Is this Crazy? Kind of split stay?

VioletSparkles

Mouseketeer
Joined
Feb 12, 2015
So my original plans for my vacation (and what I've budgeted for) was to arrive in Florida early Monday and fly home on a Friday evening.
Since doing more research on how long it takes to get to the hotel and then back to the airport (via Magical Express) I'm thinking it's smarter to fly in on Sunday night and fly home early Saturday morning so that we have 5 full days in the parks.
We are staying at Port Orleans so 2 extra nights would run us approximately $360... I reached out to my travel agent (who specializes in Disney) and asked if we could book a value room at All Star Movie for the Sunday night that we fly in and for Friday night (the last of our trip). I've seen lots of people on these boards to "split stays" so I know Disney can transfer our luggage from the hotels for us.
I figure since our flight lands Sunday night at 8pm it seems really pointless to pay $180 for a room at Port Orleans when we are literally going to get the hotel around 10ish (estimation) and get up and go the parks. Similarly, we will be spending all day Friday at the parks and will returning to the hotel late that night and have an early flight at 8am so we will check out very early as well.
I just hate to pay that extra $360 for 2 nights that we essentially just be sleeping, when I stay at All Star movie for $80 a night (less than half!).
When I told my travel agent she was more than willing to book it for me, but strongly advised against doing that. She said just saying in the same hotel saves time and effort of having to check in and out multiple times and unpacking/packing multiple times. She felt it really wouldn't be worth the hassle and in the end would likely just be a big headache.
In my mind I feel like it's no big deal, but I've also never been to Disney so maybe I'm underestimating the check in and check out process?
In my mind I'm envisioning us checking in at all Star Movie Resort late, heading to the room, changing into our PJ's and setting out our clothes for the next day. Then in the AM putting our PJ's back in the suitcase and heading to the parks. At the end of the day, heading to Port Orleans checking in and enjoying our stay there. Then similarly on Friday we pack up all of our stuff, check out of Port Orleans, have luggage transferred back to All Star Movie, head to the parks and enjoy the day- then at the end of the day taking the bus to All Star Movie, checking in going to sleep and then checking out?
Am I over simplifying this? It definitely would be easier to just stay at one hotel... but it would cost us $200 more and I don't think the convenience of not moving hotels is worth $200.
Just wondering if anyone has any input or opinions on this?
 
I think your plan will work very well. You are not over simplifying. Will you have a room only reservation for the first night and then a package for Port Orleans? Will you do online check in?
 
I'm not actually sure how online check in works but that sounds like it will make the process even more simple!

Yes we currently have a package booked at Port Orleans and would just have room only reservations for the first and last nights. I know that our park tickets and dining credits wouldn't kick in until we check in to Port Orleans and would expire at Midnight on Friday (the day we check out), but that would work since we wouldn't need them since we will get there late Sunday and check out very early Sunday!
 
I would not "book end" the days on the vacation. IT is a lot of hassle and things can go wrong. For example, we did a split stay recently and our room was not ready for our second hotel until 6pm. This created a huge problem for getting ready for a dinner ADR. Packing is time consuming.

If you want to save a little money just stay the first night at All Stars and the rest at your main hotel. You can put everything for the one night in your carry on and just leave the rest packed. I know you may not want to hear this but it really is not as easy as it seems with switching hotels twice in such a short period of time.

You could always try to reduce your room category at POR to save money. Four nights is not very long to settle in. If you really feel stretched on budget and are spending a majority of your time in the parks you may want to consider just staying at the value the whole time.

I don't think some people understan that you are switching hotels twice in six days. I believe they think you are just staying a All Stars the first night.
 


Agree with the poster above. 1 switch sure but not 2! We frequently fly in to our destination the night before and stay at an airport hotel then "start" our vacation the next day already having arrived.
 
I appreciate the reply... like I said I've never done this before so I honestly don't know what to expect!

I've considered that option as well... My original plan was to stay at the Art of Animation in a Little Mermaid Room but I was woo-ed into a Royal Room at Port Orleans. I think honestly I'd be happy at either and I posted an thread a few days ago asking for opinions on both resorts and overwhelming people suggested the moderate was the way to go. Since we got free dining with our POR room, and wouldn't with a Little Mermaid room at AOA the cost of the
trip was pretty much the same at either hotel (once we added the dining plan to the AOA room that is!).

