How do you help the split stay hesitant stay happy during a split stay? Advice and strategies, please. :)

[TheSouthernBelle]

I'm hesitant on split stays too but less so than my hubby. I will add, I'm the one that plans our trips and books park passes, any ADRs, etc. so if we have logistical issues/concerns, they fall on me as extra leg work, not him.

What we don't care for about split stays is we don't feel like we ever get to really relax until we get to the last resort. We know we've got to pack up again and while it's nice to experience two resorts in one trip, it's not our preferred travel style. We also bring chilled food so I don't want to have to deal with a cooler and packing up my cold items or having to visit the store again. Bell services won't move cold items. We have our own car but we literally like to pull in, park and not get in again until we leave.

And, I'll add, it's not like it's very difficult for our family to pack up at all. My kids are teens so I don't pack anything for them but it's truly not enjoyable for our family to have to unpack/pack. We often times will tack on a secondary trip like the beach, another attraction or visiting family while down by WDW, so by splitting our disney stay up, it just adds to our travel logistics.

Having said that, we've done them for a few longer trips. Here's a few helpful tips.

• We did value to deluxe or moderate, as reversing your category of accommodations can leave your trip on a flat note. Not bad but it's always nice to have the more amenitized resort to look forward to at the end of the trip. AK to GF sounds pretty good
• Try not to book any hard to get ADRs. You'll have two separate disney reservations so you will no longer get the benefit of +10 days for booking
• Be mindful of your resort switching day, pack necessities with you and make sure you have any needed Rx
• Book your tix with your first reservation if you have a package and don't buy separate ticket packages with each resort reservation, you'll spend more $ this way

 

[BeachMouse1]

We did a split stay recently like you are. We had our trip planned and decided to add a night so we waitlisted at the Poly and got a room there for the one night. we kept our main luggage in the car (we drive so it might be easier for us) and just packed an overnight bag for the one night and just bought that in. It was fun having a different experience and the next morning we got up, drove to our home and if the room is ready great go in and unpack, if not leave luggage at bell services and go do your thing. Come back and the room is ready. We do a few trips a year one long one at our home and the other trips if there is a festival at Epcot (that’s a joke if there is a festival at Epcot cause it seems there always is). We do some nights at our home which is VGF so that’s Magic Kingdom time for us then we try and do Boardwalk or Beach to have the ease of walking into Epcot which we tend to do at least once a day for the festival. It takes some pre planned packing but we like the experience of 2 resorts like people say here. My wife was at first dead set against a split stay but after we did our first one she loved it. If your going for Epcot there is nothing better than just walking home at the end of the night or just walking in for fireworks

 

[Her Dotness]

For us, split stay generally = having our own car, so that is one possible solution. Another is to use paid transportation to go directly to the 2nd hotel with the luggage, and it doesn't have to be everyone that goes. If the hotels are close to each other, then the $ + time cost is minimal.

Since the OP said they don't mind using Uber or Lyft, I'm thinking booking a van cab might be better still to load up all their stuff and transfer it themselves if they don't want to rent a car. It'll undoubtedly cost more than the other two, but that will get luggage and anything refrigerated to bell services in one trip.

The big advantage to this, IMO, is that if anyone realizes they need something from their luggage, you can just stop at the bell services desk and ask to go retrieve it. Or possibly, they'll bring whatever bag you need.

I know at original VGF luggage for its guests is stored there. When I once needed something from our bags, a bell server just walked me to the storage area, looked at the claim check to verify which cart was ours and waited while I grabbed what was needed.

For the VGF resort studios, it's stored at bell services in the GF main building, I think. That could be more involved there or at other hotel-DVC combo resorts.

One big reason to DO a split stay, especially the one-night split is to save $$$. If we have to arrive late, then we happily stay somewhere inexpensive that first night, often offsite.

DVC doesn't generally involve that concern, because you're typically using points to pay for the splits. You might pick a less points-pricey resort for one part of the split than another, but I suspect DVCers generally just decide where they'd like to stay and make sure they've the points to cover it all. That's what we do.

DVC is a bit different ballgame since it's not a $$$ issue when planning your stay. In fact, we find it rather feels like our room is free. Not considering the walloping payout to buy into DVC, that is.

 

[bumbershoot]

When I can truly unpack it actually makes split stays feel longer, somehow. Take an hour to really unpack, then know where everything is (no wasting time trying to remember what bag it's in), and it's still basically in order when you go to repack. Get to the new resort, get the room, do it again. Not sure why, but for me (and some family members disagree, so it's very much a YMMV situation), it makes it feel more luxurious.

