Split Stay?

[melly57x]

Hey everyone. My husband and I have been to Disney many times, but haven't been back since 2019. We'll finally be back for 9 days in January and this time we're bringing our 3-year-old daughter for her first trip. We were originally deciding between WL and AKL, and ultimately settled on Wilderness Lodge for the theming and proximity to the Magic Kingdom.

With our daughter in tow, convenience is key. We never minded the buses and used them all the time, but now with a stroller and a tired preschooler we're trying to figure out our best option.

I was just pricing out different ideas, and realized we could do a split stay for the same price as staying at the Wilderness Lodge all week. I was thinking Saturday to Wednesday at the Beach Club to do 2 days at Epcot and one at Hollywood Studios, and then move over to the Wilderness Lodge from Wednesday to Sunday to solely focus on the Magic Kingdom.

I'm loving this idea, and the convenience of not having to deal with buses. How easy is it to do a split stay though? We've never done it before and are wondering what the process is like. Disney will transfer our bags right? With a preschooler, do you think it would be too hectic versus settling into one place?

Any advice or opinions are very much appreciated. Thanks in advance!

 

[thanxfornoticin]

We do split stays all the time - although, not usually with a toddler! Your idea makes a lot of sense to us. It's almost like starting your vacation over again! Just a quick note, if you do a Beach Club stay in January, 2025, the big Stormalong Bay pool area is scheduled to be closed for a several month refurb. Also, normally at some point later in January, the Skyliner has been down for a week of maintenance (at least that's been the case the past several years, still nothing announced for certain in 2025). But from BC, it's easy walking or Friendship Boat access to both EP and HS. We love EP in Jan with the Festival of the Arts going on the second half of Jan.

Disney will transport your bags from BC to WL. You'll need to get the bags to Bell Services at BC (either call for them to come to your room while you're there, or drop them by yourself). There will be a van that takes bags to the other resorts later in the day - it will probably get your bags to WL sometime between 3pm and maybe 5pm - so plan accordingly. If you would have a car (not sure if you do), and depending on your plans for the day, you could take the bags yourself to WL in the morning and their Bell team will hold them for you. Just beware of anything that requires refrigeration, if any - Disney will not transport anything cold.

As for the day of the move, you'll be without a room for perhaps 4-6 hours, so we always just plan that as a park day or perhaps a pool day or a shopping day. With a 3 yo who might need a bed for a nap, that gets a little more complicated - but might be workable for one day. And maybe it's a non-issue for you! A BC/WL split stay sounds really good to us. Hope you enjoy your trip!

 

[melly57x]

We do split stays all the time - although, not usually with a toddler! Your idea makes a lot of sense to us. It's almost like starting your vacation over again! Just a quick note, if you do a Beach Club stay in January, 2025, the big Stormalong Bay pool area is scheduled to be closed for a several month refurb. Also, normally at some point later in January, the Skyliner has been down for a week of maintenance (at least that's been the case the past several years, still nothing announced for certain in 2025). But from BC, it's easy walking or Friendship Boat access to both EP and HS. We love EP in Jan with the Festival of the Arts going on the second half of Jan.

Disney will transport your bags from BC to WL. You'll need to get the bags to Bell Services at BC (either call for them to come to your room while you're there, or drop them by yourself). There will be a van that takes bags to the other resorts later in the day - it will probably get your bags to WL sometime between 3pm and maybe 5pm - so plan accordingly. If you would have a car (not sure if you do), and depending on your plans for the day, you could take the bags yourself to WL in the morning and their Bell team will hold them for you. Just beware of anything that requires refrigeration, if any - Disney will not transport anything cold.

As for the day of the move, you'll be without a room for perhaps 4-6 hours, so we always just plan that as a park day or perhaps a pool day or a shopping day. With a 3 yo who might need a bed for a nap, that gets a little more complicated - but might be workable for one day. And maybe it's a non-issue for you! A BC/WL split stay sounds really good to us. Hope you enjoy your trip!

Thank you so much, this is so helpful! We've been following updates on the skyliner and are shocked that no refurb dates have been announced yet. I'm kind of thinking it won't happen in January? I know a lot of people book resorts specifically for the skyliner, so to spring a refurb on everyone only a month in advance seems crazy.

I was just thinking about our transfer day, and we would love to take the Skyliner over to Riviera for breakfast at Topolino, and then a bus over to the MK. It's really just a free day, so we'd be fine with taking our time on the bus and just doing one or two things in the Magic Kingdom before getting settled in at the Wilderness Lodge. Thankfully naps are no longer an issue, but we do plan on only spending 4-5 hours in the parks each day and then spending the rest of the day enjoying the resort.

I'm getting super excited about this idea! Thank you again!

 

[tamitru32]

I think you have a well thought out plan. And bus time will be fine during the day but I agree you probably don't want bus time at park close to be your only option. Skyliner is a good option, but I'm also waiting for January refurb schedule so I would lean towards thinking it's going to be down. Then if it happens to be working, yay you can use it too. But again it would be a nice extra option.

