Splitting Time Between Two Resorts?

[GeorgiaPinesRJB]

Hello!!

Long time lurker of the forums, first time poster and I have a question I would like to bounce to all the very informative members here: has anyone ever split time between two separate resorts during their stay at WDW? I have only stayed on-site once, at the All-Star Music, and that was for a school trip (I grew up about an hour away in Volusia County, so numerous day trips to Disney but never long term stays).

I ask because I was wondering how difficult it is, especially when trying to enjoy a vacation, for check-in, check-out, etc.? And this is for a honeymoon, so any tips on that would be great as well. We aren't even engaged yet but we have talked about it and know we'd like to do Disney for our honeymoon (we're waiting for us to both be done with school).

I am thinking maybe two-three nights at the Polynesian, preferably in the honeymoon suite if we can get it, and then the remaining nights (five-six) at the Port Orleans French Quarter... (my girlfriend grew up in Louisiana and has always wanted to stay there...) Has anyone done this?

Sorry for the long-windeness of this... Thanks again in advance for all the helps!

-RJB

 

[tecowdw]

I've done it in the past. These days I prefer not to just because I don't find the effort worth it.

You have to anticipate spending a morning packing to check out, store your luggage (either in car or with bell services), check-in at next resort and unpack again once your room is available. You might be able to spend a significant portion of the afternoon doing other things but it still can be an inconvenience and disruption in your vacation. Plus, for me, it always makes the vacation feel shorter.

Now, if you need to split it up for budgetary or other reasons, by all means, definitely do it. Bell Services will transfer your luggage for free (just plan to be without it for awhile) to the next resort. As long as you know that it will take some of your vacation time and you plan for it, it can be workable.

 

[gwhb75]

We did it once a few years ago. It's OK, but a bit of a hassle (just in terms of the packing, storing, etc as tecowdw mentioned. Disney makes it as seamless as possible). The other thing that wasn't mentioned is that doing it means you have two different reservations which you have to watch if you're on the dining plan. The dining plan is tied to the number of nights you have on a reservation, so make sure you redeem all you snack credits etc at the end of the first reservation as they don't carry over to the second one. When we did it we ended up losing 3 counter services (even after buying lunch for some people who were in line behind us at Earl of Sandwich).

 

[GeorgiaPinesRJB]

Thank you for the information! Did not know that about the dining plan... I am still not sure what we will be doing, I'm just trying to get an idea now... since I can't just hop in the car and go anymore, I have to change the way I think to "being a tourist" haha

Thanks again!

 

[Pooh Lover]

I agree with the above posts. For us, splitting our time between Port Orlean Riverside (3 nights first) and Polynesian (4 nights following) just wasn't worth the hassle. Everyone in our party could not afford an entire stay at the Poly, hence the split. I felt we spent too much time re-packing, getting our luggage from one resort to the next (done by WDW but still not without effort), check in at the Poly, waiting for luggage and settling in to our second resort. Dining was not an issue for us as we did not have a meal plan to deal with. I just felt as though I lost a good bit of a day in the transfer and I probably wouldn't do it again.

 

[Rob562]

I've moved resorts a few times, most recently about a year ago. We were staying 7 nights at Beach Club Villas through an RCI timeshare exchange, and needed one extra night at the start of the trip, so we booked a single night at Pop Century. With the move in mind, we packed so that we didn't have to unpack too much at Pop.

On the morning of the switch, I called down to Bell Services to double-check the procedure, fully prepared to bring our bags down ourselves, but surprisingly they offered to pick them up (they scheduled it though, they don't do immediate on-demand pickups). They said we didn't even have to be in the room, just to leave everything by the door. I left a note on top double-confirming where they were going and how many bags there were, along with a nice tip. Then we just walked out of the room and headed for breakfast, after which we went to the Studios for the day.
In the late afternoon we left the park, walked over to Beach Club and checked in. Once up in the room we called for the bags and they were there in under 10 minutes. Easy as pie.

My experience switching from Riverside to All-Star Music (budget reasons, my friend could only go for half the trip) was very similar.

The only real pain I ever had switching involved a non-Disney hotel. We stayed 2 nights at one of the Hotel Plaza Blvd hotels before switching to one of the All-Stars. We had to get a taxi, handle our own bags, etc. (It also didn't help that we overslept because the power had gone out in the hotel and the alarm clock didn't have a battery backup, so we started the day a bit frazzled)

-Rob

 

[Zummi Gummi]

I've done it before and it was very, very easy. I was doing a transfer from Boardwalk to DAK Lodge, if that makes a difference (it probably doesn't).

I called Bell Services the night before, and they scheduled a pickup for the following day (while I was going to be touring the parks). At some point that day, my luggage was picked up and sent to DAK Lodge. Later that afternoon, I went to check in at DAK Lodge, and within 10 minutes of me arriving at my room, there was a knock on the door from Bell Services with my luggage. Very easy.

The packing and unpacking didn't even bother me, because I typically don't really "unpack" and just live out of the suitcase, anyway.

 

[bgraham34]

I have done split stays a few times and its usually not a big deal. If you have no problem packing your bags and then unpacking them again when you get to your new resort than its easy. Like others have said Bell services will take your bags and transfer them to your new resort.

The one issue that you may have is that your room at the other resort may not be available until later in the day or even early evening if the resort is really busy.

 

[Ariel484]

We did it in June 2011 (weren't on the dining plan so didn't have to worry about that)...switched from Animal Kingdom Lodge to the Boardwalk Villas. We packed up the night before and confirmed where to bring our luggage and were it was going with the AKL front desk. Brought it down the morning we checked out, along with a small bag containing swimsuits and other stuff in case the luggage took awhile. Then we headed to Epcot for a Segway tour, walked over to the Boardwalk, and our luggage was waiting for us! Not a big deal at all. Only bad thing was we felt like we didn't get a ton of time to really settle in at either resort...but we're doing a split stay again next year (Animal Kingdom Villas/Villas at Wilderness Lodge), so clearly it agreed with us overall!

 

[fredtom]

We've transferred between resorts many, many times. It's easy... Just call Bell Services to pick up your luggage and let them know you'll be changing resorts. Be sure to tip them. I believe all transfers happen between 1:00 & 3:00 PM each day. You can still check into your new resort even if your bags haven't yet arrived, or even if your room is not yet ready.

My wife and I enjoy splitting our stay between resorts because each one is such a different experience and it feels like starting a new adventure and a new vacation... provided you're staying more than just a couple of nights, so you won't feel rushed and like you have to move just when you were getting settled in to begin with. I wouldn't recommend transferring if you're not staying at least three nights at each resort.

If you're on the Dining Plan, your DDP credits don't expire until midnight on the departure day from your first resort. So, you can carry them over through the arrival day of your second resort. Year before last we checked out of SSR and into Kidani Village with four table service entitlements left between the two us, which we planned to use at Jiko... and did. Just remember to use your previous KTTW card with the leftover credits-- and not your new resort card-- if you do this. DDP credits do not transfer from one resort stay to another. They are separate plans.

Have a wonderful time.


"An Adventurer's life is best!"

 

[GeorgiaPinesRJB]

Thanks y'all for the advice! I will definitely take all of it into consideration!!