So I don't know what to do! We set a budget for the trip and agreed not to go over because it's so EASY to say oh it's only a $100 more for this or $50 more for that and before you know it you are $500 over budget! So my husband is already ready to kill me for adding nights on, but I'm trying to make the most of the vacation!
 
I agree with others that you should strike a compromise. Stay at a Value resort, room-only, on arrival evening. Next day check-in to POR and stay there for the duration. Your trip to the parks will exhaust you physically and mentally. It will be challenging for your family to be outdoors and walking around so much in the muggy heat, when you don't normally do that in real life. Mentally, you will have to keep track of a schedule, travel for your ADRs, and the kids or DH (or you) might get grumpy here or there. If you add the final task of checking out of POR a day early just to save a little money, it will seem like the last thing on Earth you really want to do. Remain at POR, as an early Xmas gift to yourself.
 


Because this is your first WDW trip, and it sounds like you plan to spend a great deal of time in the parks, I suggest you save some money and just stay at a Value resort. You can still get a free dining plan, and with the money you save, you might be able to upgrade to Plus Dining for your entire stay. POR is nice and all. But unless you are going to spend time using the feature pool and other amenities, I'd just go with a value, like Pop Century. For a first trip, you are probably going to spend more time in the parks than the resort. I recommend upgrading to different resorts as onyou get more WDW experience.

If you are going to do a split stay, I strongly suggest changing hotels only once in that amount of time. Maybe 2 nights at a value and 4 nights at POR. I get your concern about the late arrival and early departure. But that sometimes happens when you are flying in. I fly to Orlando from California. I usually take a red-eye. But sometimes I have to fly during the day. If that happens, I always try to get a flight that lands by 5pm. But I prefer the red-eye flights. On my return home, I always leave as late in the day as possible, so I can visit the parks on my last day.
 
I think it is doable, but, as others have said, I think I would compromise and do the first night at All Star, but stay at POR for the rest of the trip. The switch will be easier when you're still fresh and energetic.

We were in a similar situation for our last trip. I had booked Bay Lake Tower through DVC point rental, and so could not add on an extra night to the reservation when we found out we could start our trip a day earlier than expected. Instead, I booked one night at POR, then we transferred to BLT the following day. Additionally, we drove there and back over two days each way, and so spent one night in a hotel on the way down and on the way back. Our trip was Fairfield Inn (1 night), POR (1 night), BLT (6 nights), Fairfield Inn (1 night) - 4 hotel changes in 9 nights! It was a bit of a hassle, but everything worked out fine. My biggest recommendation is to pack for it! I packed everything for the four of us for the first 2 nights into two small bags (clothes and toiletries), so we wouldn't have to touch any of the other luggage. I would have hated packing/unpacking so many times. We only really did that at BLT. Did laundry during an afternoon break on the trip and used the same stuff in my two little bags for the drive back.
 
I would either do all POR or compromise and do the first night at ASM and the rest POR. The hassle of packing up and checking out takes away park time on the last day.
 
My recommendation would be to skip the Royal Room and book a regular room at POR. It's likely that you will save the $200 difference and not have to move at all.
 
Is there a reason that you have to fly in very late on Sunday and leave very early on Saturday? If you are going to do the extra nights anyway, I would try to make the most of it and arrive earlier and leave later. That way, you can actually have a little fun on your travel days, (pool, DTD, etc) making the extra, fixed expense of the additional hotel nights more worthwhile.

If you have to fly in late on Sunday, I would agree with the PPs who said to just spend the first night at a value, and the rest at POR. It may even make more sense to stay at an airport hotel on Sunday night and take the magical express over first thing Monday. I would definitely not switch twice, and I especially would not want to switch on the last night of my stay. Keep in mind if you do that, you will need to be fully packed up before you leave in the morning for your last park day, which I know would diminish my enjoyment of that last day.
 
My recommendation would be to skip the Royal Room and book a regular room at POR. It's likely that you will save the $200 difference and not have to move at all.

Great suggestion. Royal rooms are pretty, but that's pretty much it.

