Swapping Resorts Mid Vacation?

[GMRO]

So after reading a bit it's getting more common folks saying they start their vacation at one resort - then change locations to another one and finish out the vacation. i.e. - begin at POP for a few days and then move to Beach Club and or Wilderness Lodge or Animal Kingdom for the balance of the vacation.

This because the first part of the trip the preferred resort was booked? Or another reason?

Personally once we unpack and set up HOME in the resort we chose - we have no thoughts of moving/leaving - until it's time to return to PA.

Anyone have any thoughts on moving mid vacation?

THANKS!

 

[rsoxguy]

I have read with interest the trip reports that show people doing this. I am not someone who stays at the resorts often because I usually go for single-day trips, but I have always wanted to stay at the Contemporary for a couple of days for my sake, followed by a lengthier stay at the Wilderness Lodge for my wife's sake. In such a case, I wouldn't mind switching resorts during a stay. Otherwise, it is my preference to arrive, settle, and remain where I started.

 

[Master Yoda]

People do it for various reasons. The most common seem to be simply wanting to experience more than one resort on a trip, resort availability, and extending a trip by spending a few day is a less expensive resort. The physical process of moving from one resort to another is fairly simple and Disney will take care of everything but the packing. On the other hand, the paper work can be a bit of a pain especially if you are on the dining plan.

 

[real mad hatter]

14 Day Vacation.

Because our vacations are for two weeks,in our first trip we done one week offsite and the second week onsite,and it was a hassle packing and unpacking and moving from WDW to I/Drive,but as far as moving hotels within WDW I wouldn't mind. I suppose it all depends on how many kids you've got.One boy like us ok,but three or four in your party,no way Jose!

 

[UPbeekeeper]

This was an option I was considering when thinking through my plans to save a little money, but in the end, it seemed like too much work for me, personally. If it was just my husband and I, perhaps, but not with the entire family. I do think Master Yoda brings up an interesting thought though...it would be nice to experience 2 different atmospheres during one trip.

 

[flynnibus]

If you like a hotel for what it offers... it's basically like getting 2x or 3x the benefit because you get to experience others as well.

sometimes people do it for money too.. like stay cheap, and then upgrade to a nicer location for part of the trip.

Just think of it this way.. if you go 'man, I really would like to stay at the akl one time.. and WL lodge too!' instead of waiting between multiple trips, just do it in one trip!

Disney bellhops can handle the moving of luggage.. so the only 'work' is packing/unpacking.

We basically live out of the suitcases when we travel anyways so it's no biggie in our view.

 

[Ralphlaw]

We've done this twice, and it brings a little variety--as well as a headache for one night and one morning. We own a chunk of Bay Lake through the Disney Vacation Club, but we actually prefer the Epcot area. Our next trip (8 nights) we're staying 5 nights at Boardwalk (cheap points, walking home after Illuminations, Boardwalk night-time entertainers), and 3 at Bay Lake. We love to close Magic Kingdom on our last night, so Baylake at the end makes sense.

The downside, obviously, falls on my wife, who insists on taking charge of our re-packing and re-nesting. We don't "pack", but we do usually get an extra box to shove dirty clothes into without having to "pack". It's a pain, but the change in scenery, on balance, enlivens our trip enough to make it worthwhile. By the way, my son and daughter absolutely love Bay Lake; my wife and I would be perfectly happy staying the whole time at Boardwalk or Beach Club.

I foresee future trips with a few days of a Savannah view at Animal Kingdom Lodge, and even a tree house at Saratoga Springs if we bring extra friends along.

 

[rsoxguy]

We basically live out of the suitcases when we travel anyways so it's no biggie in our view.

I considered this, as I never really "unpack" my suitcase when traveling. My main problems are that (a) I travel with two females, and their junk is all over the room at all times, and (b) I really prefer to think of the hotel room as a place of stability and familiarity when I travel. Still, I would think that two Disney resorts in one trip would be a pleasant novelty.

 

[bgraham34]

I have had more trips with split stays than non split stays. I am not doing that as much now since I have a kid and that becomes more of a hassle now. We usually did it for a cost thing vs trying to experience other resorts.

