How to Do a Split Stay at Disney World Hotels
Doing a resort split stay at Walt Disney World is great for trying two hotels or splurging on a luxury or Club Level accommodations. It can also be leveraged for proximity to the parks, making transportation, Early Entry, Extended Evening Hours, and midday breaks all easier! This covers strategy, tips & tricks, whether it’s worth the hassle, and more. (Updated January 21, 2024.)
A lot of readers have asked us about split stays, and the primary question is whether they’re worth the effort. We won’t bury the lede here: yes. We love the resorts at Walt Disney World almost as much as the theme parks, and staying at multiple hotels is a great way to experience different ‘thematic settings’ during a single trip.
Your resort can set the tone and atmosphere for the entire trip, so changing resorts makes it feel almost like a different vacation entirely–travel to both Fiji and the Pacific Northwest during your Florida trip. Right now, we’re even bigger advocates of split stays as a form of splurge that’ll allow you to take advantage of better on-site perks…
That’s because Walt Disney World is offering Early Entry and Extended Evening Hours through at least 2024 as a replacement to Extra Magic Hours. The former allows all on-site resort guests and those staying at select third party hotels to enjoy 30-minute access to any Walt Disney World theme park, every day before normal operating hours begin.
We’re big fans of Early Entry, as it essentially offer a couple of ride headstart for on-site guests, which can be pretty significant. (Learn more strategy in our Guide to Early Entry at Walt Disney World.) However, it’s not really relevant from a split stay perspective, since all on-site guests have access to this.
Where split stays come into play is with Extended Evening Theme Park Hours. This benefit is exclusively for guests staying at Deluxe Resorts, Deluxe Villas (Disney Vacation Club units), or other select hotels (currently Swan & Dolphin, Swan Reserve, and Shades of Green). Guests staying at Value or Moderate Resorts are not eligible for Extended Evening Hours.
Extended Evening Theme Park Hours occur only two nights per week in total–typically Mondays at Epcot and Wednesdays at Magic Kingdom, with a 2-hour duration starting immediately after normal park closing. Two hours should allow eligible guests to accomplish more, but this is only a perk for those who book more expensive hotels.
Currently, the two newest attractions in Epcot and Magic Kingdom–Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind and TRON Lightcycle Run, respectively–both use virtual queues. This means you can only ride once per day via the virtual queue, assuming you score a spot, but Extended Evening Hours is an exception to that. On those evenings, there’s another chance to join the VQ. (See our Guide to the Virtual Queue at TRON Lightcycle Run for everything you need to know–same applies to Cosmic Rewind.)
Extended Evening Hours (ExEH) is a huge advantage. Crowds are virtually non-existent, as are lines for most attractions. It’s way better than Evening Extra Magic Hours were, which had become overcrowded due to expanded eligibility during its last few years. However, ExEH is only so blissfully unbusy because it excludes a large chunk of guests–everyone staying at Value and Moderate Resorts.
This is where a split stay comes into play. You’re eligible for these extra hours both on your checkin and checkout days, meaning that you could theoretically do a 2-night stay at a Deluxe Resort, checking in on Monday and checking out on Wednesday, and take advantage of Extended Evening Hours in two parks. (See our Guide to Extended Evening Hours at Walt Disney World for more rules, eligibility, strategy, etc.)
As of early 2024, Extended Evening Hours is back at Magic Kingdom and EPCOT. Our favorite park for ExEH is Magic Kingdom, thanks to its ride density–there are more attractions and they’re easy to knock out in quick succession. (By contrast, there’s a lot of “commuting” at EPCOT that eats up valuable time.) Expect Magic Kingdom to continue hosting ExEH until around October 2024, when the heart of Party Season arrives and the perk is presumably (again) moved to Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom.
The same idea can be applied to a split stay and doing Club Level at Walt Disney World. You’re eligible to use the concierge lounge and all of the perks that come with staying Club Level on both your arrival and departure day, meaning that one night essentially enables you to access that lounge over the course of two days. Doing Club Level for a night or two, arriving early and leaving late gives you the most bang for your buck, and is a good way to get a taste of the Club Level life without breaking the bank.