The best split stay/trip I had was the one when I wrote down pretty much everything we packed and then had columns next to it (if you're a spreadsheet person imagine that, but on paper). Basically out/in out/in out/in etc and I would check off each as I unpacked it (out) and packed it (in). My then-husband thought I was complicating things, but I didn't make him do it; I did it, and we lost NOTHING on that trip. Woo!

In my owner's locker I have a few velcro or attached hangers hanging shelf things. Those can be VERY useful when you want to unpack but not have it be a whole thing to repack for a split.

I like to have a mesh laundry bag to put dirty clothes into. I forgot it on my recent Princess trip and not having it irked me. It's not in the OL because I always think I'll remember it. Oops. If I know I won't be wearing something again, I'll fold it (even dirty clothes) and put it into an empty suitcase. That way I'm slowly packing to go home throughout the trip. I do this for non-splits as well.

Since Disney doesn't move refrigerated food anymore, any shopping I do is strategic. I almost always have a rental car so I just make smaller grocery trips.

After doing quite a few split stays I’ve come to the conclusion a minimum of 3 nights is best. Anything less is not enough time to truly experience the resort. We’d still add 1 night somewhere different for better flight options.

I agree. I did a 2 night at the Poly last month because I really wanted to stay there, and while I could tell that I would LOVE IT, I didn't quite get there because I felt like I was unpacking and packing at the same time. I will definitely stay there again, but for longer.

For our mini split, we will fly in around dinner time and take the SF to AKL, grab QS dinner and explore the resort. We've never been, so we're excited to check everything out.

A reminder that it'll likely get dark while you're wandering.

AKL is already dark inside, so when it's dark outside it's not as easy to see everything as you might wish. I've stayed there several times and it was only this recent trip (we did poly studio 2 nights, boardwalk 1 bedroom 3 nights, Kidani 2 bedroom 3 nights) that I saw how very very close Kidani and Jambo are to each other, for example.

Anyway, my point is...maybe linger a bit in the morning rather than racing away? Get up, wander, see the morning animals, and at checkout time head on over to GFV (which is truly my favorite DVC).

I need to pull clothes out of bags and put them on hangers and into drawers.

I can't find a good image of what I have, but hanging shelf things can be a really nice intermediate step.

 

[PPFlight75]

Hi Disfriends!

We have our first ever "split stay" planned for end of March. It's not really a split stay, as we are flying in to MCO and staying the first night at AKL-Kidani, and then transferring to VGF the next day for the remainder of our trip. I'm not worried about this "diet" split stay, as we'll only be at AKL for one night. We'll definitely not unpack anything, and we won't have our groceries delivered until we get to VGF. But, I would like to experience more split stays in future trips.

We've never done a split stay as DH likes to "move in" to our resort and unpack and get "comfy". I've always wanted to do split stays as I want to try as many WDW resorts as possible and split stays feel like the best way to accomplish this. We are WDW vets but DVC newbies, and I see many more WDW trips in our future. As such, I would like to book split stays in the future and try out all the DVC properties. For folks who do split stays on the regular, what are strategies you use to make the split stay lovers and split stay hesitant folks in your traveling party happy? Are there packing strategies that make it possible to unpack and get comfy and yet pack up and move easily? Are there other tips and tricks to make split stays easier on the folks who are hesitant about embracing split stays?

If it helps, here's a little more about how we do WDW:

1. Our traveling family unit, for the most part, is DH, DS (21), and DS (18), and me. We occasionally bring along a friend of either DS. With kids in college, I anticipate more trips with just DH and me.
2. We are from the midwest so we always fly in to MCO. We never have a car, but we are happy to Uber/Lyft as needed
3. We are a park hopping family, so we wouldn't plan trips based on resorts and their proximity to a park. We criss cross parks every day.
4. We usually stay at WDW for 7-8 days. We've been at spring break time and summertime, mostly, to accommodate our kids' school schedules. However, with kid #2 heading to college in the fall plus the new DVC membership, we are now probably able to visit Disney at a wider variety of times during the year. This is why I'm interested in starting to add split stays to our repertoire.

Any advice as to how to navigate split stays with a hesitant hubby would be awesome! Thank you!

