16 Night Quadruple Split - am I nuts??

[andie-j]

Hi all - planning our 1st trip to WDW in early summer 2021. This will be the trip of a lifetime for my 15 year old step-daughter, her friend, and me. We are planning on staying 16 nights as I honestly have no idea when (or if) I will be able to return and want to make the most of our visit. That being said, I am really struggling with all of the amazing resort options. I would absolutely love to be able to stay in each of the 3 main park areas. We also have our hearts set on Animal Kingdom Lodge for at least part of the stay. So, I am entertaining the option of a 4-resort split which would give us 4 nights in 4 different resorts. So here were my initial thoughts:

Animal Kingdom Lodge - 1st 4 nights
Yacht Club - 2nd 4 nights
Wilderness Lodge - 3rd 4 nights
Contemporary or Polynesian - Last 4 nights

Other considerations include Beach Club or Gran Destino Tower for the 2nd 4 nights. Possibly even the 1st 2 nights at Universal (Hard Rock Hotel). So as you can see, I’m struggling with all of these choices and would welcome input! First, am I nuts for even considering 4 hotels in 16 nights? Second, any advice on our narrowed list of choices? Thanks in advance for the replies!

 

[DisneyandBeerLover]

It’s hard for me to say because this is your first time and you don’t know when you’ll be back. I get that you’re trying to make the most of your trip, and you have some amazing resorts picked out. For me, switching resorts that many times would get old quick but I’m not a huge fan of switching resorts especially more than once because while you can have your luggage moved to the other resort while you’re in the park, you also have to spend time packing and unpacking. But if you guys know that’s okay for you, do it! I just know for us (two adults) we didn’t enjoy switching that much. We went Poly, BC and BW in 10 days and decided never again. Our resort never felt like home. We also go almost every year for 10-15 day trips so this isn’t once in a lifetime for us.

I think if you add Universal, which I would recommend doing, then I would knock off one of the resorts. Hard Rock is our favorite there!

I guess if it was me, I would pick HRH, Beach or Yacht (both are great!), and WL. Then I’d plan for dinner reservations at restaurants at AKL, Polynesian, CR and Coronado.

 

[Welsh_Dragon]

We are staying at 3 WDW resorts and a UOR resort next June/July over a 17 day period. You just pack differently and enjoy your new surroundings.

 

[andie-j]

Thanks for the input! I love the idea of HRH, YC, and WL - I have to add AKL in there for the savanna view, though. It was the one request my step-daughter made (she’s a HUGE animal lover). I know that I will certainly appreciate the cuisine there. As for the packing/re-packing aspect, I travel quite a bit for work so I’m kind of used to living out of a suitcase. And I know the girls will appreciate any trade-off that buys them fun new experiences.

 

[Nancyg56]

This woudl be too much moving for me, but I am not a fan of split stays. I do agree with @DisneyandBeerLover about UOR. I would skip one of the WDW resorts and stay in a Universal resort for that leg of your trip.

For your girls, I think I would choose AKL Savanah view, Beach Club (way more beachy than the YC) and The Grand. My DGD loves the Grand and at 15, and announced that she was a Grand Girl, just like her Nana, my daughter almost fainted. She thought that they were a "Poly family" LOL!!!!!


WL is pretty, but at 15 my DGD would have hated it. At 17 she enjoyed the visit but was ready to leave after dinner.

 

[Figment Mom]

My only concern about that much switching is that 4 shorter stays may actually make your trip feel shorter because it would be kind of broken up.

 

[Best Aunt]

I think that's too much. When you leave a hotel, your room at the next hotel may not be available until late afternoon. Sometimes you just want to relax in your room, especially if it's a longer trip. Use your own bathroom. Sit down without having to be surrounded by other people. (On my last day recently, I was sitting in the hotel lobby until it was time to leave for the airport. A really loud obnoxious group of people sat down near me, with alcohol. It was not fun.)

Also, if you want to stay in a hotel near each theme park, I would do Contemporary (easy to walk to Magic Kingdom). I would drop Wilderness Lodge - also near Magic Kingdom but you can't walk to it.

If you are staying at Yacht Club, it doesn't make sense to add Beach Club. They are essentially the same resort.

You are making a big assumption that the girls will be happy when you're there and they have to keep moving. You say each switch will give the girls "fun new experiences." Just how much time do you plan to be spending in the public spaces at each hotel, and what "fun new experiences" are you talking about? YC/BC have a great pool area, so that could qualify as a "fun new experience." AKL has the animals, so that could qualify as a "fun new experience." But other than that, I think you are overestimating the marvels that you will find from one Disney hotel to another.