Accordingly, we highly recommend Club Level as part of a ‘treat yourself’ split stay splurge. If you opt to do this, we highly recommend doing Club Level at the end of your vacation. This is partially because it’s tough to go back to normal accommodations once you’ve been in da club. More importantly, because you’ll spend the first portion of your trip racing around the parks doing everything that you want to get done, exhausting yourselves in the progress. Then at the end, you’ll have a Club Level stay to relax, rejuvenate, and actually vacation.
When we stay Club Level at Walt Disney World, we seldom leave the hotel–often bouncing between the lounge and the pool. For our favorite concierge lounges and recommendations, see our Guide to Club Level at Walt Disney World. If it’s going to be a big splurge and you want to do it but are unsure it’s in your budget, our recommendation would be Chronos Club at Gran Destino Tower, which offers far and away the best bang for buck.
(Once advance-booking of Lightning Lanes debuts later in 2024, it’s also possible that Club Level guests will have access to more or better ride reservation options. See When Will Pre-Arrival Lightning Lane Bookings Start at Walt Disney World?)
Only do the Disney Dining Plan for a portion of the stay, if at all. As covered in our 2024 Disney Dining Plan Info & Tips post, we think it provides too much food and can take too much time. Only doing the Disney Dining Plan for one portion of the trip allows us to do an attractions-oriented half of the trip, and a food-oriented half.
We almost always do the food half of the trip second, when we’re ready to slow down, relax, and focus more on eating. This also allows you to maximize savings by booking ADRs for the Best Uses of Disney Dining Plan Credits during the second half of your trip, while focusing on your favorite ‘good value’ restaurants during the first half. This isn’t something often discussed when it comes to split stays, but we wholeheartedly recommend it.
To that point, do NOT do the Disney Dining Plan at the same time as Club Level. It’s one or the other, not both. However, if you have a really long Walt Disney World vacation and really want to get creative and have fun, consider splitting your trip into thirds. This does allow you to do both the DDP and Club Level, just not at the same time.
If you’re worried about split stays wasting too much time, don’t. They actually offer a number of other different strategic advantages. One is in leveraging location for more efficient transportation to the theme parks near your hotel. This is of particular relevance when it allows you to avoid Disney buses, which aren’t typically as efficient as the non-bus transportation.
If you do a stay at Crescent Lake or at one of the Skyliner resorts, you have easy transportation–either via gondola or your feet–to both Epcot and Disney’s Hollywood Studios. If you follow that up with a Seven Seas Lagoon or Bay Lake resort stay, you have non-bus transportation to Magic Kingdom. That leaves only Animal Kingdom, and you could probably just deal with the buses for that.
The benefits of a convenient location cannot be overstated. This is especially true for Early Entry–walking to Epcot or Magic Kingdom, or taking the Skyliner to Disney’s Hollywood Studios or Epcot is far more efficient and easier first thing than relying on a bus. The time you save during Early Entry in turn gives you the freedom to leave the park–avoiding crowds in the middle of the day by taking breaks for pool time, afternoon naps, etc. Seriously, split stays open up a world of time-saving opportunities that you probably never imagined existed.
This approach also opens up more opportunities for enjoying and comparing a variety of amenities. For instance, you could do a head-to-head comparison and settle the Polynesian vs. Caribbean Beach Resort debate once and for all. Or, you could simply enjoy a greater range of restaurants, pools, and other entertainment that’s unique to each resort.
If you’re going to be spending more time at the pools or eating breakfast and dinner at your hotel, this helps you mix things up. Doing a split stay opens up more options–variety is the spice of life and all that.
As you can probably tell, we are huge fans of split stays. We change hotels frequently at Walt Disney World. Part because we really enjoy it and part because it’s necessary to keep our Walt Disney World Hotel Reviews updated. There were times in the past when we’ve done as many as 6 hotels in a single trip! While I definitely wouldn’t recommend that, changing once over the course of a week is really no big deal at all.