 

[thanxfornoticin]

I wouldn't count on Skyliner for Topplino's breakfast. If you're thinking of a character breakfast, they do have the one at Beach Club. But you probably already know that. Just something that popped into my head for your transition day since you mentioned MK that day. Perhaps, drop off your bags for transport, after breakfast go back into EPCOT, work your way through to the main entrance, exit there for the monorail to MK. You'll get to MK for a time, and you then can take the boat back to WL when ready. No buses at all. The monorail and boats are easy with strollers. Also, if you're at WL, you won't get to ride the monorail unless you make a separate trip - your transportation will be via the boats. This might be fun to ride the monorail - actually 2 monorails. EP to the T&T center, and then a second monorail to MK. Your options are almost unlimited!!

Maybe try to make that breakfast ADR at Topolino's. Then if Skyliner is running, enjoy it. But you'll have until a couple hours before the ADR to cancel, if you can't use Skyliner to get there.

 

[Shellyred8]

We love split stays and usually do an MK area resort and an EP area resort. In the past, we would usually do AK on our move day, since you have to take a bus there regardless of where you are staying. But for 2025, you have another option for your move day: Free water park day! Doing a split stay, you have the option to do the waterpark on your move day as well as your original arrival day. I, personally, am looking forward to taking advantage of this option!

 

[Skippyboo]

January is very hit or miss with the waterparks. They won’t open if it’s too cold.

 

[MICKIMINI]

Having just returned from a split stay last week, my best advice with or without a toddler, is thinking through "moving" day thoroughly. You will be homeless for the entire day until you can check into your new villa. It isn't like moving from villa to villa at all. Bring a bag of any meds, pool gear, snacks or whatever you need for the day.

I would schedule a Minnie Van to take you and your luggage from villa to villa with a check out time that works for your child's schedule. Keeping kiddo happy is key. Bell services will stow your luggage at the new resort leaving you free to spend the day doing whatever you like. Checking in with the desk may get you a villa much earlier rather than not showing up in person. It worked for us. You will get a text when your villa is ready. Hope your villa may be ready mid afternoon so you can get over there, unpack and let your child rest a bit and then plan to go out in the evening.

Best of luck!

 

[Chili327]

You're going to go to Animal Kingdom one day still right??

 

[elvispursley]

We’ve done a split stay in the past with our then 4 and 2yo boys. We were running the marathon so we were at CR and then AKL. The thing I didn’t care for then was that when you go to make your ADRs, you can only make them for the length of each resort stay (so you can only do the number of days at BC and the. You can make more once 60-days for your WL days comes up$. Very annoying but if you’re wanting to tKr advantage of a water park, you’ll get 2-free water park days since you’ve got 2 resort stays.

 

[SeanW]

My wife and I have done a split stay when we didn't have a baby and I liked the idea. We did 2 day at GF and then 5 days at Boardwalk if memory serves me right. I think thanxfornoticin hit the nail on the head with your initial questions though.

One thing that I have that comes with my luggage is is a hanging closet insert for my clothes so it made it super easy to pack and unpack. It is something to think about making your pack up and pack out easy. I just take it out of my luggage and can hang it right on the rods in the closet and when I'm done, I was able to get everything packed up in about 5 or 6 minutes. It made the night before "move day" so much less stressful compared to my wife.

The other thing that I would think about is what you are going to be doing on "move day" because you won't have a room for a few hours. If move day isn't going to be a park day, then I believe you have to be out of the room by 11 AM (normal checkout time) so you may want to sleep in that day and have a later breakfast or brunch and then we went to Disney Springs for a few hours and hung out for a bit until we headed back to the resort around 8 PM after dinner. The big thing is to make sure that you have everything you could think you might need for the day with you because if it's in your luggage, you're SOL. I felt like a pack mule on move day because my wife is a bit anxious and took everything she could possible think of and put it in my backpack.

 

[melly57x]

I wouldn't count on Skyliner for Topplino's breakfast. If you're thinking of a character breakfast, they do have the one at Beach Club. But you probably already know that. Just something that popped into my head for your transition day since you mentioned MK that day. Perhaps, drop off your bags for transport, after breakfast go back into EPCOT, work your way through to the main entrance, exit there for the monorail to MK. You'll get to MK for a time, and you then can take the boat back to WL when ready. No buses at all. The monorail and boats are easy with strollers. Also, if you're at WL, you won't get to ride the monorail unless you make a separate trip - your transportation will be via the boats. This might be fun to ride the monorail - actually 2 monorails. EP to the T&T center, and then a second monorail to MK. Your options are almost unlimited!!

Maybe try to make that breakfast ADR at Topolino's. Then if Skyliner is running, enjoy it. But you'll have until a couple hours before the ADR to cancel, if you can't use Skyliner to get there.

