Split stays? Thoughts on AKL-Kidani/GF/Contemporary

[Michelle Morawski]

Thinking of splitting a stay between AKL/GF (or possibly Contemporary), but worked about the logistics - bands/dining plan, etc.

We have always stayed at GF, but this is the first year that our "baby" is counted as an occupant (since he was under 3 the last time we went to Disney, our family of 6 was still able to book a regular room), so we are in need of a larger room this trip, which can get pricy, and our options are somewhat limited (unless we book 2 adjoining rooms)
Considering 3/3 split to
AKL/GF -or-
AKL/Contemp -or-
Contemp/GF

Any advice would be so greatly appreciated….
Thank You

 

[Tuvalu]

Not sure what you mean by "baby"...if your youngest causes you to be a family of 5 without a crib/pack 'n play, know that the room occupancy for AKL is 4, unless you stay in a larger villa.

If your "baby" is now 18 and counts as an additional adult, the additional adult room fee ($25 plus tax) is the same at all deluxe resorts.

A little more info would be helpful .

 

[Michelle Morawski]

Not sure what you mean by "baby"...if your youngest causes you to be a family of 5 without a crib/pack 'n play, know that the room occupancy for AKL is 4, unless you stay in a larger villa.

If your "baby" is now 18 and counts as an additional adult, the additional adult room fee ($25 plus tax) is the same at all deluxe resorts.

A little more info would be helpful .

Sorry about that! I have edited my original post, but to clarify, he is 5 now. The last time we were in Disney he was under 3, so was able to be counted as an infant, and allowed us to book a room with a limit of 5 persons.

 

[hooch]

Maybe a split of villa at BLT and a villa at Kidani? You don't want to have to book 2 rooms at each resort, do you?

 

[jlsHouston]

I'm not sure but I think your deluxe selections will require you to book the deluxe rooms at the resorts you listed in order to accommodate a family of 6. Otherwise you will have to stay in the villa side of these resorts like @Tuvalu stated.

As far as split stays, I do it all the time when I am going to be on property 10 days or so. Not worth the hassle to split my stay if less than 10 days. Logistically it is never a problem because I have a car, the magic bands reprogram to your new room/you get new magic bands with each reservation. The issue is the dining plan. If you are an annual passholder it is not a problem because each reservation you have the option of buying the DP. But a non passholder buying a package will lose the discount of multiple days on the park ticket when you switch resorts and then buy a new package in order to get the DP. The way I use to alleviate losing the discount was start with the resort I wanted the most days at and buy the package. Then when I was switching resorts I went to a room only and I bought gift cards at Sam's or Target ( used my redcard at Target) that give you a 5% discount on the gift card. I would book only the cheaper TS restaurants on the last few days or we would do mainly QS meals. I'd pay with my gift cards which was giving me a 5% discount because of what I paid for the gift cards.

Why were you thinking about do a split stay this time again?

 

[polynesiangirl]

My biggest annoyance with split stays is transferring my luggage. Even though WDW generally does a great job with it, I still hate having to drop my bags off with bell services, sort out what I need in my carry on that I'll be stuck with for part of the day since it might be awhile before I see my bags again, etc etc. One year it took forever for our next room to be ready and I got stuck hauling a very heavy backpack around with me all day long (I had electronic equipment that I did not feel comfortable leaving in a locker or with bell services.) I know some people prefer to transfer their luggage themselves if they have a car or van with them, which might make things a little easier.

I'll also echo what others said about length of stay. Even though it's a relatively painless process, checking out and checking in do take time (anywhere, not just WDW.) so if you've only got a few days, wasting even a few hours shuffling between hotels might feel painful. I haven't done it since having kids because it just seems like one more frustrating thing I have to coordinate especially now that I have more people that I'm "in charge of" beyond myself.

I do love split stays when I feel up to doing them though. It's fun to have a change of scenery and try a new resort.

 

[Michelle Morawski]

Maybe a split of villa at BLT and a villa at Kidani? You don't want to have to book 2 rooms at each resort, do you?

We were trying to avoid booking 2 rooms, since we've been told that they cannot guarantee connecting rooms. I like the idea of a slit at 2 different villas, but am undecided about which ones. Is AKL as inconvenient as I've read it is?

 

[Michelle Morawski]

I'm not sure but I think your deluxe selections will require you to book the deluxe rooms at the resorts you listed in order to accommodate a family of 6. Otherwise you will have to stay in the villa side of these resorts like @Tuvalu stated.

As far as split stays, I do it all the time when I am going to be on property 10 days or so. Not worth the hassle to split my stay if less than 10 days. Logistically it is never a problem because I have a car, the magic bands reprogram to your new room/you get new magic bands with each reservation. The issue is the dining plan. If you are an annual passholder it is not a problem because each reservation you have the option of buying the DP. But a non passholder buying a package will lose the discount of multiple days on the park ticket when you switch resorts and then buy a new package in order to get the DP. The way I use to alleviate losing the discount was start with the resort I wanted the most days at and buy the package. Then when I was switching resorts I went to a room only and I bought gift cards at Sam's or Target ( used my redcard at Target) that give you a 5% discount on the gift card. I would book only the cheaper TS restaurants on the last few days or we would do mainly QS meals. I'd pay with my gift cards which was giving me a 5% discount because of what I paid for the gift cards.

