To split stay...or not to split stay...?

[sc05]

Hey everyone! We (DW, myself, DS and DS) are visiting Disney World for the first time with our boys (they'll be 5 and 2 during our travels) in November 2024. We took our first family trip to DL this past November and we all agree it's time to do our first DW trip! We'll be arriving the Saturday after Thanksgiving and staying for 11 nights (at least that's our current plan). We are currently booked in a one bedroom BCV for the entire stay, but I am now starting to wonder whether we should go the split stay route. If we were to opt for a split stay, I'm, and I say I'm as I am the one obsessed with planning and enjoy every little bit of this process leading up to our trips haha, leaning towards starting in the epcot area (BC/YC most likely but the new boardwalk refurbs look nice as well) and finishing with one of the MK resorts, likely GF, Poly or WL. I know a split stay requires packing for the move, which honestly isn't as big of deal as the potential for not having a room for our youngest to get his nap in during the transfer day.

I grew up visiting DW (I'm going on 37 here soon) but haven't been back in years and I want to make this a special first trip for DW and the little fellas. I have such fond memories of my family's trips to DW and to this day, remember the feeling of entering the bubble and experiencing everything that makes DW such a special place. I'd truly appreciate any feedback/advice you have. Thank you so, so much!

 

[disneydreamer1980]

WL isnt on the monorail but it does have a boat to MK. Personally with 2 little kids I think switching resorts would be a pain, you’re essentially “homeless” for part of the day, if they need a nap or something. Id just stay in one place, maybe on the monorail like Contemporary or Poly or GF, you can push the stroller right on snd it’s easy to get to and from MK and Epcot, which is a plus if you nap in the room during the day. ETA we’ll be there the same time, the Saturday after Tg snd staying fir 2 weeks. It’s a great time to visit. Have fun!

 

[Simba's Mom]

I've often done split stays and really enjoy it. However, all my split stays have been on solo trips. If you're considering a split stay, you really need the full cooperation of your family. Eleven days is certainly enough time to do a split stay, but some people think split stays are great, while other people like to unpack and stay in one place for the whole time. I'd recommend you discuss this with everyone (Oh, yes-even the 2 boys, no matter how young they are-I speak as the mother of 2 boys who were about their age the first time we went to WDW) and consider everyone's reactions.

 

[sc05]

WL isnt on the monorail but it does have a boat to MK. Personally with 2 little kids I think switching resorts would be a pain, you’re essentially “homeless” for part of the day, if they need a nap or something. Id just stay in one place, maybe on the monorail like Contemporary or Poly or GF, you can push the stroller right on snd it’s easy to get to and from MK and Epcot, which is a plus if you nap in the room during the day. ETA we’ll be there the same time, the Saturday after Tg snd staying fir 2 weeks. It’s a great time to visit. Have fun!

Thank you so much for the input! Oops, I defaulted to monorail even though I know the WL isn't on the monorail. Edited that and thanks for pointing that out!

And two weeks, nice! Will you be staying in one resort for those two weeks or moving around? We absolutely loved the holiday decorations at DL during our stay, so that's one of the main reasons for our proposed dates. Can't wait to be back in DW for the first time in a long time!

 

[Genie+]

Our last trip was a split stay. Moving day was a pain but… splitting time between BWV and Poly was fantastic for the parks. We did alot of MK and EP from Poly, and HS/EP from Boardwalk, and mixed in some AK from both. I fell like we got the best use out of our hoppers too. I prefer to stay put at one resort unless it’s a long stay, then it’s worth it!

 

[sc05]

Our last trip was a split stay. Moving day was a pain but… splitting time between BWV and Poly was fantastic for the parks. We did alot of MK and EP from Poly, and HS/EP from Boardwalk, and mixed in some AK from both. I fell like we got the best use out of our hoppers too. I prefer to stay put at one resort unless it’s a long stay, then it’s worth it!

That sounds amazing! And that's what we're currently going back and forth on. We're definitely there for enough time where a split stay feels doable. That being said, my wife and I love the idea of unpacking and settling in for the length of our trip. Not to mention the ADR advantage. Having 10 plus months to plan this trip is both a blessing and a curse

I have really fond memories of walking around the epcot resort area (have stayed at BC/YC, Boardwalk and Swan during my younger years) and being able to walk to epcot (has always been one of my favorite parks) and HS (or hopping on the skyliner/boats). The skyliner will be new for me and that adds yet another check in the pro column for the epcot resorts. And we'll have hoppers so the ability to easily access the two parks is a major plus.

But then I keep coming back to the MK area given the age of our boys and the overall feel of being near the MK and having the ability to pop over there at any time without much effort. And our oldest LOVED the fireworks in DL and while I know Luminous is mostly fireworks (at least based on what I've read), nothing beats fireworks at the MK!