 

[lvcourtneyy]

We are doing 4 resorts in 16 days in Oct/Nov. I can let you know after that if I think it's crazy

 

[elsbit]

I love doing split stays! We are doing 3 resorts over a 10 night stay in December. My only complaint is that making dining reservations is a pain due to having to get up crazy early multiple times, but that is because we prefer table service.

 

[Hi Pluto]

I think it's great, but I would knock it down to 3 resorts. My picks: AKL, Poly, then Beach Club. Visit the other resorts.

 

[Hopefully]

I think it is crazy. We would be miserable

 

[sunflowerblooms]

Go for it. Each family is different. We equate split stays at Disney/Universal to a road trip. Our next vacation is either 3 or 4 hotels over a 10 night timeframe. My family is happy to pack up and move out. Each stop along the way is strategically important. For example we have two nights at Boardwalk becasue the only two parks my husbands wants to visit are HS and EP and he loves the walk to convenience of having the parks close by. We will also stay at Hard Rock hotel for express passes for at least 2 nights. At this point I think my family would think I was losing it if I didn’t plan split stays. I just want to add that my family is 100% on board with split stays. We review the itinerary before I book anything. Including what time you need to be up on the mornings we are moving hotels. We have pool days and downtime also included in schedule. We are rope droppers, afternoon relaxers, evening park people. Just make sure the teenagers are good with this. And make space in schedule for sleep in mornings. And if you don’t have them I highly recommend packing cubes.
Regarding your hotel choices: we like Boardwalk better than Yacht Club. It has a homier feel for us. But if you are staying there for the pool then it’s a yes all the way. Animal Kingdom and Wildreness Lodge have great theming I think that’s a great idea to do both! If you are planning a Universal Parks visit then staying onsite at Hard Rock is the way to go! You can check in starting at 6 am and be at the parks for opening so you can take full advantage of the express pass. The Bell Desk will happily hold your luggage both on check in and check out days.

 

[peabody58]

The longest we've ever stayed was 12 days. We had so much packed into the trip that their wasn't anytime to move to another resort. Moving 3 times plus arrival/departure losses can easily eat up 2-3 days worth of 'Disney time'. IMO, your time is more valuable than different resort experiences.

If your heart is set on splits, then I'd recommend only one split, either Disney/Disney, or Uni/Disney. Use your split day for DS, MG or something non-park related.

You might also want to consider renting DVC points and get a 1 BR. BLT and AKL-K have 2 bathrooms. With a 16 day stay, you would enjoy the extra room, W/D and kitchen. Either way, enjoy the planning process and have a great time.

 

[Marionnette]

Hi all - planning our 1st trip to WDW in early summer 2021. This will be the trip of a lifetime for my 15 year old step-daughter, her friend, and me. We are planning on staying 16 nights as I honestly have no idea when (or if) I will be able to return and want to make the most of our visit. That being said, I am really struggling with all of the amazing resort options. I would absolutely love to be able to stay in each of the 3 main park areas. We also have our hearts set on Animal Kingdom Lodge for at least part of the stay. So, I am entertaining the option of a 4-resort split which would give us 4 nights in 4 different resorts. So here were my initial thoughts:

Animal Kingdom Lodge - 1st 4 nights
Yacht Club - 2nd 4 nights
Wilderness Lodge - 3rd 4 nights
Contemporary or Polynesian - Last 4 nights

Other considerations include Beach Club or Gran Destino Tower for the 2nd 4 nights. Possibly even the 1st 2 nights at Universal (Hard Rock Hotel). So as you can see, I’m struggling with all of these choices and would welcome input! First, am I nuts for even considering 4 hotels in 16 nights? Second, any advice on our narrowed list of choices? Thanks in advance for the replies!

Too much packing and moving. You’re “homeless” until your room is ready at the next resort. If it’s a DVC villa (someone suggested renting), officially check in is not until 4 PM with reports of rooms not being ready until 7 PM in some instances.

I understand wanting to make this trip memorable. But you don’t want the memory to be about pulling up roots every couple of days, losing items that you forgot to pack between resorts, being inconvenienced by waiting for your luggage to transfer or wishing you had stayed put because you liked the previous resort better.

Pare it down. Maybe 2 Disney resorts and 2 nights at a Universal resort?

 

[Mickey's Best Girl]

We would absolutely hate that.

We unpack once.

But you do you girl!