Family of 5-DH and 3 kids. We do split stays every summer when our trips are longer. We typically do 4 night/5 night splits, which gives us time to settle in a little. This works great for us in the summer when we want to split our stay between a MK and EP resort.

We will do EP and HS at our EP resort to minimize bus transport and AK/MK at our MK resort.

It is really fun to do a split stay. Its kinda like 2 vacations in one!

 

[Genie+]

I agree. I did a 2 night at the Poly last month because I really wanted to stay there, and while I could tell that I would LOVE IT, I didn't quite get there because I felt like I was unpacking and packing at the same time. I will definitely stay there again, but for longer.

Same thing for us! Even with 2 nights it’s only one full day. We loved Poly. Used the pool and hot tubs twice, ate at Capn Cooks, had a dole whip. Wasn’t enough time to do more. Definitely need to go back for a longer stay.

 

[kylenne]

A timely thread! I am a big fan of split stays, especially between MK and EP resorts, but my gf was hesitant to try it, so until literally today we decided to just stay at Poly the entire length of our May trip. But with the Visa discount out today, I asked her to reconsider since we are getting in on Memorial Day weekend. When our TA showed us how much we could save by spending the first 3 nights at Yacht Club suddenly gf had no objections.

I agree with PP though, it's all about how you do the parks and your personality. Even though we are both overpackers we are very organized. We also don't have kids to take into account. But it also depends on the resorts you're splitting with too imo, and why you like certain resorts.

I agree. I did a 2 night at the Poly last month because I really wanted to stay there, and while I could tell that I would LOVE IT, I didn't quite get there because I felt like I was unpacking and packing at the same time. I will definitely stay there again, but for longer.

This is definitely how I felt on my first split, between GF and YC; my one regret from that trip is that I didn't stay longer at GF (and that I stayed at YC first). OTOH I have learned now that I actually prefer shorter stays at BC/YC, so I think 3 nights is a sweet spot between being able to take advantage of the walking convenience and not so long that the things that bother me about the resort start to bug me. But it definitely would not be long enough for me at GF or Poly, which I love to pieces.

 

[Disneyhanna]

I love split stays! For cases like yours, when it is just one night somewhere and then a transfer, I will pack strategically so that anything I may use for the first resort is packed in one bag/place, so I don't have to go hunting through my stuff. One change of clothes, pajamas, a smaller bag of toiletries, etc. I'll often put all that in my carry on so I essentially don't even touch my big check bag the first night. I also am a big fan of putting air tags in all of my luggage for peace of mind. I never worry about my transferring my bags but I do love knowing when my bags get to my next resort. It is generally very fast, I have transferred between Disney resorts and the Dolphin in both directions and on average it has only taken like 2-3 hours. You can call bell services to collect your bags or you can bring them down yourself, I usually bring them down at checkout but then call to have them brought to my new room.

You can use the resort facilities on check in and check out days which is great, our last trip we used the Poly pool on our check out day and that passed the time until we could check into our next resort!

Generally I prefer 2-3 nights minimum for split stays to really get a feel for a resort. I love trying new resorts but the real reason I like split stays is I like switching up my proximately to certain parks. I too am a big park hopper and I wouldn't want to stay at a MK resort for an entire trip for example, that would be too far from other parks for me. Epcot area resorts are my favorite because you're close to two parks.

I use packing cubes and like to pack full outfits together, so I can basically grab and go. It also just keeps everything more organized during transport. I am not the type to really unpack since I am grossed out by dresser drawers haha. So I mostly live out of my bag anyways, aside from my toiletries which go on the counter. Another helpful item to pack is a stowaway/packable type bag if you are like me and usually pack your bags to the brim. A stowaway duffel or backpack doesn't take much room and can be helpful to put some stuff in when transferring resorts, since there's no bag limit. I might put some clothes or stuff I won't need until the 2nd half of the trip to get it out of my suitcase.

I always bring a trash bag for laundry and some plastic grocery bags for things like wet shoes, swimsuits, etc.

Really it's not a huge deal for us to transfer because we are often in the parks. Sometimes we will take transfer day as a sleep-in day and then we are only room-less for maybe 5 hours. Or we will check out early and do a park, have a sit down lunch, and then do a park close to the new resort. I can see why families with young children would want to avoid the hassle, but for adults, I think split stays are fantastic. We tend to do our normal vacations like this now too, doing a few nights in various cities, or staying somewhere cheaper on the weekend and doing the nicer hotel on the weeknights to save money.