Appreciate your response!

 

[sc05]

I've often done split stays and really enjoy it. However, all my split stays have been on solo trips. If you're considering a split stay, you really need the full cooperation of your family. Eleven days is certainly enough time to do a split stay, but some people think split stays are great, while other people like to unpack and stay in one place for the whole time. I'd recommend you discuss this with everyone (Oh, yes-even the 2 boys, no matter how young they are-I speak as the mother of 2 boys who were about their age the first time we went to WDW) and consider everyone's reactions.

Thank you! That's a great idea. I've been showing the boys some videos of the parks and resorts and I love seeing and hearing their reactions (mostly pointing and smiling with some words tossed in there for our youngest haha). We'll definitely talk over our options!

 

[Marthasor]

Hey everyone! We (DW, myself, DS and DS) are visiting Disney World for the first time with our boys (they'll be 5 and 2 during our travels) in November 2024. We took our first family trip to DL this past November and we all agree it's time to do our first DW trip! We'll be arriving the Saturday after Thanksgiving and staying for 11 nights (at least that's our current plan). We are currently booked in a one bedroom BCV for the entire stay, but I am now starting to wonder whether we should go the split stay route. If we were to opt for a split stay, I'm, and I say I'm as I am the one obsessed with planning and enjoy every little bit of this process leading up to our trips haha, leaning towards starting in the epcot area (BC/YC most likely but the new boardwalk refurbs look nice as well) and finishing with one of the MK resorts, likely GF, Poly or WL. I know a split stay requires packing for the move, which honestly isn't as big of deal as the potential for not having a room for our youngest to get his nap in during the transfer day.

I grew up visiting DW (I'm going on 37 here soon) but haven't been back in years and I want to make this a special first trip for DW and the little fellas. I have such fond memories of my family's trips to DW and to this day, remember the feeling of entering the bubble and experiencing everything that makes DW such a special place. I'd truly appreciate any feedback/advice you have. Thank you so, so much!

This is a tough one for me because, for a longer trip, I like a split stay - it's almost as if I get two different vacations! That being said, doing a split with a toddler is not terribly fun, IMHO. Plus, you have booked, IMHO the best 1-bedroom villa in all of WDW. Nothing beats the BCV location - you are right next to EP and the Skyliner plus you are very close to the resort buses and QS area. The BCV villas were also just recently renovated and are gorgeous. I've stayed in 1- and 2-bedrooms in every WDW villa property (aside from OKW) and BCV is just my absolute favorite. If you were to split, I would highly recommend looking for another 1-bedroom in the MK area (BCV, CCV, VGF, BLT though those villas are in desperate need of a refurb). The washer/dryer and kitchen in the 1-bedrooms comes in very, very handy with small children. I would really think about how much time it will take you to pack and unpack and what you will do on your check-out/check-in day and decide if it's worth the hassle. That's hours you could just be spending in the parks or enjoying your 1-bedroom at BCV.

 

[R&RsMom]

You mentioned ADR advantages of a single resort, and that would be my concern. If you will want any of the harder to book meals or experiences (the ones people tell you to put at the end of the trip to get), a split stay will mean your Length of stay per resort is shorter. So, two booking dates.

 

[sc05]

This is a tough one for me because, for a longer trip, I like a split stay - it's almost as if I get two different vacations! That being said, doing a split with a toddler is not terribly fun, IMHO. Plus, you have booked, IMHO the best 1-bedroom villa in all of WDW. Nothing beats the BCV location - you are right next to EP and the Skyliner plus you are very close to the resort buses and QS area. The BCV villas were also just recently renovated and are gorgeous. I've stayed in 1- and 2-bedrooms in every WDW villa property (aside from OKW) and BCV is just my absolute favorite. If you were to split, I would highly recommend looking for another 1-bedroom in the MK area (BCV, CCV, VGF, BLT though those villas are in desperate need of a refurb). The washer/dryer and kitchen in the 1-bedrooms comes in very, very handy with small children. I would really think about how much time it will take you to pack and unpack and what you will do on your check-out/check-in day and decide if it's worth the hassle. That's hours you could just be spending in the parks or enjoying your 1-bedroom at BCV.

Thank you! I've watched a few tours of the newly refurbished villas and they look nice! I know some people prefer more theming, and I get that, but we're absolutely fine getting that elsewhere. And our oldest loved his pull-down murphy bed in the new 1BR villa at the DL Hotel. So when he saw the BC villa has it, he was sold haha.

