How many resorts have you split your stay into?

[kboo]

Love split stays but I would definitely limit it to two resorts. One downside is booking ADR's has to be done in two segments- you can't book for your whole trip 180 days from check in at the first resort. Have to do it 180 days from check in at each place. Fast passes however work as normal- can book for your whole trip 60 days from check in at the first place.

This - we have mostly done split stays with Swan/Dolphin for the first few days and then move to a larger and more luxurious DVC. I am having the same issue booking ADRs and don't really feel like calling MS to see if I can book for the whole stay. We usually manage to get what we want anyway.

I personally am a fan of split stays, but I would really only suggest doing them with a minimum 3 nights at each place.

Excatly. I am an unpacker, and still have small kids and a stroller. So 3 nights is my minimum, too. I have a lot of Starwood points, so splitting with Swolphin helps me stretch my DVC points.

ETA: Split stays are also great for being able to quickly access Epcot/DHS and M/K from their respective surrounding resorts. Heading to Epcot from VGF was a PITA by way of the monorail - BCV to Epcot by way of walking? So civilized.

Exactly - we stay in the Epcot area first (usually over the first weekend, so we have the bonus of saving Friday and Saturday night points) and then move to BLT or VGF on the Monday. Last time we moved from a double/double room at the Dolphin to a BLT 1br - my 7 yo exclaimed, "This is the nicest hotel I have EVER SEEN!!!!!"

ETA: I don't know if I would do 3 resorts. 2 seems to be my limit, though maybe with older kids and no stroller, it might be easier. But we don't usually go for longer than 8 nights, so a 2-resort split stay is just right.

 

[Bethislucy]

I've done 1 split stay and it wasn't fun for us. We did 2 nights and then 5 at the other.

 

[Paticake]

Our last trip 1 &1/2 weeks ago was for 12 days. Lots of moving! 1 night at Pop, 4 nights 2 bedroom at BLT, 4 nights 2 bdrm at SSR and then 2 nights at POR. It wasn't initially planned that way. Airfare was way cheaper 1 day earlier and 2 days later. The only glitch was our luggage delivery from Pop to BLT. We didn't get our luggage until after 7pm! they ended up comping us the bar bill for the pool bar. My husband did not like moving at all. I kind of liked it as I am a travel agent and was able to see other resorts.

 

[Alli1988]

I'm looking for advice.

We have a split stay coming up - 4 nights POP followed by 4 nights Movies. It came down to book the flights and it's cheaper to add a hotel night and take a flight a day earlier even including upping our number of park ticket days, so we want to add 1 night on the front of the stay. Pop is full that night. (Party of 5 - Mom, Dad, DD 7, DD 2 (still using diaper bag), and Grandma)

Does anyone have experience with arriving at MCO late afternoon, taking a hotel shuttle for one night stay, then using it to come back to MCO to take Magical Express? We would obviously check and pick up our luggage, and then carry it on the Magical Express the next day (or just use Lyft from hotel to Disney resort) - it would be early so then leave it all Bell Services at POP while we do a park. Would it be easier to go ahead and get a night at a Disney Spring hotel? How does luggage work for that - does Disney help?

Open to suggestions - thanks.

 

[DougEMG]

I like doing split stays and do them a lot. Typically if we are going for 3-4 weeks we like to split the stay among 2-3 resorts. One with the EPCOT resorts and one with the Monorail resorts.

 

[Rick195275]

So great to hear all the opinions. We have a split stay coming up out of necessity as I had to book under 7 months. It’s our first DVC trip though and are really excited to try out a few different resorts. As of now we have 3 days pvb, 3 days blt and 3 days akl. Have 1 day booked and the other 2 wait listed to switch from blt to bcv if possible but no luck so far. Seems to be best to plan a full morning at the parks on transfer days and hope for a decent check in time at the new resort. Can’t wait for April!

 

[Smilelea]

We’re new to DVC, so over our first several stays, we’ve booked all split stays to expose ourselves to as many of the resorts as possible.

Transitioning from resort to resort has been easy. Bell services picks up our bags (including perishables) and then we head to the park. We head back to the new resort, call up bell services, and five minutes later they’re in our new room.

In our first year, we will have stayed at BCV, VGF, BWV, and AKV-Jambo all courtesy of split stays. Given the challenges of booking at 7-months as I’ve experienced them, I can see eventually wanting to just own at our favorite resorts and not monkey with this non-home resort business. As such, the split stays are a great way to “sample” the resorts. I recommend it highly for new members. Again, it’s certainly given us a newfound appreciation for the buy where you want to stay philosophy.

ETA: Split stays are also great for being able to quickly access Epcot/DHS and M/K from their respective surrounding resorts. Heading to Epcot from VGF was a PITA by way of the monorail - BCV to Epcot by way of walking? So civilized.