 

[Pooh2]

We usually have a car so if the weather is mild, we leave our bags in the trunk and go to a park for the morning, then check in to the new resort in the afternoon.

If it is hot, we leave our bags and gear with bell services (we tip when we drop off and when we pick up) because we have medical gear that would be toast in the Florida sun in a trunk.

We usually do three nights at each resort to enjoy the resort and restaurants in that area.

 

[kiford]

The only "split stay" we'll do is a result of one or more stays with a cruise. I unpack everything. I don't like to live out of a suitcase. Even if we are staying in a hotel one night before a cruise, I will typically keep as much as possible of what I need for that one night and the next day in my carry-on and whatever else I need that has to go into a suitcase (e.g., liquids) goes into a bag that is conveniently and easily accessible in the suitcase and can just be grabbed without disturbing the rest. I positively loathe packing. I'll do anything to avoid that as much as possible. Anyone who is like that is going to need a really, really, really good reason for a split stay and "I want to try out more resorts" is likely not gonna cut it. I can justify it for a cruise in between, or before or after, but not two separate hotels back to back. Just no. Never going to be a happy camper (hotel stayer?) if I have to do that.

We wanted to try out all of the deluxe hotels but rejected doing split stays because of that. What we decided to do was more frequent but shorter trips - which was attractive for other reasons - and then rotate our selections amongst a short list of resorts. That worked for the year before the pandemic but has obviously been partially put on hold, though we did manage to hit most of our selections. Once things are a bit better for travelling, we'll probably resume that plan, maybe slipping in a cruise here and there. As I head towards retirement, it will probably be just as frequent but a bit longer but still one stay = one hotel (though maybe with a cruise).

 

[disney-inspired]

Hi Disfriends!

We have our first ever "split stay" planned for end of March. It's not really a split stay, as we are flying in to MCO and staying the first night at AKL-Kidani, and then transferring to VGF the next day for the remainder of our trip. I'm not worried about this "diet" split stay, as we'll only be at AKL for one night. We'll definitely not unpack anything, and we won't have our groceries delivered until we get to VGF. But, I would like to experience more split stays in future trips.

We've never done a split stay as DH likes to "move in" to our resort and unpack and get "comfy". I've always wanted to do split stays as I want to try as many WDW resorts as possible and split stays feel like the best way to accomplish this. We are WDW vets but DVC newbies, and I see many more WDW trips in our future. As such, I would like to book split stays in the future and try out all the DVC properties. For folks who do split stays on the regular, what are strategies you use to make the split stay lovers and split stay hesitant folks in your traveling party happy? Are there packing strategies that make it possible to unpack and get comfy and yet pack up and move easily? Are there other tips and tricks to make split stays easier on the folks who are hesitant about embracing split stays?

If it helps, here's a little more about how we do WDW:

1. Our traveling family unit, for the most part, is DH, DS (21), and DS (18), and me. We occasionally bring along a friend of either DS. With kids in college, I anticipate more trips with just DH and me.
2. We are from the midwest so we always fly in to MCO. We never have a car, but we are happy to Uber/Lyft as needed
3. We are a park hopping family, so we wouldn't plan trips based on resorts and their proximity to a park. We criss cross parks every day.
4. We usually stay at WDW for 7-8 days. We've been at spring break time and summertime, mostly, to accommodate our kids' school schedules. However, with kid #2 heading to college in the fall plus the new DVC membership, we are now probably able to visit Disney at a wider variety of times during the year. This is why I'm interested in starting to add split stays to our repertoire.

Any advice as to how to navigate split stays with a hesitant hubby would be awesome! Thank you!

I have done a few split stays recently and this is what I found to be helpful:
- If your first stay is only 1 night, I pack those items separately - usually in a backpack, so I don't have to open my suitcase.
- Try to do the splits on a rest day so you don't have to worry about rushing over to a park or reservation as you'll need to take your luggage down to bell services . The hotels do the luggage transfer but if you'll need anything before the evening, take it with you.
- If you do decide to split on a park day, be up and out early (if you're a rope-dropper) so you can leave the bags at bell services and take your transportation to the park.
- If you have several days on both parts of your split, try to pack your suitcase accordingly. We have luggage that opens like a clamshell so I'll put resort 1 on the left and resort 2 on the right so I don't have to make a mess of it. With this, I highly recommend packing cubes because you can take out what you'll need for that stay and you can place it in the in-room dresser.

I don't like to do more than 1 split per stay unless it's a long trip.