As of right now, GF (our preferred MK resort if we were to stay) has zero availability for 1br villas during our proposed dates. And I've read it's one of the smallest DVC properties (or at least has the fewest DVC units?) so it makes sense. I have very vague memories of staying at the GF as my family stayed there when my sister and I were quite young (stayed at the epcot resorts more often), but DW has loved everything she's seen when it comes to GF (has also loved what she's seen for BC) so we'll have to at least visit if we don't end up staying. The other thing I'm considering is the new Poly tower if it opens by the time we visit. Staying in one of the brand new 1br villas there sounds amazing (I know the tower is a divisive topic around here haha). The progress reports seem to suggest it'll open in time, but who really knows.

 

[sc05]

You mentioned ADR advantages of a single resort, and that would be my concern. If you will want any of the harder to book meals or experiences (the ones people tell you to put at the end of the trip to get), a split stay will mean your Length of stay per resort is shorter. So, two booking dates.

Definitely a consideration. We'll ultimately book at least a few ADRs during our stay, including a character meal or two. During our DL trip, the "hard to get" reservations would very often become available the day of or a day before on a regular basis, so I'm wondering if that's a common theme in DW....

We also realized that as much as we love the idea of sitting down for meals, whether it's on vacation or here at home, it's always going to be a different experience with little ones haha. Still fun and special, but obviously different and we found the QS options in DL to be the best options for us the majority of our trip. As somebody who loves food and has long planned vacations around meals, there is a part of me that wants to hit several of the DW restaurants.

Thanks for your response!

 

[disneydreamer1980]

Definitely a consideration. We'll ultimately book at least a few ADRs during our stay, including a character meal or two. During our DL trip, the "hard to get" reservations would very often become available the day of or a day before on a regular basis, so I'm wondering if that's a common theme in DW....

We also realized that as much as we love the idea of sitting down for meals, whether it's on vacation or here at home, it's always going to be a different experience with little ones haha. Still fun and special, but obviously different and we found the QS options in DL to be the best options for us the majority of our trip. As somebody who loves food and has long planned vacations around meals, there is a part of me that wants to hit several of the DW restaurants.

Thanks for your response!

A lot of ADRs do open up last minute. Character meals would be a good deal for you because your 2 year old is free, and at a buffet or family style service they can get their own plate. We’ll be staying at boardwalk villas, we alternate between there and Poly. Did a split stay once between them and was kind of a pain packing up everything. It would be cool for you to get to experience 2 different places though, just be aware that packing up and unpacking again takes up time and there will most likely be a chunk of the day where you’re without a room. Also, if your kids are up to it, staying at a deluxe you get extra evening hours at MK and Epcot. Great time to experience a quieter park. We go at this time every year, it’s really nice to see the decorations and Epcot’s festival of the holidays begins right at the start of your trip and it’s really cool. Again, with 2 littles I think staying on the monorail would be great, but Beach clubs awesome too and you can walk to Epcot. Plus the pools awesome and the waters heated, if there’s a warmer day and you want to swim. Whatever your choice I’m sure you’ll have a great time!

 

[JulieBeeRN]

I love split days but having small children would be a dealbreaker for me. It’s bad enough when it’s just my husband and myself. Now, you could turn it into a park day and sleep in before heading out. But I personally would not switch if my grandkids were coming with us.

 

[TheDailyMoo]

Split stayed the last two summers with our son who was 4 the first time and 5 this last year. It worked out just fine. A little more stress when worrying everything goes ok but it was as smooth as could be. We did Epcot to MK area and had them move our luggage and made sure to have made our park reservations for the park closest to our new check in. Honestly they got us in as soon as we went there early in the afternoon, no waiting till 4. Now YMMV considering it's a busier week so I would take that into consideration but it can be done rather easily.

 

[SG131]

I would save the split stay for when the kids are older. A split stay with littles is annoying cause they have so much more stuff to organize and reorganize. Especially now that disney won't transfer refrigerated items. So if you do an instacart order with things like milk, you will have to take an uber to the next resort with those cold items and leave them at bell services yourself on transfer day. And then you come back from the park on moving day with a tired kid or two and instead of being able to get them to sleep, you have to call for your luggage, wait for it to arrive, then do pjs and tooth brushing and all that and get their beds set up.

 

[sc05]

A lot of ADRs do open up last minute. Character meals would be a good deal for you because your 2 year old is free, and at a buffet or family style service they can get their own plate. We’ll be staying at boardwalk villas, we alternate between there and Poly. Did a split stay once between them and was kind of a pain packing up everything. It would be cool for you to get to experience 2 different places though, just be aware that packing up and unpacking again takes up time and there will most likely be a chunk of the day where you’re without a room. Also, if your kids are up to it, staying at a deluxe you get extra evening hours at MK and Epcot. Great time to experience a quieter park. We go at this time every year, it’s really nice to see the decorations and Epcot’s festival of the holidays begins right at the start of your trip and it’s really cool. Again, with 2 littles I think staying on the monorail would be great, but Beach clubs awesome too and you can walk to Epcot. Plus the pools awesome and the waters heated, if there’s a warmer day and you want to swim. Whatever your choice I’m sure you’ll have a great time

Really appreciate your response! We loved the festival booths at California Adventure so hitting the booths at Epcot is a must for our upcoming trip! And the pool, regardless of where we end up (but I know Stormalong Bay is a favorite and I have vivid memories of my time in that pool!), will be something we utilize. We're from MN so even if the temps aren't what most would consider pool weather, we'll be venturing down for a swim haha. The boys love their pool time so we'll spend at least some time swimming during the trip. Thanks again!

