Split Stays?

I have done a few of them. The biggest downside is the check-in time is not necessarily at 4 PM, so I feel as though you’re actually getting less value out of your points if you do split days because you lose however many hours it takes to get to the next room.

For those that are doing full park days, it may not be so bad. However, we are local so we try to do resort days when we spend points. We’re also passholders with the waterpark option so having a free waterpark isn’t really a bonus for us either.

Sometimes you just don’t have the choice and there’s just not enough availability for the link to the state that you want, so split stays are a forgo conclusion.

We are certainly the exception though and it’s better to choose split stays over not going at all.

Thanks for your input. I should have added that we plan to take advantage of the free water park admission, so we “should” be ok.

Water parks are perfect for split stays when it’s warmer :)

We live split stays! Our stay in February was 10 days- 2 at Riviera, 5 at Beach Club, 3 at Grand Floridian. We have a trip scheduled in July for 5 days at Riviera and 5 days at Poly. I think we will like the 5 and 5 better because 2-3 days at a resort didn’t give us time to feel like we’re at home there.

This will be our first time using our DVC points. So we have a lot to learn about navigating WDW as DVC owners.

We are staying at BLT for 5 nights and then transferring to Beach Club.

We will likely be in the parks on our transfer day.

How do you negotiate the transfer logistics with luggage and possibly some grocery items? Is there a best transfer method?

Thanks to everyone. We are very thankful for these discussion forums and all the content DVC Fan creates and shares.

We often do split stays and align with the park we are going to go to and stay a few days. This is the first time we will do it with a car.

Split Stays & Lightning Lanes.

If I have 5 nights at BLT and then switch to Beach Club, I can book Lightning Lanes 7 days prior to my BLT check in. Can I purchase lightning lanes for my entire stay (BLT and Beach Club) or do I purchase only BLT days, then wait 5 days and purchase for my Beack Club stay?

Unfortunately they are viewed as two separate stays. Dining is impacted in the same way.

Rats. Thanks for the info.

I like split stays because it does make the stay a little more interesting. you can also go to the hotel lobby if you book one on lets say dvc rental shop and another on dvc rental store and have the hotel combine these as well as long as you like the views. If you are going to do a split stay I know they offer the luggage moving service at bell services that is very helpful if you arrive without a car. this does have to be scheduled at bell services ahead of time. I believe the cut off was 7 or 8 in the morning you had to have the luggage at the stand or keep it in your room. I have also done a few days at a non-Disney resort and then moved to a Disney one. i like to get to the Disney hotel early that way I can use the bus system to get the park and not have to drive in the traffic.

I have always called bell services once I had packed the room up and they have been happy to come and collect and transfer to my new location for me. There is not guarantee what time the luggage arrives at the new resort though so make sure you have on your person, anything you may need.

We love to do a split stay and enjoy being near different parks for ease of access and also the different themes/vibes and restaurants and pool areas you have easy access to.

Took split stays to the extreme on our last trip though and stayed at 4 resorts in 2 weeks - a little too much moving around.

Hey Chris- this is incorrect. You can book LL’s for the duration of your WDW stay, even if it’s a split stay, 7 days out from the first day. It’s only dining where you have to book separately for each stay.

I’ve ran into this where cast members just are not properly informed and give out the wrong information. We just traveled a couple months ago and did a three day stay at Riviera, five day stay at beach club followed by a two day Stay at Grand Floridian and had no problem booking lightning lanes for the entire trip on day one

We just did a split stay and love it! we were able to take advantage of the dining plan and not pay for the whole stay, only the days that we needed it. The resort was very accommodating and we didn’t have to move, kept the same room…amazing experience.

We did a split stay last March break different resorts because we wanted to experience all the rooms at different resorts…

I love split stays. My family wasn’t until they experienced the water park last year. I split my knee open the night before we left for Disney and because I had stitches I had to watch from the side. But the beer was good. I like them because it also allows us to experience different hotels and plan accordingly. We have a split stay this summer between BWV and VGF. Last year we had a split stay at thrice between 2 hotels because of a last minute extended stay but it was worth it.

As the person above me wrote. I LOVE split stays. I divide my time into Park Heavy and relaxation days. I try to get Crescent or Monorail resort for 3-4 nights. Then i stay at AKV for 3-4 nights. I rush for 4 days, and relax for 3-4 days. Well worth changing locations.

I love split stays! You get a change of scenery every few days.

they are not for me... I hate how much time is lost by having to transition... especially when dealing with kids...

I'm also someone who wants to fully unpack and fully pack... so having to do it twice doesn't real excite me..

Now, if I were a UK tourist coming for 14 days, perhaps after a week I'd want to do the second week somewhere else... but I still think my inclination would be to just book Old Key West (or a Marriott Villa off property) for the entire 2 weeks...

we have a trip coming up that currently looks like we will need one night somewhere else before moving to BLT... there is also the chance we will just skip the first night entirely... we've booked/rescheduled/adjusted different options including: offsite HR Grand Cypress, Swan & Dolphin in a Suite, AoA Family Suite, and WL CL... so who knows how this all will end up... every day is a new adventure...

We like doing it but only if we’re at one resort for a min. If 5 days. I don’t recommend it for shorter stays for a lot of the reasons you listed, mostly kid related

We as a family love split stays. It almost creates two vacations during our time in WDW. We love seeing all the resorts DVC has to offer and this maximizes this for us! We are going for two weeks this year with 1 week at each resort (Poly - Island to BLT).