 

[fla4fun]

It sounds like for the OP, they aren’t doing a real split stay for this particular trip. I don’t consider it a split stay if I have to add a night at the beginning or end of a trip at a different location, particularly to accommodate travel arrangements. To me, a split stay involves staying multiple nights in each resort.

For me, I am like the OP‘s husband, in that I like to unpack and relax. My sister and BIL like to go on road trips where they spend a couple nights here and a couple nights there over a 2-3 week period, but that drives me nuts because I want to go on vacation, settle into my destination, and actually relax. So I don’t feel a Disney split stay is feasible for trips less than two weeks. If I am there for a week (7 days), a split stay costs me one day in the middle, so I am down to six park days, and it feels like I lose part of the other days with the extra unpacking and repacking even if I use separate bags for each part of the trip. At least if I am there for two weeks, it feels like I have enough time to unpack and relax at each resort. In that case, I divide up the parks based on the hotel location and it really feels like two separate vacations. However, I am still anxious on moving day, and feel like that day is kind of a waste of my vacation time. I don’t think anyone could change how I feel about it, but it is possible to compromise so that each side gets as much of what they want as possible, such as splitting a week up two/five days, so one person gets to try two resorts while the other gets enough time to settle in and relax.

From an efficiency standpoint, packing a separate bag for each stop, with a small toiletry case that can be moved from one bag to the other, works well for me. I employ that method when going on a road trip too. I pack a small bag (tote bag size with just enough room for a change of clothes) for each one night stop and one large bag for the destination.

OP, I hope you are able to come up with a compromise that makes you both happy.

 

[loves to dive]

I do split stays just about every trip, I'm not DVC so for me it's all about the money. I do 2 nights at a value or moderate then move over to an Epcot resort for the rest of the trip (and I've done 4 night trips this way). I do drive down so it's easier for me to pack a small bag for resort #1 and I can either throw that bag in my car and leave it or take it to resort #2. I always have a backpack or a duffel of some sort that I put my laptop, kindle, drugs, and hanging toiletry bag in so there is usually room in it for me to throw a packing cube for resort #1 in as well. By using a hanging toiletry bag I never have to actually unpack that. I don't like my stuff laying around on the counters in the bathroom so I just hang it on a hook or the towel rack or somewhere in the bathroom and after I use something, I put it back in it. That way the housekeepers are not touching my toothbrush or seeing my drugs or handling my toothpaste. I unpack at both resorts. I take a few empty trash bags and my dirty clothes either go straight into one or if I'm going to re-wear a bottom, I line a drawer in the dresser with one of the trash bags and my semi-dirty clothes go on top of it (that way the next person isn't having to use a drawer that my dirty clothes touched). An yes, I re-wear shorts or skorts or sometimes sundresses. I don't re-wear tops usually since they tend to get pretty sweaty. My son, is not an unpacker so he just takes his big suitcase in both resorts. He is not a fan of split stays but a happy mom is important so he keeps his mouth shut and goes with it. Hubby doesn't travel unless it's in our RV and we have taken trips where we have moved after 2 or 3 days, talk about a pain, setting up a RV will make you enjoy a hotel split stay.

 

[Little E]

Hi all! OP here. Thank you so much for all of your insight! You've given me lots to think about. I recognize our trip isn't a true split stay. When we booked our welcome home stay as newbie DVC folk, we just booked our home resort at VGF March 23-31. A few months later, I started looking to book flights, and I realized that I could save $1000 if we flew in on March 22nd. So, I started looking at ways to add an extra night without spending much of the $1000 we'd save by flying in a day sooner. Our oldest DS won't join us until 3/24, so we'll only have 4 of us until then. I quickly realized it would be cheaper to book a 1 bedroom at AKL for one night on 3/22, rather than adding an extra day at VGF. Having the two bathrooms at Kidani seemed like a no brainer, and DS and his buddy can figure out who sleeps on the pullout couch and who sleeps on the sleeper chair. (I'm guessing the buddy will get the pullout couch and my DS will get the sleeper chair. The buddy is a 6 foot muscle-y swimmer, while my guy is 5'7 on a really tall day, and he weighs 120 lbs soaking wet, with rocks in his pocket! ) Plus, we've never been to AKL, so it seemed a good way to save some points and explore a new-to-us resort.