For our own sanity, we’ve developed a few more ‘rules’ when it comes to split stays…
First, never do just a single night at any hotel. We’ve done that several times, and it can become exhausting. Unpacking and packing, settling in, and getting acclimated, only to do it all over again the next day. Plus, one night is simply not enough time to ‘get to know’ a resort and even partially enjoy its amenities.
Second, coordinate park days with resort stays. If we’re staying at the Contemporary or another monorail resort for one part of the trip, that’s when we go to Magic Kingdom. If we’re staying at Beach Club or another Crescent Lake Resort, that’s when we go to Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Epcot.
This may seem like a minor or even odd thing, but it’s strategically huge. Walking between the Contemporary and Magic Kingdom is a pleasant stroll of less than 10 minutes, with the shortest security check you’ll encounter for the park. Waiting for and taking a bus, then going through the main bag check, can take over an hour. Ditto walking to and from Epcot or DHS.
Finally, go low to high if at all possible. This is to say, start at the lowest tier hotel and end at the highest. This is kind of implied above with the Club Level recommendation, but applies even beyond that. One big motivation for doing split stays is to splurge on something nice without breaking the bank on a full week there. You probably do not want to go from the Grand Floridian for 2 nights to All Star Sports for the next 5 nights.
That’s simply too jarring of a change, and in the wrong direction. Experiencing the nicer properties first really amplifies the shortcomings of the lower tier ones, and will make you less comfortable. It might sound silly, but beginning at a Value and ending at a Deluxe is a far superior approach, and will help you appreciate the Deluxe more.
Here’s our ‘formula’ for this:
- Start with 3-4 nights at a lower tier resort and go hard on the parks
- Switch to a nicer resort, get the Disney Dining Plan, and slow down for the next few nights
- End it all with a couple days for rest and recovery with Club Level accommodations.
Numbers 2 and 3 could even be at the same resort if you don’t want to hassle with transfering your luggage repeatedly. We’ve done trips like the above, and they’re a ton of fun. It sounds more complicated than it really is!
It’s worth noting that the low to high “rule” can be difficult to reconcile with the above advice about Extended Evening Hours, since those happen Monday and Wednesday and most vacations start over a weekend. If it comes down to one or the other, err on the side of Extended Evening Hours. Like the Pirate’s Code, these are really more what you’d call “guidelines” than actual rules.
With that said, consider “rethinking” your vacation time frame if at all possible. Resorts tend to be more expensive over the weekends, so it can be savvy to do a Value Resort Friday through Sunday to pay the (comparatively) lower rates for those as opposed to a Moderate or Deluxe Resort.
Equally as significant, crowds on Saturday and Sunday are lower than Monday through Thursday. Accordingly, you can do ‘commando style’ park touring over the weekend, then take things slower Monday through Wednesday, enjoying the nicer resort more before doing Extended Evening Hours to end the night! (See the ‘Wonky Weekends’ section in our updated Best & Worst Days to Visit Every Park at Walt Disney World.)
The resort transfer itself is pretty easy. On the morning you check out of your first resort, take your luggage down to Bell Services and indicate that you’re transferring resorts. They’ll ask where you’re going, at which point you’ll want to specify the full name of the resort to which you’re going.
As we cover in our Tipping at Walt Disney World: Info & FAQ, you’ll need to tip the Cast Member to whom you give your luggage. After that, you can head to the bus stop/monorail/etc. and start your day. Only a few minutes of extra effort, and you can be on your way to the theme parks.
Most transfers occur in the mid-afternoon, so plan on not receiving your luggage at the next resort until as late as 5 p.m. At your new resort, you’ll almost always have to either go down to Bell Services to retrieve your luggage or call down to have it delivered again. Again, you’ll need to tip.
One thing we’d caution against is opting to ‘do it yourself’ and transfer resorts via Uber, Lyft, or (worst of all) Disney transportation. There are several exceptions to this: those with a rental car, transferring between monorail resorts, or any hotels within walking distance of one another.
Additionally, it can be easier at resorts that are spread out among multiple buildings (like Caribbean Beach), or between off-site and on-site hotels (at which point doing it yourself is necessary). In these cases, Uber or Lyft can pose an advantage.