 

[vcstr]

I have friends who usually go for about 18 days and their kids are older (16 and 20) and so they often feel cramped in a standard room in a Disney resort. They typically start the trip in one resort onsite for 2 or 3 days and finish with another resort onsite for the last 2 or 3 days of their trip, spending the middle of the trip off-site in a condo or house where they can all have more space.

I always thought that was a lot of moving around for nothing, but on my trip last year we were staying at the Best Western in the DTD area and my parents decided to move to Port Orleans for the end of our trip. We didn't even have the added benefit of Disney moving our luggage but we did just fine with our rental car. I was most worried about losing valuable vacation time but we got up early and got ready for the parks, and drove over to POFQ with the intention of dropping off our bags with Bell Services only to find they had a room ready for us! We were able to put our bags in our rooms and then head out to the parks!

Only issue is with packages. If you plan on staying in more than one resort and would like a meal plan at each one, you will need to purchase at least a one-day ticket at each one as well. I feel like there should be a better way of doing this, especially if you are staying at all Disney resorts. Although perhaps there is a better way I'm not aware of!

 

[Master Yoda]

I have friends who usually go for about 18 days and their kids are older (16 and 20) and so they often feel cramped in a standard room in a Disney resort. They typically start the trip in one resort onsite for 2 or 3 days and finish with another resort onsite for the last 2 or 3 days of their trip, spending the middle of the trip off-site in a condo or house where they can all have more space.

I always thought that was a lot of moving around for nothing, but on my trip last year we were staying at the Best Western in the DTD area and my parents decided to move to Port Orleans for the end of our trip. We didn't even have the added benefit of Disney moving our luggage but we did just fine with our rental car. I was most worried about losing valuable vacation time but we got up early and got ready for the parks, and drove over to POFQ with the intention of dropping off our bags with Bell Services only to find they had a room ready for us! We were able to put our bags in our rooms and then head out to the parks!

Only issue is with packages. If you plan on staying in more than one resort and would like a meal plan at each one, you will need to purchase at least a one-day ticket at each one as well. I feel like there should be a better way of doing this, especially if you are staying at all Disney resorts. Although perhaps there is a better way I'm not aware of!

I agree. The sad reality is there is currently not a good way to do it. For whatever reason, Disney has no provisions for splitting the dining plan up with multiple resort stays. Your options consist of buying tickets you do not need or foregoing the dining plan.

 

[captainkidd]

I'm on the fence about it. In 1 respect, it's cool getting to experience different resorts. On the other hand, it's a pain in the rump having to pack up in the middle of your trip. Also, whenever I do a split stay, I feel like my vacation is shorter than it is. Weird.

 

[rsoxguy]

Also, whenever I do a split stay, I feel like my vacation is shorter than it is. Weird.

I hadn't considered this aspect. My wife wants to do this in the future because of my decades-long, unfulfilled curiosity regarding a stay at the Contemporary. I'll have to tell her about the "psychological" implications. But still...

 

[goodanu]

I think it all depends why you are doing it. We split a WL and GF stay a few years back so we could experience two resorts at once. We were not doing it to save money but for the excperience alone. For that reason I would highly suggest doing it. Disney is tremendous with helping your switch.

On the day of your switch, just treat it as a normal day(bags packed) hit the parks and return to your new resort in the afternoon. Bell services will have your bags transferred to the new hotel as you are out and about during the day. Very smooth and no hastles. I loved getting that "you just arrived to Disney" feeling twice on the same trip.

Just remember if you are on the dining plan you will be on two separate reservations so you won't have all your dining credits until the last leg of your trip.

I would do this again and highly reccomend it to you as we'll. Good luck with your planning.

 

[ddbowdoin]

I am about to do the same... 2 nights at the Poly (freshly married, pretty romantic but no way I could afford 8 more nights there) and then the remaining 8 nights at the Beach Club.

I have never switched before... but figured since I don't unpack to begin with it should be a pretty seemless process.

 

[PhilharMagician]

Most times we split our resort stays between 2 resorts and have done 3 in the past. Our trips are typically for 15 nights and this allows us to enjoy 2 completely differant experiences. Our next trip looks to be one week at Kidani and another at Beach Club. Each resort offers us a completely differant feel and amenities. On the past 2 trips we split our stays between Kidani and Bay Lake Tower, but we really miss the pool at the Beach Club and it's closeness to both the Studios and Epcot.