To make things as easy as possible, I'm having groceries and our owners locker delivered on 3/23 when we check in to VGF, so we don't have to move all of that extra stuff. We'll Uber to VGF in the morning, and check our bags with bell services and hit our breakfast reservation at GF Cafe. I figure this will help "ease" my hubby in to the split stay concept. We can mosey in to MK whenever we're ready from there.

I'm definitely going to file away all of your suggestions...you all have shared great tips! I think I'm also going to take your collective advice and pack one of our carry ons as an AKL only bag, so we only have 1 bag to open for the one night we'll be there. It'll be easier to just leave the other luggage untouched until we get to VGF.

Also, I so appreciate that you "get" DH. He's a wonderful guy, he loves Disney, and he indulges my love of Disney. He's an easy going dude, and he would do whatever I ultimately wanted to do on a WDW trip. But, I want to make him as happy as possible too, so I figured I could turn to all of you split stay experts. And, you did NOT disappoint! Thanks so much for your feedback.

Feel free to add anything else you think I haven't considered yet!

 

[AnnabelleTheTalkingTree]

I love split stays! We've gotten a few of them under our belt now, and have found it really convenient. Like you, we park hop, but the right split stay still makes logistics even easier. We usually stay a portion of our trip at one of the Crescent Lake resorts and one on the monorail.

Typically, I prefer a split stay only when our total length of stay is at least 8 nights. I'm like your husband in that I want to settle in and get cozy, at least for one leg of the stay so I like to book one leg that's something like 6 nights, and then the rest somewhere else. We've done it where we did 6 nights at one, 4 nights at another. We've done where it was 8 nights at one, two nights at another. Our upcoming stay is exactly like yours - arrival night is at one resort, and then we've got the bulk of the trip elsewhere. I would not, however want to do a split stay for a 6 night trip where I only had 3 nights in each spot.

I find split stays fairly easy, even with our two littles (2 and 6). Disney does so much of the work for you, so basically you just call bell services, they take your bags, you go to the parks as usual and then pick up your bags later. Easy peasy.

As far as packing tips, the biggest thing is just organizing effectively, which is less of an issue when it's just one night before moving on. But I like packing cubes, usually color coordinating for each family member. I plan out what outfits will be worn on which days and combine them - so all the things for Family Member 1 for Resort 1 are combined together in one cube, and all their things for Resort 2 are in a separate cube. After the first part of the stay is over, I'll take everyone's dirty clothes and combine them into a certain suitcase, and throw all the clean stuff for Resort 2 into a separate suitcase. Then when we get to the second resort, the "dirty" suitcase goes automatically in the closet and we only touch the "clean" suitcase.

The only inconvenience for us about split stays is just waiting for your new room to be ready - so since you never really know how long it'll be, I usually throw an extra set of clothes and a bathing suit in the park bags for everyone just in case we want to change before we have our bags back.

 

[TigrLvsPooh]

Hi Disfriends!

We have our first ever "split stay" planned for end of March. It's not really a split stay, as we are flying in to MCO and staying the first night at AKL-Kidani, and then transferring to VGF the next day for the remainder of our trip. I'm not worried about this "diet" split stay, as we'll only be at AKL for one night. We'll definitely not unpack anything, and we won't have our groceries delivered until we get to VGF. But, I would like to experience more split stays in future trips.

We've never done a split stay as DH likes to "move in" to our resort and unpack and get "comfy". I've always wanted to do split stays as I want to try as many WDW resorts as possible and split stays feel like the best way to accomplish this. We are WDW vets but DVC newbies, and I see many more WDW trips in our future. As such, I would like to book split stays in the future and try out all the DVC properties. For folks who do split stays on the regular, what are strategies you use to make the split stay lovers and split stay hesitant folks in your traveling party happy? Are there packing strategies that make it possible to unpack and get comfy and yet pack up and move easily? Are there other tips and tricks to make split stays easier on the folks who are hesitant about embracing split stays?

If it helps, here's a little more about how we do WDW:

1. Our traveling family unit, for the most part, is DH, DS (21), and DS (18), and me. We occasionally bring along a friend of either DS. With kids in college, I anticipate more trips with just DH and me.
2. We are from the midwest so we always fly in to MCO. We never have a car, but we are happy to Uber/Lyft as needed
3. We are a park hopping family, so we wouldn't plan trips based on resorts and their proximity to a park. We criss cross parks every day.
4. We usually stay at WDW for 7-8 days. We've been at spring break time and summertime, mostly, to accommodate our kids' school schedules. However, with kid #2 heading to college in the fall plus the new DVC membership, we are now probably able to visit Disney at a wider variety of times during the year. This is why I'm interested in starting to add split stays to our repertoire.

