Three hotels in 8 days. Are we dumb?

notslim99

Active Member
Original Poster
OKW May 28 - June1
CBR June 1 - June 3
AKL (Kidani) June 3 - June 4

Due to airfare being super expensive from our hometown, we actually saved money by delaying our arrival by 1 day but extending the trip 4 days. Because we moved back the arrival date, we ended up with 17 DVC points that needed to be used before we come back. So, we tacked on a Savannah view studio at Kidani for our last night. Convoluted? Yes! Exciting? Yes! Daunting? Yes!

Please give us some tips on these resorts, since we've never stayed at any of these.
 

Club Cooloholic

Well-Known Member
OKW May 28 - June1
CBR June 1 - June 3
AKL (Kidani) June 3 - June 4

Due to airfare being super expensive from our hometown, we actually saved money by delaying our arrival by 1 day but extending the trip 4 days. Because we moved back the arrival date, we ended up with 17 DVC points that needed to be used before we come back. So, we tacked on a Savannah view studio at Kidani for our last night. Convoluted? Yes! Exciting? Yes! Daunting? Yes!

Please give us some tips on these resorts, since we've never stayed at any of these.
Ha, looks like we have similar hotel hopping plans for June, but topped you by one! We are starting at
BCV for 4 nights
Poly for 3 nights
Vero for 3 nights
OKW for 1 night
I think it will be a lot of bopping around but, there are benefits. One we get to try a bunch of hotels we had not previously done. Two, clean room and sheets 3 extra times!
I also suggest you get a rental car if you had not planned on it, it will make moving between resorts a lot easier. It won't be too expensive, use AAA or a BJs discounts. If you are OK breaking the group up upon arrival, just one person can go for the car, and the others can take the Magic Express.
 

Weather_Lady

Well-Known Member
You're not nuts. Last year we did a 3-parter: 3 nights at the Hard Rock Hotel (Universal Orlando), followed by 3 nights at the Beach Club, and then 2 nights at the Polynesian, and it went very smoothly.

If you need them, here are some tips for making the transition as easy as possible (it's what worked for us, anyway):

1 - Plan your itinerary to minimize the pain of homelessness (and lack of access to your luggage) on your "moving" days. If you do not have your own vehicle, then have Disney's Bell Services transfer your bags to your next resort. Drop them off with Bell Services before you head out in the morning, and then plan to spend the day at a park (at the very least, until after 3 or 4pm, whenever your check-in time is at the new resort - that way your room is more likely to be ready when you arrive, and your luggage is more likely to be there as well). Allow anywhere from a few minutes to an hour for your bags to reach your room once you get to the new resort and call for them. (The Bell Services person will expect a tip. We tried to bypass Bell Services when we transferred to the Polynesian, stopping by the desk in the lobby to collect our own bags, and they literally refused to give them to us, insisting that we go to the room and call for them instead. Because I'd planned on bringing the bags myself, I had no cash on me to tip the guy who brought them to our room. A year later, I still feel like a jerk...)

2 - Pack your bags in a modular fashion, to minimize the stress of unpacking and repacking - we only needed about 5 minutes to unpack and no more than 10 minutes to pack up again (and that included the obligatory "sweep of the room" to make sure nothing was left behind). I cannot recommend packing cubes enough for this purpose, although one could use large Ziploc bags or even pillowcases to accomplish the same thing. For example, when we did our split stay, each of us had 2 packing cubes of clothes (color-coded for each person and divided: one for Hard Rock and one for Beach Club, so we didn't have to unpack every one, every time). We also had a couple of Dopp kits, a small box of foodstuffs, an extra cube for miscellaneous items (e.g., phone chargers, disposable rain ponchos, clothespins), a fold-flat zip-top tote bag (it did double-duty as a beach bag on our waterpark day and a "personal item" souvenir bag on the trip home), and a laundry bag. When it came time to unpack, it was as simple as unzipping the cubes of clothing and tossing them in drawers, putting the Dopp kits on the vanity, the food bin by the kitchenette, and the bag for dirty laundry in the closet. To pack up, we simply reversed the process. Oh, and another thing: since switching hotels often means traveling with swimsuits that haven't quite dried out from the day before, keep some extra gallon-sized Ziploc bags with you so they don't dampen other items in your luggage.

3 - Pack as lightly as possible, since you're going to have to pack and unpack several times. For our 8-night stay, we packed just 5 outfits apiece (plus swimsuits, PJs, 1 pair of sneakers and 1 pair of sandals apiece), and I did laundry on a pre-scheduled "pool afternoon" midway through the trip (so that the clothes we'd worn at the Hard Rock became a fresh, clean wardrobe for the Poly). The DVC guest laundry rooms are nicely equipped, and thanks to the laundryview app, I could monitor the progress of our load remotely. Each member of the family had a 21" rolling suitcase (plus DH and I had "park bags" - a backpack for him, a tiny crossbody purse for me) and it was more than enough space to hold all of our clothes and sundries.

(Sorry for the unsolicited advice, OP! I realize your question was more tailored toward the resorts themselves, but I couldn't help myself.)