This is us, exactly. In our first year, so far we've done AKV, BC, BLT, and CCV, and in January we'll add PVB to that. Since we know going in what we're doing we can plan for it and minimize any impacts.
We'll eventually probably settle down but right now we really enjoy trying out all the new resorts.
And yes, we definitely take resort into account when planning our park days.

 

[MrInfinity]

It would be fun to do all 11 Orlando DVC resorts in one 11-night trip.

 

[4evryoung]

Great to hear so many different opinions. I have a split stay planned for April next year between poly and akl. Is it at all worth it to switch for 1 day? I have been holding 1 day at the beach club hoping something else would open up. It hasnt yet but considering going for the 1 day so my 8 year old can enjoy the pools.

If your Beach Club day is in the middle of the other two reservations you could have your luggage sent directly from resort 1 to resort 3 with a note to hold it until your arrival date. Then just take an overnight bag to the beach club travelling via Uber/Minnie van and have a resort day around the pool until your room is ready. Visit Epcot in the evening, Studios the following morning and then head off to your 3rd resort in the afternoon in time for check-in.

 

[Rick195275]

If your Beach Club day is in the middle of the other two reservations you could have your luggage sent directly from resort 1 to resort 3 with a note to hold it until your arrival date. Then just take an overnight bag to the beach club travelling via Uber/Minnie van and have a resort day around the pool until your room is ready. Visit Epcot in the evening, Studios the following morning and then head off to your 3rd resort in the afternoon in time for check-in.

It is in the middle of my current reservations. Great tip thank you! Never considered this one but would definitely make the transition easy for us.

 

[TiggerBouncy]

Most we have done is 2. However our typical trip is only 5-6 days. We are not fans of splits because we are unpackers and like to go to our resort mid-day when it's hot out rather then stay in the parks. That said, Disney does make splits very easy, so there is that.

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

I did 3 once for a last minute 5 night trip. Yeah - wouldn't do that again unless I absolutely had to. That was a pain since I could never fully settle in to a resort and since 2 of the nights were at places I hadn't stayed before, I never really learned my way around either. LOL

 

[bwvBound]

It would be fun to do all 11 Orlando DVC resorts in one 11-night trip.

Why stop at 11 nights? Why not go for the Grand Slam? Try out every unit type at a resort before moving to the next resort ... go for it!

 

[mel&me]

Have only done a split stay once just recently. don't have any plans on doing one again.

 

[Jennifer Bowers]

My first trip as a DVC member was 4 nights in 4 different hotels with my husband. It was our anniversary trip and first time without kids so we didn't do parks. We stayed 1 night BLT, 1 night BWV, 1 night PVB, and 1 night VGF. It was so fun! I would definately recommend it. Transferring was very smooth. Luggage was ready around 5:00pm. We have an upcoming split stay 3 nights BRV and 3 nights AKV with kids and in laws so maybe my opinion will change after that.....

 

[carlbarry]

I've mostly done 5/5 nights. But when the VGF opened, I did 3 nights at OKW, 2 nights at BCV, and then 5 nights at VGF. It was too much moving around.

 

[GinnyBear's_mom]

We love split stays! My kids ask for us to visit multiple resorts and we usually limit it to 2 per trip. In August we did a BCV/BWV split and had a great time. For highly themed resorts like AKL and BCV I definitely think even a 1 night stay can be worth it if you are planning on hanging arpund the resort and skipping the parks that day.

Packing cubes are definitely our friend during split stays, each family member has their own and it makes packing and unpacking a breeze!

 

[Halle]

We love split stays! My kids ask for us to visit multiple resorts and we usually limit it to 2 per trip. In August we did a BCV/BWV split and had a great time. For highly themed resorts like AKL and BCV I definitely think even a 1 night stay can be worth it if you are planning on hanging arpund the resort and skipping the parks that day.

Packing cubes are definitely our friend during split stays, each family member has their own and it makes packing and unpacking a breeze!

Packing cubes are the way to go!!!

 

[Crystal824]

Two and that was one too many.

Agree. We have done two resorts on several stays, but we prefer not to move. For us, it always seems like a good idea in the planning process but is a pain to carry out. We have three little kids so it is a lot of stuff to move. The kids aren't much help with the process. It is likely easier if you are all adults or have older kids.

 

[keishashadow]

When the weekend point structure changed, staying onsite at Universal for 2 nights became our norm and it was wonderful to finish a trip with the FOTL perk in hand! Nice to find myself with more DVC points/bonus trips each year!

Lately, I’ve added on a day prior to starting out @ DVC and book a SW hotel for a night that gives the quick queue perk.

I’ve combined a few nights booked thru CRO at value or moderate but can’t recall splitting a DVC stay now that I think of it. Well, other than if doing a short cruise and wrapping different resorts around it.