First DVC trip, quadruple split stay, feedback appreciated!

[disneynutz]

Good point, I guess my plans do seem pretty darn commando, especially because it's such a short stay. I am trying to keep it more relaxed for Matt, but I guess it really doesn't seem that way.

I remember when we were there three years ago at POR we didn't spend a ton of time at the resort, but the nights we spent wandering around in the quiet, seeing random wildlife, swimming in the quiet pools when no one else was around--that was the time that we loved the most and remember the most, which is why I guess I'm trying to pick places that are fun to stay at. Aside from aesthetic preferences, I have lots of negative associations with SSR from stressful family trips from WDW-past. But I will do some more looking at SSR reviews and photos and think long and hard--this aversion might be really silly and waste a lot of time in the long run.



What a great idea, I didn't know that was possible. Are there any disadvantages, aside from the lack of privacy from my parents' POV? I guess if my parents theoretically wanted to stop me now all they'd have to do is change the web password--when I call I identify myself honestly, so I always have my mom on the phone. (Not that I have an unstable relationship with my parents where they'd suddenly stop trusting me, but I just want to explain this option to them as fully as possible.)

It definitely makes sense for me to be added as an associate because I'll be the one researching and booking for them in the future, I'm sure. That way I can also monitor their account better to make sure that they don't forget to bank points or let points expire. Thanks for the tip.

Not to be mean but I think it's humorous that you mention stressful trips in the past for the reason for not staying at SSR and here you go planning what I consider a stressful trip.

To us a non-stressful trip is staying at BWV/BW View for 10 days and going into a park just once, Epcot for about 2 hours.

WDW isn't going anywhere, what you don't do this trip, you can do on another. Spend some quality time together and since you are driving, you can go to any resort for evening walks.

Associates can be added through the member website and your parents can remove you when ever they want. You only have reservation access, no perks, but it may make things easier.

Bill

 

[kollerbear]

Not to be mean but I think it's humorous that you mention stressful trips in the past for the reason for not staying at SSR and here you go planning what I consider a stressful trip.

To us a non-stressful trip is staying at BWV/BW View for 10 days and going into a park just once, Epcot for about 2 hours.

WDW isn't going anywhere, what you don't do this trip, you can do on another. Spend some quality time together and since you are driving, you can go to any resort for evening walks.

Good point, and not mean at all! It actually occurred to me after I posted it how funny it sounded--"I swear, the stress was not because of me!" she protested too loudly. But by "stressful" I'm thinking of a lot of vindictive inter-parental yelling. This is a different kind of stress, but I definitely hear you! I'll have a good chat with Matt to see what he really wants to do and then see what I can pare down--and I'll see if I can mentally bring myself around to SSR.

Associates can be added through the member website and your parents can remove you when ever they want. You only have reservation access, no perks, but it may make things easier.

Bill

Excellent! Thank you!

 

[TagsMissy]

Thanks for this information! I like to think that we are hardy in our pursuit of a less crowded, watery activity, but I will definitely have back-up plans for those days!



Thank you!! Can I just ask you to clarify a little bit--are you suggesting that I book SSR for the full time and then use the W/L to try to get the full period each waitlist at a different resort? In that case, it would probably be good to try--which, OKW and AKL Kidani? I was just thinking that the W/L would be really unlikely to come through for such a long stay? Maybe I'm misunderstanding, though...

I will discuss this more with Matt tonight--I'm really grateful for everyone's advice on this since we've never done a split stay and I'm just imagining the best case scenario. (I doubt he will care, but it will be nice to see what he thinks. I'm sure you all with non-Disney nerd partners know what I mean.)

Hey there what I suggest you do is limit the number of resorts if at ALL possible. If you can get one location the whole time book that then put in a couple wait lists for resorts you'd rather be at. Or if you can't get one resort try your best to limit it to two places and then wait list elsewhere if you don't like it.

What I would do in this case is get OKW for the majority of the trip then the last 2 nights at SSR. Create 2 waitlists for the last 2 nights. Since you really don't like SSR maybe you'll have better luck getting one of your two choices at another resort and keep the OKW portion. OKW, while I've not stayed there, I have visited and it's quite peaceful and was recently renovated.

Maybe you can try AKV (Kidani, it's larger so maybe more of an opportunity for a hit?) and whatever other resort your heart is content with, perhaps BWV - PoolView

Again I wish you all the luck in the world getting your Waitlists!

 

[Hopefully]

Good point, and not mean at all! It actually occurred to me after I posted it how funny it sounded--"I swear, the stress was not because of me!" she protested too loudly. But by "stressful" I'm thinking of a lot of vindictive inter-parental yelling. This is a different kind of stress, but I definitely hear you! I'll have a good chat with Matt to see what he really wants to do and then see what I can pare down--and I'll see if I can mentally bring myself around to SSR.




Excellent! Thank you!