We understand that some of you may be apprehensive about the luggage transfer, but we have done split stays dozens of times (probably nearly 100 times–so many we’ve lost count) and have had zero issues with the luggage transfer. This doesn’t mean they don’t happen, but they so infrequent it’s not worth worrying about.
More importantly, doing it yourself is a complete waste of time and money. You’ll have to take the time to go to the new resort and spend the money on a ride. You’ll most likely still have to drop your luggage off with Bell Services at the new hotel, because you’ll be arriving there by about noon at the latest and your room is unlikely to be ready.
With the greatness of split stays established, let’s turn to some of the potentially unpleasant logistics. Some Walt Disney World visitors make a huge deal about the planning “hurdles” that come with a split stay, but in fairness, people make a huge deal about everything Walt Disney World-related. It’s not that much additional coordination at all.
No matter how you want to do the split stay, you’re going to be stuck booking multiple reservations. This is irrespective of whether you’re doing a vacation package, room-only reservation, Disney Vacation Club booking. Unfortunately, Disney’s system is not sufficiently sophisticated to allow for a single reservation to encompass multiple hotel stays.
From our perspective, tickets are the most important element to discuss, and you’ll want to purchase tickets for the full duration of your stay with the first stay. The reason for this is, quite simply, that one 7-day or 10-day ticket is cheaper than two shorter tickets.
There are potential hiccups and exceptions (you know, the usual when it comes to Walt Disney World planning), but that’s essentially it. For most visitors, booking a split stay and planning all components shouldn’t be much of a challenge, particularly if you’re a more laid back planner.
With that said, we did just lay out a bunch of rules/guidelines, some of which are contradictory. If you want more thorough guidance or assistance navigating the ‘split stay’ planning waters, we’d highly recommend contacting an Authorized Disney Vacation Planner. Those travel agents are free-to-use so long as they handle your booking, and they can offer personalized planning that takes into account your priorities and preferences. No Disney planning advice is one-size-fits-all, and that includes our strategies for split stays!
Overall, hopefully this helps you understand the ins and outs of how to do a split stay and, much more importantly, the upsides of doing one. In case you can’t tell, we love split stays. There’s something truly special about sleeping in the rustic seclusion of Fort Wilderness for a night, and then flipping a switch to the grandiosity and elegance of the Grand Floridian the next.
Likewise, staying within walking distance of Magic Kingdom at the Contemporary for a couple of nights, and then walking distance of DHS and Epcot at BoardWalk a few nights is both a ton of fun and smart strategy. Those are just a couple of examples, but the options for changing from one richly-themed environment and ‘region’ of Walt Disney World to another are pretty much boundless.
Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!
Your Thoughts
Have you done a split stay at Walt Disney World? What’s your favorite approach to doing different resorts during the same WDW vacation? Do you agree or disagree with our advice? Any hotel combos you particularly like? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
We’re travelling from Scotland and planning a split stay trip for summer 2022 so this is super helpful. A couple of things I’ve discovered, though, which are frustrating…
Coming from the UK, we don’t get to visit WDW as often as we’d like, so we really try to maximise and plan our trips to perfection (which makes this blog invaluable!). We normally stay on site for 5 nights then move to a vacation home nearby for the remainder of the 2 weeks, but since we haven’t been able to visit since 2019 we decided to go ‘all out’ in 2022 and spend the entire trip in ‘the bubble’ (though may change our plans if more on site perks don’t return before then).
The idea of being able to take advantage of the 60 day booking window for 2 weeks is appealing – although obviously hypothetical at the moment. I’ve discovered, though, that on a split stay our reservation is 2 separate bookings so the 60 day window applies to each part in isolation, even with 2-week tickets – so for us, staying 1 week at AOA and 1 week at the Poly, we’ll only be able to book FP+ for the first 7 days of our trip initially, then will have to wait until 60 days out from our Poly stay to book passes for our second week. Not a huge deal, and hopefully we’ll be able to snag everything we want with those 2 opportunities (if FP+ is even a thing by then), but just a bit frustrating.