The only resort of the three you've mentioned that we've stayed in is CBR, and for the record, we loved it! (Caveat: We did have a "preferred" room, which minimized our walk to Old Port Royale, but we only went there a time or two anyway...) We found the bus transportation - despite the multiple depots - to be the absolute best of any resort we've ever been to, in terms of the frequency of buses. Our kids adored the pool, and we really loved the relaxed vibe and pretty theming. The only major downside for us is something that has now been eliminated -- the need to go to the far-flung and inconveniently located "Custom House" to check in and out. Now that those tasks have been consolidated into the main Old Port Royale building, I can't think of anything to complain about. ;)
 
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epcotisbest

Well-Known Member
I don't think it is dumb at all. Staying at and experiencing new resorts is our favorite part of a WDW trip.
Best tip for those locations - Olivias at OKW and especially Sanaa at AKL Kidani.
Rent bicycles at OKW and ride the pathway along the canal over to Disney Springs. This is a lot of fun and a scenic ride. Hang a left over the bridge along the way and ride around the treehouses. That is fun too.
Take some time to enjoy the resorts and pools. The pool at Kidani is a quiet, peaceful retreat early in the mornings when everyone else is headed to the parks.
Getting up early to view the animals right outside your room is another special tip at Kidani. We spent hours on the balcony watching the animals. Here at home there are squirrels on the deck, but that hardly compares. :)
 
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wdwfan22

Well-Known Member
I never recommend moving hotels. We did it this last time 8 nights at Contemporary & 8 nights at Polynesian, and it was a pain packing up and switching resorts. I couldn't imagine doing it three times.
 

aliceismad

Well-Known Member
(Sorry for the unsolicited advice, OP! I realize your question was more tailored toward the resorts themselves, but I couldn't help myself.)
I'm only moving once on our upcoming trip, and obviously not the OP, but I appreciated your detailed advice. :) We're doing 2 nights and then 5 nights. I'm planning a separate bag for the 2 nights and not bothering to unpack at that hotel. I also like to have set outfits planned for each day so I have to think less in the mornings. East coast is hard.

To OP, Kidani was fantastic! I'd LOVE to go back, but Disney has so very many options to choose from. Also, I'll second how wonderful Sanaa is.
 
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LeighM

Well-Known Member
I also have 3 resorts in 8 days. Not by choice though. I originally had 2 nights at CBR and 1 night at AKL for before and after a cruise. I got the nights at CBR using the Disney Visa discount and I'm renting DVC points from my SIL for AKL. But then my husband cancelled the cruise. Luckily, I had booked CSR during the nights of the cruise, at a very great rate, in case my husband did decide to cancel. Unfortunately, I was never able to get the first 6 nights at the same location for a comparable price - and if I didn't book those nights when I did, we would have been out more money because room availability was limited when he cancelled. And I tried to extend AKL to 2 nights instead of just 1 (magical express will be picking us up at 5:30am) but no more availability for the DVC points. I got locked in. To say I was peeved with the husband was an understatement LOL. But I'm looking at this as a new type of adventure and it will be an interesting story :)
 

Club Cooloholic

Well-Known Member
I also have 3 resorts in 8 days. Not by choice though. I originally had 2 nights at CBR and 1 night at AKL for before and after a cruise. I got the nights at CBR using the Disney Visa discount and I'm renting DVC points from my SIL for AKL. But then my husband cancelled the cruise. Luckily, I had booked CSR during the nights of the cruise, at a very great rate, in case my husband did decide to cancel. Unfortunately, I was never able to get the first 6 nights at the same location for a comparable price - and if I didn't book those nights when I did, we would have been out more money because room availability was limited when he cancelled. And I tried to extend AKL to 2 nights instead of just 1 (magical express will be picking us up at 5:30am) but no more availability for the DVC points. I got locked in. To say I was peeved with the husband was an understatement LOL. But I'm looking at this as a new type of adventure and it will be an interesting story :)
Cancelled the cruise, did he talk with you first?
 

LUVofDIS

Well-Known Member
Not crazy at all, we do this all the time. This September we will be staying at SOG, Hard Rock and Coronado and back to SOG. This is over eleven nights. it works for us and we love the variety. Though we were hoping to be able to rent points from DVC for the end, but we were to late, hence the stay at SOG again at the end.
 

notslim99

Active Member
Original Poster
Yes. 🤷‍♂️

Pick a resort and go have fun. Why spend all your time on logistics?

Because, with our airfare/DVC points situation, it turned out to be cheaper ANNNNND it extended our vacation by 3 nights! Helluva bargain. I honestly don't think it will be super taxing to make all those moves, since bell services will take care of the bags. We shall see though. If I hate it, I'll come back here and eat crow. 😬
 

HoustonHorn

Premium Member
I'm not being mean. Growing up, we vacationed every summer for a week or two. They were always road trips, and we never spent more than 2-3 nights in one place. They were a ton of fun, but looking back, it seems like so much of our time was spent packing moving rooms. As I've become an adult, I try like the devil to settle in (as much as you can settle in when not in your own home) when I travel. So while I understand the economics of split stays, I'd rather downgrade hotel and not move than move. Especially at Disney, where, honestly, how much time are you going to spend at your hotel? But that's just me. You do you!
 

Club Cooloholic

Well-Known Member
Because, with our airfare/DVC points situation, it turned out to be cheaper ANNNNND it extended our vacation by 3 nights! Helluva bargain. I honestly don't think it will be super taxing to make all those moves, since bell services will take care of the bags. We shall see though. If I hate it, I'll come back here and eat crow. 😬
With my kidsz they tend to like the stimulation of trying new places. Its like doing a road trip in a 10 mile radius! For us, we are doing the jumping around because we were trying to make everyone happy, inlaws wanted an epcot resort so BCV, dsughter wanted Poly so Poly, wife and I wanted to try Vero and the beach...so that, and well OKW is so we have a shorter airport drive lol. Plus curious about it.
 

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