Split Stay YC/Poly 2021

disneycat321

DIS Veteran
Joined
Jan 13, 2013
We are planning on a dream split stay with YC (stayed last July and LOVE IT) and the Poly (new for us, but we've dreamed of staying there when we visit every trip) in June 2021 for an anniversary trip. :lovestruc Current plan is 5 nights at each with YC first. We're hoping 10 nights will give us lots of extra time to enjoy the two beautiful resorts. We've never done a split stay before, but we love the idea of staying in both the Epcot and MK resort areas. We've never stayed in the MK area before, so that will be a new and exciting experience for us, which is why we're putting it last in the trip.

I've read about split stays, but does anyone have any tips/trips/experiences to share? We won't have a car. Is the second room usually available around 3 or 4? In your experience, when does luggage usually get there if you use bell services and don't transport it yourself? With just 2 adults, would it be worth the cost to use something other than the buses to move our luggage ourselves? We'll just have one medium sized suitcase per person. What do you like to do on the transfer day?

For anyone who's done a split like this (especially using Disney transportation), when did you do AK and DS? I know technically DS is a lot closer to YC, but does it really matter where this or AK go in the trip? What about TL and BB? We of course plan to do MK during the Poly half and HS during the YC half, with Epcot in both but more heavily concentrated in the YC half. (Epcot is our favorite, so extra Epcot is fine with us!)

Any tips on fun resort-area experiences at either resort, especially the Poly since we've never stayed there?

As far as booking, we are planning to book YC as a package with 10 day PH+ tickets and then book the Poly as a room only reservation. I've read about the details with ADRs and FP+ (provided that all that goes back to normal). We always do ME transportation to and from the airport -how complicated is that with the two separate bookings? Is that something that would be easier to add over the phone, since it's not round trip?

Thanks for any insights, experiences, answers, and tips! We are super excited, even though it's a full year away!
 
We've done this exact split stay! For us, YC was a repeat (BC & YC are our fav resorts) and Poly was a new resort. We stayed DVC on a cash reservation so not the regular rooms but found we really liked our stay there and would do it again anytime. We have done a number of split stays and prefer to do the new resort first. We have through trial (and error!) found that doing the new one first lets us try the new resort (and hopefully really like the new stay) and end with one that we know we will enjoy. We usually rent a car but for the times we haven't, we have used a taxi or uber to make the change. That way our luggage is at the resort when we want it and aren't waiting for it. We have been lucky enough to get our room at the 2nd resort before 3 a few times (which is why I like to know it's already there) but we usually go about our day and just go back to the resort when it's convenient for us. For us (our kids are adults) it's been an easy switch since we don't have naps to worry about or if someone is cranky they can just go off on their own!

For the Poly, we enjoyed watching the fireworks on the beach, the lounges for some adult beverages and getting the twilight feast from room service. We did walk over to the GF one night to walk around. The boys liked the location for going golfing. We prefer walking to 2 parks from BC/YC better than having to rely on the monorail but that's our preference. Since you've stayed at YC before I'm sure you have an idea of the things you can do there.

Enjoy the stay! I hope to do this split again sometime soon but there are still some resorts I want to try. I need to win the lottery to fund more stays!
 
We've done this exact split stay! For us, YC was a repeat (BC & YC are our fav resorts) and Poly was a new resort. We stayed DVC on a cash reservation so not the regular rooms but found we really liked our stay there and would do it again anytime. We have done a number of split stays and prefer to do the new resort first. We have through trial (and error!) found that doing the new one first lets us try the new resort (and hopefully really like the new stay) and end with one that we know we will enjoy. We usually rent a car but for the times we haven't, we have used a taxi or uber to make the change. That way our luggage is at the resort when we want it and aren't waiting for it. We have been lucky enough to get our room at the 2nd resort before 3 a few times (which is why I like to know it's already there) but we usually go about our day and just go back to the resort when it's convenient for us. For us (our kids are adults) it's been an easy switch since we don't have naps to worry about or if someone is cranky they can just go off on their own!

For the Poly, we enjoyed watching the fireworks on the beach, the lounges for some adult beverages and getting the twilight feast from room service. We did walk over to the GF one night to walk around. The boys liked the location for going golfing. We prefer walking to 2 parks from BC/YC better than having to rely on the monorail but that's our preference. Since you've stayed at YC before I'm sure you have an idea of the things you can do there.

Enjoy the stay! I hope to do this split again sometime soon but there are still some resorts I want to try. I need to win the lottery to fund more stays!

I'm glad to hear that you enjoyed this split! I read about that twilight feast - pretty appealing to get Ohana food delivered right to the room! And I hear you about needing to win the lottery. We've definitely been bitten by the deluxe resort bug, and now I have so many (expensive!) resorts I want to try!
 
We’ve done several Poly/YC splits - it’s really the best of both worlds and they contrast each other nicely.