Also, really interesting to read Tom’s point about doing Dining Plan for the second part of your trip – as far as I’m aware, that’s not possible for us. Again, hypothetical at the moment, but Disney say that we would only be able to add Dining Plan to the first week of our trip if it returns as that’s the reservation that has park tickets attached (although they are 14-day tickets to span our second resort stay also). We could book separate 7-day tickets for each part of our trip, but 7-day tickets cost exactly the same as 14-day tickets from the UK (and they are EXPENSIVE!) so booking tickets for each part of our stay doesn’t make sense. I would much prefer to have the DP for our second week when we’ll be more relaxed, moving at a slower pace and not so held back by jet lag. Again, not a deal killer, and all a non-issue if these perks don’t return anyway, but these little frustrations are annoying when our trip is such a big deal and expense for us.
When you’re booking let’s say, 12 nights, and it’s a split stay. How do you go about doing a 4-5 day park hopper ticket? Can I call Disney reservation and have them modify the dates on the tickets? It’s only letting me use a four or five day ticket for a six day window:/ . I’d like to be able to use it on my 10th and 11th day. Any advice would be appreciated 🙂 thanks!
We almost always do split stays for all the reasons you’ve said here. One tip on the transfer of luggage – pack any breakable or dent-able items carefully. We’ve had items broken or dented, until we complained to Bell Service and they explained that the 3rd party service doesn’t handle the luggage gently. And then one day I happened to see that service driver tossing the luggage into his van as hard and fast as he could, with absolute disregard to what might be in them.
Ok…. so it has been 21yr s since our last stay at WDW and we did do a split stay. Now we will be doing it with kids. Two suggestions i disagree with ( and remember this is just my opinion ). First we will be doing CBR one week and 2 rms AoA 2nd week. Where you say move up to the more grander hotel is not a wrong suggestion but in a case with a family of 4. We are going from a Moderate 1 rm to a Value 2 rms… for the a little more space and sanity of the family unit. If we could have afforded 2 rms at CBR then if could have worked but we can’t so the reverse is what we are doing and others may consider ( my girls are 17. It will not only give some more space but some freedom for them ) plus they love little mermaid… so that works. In regards to the second. A one night stay. I am considering a single night stay at AKL Kidani via DVC rental. I will explain why. Besides the fact that Jamba House and the AKL itself will not be open by july my oldest twin is an animal nut. She works rescue shelters and such. Much more so into animals than her sister. So I thought if there was a way the night before we are to go to AK Park if I could get her a room overlooking the Savannah and she qas to wake up to animals then her trip is made. Normally a AKL hotel room is at least 450 plus a night. Via DVC rental its about 300 which is better. We are not made of money but do to AKL for a week was pricey and my wife and I had already stayed there the week it opened all those yrs ago. Since this will be probably the last big family trip then if I dont eat a few lunches so I can surprise her and make her yr ( after covid and virtural senior yr high school ) then it would be worth it. Just some things to consider.
To chime in on your advice about the Meal Plans, we’ve done them all. But the last trip, I decided to see how much $ it really costs to eat at Disney and give my waistline a break from all of those “free” desserts. For the 2 of us (one adult and one child) we saved over $150 by paying cash. We didn’t overeat and only ate sweets when we really wanted them. We also found that buying kids meals were a fun way to try lots of different foods that we may not want a full size portion of. It worked out great and I won’t buy a meal plan if they return.
Tom, I was pleased to see your reminder to tip bell services on each end of the luggage transfer. I think sometimes guests feel it’s not necessary to tip for a free service. I see this EVERY Magical Express trip from the airport. I am a solo traveler with one small suitcase. I tip generously, but am often the only passenger to tip at all. There’s always multi-generational families with luggage galore, double-wide strollers, coolers, etc. that retrieve their belongings stored under the bus and rush off with not so much as a thank you to the driver. Moot point come January.
I’m doing my first split stay at the end of May, going from the Grand Floridian to Yacht Club. Being able to walk to three parks will be huge, as well as having bigger variety when it comes to food since everything is so limited due to the pandemic now.
Hi,
Did you have to book the split stay over the phone or can you do online? I wanna try it my next trip and make sure I get the deal on the park passes going way down in price as the length of my trip extends. Thanks.