This is a great plan, thank you so much. I've heard that Topolino is excellent, and we'd love to try the Skyliner just for the fun of it, so we'll make the ADR and hope for the best. We're not dependent on the skyliner or 100% set on Topolino so we wouldn't be heartbroken if the refurb is happening. Thank you again!

 

[melly57x]

Having just returned from a split stay last week, my best advice with or without a toddler, is thinking through "moving" day thoroughly. You will be homeless for the entire day until you can check into your new villa. It isn't like moving from villa to villa at all. Bring a bag of any meds, pool gear, snacks or whatever you need for the day.

I would schedule a Minnie Van to take you and your luggage from villa to villa with a check out time that works for your child's schedule. Keeping kiddo happy is key. Bell services will stow your luggage at the new resort leaving you free to spend the day doing whatever you like. Checking in with the desk may get you a villa much earlier rather than not showing up in person. It worked for us. You will get a text when your villa is ready. Hope your villa may be ready mid afternoon so you can get over there, unpack and let your child rest a bit and then plan to go out in the evening.

Best of luck!

Thank you! A late breakfast at the Beach Club followed by a Minnie Van to the Wilderness Lodge sounds like a plan. Definitely a good idea to head to check in in person, just in case a room happens to be available early. I didn't even think of that. Thank you!

 

[melly57x]

You're going to go to Animal Kingdom one day still right??

I know We LOVE Animal Kingdom so much - Flight of Passage is both mine and my husband's favorite ride of all time, but there just isn't that much our daughter can do outside of the animals and we're members at the Bronx Zoo. I know it's not a zoo (remember that old ad?! It's NOTAZOO! ) but without many rides we can actually do this time around, I'd rather have more time at the Magic Kingdom and Epcot. We honestly would've skipped Hollywood this trip too if not for Toy Story and the Runaway Railway

 

[jo-jo]

We've done split stays a lot. We've always thought the time saved not dealing with buses, is worth the little hassle of moving. But we are low key packers. For those that pack matching outfits from shoes to minnie ears, may find it more of a hassle.

 

[melly57x]

We’ve done a split stay in the past with our then 4 and 2yo boys. We were running the marathon so we were at CR and then AKL. The thing I didn’t care for then was that when you go to make your ADRs, you can only make them for the length of each resort stay (so you can only do the number of days at BC and the. You can make more once 60-days for your WL days comes up$. Very annoying but if you’re wanting to tKr advantage of a water park, you’ll get 2-free water park days since you’ve got 2 resort stays.

Oh man, I didn't know that. The whole system has changed since our last trip. I was under the impression that you could book ten days out from your first day, But didn't realize it was only through length of stay. I would've been very stressed finding out in a few weeks. Thank you! Will definitely keep this in mind.

 

[melly57x]

My wife and I have done a split stay when we didn't have a baby and I liked the idea. We did 2 day at GF and then 5 days at Boardwalk if memory serves me right. I think thanxfornoticin hit the nail on the head with your initial questions though.

One thing that I have that comes with my luggage is is a hanging closet insert for my clothes so it made it super easy to pack and unpack. It is something to think about making your pack up and pack out easy. I just take it out of my luggage and can hang it right on the rods in the closet and when I'm done, I was able to get everything packed up in about 5 or 6 minutes. It made the night before "move day" so much less stressful compared to my wife.

The other thing that I would think about is what you are going to be doing on "move day" because you won't have a room for a few hours. If move day isn't going to be a park day, then I believe you have to be out of the room by 11 AM (normal checkout time) so you may want to sleep in that day and have a later breakfast or brunch and then we went to Disney Springs for a few hours and hung out for a bit until we headed back to the resort around 8 PM after dinner. The big thing is to make sure that you have everything you could think you might need for the day with you because if it's in your luggage, you're SOL. I felt like a pack mule on move day because my wife is a bit anxious and took everything she could possible think of and put it in my backpack.

This is exactly how I pack for my daughter! We use a hanging shoe rack and pack her clothes and toiletries for each day in a different section. It's been an absolute game changer. I wanted to pack this way for my husband and I, but it just wasn't working out with the shoe rack. I'll definitely look into a hanging organizer like this. It makes a HUGE difference in organization and making space in the room. This is awesome.

Thankfully we're pretty used to being out and about for the day without having access to our things. We live in Brooklyn and often drive into Manhattan for staycation days, and don't have access to anything in our parked car (which is usually away in a lot). It's definitely something to think about though when it comes to packing for the day.

All awesome advice, thanks so much!

 

[MICKIMINI]

We've done split stays a lot. We've always thought the time saved not dealing with buses, is worth the little hassle of moving. But we are low key packers. For those that pack matching outfits from shoes to minnie ears, may find it more of a hassle.

That is me! LOL!

 

[jo-jo]

That is me! LOL!

Weeellllll, you may not like it as much. LOL. My DIL is like you, Matching shirts for the family, cute ears to match outfits. She did not like moving.