 

[Marthasor]

Thank you! I've watched a few tours of the newly refurbished villas and they look nice! I know some people prefer more theming, and I get that, but we're absolutely fine getting that elsewhere. And our oldest loved his pull-down murphy bed in the new 1BR villa at the DL Hotel. So when he saw the BC villa has it, he was sold haha.

As of right now, GF (our preferred MK resort if we were to stay) has zero availability for 1br villas during our proposed dates. And I've read it's one of the smallest DVC properties (or at least has the fewest DVC units?) so it makes sense. I have very vague memories of staying at the GF as my family stayed there when my sister and I were quite young (stayed at the epcot resorts more often), but DW has loved everything she's seen when it comes to GF (has also loved what she's seen for BC) so we'll have to at least visit if we don't end up staying. The other thing I'm considering is the new Poly tower if it opens by the time we visit. Staying in one of the brand new 1br villas there sounds amazing (I know the tower is a divisive topic around here haha). The progress reports seem to suggest it'll open in time, but who really knows.

Oh, definitely, if the Poly tower opens before your trip, that would be very tempting!

You are correct - on a cash reservation basis, the VGF 1br villas have been very hard to come by. We go down often and haven't been able to snag anything above a studio since 2021.

 

[loves to dive]

I love split stays and have been known to do them even on a 4 night stay. Usually I do them to save a little money, one or two nights in a value or moderate then move over to an Epcot resort. My son wasn't a fan when he was a teenager (which was when I started doing them). That is only because he is a slob and doesn't actually unpack, he lives out an exploded suitcase. I think his issue was just being lazy. We always drive so we would just throw the suitcases in the car, move it to the next resort. Check to see if they had a room, any room when we got there and if they didn't we just left the suitcases in the car and went to a park. We do usually go back to our room mid-day and I think that was what bothered him if there wasn't a room ready. I'm not the nice mom that takes their kid's opinion into consideration in that case. I'm paying for it kid, we do it my way. When you pay, you do it your way. That didn't apply to all things, I would ask where he wanted to eat or what he wanted to do but split stays, nope. It wasn't a deal breaker for him to want to stay home.

I'd say discuss it with your wife and go from there. If your little one can sleep in a stroller so push come to shove and the room isn't ready when nap time rolls around, it wouldn't be a horrible thing. As far as repacking, packing cubes are your friend for split stays. One set for stay number one and the other set doesn't even leave the suitcase.

 

[hilltopper152]

In general I like to split stay. A little less with little kids but 5 plus days is kinda boring to me at one place. I like to see new things and have proximity to other parks. I would say I would never split stay under 3 nights again though unless its arrival night for just that one night.

I also only find it worth it generally if we leave an area of the property to go to a "new" area. In your boat I would not stay at that resort that long. You may really enjoy Poly, BLT, or Grand... you can resort hop the area on the monorail and in some cases walk to MK. For us, the area is true Disney and may be fun on arrival to get in the spirit or my wife likes staying near MK at the end too for last dose of in your face magic. Epcot area is cool to me as adults but MK is the core reason of WDW to us.

I have split stay 4 times with a under 3 year old. I am adding a small infant to that toddler on next trip so they will be 4 and 1. We 100% do not think there will be much of a difference. We do not keep cold food so that is key. Our plan is always to wake up and get bags down to bell services. They transfer the bags and we go to the park for day or disney springs. Either way the transfer is seamless other than a little stress in morning and tired at night if we do a park day. I do not regret the effort ever but a mid vacation switch can feel like a new vacation or you can mentally make it a negative thing. It is mental for most people and to us it is easy but small kids just make it harder on dad packing bags back. I usually take bags down myself because I do not have patience to wait for them to come get it.

 

[gottalovepluto]

EP/MK is The Best split! With 2 little boys for 11 days do you want a fresh room halfway through? Something to consider. (As an adult it’s something I want but I don’t have kids so no idea if it’s something that would or would not appeal to you!)

Just make sure you plan to be in the parks/disney springs later in the afternoon as you’ll be “homeless” from 11-4 and if you want Disney to move your bags they might not arrive until 5-6pm (I always have Disney move my bags, others prefer to rideshare them to their next resort).