I absolutely love split stays. We do them EVERY visit. This has allowed me to stay in all but a few of the resorts which is great as a TA so I can confidently recommend them as needed. (We have done a few repeats, plus, I really don’t feel the need to stay at All Stars!) Anyway, we always have 1-3 down days at any vacation, so we usually do our transfer on a down day. We don’t mind just grabbing our bags, taking an Uber XL, and checking in for some pool time then heading to Disney Springs. Often the room is ready, too (but certainly not always!!) Now that the clown pool is gone I need to add Boardwalk to my split stay list! We also have done split stays with Universal either between WDW/UOR or within universal. Same thing applies – do cheaper Cabana Bay for your first few days, hit up Volcano Bay bc you can walk, and a few easy park rides. Then move to Hard Rock where you can walk to the parks and use express on all the headliners. Perfect trip! I agree with you that a split between crescent lake and a monorail resort is perfect to avoid all the disney transportation headaches, if it’s in budget.
Oh, when club level comes back, a great split stay idea is a few theme park heavy days, then switch to a club level and just enjoy the resort and free food! We adored our few days at Gran Destino club level right before Covid!
We’re doing an eight night stay at Saratoga springs. beginning in a two bedroom villa for 2 nights/ followed by 6 nights in a one bedroom villa. Do you think there’s anyway they would leave us in the 2 bedroom villa for the whole trip? Has anyone ever had this happen? Hoping for some pixie dust. Do I need to tell them at Saratoga when we check in, that we are doing a continuous stay? They are two separate reservations. The first two nights room only. The second leg of the trip is a Disney vacation package with park tickets. I don’t know if it automatically shows up in the Disney system that we are on Disney property. Also, I’d like to do a split stay at Riviera. Do you recommend adding two nights in a deluxe room there @the beginning of our trip, or at the end of our trip? The biggest challenge will be losing our full kitchen at the villas. But also, the first day of arrival we will not get there until three in the afternoon. So I don’t want to waste a two bedroom villa experience on arrival day. Thinking probably adding it to the beginning of the trip what be better.
If the 2-bedroom you’re in isn’t needed for another guest, I think you have a very good chance of being allowed to stay. I received pixie dust on my split stay in December. I didn’t ask for upgrade, but booked standard view studio at Grand Floridian and was upgraded to one-bedroom garden view. Then I transferred to BoardWalk. Again, booked standard studio and got one-bedroom garden. Then due to a snowstorm at home, I extended my stay by one night. I went to front desk and said I was very generously upgraded and asked if it would be possible to stay in the same room. The cast member confirmed no one else would be checking in and allowed me to stay. I’ve been a DVC member for 20 years and was never upgraded. My theory is so much of the Disney experience has been cut that why not show members some love if there are rooms sitting empty. I’m making the same split stay early May. Good luck to us both!
Tracy- wow that is some amazing pixie dust you received in December! I’m so happy for you to get that experience. We have been going the last 12 years and have not ever received a room upgrade, besides being upgraded from a standard view to a preferred view. Which is still nice. Don’t get me wrong. I ended up adding the deluxe room at Riviera at the end of our trip. Both Saratoga springs and Riviera seem to be fully booked? There are no rooms available. Maybe they’re just keeping them open for DVC guests? Again, thank you so much for your response. Hoping we both get sprinkled with the dust 🙂
Tracy,
During your split stay, how many nights did you stay at each resort? If you stay fewer nights, the possibility is higher they will upgrade your room. They’re more likely to be able to accommodate a room upgrade for one or two nights versus six nights.
We love split stays. Almost always do them and plan park days around resorts. Also, for DVC since you don’t get housekeeping it’s a way to get a clean room …
Has anyone taken a pop up camper to Fort Wilderness and then moved to a resort? Can you park in the resort lot with a small camper if you split that way?
I’m doing a split stay the last week of April, starting at Yacht and ending at Pop Century. I know it’s moving in the wrong direction but I’m doing the last part solo and can’t afford to stay at Yacht on my own. I thought about going a few days early instead of adding on a few days at the end, but I like the idea of having a few days on my own at the end to do anything I missed with the rest of the family there, or doing things again that I liked. Hopefully it works out okay and I’m not too disappointed with the change in hotels!