I was about to reply to your earlier post where you stated that you were just trying to plan a stress free trip for Matt.
On the contrary, I believe you are planning an uber stressful vacation. You are constantly having to pack up, check out by 11 and be "homeless" for hours on end. There is minimal time for "downtime and us time".
Just my opinion, but even with how much I love Disney, I would rather stay home than do this

 

[TagsMissy]

I was about to reply to your earlier post where you stated that you were just trying to plan a stress free trip for Matt.
On the contrary, I believe you are planning an uber stressful vacation. You are constantly having to pack up, check out by 11 and be "homeless" for hours on end. There is minimal time for "downtime and us time".
Just my opinion, but even with how much I love Disney, I would rather stay home than do this

I agree, stress free is not what the current layout is. One resort jump sure, especially booking so late so close to Christmas is understandable but not multiple hops, including view changes within a resort.

 

[kollerbear]

Hmm... OK.

Isn't it really nice to be able to walk right to MK from BLT though? That's part of why I thought MVMCP would be a good idea--instead of conquering MK with the rest of the crowds, we could go in and, while everyone else does the parades and fireworks (which we don't care too much about), we could do the rides we enjoy with slightly less of a wait than if we'd gone on an open day. Then we could just walk home. I also thought that being able to just eat at California Grill and then walk right home afterwards would be really nice--same with eating at Jiko and walking home, and theoretically (if BWV came through) eating at Flying Fish Cafe, playing mini golf at Fantasia Gardens, or walking to Epcot/DHS.

I guess that's the vantage point I was seeing it from--each resort is close to different things, and we could take advantage of that proximity at each place. I think we're of the "more relaxed when we're doing stuff" type--we don't tend to be in the hotel between 11:00 and 4:00 anyway--either because we slept in until 10:00 and just left for the day, or because we've been out doing stuff all day, so I hadn't seen it as a huge disadvantage to be "homeless" during the middle of the day.

I'm really grateful for the feedback, don't get me wrong, thanks for giving it!! I will definitely have a good conversation with Matt when I get home.

 

[sixcats]

We've done lots of split stays but never so many in one trip. I booked a last minute trip one Spring break and would have had to break things up or stay at Saratoga. I'm not a Saratoga Springs fan so I paid the $95 fee and used the points at a Disney hotel instead. Maybe that is an option you might want to consider to make things less stressful.

 

[quinnc19]

Well, I don't think you're crazy for considering this. Next month, I will be staying at 3 different resorts for a 3 night stay. On Thursday will we be attending MNSSHP and I wanted to have a convenient way home, hence VWL. On Friday morning the plan is to sleep late and then take a walk on the nature trail before checking into BWV. We will spend the day at the F&W festival/EPCOT and maybe hit DHS at night. Saturday morning moving to BLT. Will go to AK that day and have a swim and dinner at Poly that night. Spending the next morning at MK, so it will be an easy walk. I would rather switch resorts than spend a long time commuting to the parks. If I had to take a bus, I would never go back to the room in the middle of the day anyway. We will only have one bag and our own car, so it will not be that much of a hassle to move. I like the added excitement of split stays - makes the trip seem longer. And if I get a bad room assignment, no problem - I'll be moving on soon. Split stays also allow me to take full advantage of the dining plan if I choose to. And the room is always clean and there is plenty of coffee. I don't think I will always want to have split stays (or switch so often), but I like them at this stage of our vacationing. YMMV.

 

[moreisgood]

I too am doing a crazy split stay in early November. 2 nights AKV, 4 nights GFV (!), 2 weekend nights out of the park (I had 2 free days at another villa) & couldn't get much inside DVC, then 1 night BLT, and 1 night BWV. And we're an older couple with 2 special needs kids!

We also leave later in the morning, and stay out till we dress for dinner, or just stay out till later evening. So, homeless in the middle of the day doesn't sound all that awful.

I also started to think - lots of people come to WDW for a couple of days. And some of them drive 4 hours to do it. Should they not come because they can't stay for 7 days in one place? I'm looking at it as 2 weekend stays, 1 five day stay (very typical), and those 2 crazy nights at the end, because we own in both those resorts, and haven't stayed there yet. I could WL one, but I can't chose which one to give up, so I'm doing both!

More perks of frequent moves - clean towels, clean sheets, lots of toiletries and laundry soap....

I'd try to post after we survive the trip...

 

[ParrotBill]

We just completed a trip from August 15 to September 1 that included... brace yourself...

8 hotels.

We had several "Destinations":
- Universal Portofino one night only to get 2 days express pass benefits
- A 3 night stay in Clearwater for 2 days beach & boat fun
- A 3 night stay at AKV Kidani
- A 7 nights stay at BCV

Plus one night hotel each way,
Plus one night at a different hotel than Universal to save $250 over the Universal hotel rate,
Plus one extra unplanned night at WorldQuest Resort Orlando (nice!) because we tired of the Clearwater hotel and wanted to get to Orlando.

It was tedious, yes, but here's how we did it:
Packed a bag for 3-4 nights and another bag for 3-4 nights
Used our laundry facilities to refresh the first bag to become the new "third" bag
Kept toiletries in one separate bag. So we'd take the right bag into the hotel for each of us and the toiletries bag. (Being DVC, we also had a kitchen box for those locations.)

 

[moreisgood]

We just completed a trip from August 15 to September 1 that included... brace yourself...

8 hotels.

Sounds like you had a great plan for dealing with the moves. So, would you do it again? Did you have Bell Services move your suitcases, and how did that work out? I was planning to bring a large, soft cooler, and lots of ice pacs, and have them move that too.