Why were you thinking about do a split stay this time again?

Thank you for that info, jlsHouston! I think the dining is the biggest headache since you have to wait to make the 2nd set of ADRs, but a CM suggested a work around, we just have to be careful to use the dining credits before they expire (since we do a lot of 2 credit dinners, this more problematic than I had expected. The reason I am even considering a split stay is because my resort of choice (GF) is not available for our entire trip, so I thought it might be a nice excuse to check out another resort. My husband wants to stay at the contemporary, and the kids want to stay at AKL, so we are thinking of doing 4 days at each. The kids are older now, so I'm not as concerned about convenience, since naps are no longer a necessity, just didn't want to be spending our entire trip at bus stops….

 

[Michelle Morawski]

My biggest annoyance with split stays is transferring my luggage. Even though WDW generally does a great job with it, I still hate having to drop my bags off with bell services, sort out what I need in my carry on that I'll be stuck with for part of the day since it might be awhile before I see my bags again, etc etc. One year it took forever for our next room to be ready and I got stuck hauling a very heavy backpack around with me all day long (I had electronic equipment that I did not feel comfortable leaving in a locker or with bell services.) I know some people prefer to transfer their luggage themselves if they have a car or van with them, which might make things a little easier.

I'll also echo what others said about length of stay. Even though it's a relatively painless process, checking out and checking in do take time (anywhere, not just WDW.) so if you've only got a few days, wasting even a few hours shuffling between hotels might feel painful. I haven't done it since having kids because it just seems like one more frustrating thing I have to coordinate especially now that I have more people that I'm "in charge of" beyond myself.

I do love split stays when I feel up to doing them though. It's fun to have a change of scenery and try a new resort.

Thanks, polynesiangirl - I hadn't thought of that! We have planned on spending our "move day" at the pool/resort, but will be going to Mickey's xmas party that evening, so it would be a nightmare if our luggage was MIA.

 

[jlsHouston]

Well if you are going to do 4 and 4, what is going to happen is you will just about get settled in and relaxed and then it's time to pack and move. If GF is not available for your entire stay, maybe the CONT is? Maybe do 5-6 days at the CONT and the remainder at AKL. If you are use to monorail resorts AKL and the bus will seem remote. It's not really inconvenient just a little out of the way. It is beautifully themed and has the animals and alot of interesting activities for kids.

I wouldn't move on the day I had the Mickey xmas party though....I'd move the day after...

 

[HollyAD]

We have done a 2br villa at AKL and a suite at AoA. The 2 br villa at AKL was an awesome experience for having a large family. We didn't splurge for a savannah view but we had a great pool view and balcony! We don't think AKL is an inconvenience at all. The buses ride are just a little bit longer to some areas but its not that bad. It seems like it would be more convenient to stay at one resort the whole time to avoid the packing and switching process with kids. But it's your vacation and you can do what you like. Staying at the Contemporary is a great experience as well. It is super convenient to walk to MK and we always loved to rent boats and explore on our own.

 

[LAKid53]

We were trying to avoid booking 2 rooms, since we've been told that they cannot guarantee connecting rooms. I like the idea of a slit at 2 different villas, but am undecided about which ones. Is AKL as inconvenient as I've read it is?

Yes. It is the furthest from the parks, other than Animal Kingdom. If you are staying at a villa, why not get a 2 bedroom villa? They sleep up to 8 adults. If that is beyond what you want to pay, the Family Suite at All Star Music sleeps six adults - and you get 2 bathrooms/closets and a nice kitchenette.

 

[hooch]

We were trying to avoid booking 2 rooms, since we've been told that they cannot guarantee connecting rooms. I like the idea of a slit at 2 different villas, but am undecided about which ones. Is AKL as inconvenient as I've read it is?

Not at all. It's farther from MK obviously but I'd just focus on MK while staying at BLT (or MK resort) and then plan downtime at AKV (Kidani gets awesome reviews) and AK, Studios, and Blizzard Beach days

 

[dreamfinder]

You may run into problems with the dining plan with a split stay. My understanding is that you still need to still need to buy tickets to get the dining plan, unless you have an AP or are a DVC member. So to get dining your entire trip, you would need to buy a ticket for each hotel, which might get expensive. You could do the dining plan with a long ticket on your first booking and then carry over your ticket and just do a room only for the second half.

The bands are no problem as all, as long as the reservations are all tagged to the same MDE account, the bands just point back to your account which would allow you into your rooms.

 

[Kit83]

We have never considered changing resort mid stay we just always stay at CR and visit swim and dine at the resorts we would like to experience, while keeping close to the MK and the CR good transport links .