Unsolicited opinion, we strongly prefer Poly first then YC second. I’m not sure we’d even ever consider doing it the other way around. For us, Poly is exciting, lots to do, it has a certain buzz, you have the MK right there - we’re starting off the trip strong with enthusiasm. But then for the second part, something a little more laid back like YC really starts to fit well. Nicer newly renovated rooms (compared to Poly’s older rooms), a generally quieter (arguably more adult oriented) resort, all the walking/dining options at EP or DHS. For us it’s a peaceful/relaxing second part of the trip relative to the slightly more hectic Poly. (I don’t mean that in a negative way, Poly is our favorite resort... I’m just talking the vibe). YC is also generally our first choice when we just do adults only trips.

FYI, you can’t take luggage on a Disney bus, so your only options on your transfer day are having Disney move it to Resort #2 for you, or take Uber/Lyft/Taxi. We usually just let Disney move and take a day bag with anything we might need as sometimes luggage might not be available at Resort #2 until later in the day.

I’ll let others touch on your other questions. Have fun!
 


We’ve done several Poly/YC splits - it’s really the best of both worlds and they contrast each other nicely.

Unsolicited opinion, we strongly prefer Poly first then YC second. I’m not sure we’d even ever consider doing it the other way around. For us, Poly is exciting, lots to do, it has a certain buzz, you have the MK right there - we’re starting off the trip strong with enthusiasm. But then for the second part, something a little more laid back like YC really starts to fit well. Nicer newly renovated rooms (compared to Poly’s older rooms), a generally quieter (arguably more adult oriented) resort, all the walking/dining options at EP or DHS. For us it’s a peaceful/relaxing second part of the trip relative to the slightly more hectic Poly. (I don’t mean that in a negative way, Poly is our favorite resort... I’m just talking the vibe). YC is also generally our first choice when we just do adults only trips.

FYI, you can’t take luggage on a Disney bus, so your only options on your transfer day are having Disney move it to Resort #2 for you, or take Uber/Lyft/Taxi. We usually just let Disney move and take a day bag with anything we might need as sometimes luggage might not be available at Resort #2 until later in the day.

I’ll let others touch on your other questions. Have fun!

Thank you! We are going to have to think about the Poly/YC order situation! Your reasoning definitely does make sense.
 
When switching resorts, I like to use Lyft. From one resort to the other should be <$20 and I know my luggage is waiting at bell services when my room is ready rather than having to wait for the transfer. I will also plan to be in a nearby park on the day of transfer. So if going to Poly I would plan MK and going to YC would plan Epcot or DHS (hopefully they will not be using park reservation times by the time you get there). Makes it quick to go back and unpack when your room is ready.

Regarding when is room ready: usually, it is ready around 3-4pm, but sometimes I have gotten my room at 9am and sometimes at 6pm (CR :mad: )

It is easy to book your ME online: you fill out one form for the arrival hotel and one for the departure hotel. https://secure.reservations.disney.go.com/ibcwdw/en_US/dme/dmeform
 
We are planning on a dream split stay with YC (stayed last July and LOVE IT) and the Poly (new for us, but we've dreamed of staying there when we visit every trip) in June 2021 for an anniversary trip. :lovestruc Current plan is 5 nights at each with YC first. We're hoping 10 nights will give us lots of extra time to enjoy the two beautiful resorts. We've never done a split stay before, but we love the idea of staying in both the Epcot and MK resort areas. We've never stayed in the MK area before, so that will be a new and exciting experience for us, which is why we're putting it last in the trip.

I've read about split stays, but does anyone have any tips/trips/experiences to share? We won't have a car. Is the second room usually available around 3 or 4? In your experience, when does luggage usually get there if you use bell services and don't transport it yourself? With just 2 adults, would it be worth the cost to use something other than the buses to move our luggage ourselves? We'll just have one medium sized suitcase per person. What do you like to do on the transfer day?

For anyone who's done a split like this (especially using Disney transportation), when did you do AK and DS? I know technically DS is a lot closer to YC, but does it really matter where this or AK go in the trip? What about TL and BB? We of course plan to do MK during the Poly half and HS during the YC half, with Epcot in both but more heavily concentrated in the YC half. (Epcot is our favorite, so extra Epcot is fine with us!)

Any tips on fun resort-area experiences at either resort, especially the Poly since we've never stayed there?

As far as booking, we are planning to book YC as a package with 10 day PH+ tickets and then book the Poly as a room only reservation. I've read about the details with ADRs and FP+ (provided that all that goes back to normal). We always do ME transportation to and from the airport -how complicated is that with the two separate bookings? Is that something that would be easier to add over the phone, since it's not round trip?

Thanks for any insights, experiences, answers, and tips! We are super excited, even though it's a full year away!