Is there a reason that you have to fly in very late on Sunday and leave very early on Saturday? If you are going to do the extra nights anyway, I would try to make the most of it and arrive earlier and leave later.

Great question as well. Maybe they work weekends?


OP, you're not just getting the sleeping time from the cost of the resort, but the fact that you don't have to be "homeless" from 11am to after 3pm. You get access to that room if you're exhausted. You don't have to be without your stuff until Bell Services decides to get it to the next resort.

I used to nickel and dime myself with our cash stays, but then finally we just booked POR (yes a royal room) even though we were landing after midnight and didn't get there until nearing 2. It felt like a waste of money UNTIL we woke up that next morning without the need to pack back up, say goodbye to our stuff, and then be homeless. Oh what luxury! Then it felt worth it.


And I am not anti-split stay! Not at all. Not even for a first trip. Our first WDW trip was a Pirate room at CBR, a 2 bedroom at OKW, a 1 bedroom at OKW, over to Universal, then back for AK Jambo 1 bedroom. We had reasons for each part. Oh and I think we started with a night at the MCO Hyatt. But...we take LONG trips, not trips with only 5 park days. So even if we're moving a lot, we have loads of time in the parks. You don't, not really. So...might want to downgrade everything (Values are fabulous, IMO!), just move once, downgrade from the Royal Room, or just spend the money.

Since you are very concerned about the DME time, have you considered a rental car or a towncar?
 
I have done exactly what you are planning, and Disney makes it fairly easy. When I did it, I was trying to squeeze money out of my budget for a club level stay, and in my mind, there was no way I was going to pay hundreds of dollars extra for club level that first night, when I was not going to arrive to my room until late at night (after the lounge had closed). Similarly, on that same trip, I didn't want to pay for club level services, when we were leaving before sunrise on our last morning.

It worked, and I don't regret doing it. But next time, I probably will only do it on the first night, unless I just cannot afford it any other way.

To wake up and check in at a new resort the following morning is magical.

But I had not realized how much of a let down it would be to move to a value resort for the last couple hours of our trip. (We checked in at Pop Century after 10 p.m. our last night, and we caught the Magical Express in the wee hours of the next morning.)

After staying at such a luxurious resort immediately beforehand (Animal Kingdom Lodge Club Level with its Savannah View), Pop Century so seemed small and plain. I love Pop Century. I will always love Pop Century. I would plan a full vacation there any summer. But that night, it felt a bit drab.

I think if I needed to do something like that again, then on the last night, I would just book a standard room at the same resort where I am staying club level. That way, it would be even easier to change rooms, and it wouldn't feel quite so jarring.

Bottom line, you will be fine either way. Disney really does make the transfer process easy.

Staying at a less expensive resort the first night is a great idea. That's how we scored being the Flag Family at the Wilderness Lodge one year. We stayed at Coronado Springs the first night, and then, the next morning we were ready to check in for our 10 days at the Wilderness Lodge as soon as the desk opened. I asked about being the Flag Family and scored a spot on the last morning of our trip. Someone else asked about it a few moments after I got it, so if we had checked in any later than 7 a.m., we would have missed the opportunity.

Serving as the Flag Family, having breakfast at Whispering Canyon Cafe, and then leaving on the Magical Express the same morning was wonderful. It was worth the extra couple hundred to spend our last night in the lodge.
 
Like a PP said, skip the Royal Room. It is just not worth it. The magic of the light up headboard is gone after about the third time you try it, the room seems much smaller due to the oversize furniture and no ceiling fan. And frankly, it all seems a bit over the top. Save your money and stay in a regular room if you can still swing a reservation. The regular rooms are very nice.

Failing that, I'd stay the first night at a Value and do the remainder at your moderate. I absolutely would not change on the last day. Too much hassle.
 