I did this in 2019. It was fine but I didn’t sleep very well at Pop after moving from Gran Destino. However, the rooms are cute and I just hit the parks from morning to night and made plans to eat else where. It works to get in extra days when you are solo. Enjoy!
Thanks for the great info! We’re doing a split stay in late June – ASM followed by our first time staying at Beach Club. I hadn’t realized that Disney will provide luggage transfer… Just wanted to confirm that they are still doing that during COVID-times?
We just did a split stay (3/13-3/19) at Grand Floridian and Riviera and they DID transfer our luggage for us 🙂
Thinking about doing this with my family in March. Just looking at pros/cons. Going from POP to Coronado Springs. I really wanted to try the skyliner and my kids are young so they might like the theming at POP. Like you said the hours are shorter and there’s not much hotel activities either.
We’re doing a split stay next month. Five days at Grand Floridian and two at Boardwalk Villas. I would have rather kept the stay at GF, but there wasn’t available rooms.
Advice for either one of the resorts is welcomed…
We love split stays. When we first became DVC members, we did three resorts in a week to try different ones. Now, we always do split stays because we have so many favorites – we also like the variety of food choices, pools and proximity to parks. A couple of rules we follow are always do a new resort first and then stay at a favorite for the end of your trip. This way you are not disappointed with how your trip ended – which for us is the lasting impression. Second we realized we prefer to end our trip at the Magic Kingdom – so now we always end at Bay Lake – to be near MK and it is our favorite DVC resort. Copper Creek would be my second choice. We also love the MK area because of all the dining choices – either by monorail to other resorts or by boat to Wilderness Lodge or Fort Wilderness.
Any suggestions on how grocery transfers can be handled during a split stay? At the moment not planning on renting a car. Moving from OKW to BLT. Want to be able to bring perishable food from one location to the other.
After having just stayed at the Swan and transferred to Wilderness Lodge, I wanted to report that right now split stays starting at the Swan/Dolphin are difficult to manage. The Swan/Dolphin drivers have not yet returned to service, so the only way to start your split stay there is to have the other resort come and pick up your luggage, which is a confusing transfer to wrangle. Disney drivers will drop off luggage at Swan/Dolphin however, so *ending* a split stay at Swan/Dolphin is still doable without hassle.
Thanks for reporting your experience–I did not know this!
Tom – The concept of a split stay never appealed to me but after reading your post I am open to giving it a shot on our next trip. For us, I have come to learn that walking access to the parks makes for a much more enjoyable experience. We typically travel to Disney during the summer and have found the mid day break back at the resort pool for lunch and down time a great way to recharge from the ‘on the go’ exploring at the parks. The one challenge we have is a couple days we are at theme parks that are not within walking distance for the mid day break so we end up being in for the ‘long haul’ on those days – and with 3 kids under the age of 10 those days are often more challenging than not.
With your insight, we are definitely going to give the split resort a go next reservation….many thanks, JP
Tom, not sure a split stay is possible any longer for non AP’s. Tried to make one this morning, and if you only book 2 nights at a Disney hotel, the system only lets you buy 3 park tickets max. I am guessing this is because they don’t know how to handle one ticket package when the first half of your ticket is “resort guest” and the second half of your ticket is “ticket guest.” Different buckets. Pretty disappointing, but might be worth noting in the article as well.
Well there is always the option of buying the ticket separately from the 2 resort reservations. But the tickets are not refundable. Packages are refundable when they are cancelled outside of 30 days.
We did a split stay a couple years ago but it was unplanned. We had booked Coronado but due to construction, we moved half way through our stay to AKL. I wouldn’t have booked it otherwise so it was nice to try. The transfer was easy. They moved everything for us even though we drove. We took our toiletries and a small bag each with essentials just in case and left it in the car.
There were no issues at all. Luggage was ready in lobby when we got back from the park and when I realized I left a couple items at the Coronado, they had them returned to me that evening.
We still prefer Coronado over AKL