We've done many MK/EP resort split stays. Yes, your room is typically ready around 3:00 pm to 4:00 pm. We have had Disney transfer our luggage in the past, but for our last few split stays, we've transferred it ourselves just to make sure it gets to our second resort in a timely manner. What I typically like to do on our check-in/check-out day is have a leisurely morning to finish up packing, call a Minnie Van to take us and our luggage to our second resort, store the luggage with guest services and then head out to whatever park is closest to our second resort. We then enjoy the park, come back to the resort later and, voila! room and luggage are ready to go!

For a MK/EP split, we usually focus on MK and AK during the MK stay and focus on EP and DHS for the EP stay. We throw in a water park on whatever day seems to make the most sense due to park touring and never really base it on where we are staying.

DME is easy to schedule. Simply put your airport pick-up on your first stay and hotel pick-up on your second stay.

When you are at Poly, I highly suggest going to Trader Sam's, watching the fireworks from the beach and even consider Spirit of Aloha (some people find it corny, but I think it's kind of fun!). The Twilight Feast room-service meal is a great suggestion!
 


Regarding luggage transfer, I have always just used bell services at my resort. I generally bring my bags down in the morning, and when I head over to my next resort, my bags are there later in the afternoon and by the time I am ready to check into my new room. I have never taken a car to WDW and this is probably the easiest way to guarantee your bags are definitely waiting for you when your room is ready, but I've never had a problem with bell services not transferring bags efficiently, and I generally do a split stay every time I go. Regarding what park to go to, I have a preference to evenly disperse my park visits regardless of where I am staying. For example, my family always park hops, that way I never go more than a day without being at MK and the most I am ever away from Epcot or DHS is 2 days. I like to be able to experience the parks intermittently throughout the trip, rather than bulking up on MK visits when I am at Poly and Epcot/DHS visits while I'm at a Crescent Lake resort.
 
We've done a lot of split stays and with one exception, have always just had Bell Services transfer our luggage. The one time I had a car, and transferred it myself, I found it to be much more of a pain than I expected as it took multiple trips to get all the bags in the car (we were there for our son's wedding and had a lot of extra stuff). For me, it's just simpler to have Bell Services do it all for me.

Your questions have been generally answered, but here are a couple of additional bits of info to be aware of:

1) luggage transfer is a massively coordinated effort across all the resorts. Nothing begins to move until approx 1pm. At which time the dance commences. Luggage should be at the new resort by 4pm and is often the by 3pm. It can take longer though. You will not have access to your luggage until it arrives at the new resort.

2) if you want to make the transfer even easier for you, contact Bell Services the evening before your move and arrange a time for them to pick up your stuff the next morning. If you do that, they will be at your room 5 min before that time. Pre-arranged requests take precedence over anyone calling in the morning for a pickup. In maybe 10 transfers, I've yet to have Bell Services not be there at the agreed upon time.

Enjoy

Steve
 
This is all great information! Thanks!

When you are at Poly, I highly suggest going to Trader Sam's, watching the fireworks from the beach and even consider Spirit of Aloha (some people find it corny, but I think it's kind of fun!). The Twilight Feast room-service meal is a great suggestion!
Definitely planning on Spirit of Aloha! We are suckers for dinner shows. HDDR is a must do every trip for us. We have watched fireworks from the Poly beach before (carefully timed after an Ohana dinner reservation), and are excited to be able to do that even more conveniently on this trip!

We've done a lot of split stays and with one exception, have always just had Bell Services transfer our luggage. The one time I had a car, and transferred it myself, I found it to be much more of a pain than I expected as it took multiple trips to get all the bags in the car (we were there for our son's wedding and had a lot of extra stuff). For me, it's just simpler to have Bell Services do it all for me.

Your questions have been generally answered, but here are a couple of additional bits of info to be aware of:

1) luggage transfer is a massively coordinated effort across all the resorts. Nothing begins to move until approx 1pm. At which time the dance commences. Luggage should be at the new resort by 4pm and is often the by 3pm. It can take longer though. You will not have access to your luggage until it arrives at the new resort.

2) if you want to make the transfer even easier for you, contact Bell Services the evening before your move and arrange a time for them to pick up your stuff the next morning. If you do that, they will be at your room 5 min before that time. Pre-arranged requests take precedence over anyone calling in the morning for a pickup. In maybe 10 transfers, I've yet to have Bell Services not be there at the agreed upon time.

Enjoy

Steve

Thank you for this detailed info! This gives a lot of insight. I'm glad you've had such a consistently good experience with Bell Services and luggage transfers! I've read a couple bad reports on here about it, but it seems like the negative is the exception, not the norm.
 
As far as booking, we are planning to book YC as a package with 10 day PH+ tickets and then book the Poly as a room only reservation
I know this post was from June, but just curious to OP if they were able to make their Reservation like this. I want to do a similar thing in Aug 2021 but the site won’t allow me to make the 10 day tickets on only a 4 night stay at the first resort. Was wondering if you had a the same issue and what you did. Thanks
 

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