Any advice as to how to navigate split stays with a hesitant hubby would be awesome! Thank you!

Biggest tip I can give you is to enjoy your first full day in the parks and don't even try to access your room at the VGF until after 4:00pm. I have seen so many people waste an entire park day sitting in the lobby thinking they might be able to get into their room early. It's just not worth trying.

 

[glocon]

Just a thought…

Maybe compromise and do a split stay one trip and not do a split stay the next.
Seems fair to do what each of you want.

You’re lucky that you have dvc and can go often!

 

[gottalovepluto]

Ask him to try it once. It may or may not be for him and idk how much you’ll be able to change his mind. With more trips to WDW what is the harm in letting you have a split stay?

Luggage transfer service makes it SO easy. Hate shlepping my own luggage and without this feature I probably wouldn’t split stay. However, plan to stay in park that day longer since your room might not be ready until 4pm-ish. Do not plan some special thing that night that will require nice clothes. Bags are delivered until like 5-6pm. I usually have mine by 3pm but once it was a bit after 5pm.

You say you have PH so you don’t plan hotels by what parks you’ll be in. I wouldn’t bother with split stays if I wasn’t going to take advantage of easier park access. If you’re in MK area go to MK. If you’re EP area at least plan some EP dinners. With park reservations required and beloved by management you have to plan your first park anyway.

Nobody could sell me on a split stay for the joy of experiencing something else. Definitely not. BUT not having to take a Disney bus? Sign. Me. Up.

 

[weather_lady]

We love split stays!

As others indicated, taking the stress out of a split stay has everything to do with how you pack. If you or others in your traveling party are chronic overpackers for whom packing and unpacking is a time-consuming exercise, split stays may not be fun for you.

My family members (myself, DH, DS and DD) each bring a single 21" rolling suitcase, plus a backpack or waist pack that serves as a park bag. Each person's suitcase contains their folded clothes and accessories (packed as outfits complete with socks and underwear, so you can simply take what you need from the top of a cube each morning), arranged into packing cubes (a different color for each person), with toiletry and shoe bags to match, and snacks and breakfast foodstuffs in Ziploc bags. Anything that will be going to the parks (MagicBands, rain ponchos, mini First-Aid kit, sunglasses, phones and charging cords) is already packed in the park bags.

Nor is there any reason not to "move in" and "get comfy." With everything packed in cubes and pouches and such, it takes us all of 5 minutes to fully unpack (simply unzip the cubes and pouches and set them wherever they belong, and stack the empty suitcases in a corner nook or slide them under the bed), and 5 minutes to pack up again when it's time to move (replace any loose items into their cubes and pouches, zip back up, and put back in suitcases).

In addition to packing light, our "hotel switch day" itinerary is planned to make the change as convenient as possible. We give our bags to Bell Services in the morning before heading off to a park, and we stay in the parks until evening, so that our room will be ready (and our luggage transferred and waiting) when we arrive at the second hotel. If our total stay is for more than 4-5 nights, such that our carryons won't fit enough clothes for the whole stay, I also plan to do laundry early in the morning, or later in the evening, on our hotel switch day. If we happen to be staying in DVC villas and have refrigerated food items that need to be transferred, we spend a few extra dollars on a rideshare, and transport our bags from one hotel to the other ourselves (with refrigerated items going in a fold-flat insulated tote bag brought from home).

We fly in to Orlando and don't rent a car, so we appreciate the convenience of split stays that put us at opposite ends of Disney property, so we can focus on the parks nearest our resort (although we don't mind hopping further away, especially in the evenings). We also enjoy sampling the different themes and amenities that the different hotels have to offer, and recognize that we don't visit often enough to see many of them if we're not doing split stays.

(Full disclosure: This photo wasn't for a Disney trip -- it was what I packed for a 10-day tour of Scotland -- but the amount of items I packed and how I organized them is very similar, because we were switching hotels 3 times! My Disney bag would look much like this, but with a small Eddie Bauer Stowaway 20L backpack and waist pack instead of a hobo purse.)

 

[Dug720]

The only "split stay" we'll do is a result of one or more stays with a cruise.

100% this!

In August I'm doing 3 nights at Pop (as of now) before a cruise and 1 night after at POFQ. I honestly don't consider that a split-stay.