To us changing the rooms is simple. In the morning we are going to move we call Bell services and they come and get our bags. We tell them which resort to transfer the bags too and we leave to go to either the new resort to check-in or to a park. When we get to our room in our new resort that evening we call Bell services and they bring up our bags. This whole process costs us maybe 30 - 45 minutes on each end and is well worth the change in our eyes. If we were only staying for a week or less, I would see less value in making a resort change.

 

[Meeko's Mom]

I'm on the fence about it. In 1 respect, it's cool getting to experience different resorts. On the other hand, it's a pain in the rump having to pack up in the middle of your trip. Also, whenever I do a split stay, I feel like my vacation is shorter than it is. Weird.

I agree. It was a pain in the rump as well as making our trip feel shorter. We went last April and due to limited availability for our dates we started our trip with 3 days at SSR and then transferred to Tree House Villa for 3 days and spent our lat 2 nights @ BLT. I wouldn't have minded staying at either SSR (our home) or THV then our last 2 at BLT (which was optional-we chose to end with BLT) and only moving once. It was nice to experience two resorts that we have never seen (THV/BLT) but it was tough moving twice.

 

[dixiegirl]

So after reading a bit it's getting more common folks saying they start their vacation at one resort - then change locations to another one and finish out the vacation. i.e. - begin at POP for a few days and then move to Beach Club and or Wilderness Lodge or Animal Kingdom for the balance of the vacation.

This because the first part of the trip the preferred resort was booked? Or another reason?

Personally once we unpack and set up HOME in the resort we chose - we have no thoughts of moving/leaving - until it's time to return to PA.

Anyone have any thoughts on moving mid vacation?

THANKS!

I'll let you know in August how it goes!! I'll give you a bit of background...Our DVC home resort is SSR which we love (yeah I know in the Minority).. But we wanted to try a new place, but we really did'nt know where and we did'nt want to be disappointed...So we asked our girls where they always wanted to stay..My youngest who is 8 hands down AKL, her reason, to see animals out our balcony....My oldest who is 11 wants BLT, its new, on the monorail path and to see fireworks out our Balcony...Hubby and I we love SSR, our fav area is congress park...Nice view of DTD , the river, the quiet, tranquity of it!!

Well we ended up telling the kids that we just did'nt have enough points, if we want to stay 10days at either of their fav places...They were great, said they love SSR, whatever as long as we're going to Disney!!
Well little do they know that we're doing our first 2 days at AKL Villas with a Savanna view, next 2 days at BLT with a MK view and then the next 5days at SSR in Congress Park!! I was'nt sure about the whole packing thing up and switching but you just pack it up and disney handles the rest!!
Its so killing me not to say anything, all we say is "this is gonna be the best trip ever"!! They just laugh, cause I think we always say that!!

 

[mrksmpsn]

We stayed at two resorts this time for the second time because we could not get our full vacation at the second resort. It wasn't too bad to do. On the day we switched resorts we just got up early and took a taxi to the other resort (both resorts were on property Disney resorts) and took our luggage with us rather than having it transfered. I know Disney will do that for you, but our past experience with depending on Disney was that we had to wait for the van to make the resort switch. By taking a taxi we made the switch of resorts with our luggage and didn't have to wonder about it during the day.

By moving between resorts early in the day we were then able to check-in and check our luggage and go to the parks with no time lost. The first time we tried to switch resorts we lost time waiting on the Disney transferal rides. We also had to wait longer to get our luggage. This may have been a fluke but it was off season so I don't know how well it works otherwise.

Would I do the resort switch again? Yes, if necessary. I know folks like to try different resorts for their themes and amenities. But I like being able to stay put and not fuss with packing and unpacking multiple times. Just my preference though.

 

[coachwnh]

we always switch. love to see multiple resorts. we have stayed in as many as 3 on one trip!!! the only time we dont switch is over the crowded holidays or short weekend trips. we love it and so do the kids. the more pools they get to swim in the better for them