Tips

• Bell Services Luggage Transfer

  • We always use this and have not had many issues. We don't plan on ever getting into our room until 4 PM to be safe and every time our luggage came up to our room as soon as we checked in.

• Moving Day

  • Have a good plan on what to do. We have done Disney Springs/Parks/Water Parks. The free water park day on check in (counts on moving to new resort) has been our favorite way to spend on transfer day!

I can confirm. I have a split stay and today, I was able to book Lightning Lane my entire stay.... For both my reservations.

For diining, I was only able to book dining during my first leg of the split stay.

We're so excited, only one week until we are back in the WDW bubble.

Excellent. Glad everything went well for you. Enjoy your trip!

We have 3 full days. Planning to do a park day at AK, Blizzard Beach or Typhoon Lagoon on our 2nd check-in day, and a day to resort hop to check out other DVC resorts. Right now we’ve planned to do it in this order.

With being near HH the first 2 nights and not being near HH the last 2 nights, thought to maybe switch the AK day and the resort hopping day to give us more time in the HH area at the pool. Any thoughts on either plan?

We own 3 home resorts at WDW, BWV, BLT, and AKV. So Split Stays are a natural fit for us. We usually do at least 5 days per home resort on each trip. Thats right a 3 way split. Each resort has it's own charm and vibe, so it's like having 3 vacations! In California we own both GCV and VDH so Split stays there as well. Moving is really easy. We just drop our bags at Bell Services and they show up at the new resort. Knock Wood, so far no issues! Having Disney move the bags means no park down time. Drop Bags, hit the Park, showup at new place. Easy Peasy. The grandkids, when they are with us, love having different pools to play in. Their parents like having different close by dining options. We typically plan our itinerary around where we stay. So at BWV, we hit Epcot and HS. BLT, its MK and AKV we tend towards AK, of course. At Disneyland, you get 1 free Lightning Lane per stay, so a split makes it where you get 2. Dont get me started on how this is really a total rip off and not an equatable replacement for early entry. That my friends is a new thread all on its own!

We did a split stay for our very first DVC stay in January. It wasn't my original intention. We had a stay booked at Boardwalk, but once we were booking flights realized it made more sense to fly in a day earlier. An additional night wasn't available at BWV so I booked one night at the Villas at Grand Floridian. It ended up being perfect. While admittedly we barely experienced VGF, we got a small taste arriving after dark and seeing the fireworks from Magic Kingdom as we headed to our room. The next morning we opted to drop our luggage off in the lobby for transfer (they can do room pickup if you prefer), headed to breakfast and then monorail to MK.

We spent the day enjoying the Magic Kingdom. Our luggage was delivered to BWV by early afternoon (I was checking our Airtags off and on). We book the bus to the resort that night and then walked to the other 2 parks (we opted to skip Animal Kingdom this trip).

Before doing this I wasn't sure if I would want to do a split stay. We've always booked a single resort on past (pre-DVC) Disney trips. This worked out so well, we plan to do something similar next year both to save a few points and try a different resort. I have 2 nights Deluxe Studio and 5 nights 1-Bedroom at Riviera for our trip in 2027 booked right now. My hope is to modify the first 2 nights to Poly later when we hit the 7 month mark. 🤞 A chance to try another resort and be on the monorail briefly for our MK visit.

Yes, we have done many split stays. They are fun and allow you to enjoy multiple resorts, but it all depends on the number of nights. We especially like splitting the stay between a monorail resort (Poly or Grand Floridian) and an Epcot area resort (BCV or Boardwalk). Then you can hit Magic Kingdom when you are staying on the monorail and hit Epcot & Hollywood Studios when you are staying by Epcot. Here are a couple rules I go by:

• the stay at each resort must be at least 2 nights. It's not worth it to change resorts for only one night.

• I will not do a three resort (or more) split. We have never gone to WDW for longer than a week at time, though. We did a three resort split once over a week and it was too much.

At this point, we will usually do only one resort if we are there for a four night stay or less. We will usually split the stay if we are there for a week, just to mix it up a little. Although, we will split a four night stay or stay a full week at the same resort without complaint (usually dictated by resort availability).

These are exactly my criteria.. Any check in "day" is a waste of points IMO because who knows when the room will be ready.

For this reason we do not stay just a single night, ever, becaues you never get a chance to enjoy the resort, imo.

We were wondering if Bell services brought your luggage into your new resort room. But @cody3010 it sounds like we will check into the new resort and then bell services will bring our luggage to the room. Is that correct? Thanks, Chris.

That is correct. We have never had an issue.

We have only done one stay and enjoyed it. The ease of transferring your luggage was great. We were not going to parks, just exploring the property as it was the holiday season. We stayed two nights at Saratoga and then one at the Poly before getting on a Disney Cruise. We will probably do it again just to be able to get two resorts checked off our list with one trip. Hope it works out for you.

We joined in 2020. Went every year except 2020 and last year. We have only done split stays. Home resorts are AKL resale and Riviera direct.

2021 AKL Kidani and Boardwalk

2022 Kidani and Old Key West

2023 Kidani and Beach Club

2024 Riviera and Jambo House

2025 Grand Californian

Planning 2027 split stay now

Hubby wants to do Grand Floridian

Youngest daughter wants Bay Lake Tower

Middle daughter doesnt care.

I kind of want to return to Boardwalk or Riviera.

I'm sure we will fo Kidani as part of it.

We are taking my childhood best friend and her kids are younger.

But we still have 5 resorts we havent stayed at yet. I cant decide!