Also important to note: if you get a bite from the WDW bug you will find a way to get back. Probably multiple times. Consider yourself warned

 

[mi*vida*loca]

Too much moving. Too much time being homeless. Too much time waiting for your bags if you use bell services to move your bags.

We have done a split stay twice. Once was during a 10 day trip and I got amazing deals for Poly and BC so did 5 nights at each. Last trip I got way cheaper flights to fly in two days earlier and I couldn't rent more points at BWV so we added two nights at POFQ. We enjoyed our trips but I doubt we do anymore split stays. We always had bell services move our bags which meant our bags didn't arrive until closer to 4-5 pm. We like to go to the pool for our midday breaks so on moving day we had to make other plans. For two reasons. Our room has never been ready (on moving day) before 3 pm and I despise changing in a locker room so no pool time. Also the bags weren't there anyway but we could have used Uber to move our bags if we truly wanted to go to the pool. Then our stuff would have been at the resort for us.

I would do two nights at HRH, a week at AKL and a week at BC. That would be it.

I also despise packing, I use tons of toiletries for my hair and skin so I can't live out of my suitcase and I unpack completely when I move so it's time consuming.

 

[Searc]

Hi all - planning our 1st trip to WDW in early summer 2021. This will be the trip of a lifetime for my 15 year old step-daughter, her friend, and me. We are planning on staying 16 nights as I honestly have no idea when (or if) I will be able to return and want to make the most of our visit. That being said, I am really struggling with all of the amazing resort options. I would absolutely love to be able to stay in each of the 3 main park areas. We also have our hearts set on Animal Kingdom Lodge for at least part of the stay. So, I am entertaining the option of a 4-resort split which would give us 4 nights in 4 different resorts. So here were my initial thoughts:

Animal Kingdom Lodge - 1st 4 nights
Yacht Club - 2nd 4 nights
Wilderness Lodge - 3rd 4 nights
Contemporary or Polynesian - Last 4 nights

Other considerations include Beach Club or Gran Destino Tower for the 2nd 4 nights. Possibly even the 1st 2 nights at Universal (Hard Rock Hotel). So as you can see, I’m struggling with all of these choices and would welcome input! First, am I nuts for even considering 4 hotels in 16 nights? Second, any advice on our narrowed list of choices? Thanks in advance for the replies!

Since you asked, yes, you are nuts for considering four hotels over the course of your stay. The logistics of that sound like a nightmare to me.

 

[Miffy]

There are people who love split stays and those who do not. I'm in the do-not category. Living out of a suitcase and/or packing and unpacking during the stay are not appealing to me at all. Also, remember that the day that you move you may not have a room from the time you check out of the first resort until after 3 (or later) in the afternoon at the second resort. That alone kills it for me.

That being said, for a 16-day stay, even I might consider a split. Once--with 8 days at each resort.

But, you know, it's your trip. Not mine. Even though I love WDW, I don't think I could deal with a 16-day trip there. 10 days is probably my max.''

ETA: I see this is your first stay. How can you even know you'd want to be there for 16 days? Also, just FYI, if you're really going to do this, be on the lookout for resort discounts. And since this is a 16-day trip, I'm going to assume you've looked into Annual Passes. Pretty much a necessity for that length trip. Also, realize that you're going to be able to book FP+s for only 14 days. Below is from the WDW website:
Passholders with reservations at a Disney Resort hotel can start making FastPass+ selections up to 60 days prior to check-in for the entire length of your stay. Please note that if your length of stay is longer than 2 weeks, FastPass+ selections can be made for up to 14 days.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

Also take it into account that's 4-5 days of not having a room until later afternoon. That's too many opportunities for something to go wrong. One of the girls gets a headache and wants to lay down but there's no room. Someone gets a belly ache and just needs to relax. Someone is just exhausted and wants a nap which happens later into the trip. It's one thing to be "homeless" one day but that many days is putting too much to chance IMO. I always think of the what if's though.

 

[starry_solo]

We do 14 night trips with split stays but only do 3 resorts (AKV, BCV and BLT). It wasn't that bad to change resorts. Just have everything packed up, etc. and make plans for the day.

The first time we did that split, the switchover day was planned to Downtown Disney (back before it became Disney Springs). We ended up taking the DVC tour over at SSR and then the DVC van drove us to BCV.

We also do not do online check-in as we don't put a credit card on file. So, we go to the front desk, check in, get our room number, go over to Bell Services, let them know we have luggage from the transfer and tell them we will be in our room in 5 minutes

Naps can be had in the lobbies of most of the DVC resorts