I'm a morning person and I know that not everyone else is, but if you can swing a really early wake-up I would move from value to POR in the morning after your arrival day. When DH and I go to Disney, we stay off-site on the evening of our arrival day, drive over to our resort at 7am, check in (never had to wait in line, cast members are perky and cheerful because it's the beginning of their shift, and our room has actually been ready about 25% of the time), leave our bags at Bell Services if necessary, get a quick-serve breakfast at the resort, and grab a bus to our park of the day (and if we don't dawdle we get there right after the rope-drop back-up has cleared the turnstiles and lines are still pretty short). When we return in the evening, all we need to do is pick up our bags (we travel light and carry our own to the room), unpack a few things, and fall into bed. Late afternoon/evening lines at the check-in desks can easily be 15-30 minutes, and after a long park day we would much rather avoid this.
 
My thinking is exactly opposite of yours! I would never fly in late at night and leave early in the morning. If you're flying in late at night, you're basically paying for a room and not enjoying the day at all! Why not fly in early on that day? Just doesn't make sense to me. And we always leave as late as we can. So, for instance, a 7:30 flight out lets you enjoy the parks for the morning and early afternoon before catching the bus.

This is the first year we are actually catching an early morning flight home. BUT that's because it actually came out cheaper for us to stay one more night, paying for the hotel, and getting a lower flight cost on the next morning. But we have to be home that afternoon for something and so can't spend the last day the way we usually would.

In your case, I'd probably compromise. Fly in that extra day early, stay at the same resort, and not tack on an extra day at the end.
 
We are very seasoned split stayers, and since we always stay deluxe, I agree that I wouldn't pay a ton of money for the first night if I were getting into town late. However, on nights we check out, I do like to stay in the same room we've been in--even if we have an early departure--so if you're set with the plan and the budget you have worked out, I would compromise by staying value for the first TWO days and then staying put at POR for the remainder of the trip. It will be much less hassle to move once as opposed to twice, and I'm saying that as split stay lover who NEVER does a trip to Disney without moving hotels.
 
I do split stays all the time.....my family hates them though. I just returned from two nights in a RR at POR. It was nice.....I was there with two 21 y/o princesses. BUT.....I don't think I would book a RR again.....just wasn't 'all that and a bag of chips' after that first night. I would try to downgrade to a regular room at POR. Even a garden view room is lovely. Then stay there the entire time.

If you really want to stay in a RR, I would book a value for the first night, but stay at POR until departure. I've done that last day/night at a different resort.....it's a huge pain.
 
I personally would not do a split day at any Disney hotel, DL or WDW. Maybe we just have the worst luck in the world but our check in to Disney never go easy or fast. In 2008 we went POR arrived 2 am, after over an hour we still had a 2 yo screaming I. Our arms, no room and they kept saying no reservation even though it was totally paid for. A nice manager finally just gave us a room key and let us sleep and told us to come back first thing in the morning, well it still took us an hour the next morning. In 2009, we went PPH DL we arrived 9 pm, it took over 2 hours, we had not eating, thinking we could get something at dtd, by the time we checked in all of dtd was closed. In 2010 DH at DL took us about an hour to check in. 2011 we had a great check in to dh problem was, they had to move us over to GC and it took almost an hour between going to dlh then over to gc even if they paid for the taxi, and then checking in there, love when pipes leak. 2013 it took us about 40 minutes to check into POFQ at 2 am.

Don't get me wrong, we have had many very fast check ins, we usually go to both DL and WDW every year, but it is for us a 50/50. To save a little money I would probably try to get a split within a hotel. Do you room room for 4 nights, then do a standard the last two nights, or the opposite. Give your kids a different experience. I would do alligator biyou the first two nights and then the royal rooms. This would probably save you $100. Also look closer at your airplane, we have over the years worked hard to find what works best for us. Because we come from WA stare, almost always you have at least a 9 hour flight, with a stop, th,en a three hour time change. So after many getting in at 2 am, which to us is only 11 and works ok. We figured what works better is to pay the extra for the airfare, and instead of getting there middle day or middle night. We have to book early and do the only flight that is non stop by alaska, which is always $50 if we book six months in advance and continues to go up every week. This flight leaves at 9 pm but arrives 6 am. We always sleep on the plane so works for us, then the first day we have to take a nap, but actually it works to get into the three hour time change. Basically we spend the money $250 for 5 of us on the higher airfare rather than on the hotel room.

If you can not eat the money on the airfare or on the hotel this way, my only other suggestion would be to keep one flight the way you have it and change just one of the flights then you will only have to pay the first or last night hotel.
 

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