip over there. It'll be a drag if our room's not ready before our dinner reservations, but we can still use the shower by the pool to rinse the chlorine off of us, change in the bathrooms and then have dinner.

 

[GabeP]

I am contemplating a SS for when we go over Thanksgiving. We are currently booked 3 nights at the FS but am thinking of doing a night at someplace like Pop the night before our time at the FS begins in order to get FP at 60 as opposed to 30 days out. Would there be comp luggage transfer between the 2 resorts? I know the FS offers things like EMH and character dining, but some of this behind the scenes stuff is hard to find.

 

[nickys]

I am contemplating a SS for when we go over Thanksgiving. We are currently booked 3 nights at the FS but am thinking of doing a night at someplace like Pop the night before our time at the FS begins in order to get FP at 60 as opposed to 30 days out. Would there be comp luggage transfer between the 2 resorts? I know the FS offers things like EMH and character dining, but some of this behind the scenes stuff is hard to find.

FS?

 

[slappy magoo]

FS?

I'm guessing Four Seasons. I know they're not a Disney resort, but I thought they got some of the Disney resort perks like 60 day FP window. But I could be wrong.

 

[nickys]

I'm guessing Four Seasons. I know they're not a Disney resort, but I thought they got some of the Disney resort perks like 60 day FP window. But I could be wrong.

Ah. Makes sense! If they get EMH, then I thought they now got the 60 day window too.

To @GabeP, I don't think the luggage transfer works for DS hotels. I would just get an Uber/Lyft to transfer, and leave your stuff with Bell Services at FS if the room isn't ready.

But like I say, I think if you can link your reservation to MDE you will get the 60 day window, (assuming FS gets EMH etc now).

 

[thomas998]

Thanks for the tips! We're going to have a car, so it's not like we'll be totally homeless (although I don't relish living in the car...), and since we're planning on Epcot for the day we transition, we'll be in the area any way.

We'll probably just throw our stuff in the trunk and park at BC like we're checking in... heck, we might even actually check in... just for S&Gs. We've been Fairy Godmothered as early as 9:00 am before, and we've also been Wicked Stepmothered as late as 5:00 pm. With our stuff in the car, we won't have to worry about the rooms not being ready.

We've done them several times when the resort we wanted was only available for part of a trip. Your plan of packing your own stuff in your car is the best option. We relied on Disney to do the bag for us once and it isn't a nice way to do it because you aren't sure when they will arrive and when they do arrive you then have to have someone in the room to accept them when they are delivered so they aren't just waiting in your room instead you get to your room call the front desk and then it could take an hour or longer before they actually get to your room. So while it might save you from lugging them around it can cost you time where you are just waiting on them which is a pain.

On other thing you might consider if you are having to split rooms is using a hotel outside Disney between the split. You would still get all the perks of staying in the resort even if you broke the stay up with one night somewhere else. We've done that once simply because there was a day when our only Disney option was a suite at a deluxe for one night and seemed silly to pay almost a thousand dollars for one night. But during the night we were offsite, we still have the perks from the previous disney resort day because they last until midnight of your check out day and then the morning of the offsite stay you still get the extra magic hour in the morning for the Disney hotel you will be staying in that evening.

 

[Weather_Lady]

We relied on Disney to do the bag for us once and it isn't a nice way to do it because you aren't sure when they will arrive and when they do arrive you then have to have someone in the room to accept them when they are delivered so they aren't just waiting in your room instead you get to your room call the front desk and then it could take an hour or longer before they actually get to your room. So while it might save you from lugging them around it can cost you time where you are just waiting on them which is a pain.

Another option (just to let the OP or others know), if you plan on having Bell Services to the transfer and want to avoid a lengthy wait for bag delivery at your second resort, is to pick up the bags from Bell Services at the second resort and take them to your room yourself. I'd recommend this, as the two times we've used Bell Services to deliver our bags to our room have both been a disaster. The first time, they dropped one of the bags along a walkway and "couldn't find it" (my husband eventually located it himself -- the employee hadn't even bothered to retrace his own steps to see if/where it had fallen). The second time it took nearly two hours for our bags to get to the room, and when they did, one brand-new suitcase arrived with the handle torn completely off! (We had hand-delivered our bags TO Bell Services earlier in the day in perfect condition, so we knew they were the ones that caused the damage. When my husband asked about it, the delivery guy just shrugged and said defensively, "Dunno. _I_ didn't do it.") As they say, if you want something done right...

 

[GabeP]

Last I checked, while the FS (Four Seasons) does get EMH, I have yet to read or see anything about booking FP at the 60 day window?

 

[WDWFan2018]

Another option (just to let the OP or others know), if you plan on having Bell Services to the transfer and want to avoid a lengthy wait for bag delivery at your second resort, is to pick up the bags from Bell Services at the second resort and take them to your room yourself. I'd recommend this, as the two times we've used Bell Services to deliver our bags to our room have both been a disaster. The first time, they dropped one of the bags along a walkway and "couldn't find it" (my husband eventually located it himself -- the employee hadn't even bothered to retrace his own steps to see if/where it had fallen). The second time it took nearly two hours for our bags to get to the room, and when they did, one brand-new suitcase arrived with the handle torn completely off! (We had hand-delivered our bags TO Bell Services earlier in the day in perfect condition, so we knew they were the ones that caused the damage. When my husband asked about it, the delivery guy just shrugged and said defensively, "Dunno. _I_ didn't do it.") As they say, if you want something done right...

This is a good tip but how do you know when the bags arrive at the second resort? I've never done a split stay but I've heard from others that sometimes, the bags to even get to the resort until late afternoon.

 

[Weather_Lady]

This is a good tip but how do you know when the bags arrive at the second resort? I've never done a split stay but I've heard from others that sometimes, the bags to even get to the resort until late afternoon.

You're right -- I've been told that it can take several hours. If you're leaving your bags with Bell Services early in the morning and not trying to claim them until after the usual check-in time (3pm for non-DVC, 4pm for DVC) at your second resort, they should be there. If you're somewhere else and it's inconvenient to go to Bell Services unless you know for sure your bags have arrived, you can always call Bell Services and ask.