How to Do a Split Stay at Disney World Hotels
Doing a resort split stay at Walt Disney World is great for trying two hotels or splurging on a luxury or Club Level accommodations. It can also be leveraged for proximity to the parks, making transportation, Early Entry, Extended Evening Hours, and midday breaks all easier! This covers strategy, tips & tricks, whether it’s worth the hassle, and more. (Updated January 21, 2024.)
A lot of readers have asked us about split stays, and the primary question is whether they’re worth the effort. We won’t bury the lede here: yes. We love the resorts at Walt Disney World almost as much as the theme parks, and staying at multiple hotels is a great way to experience different ‘thematic settings’ during a single trip.
Your resort can set the tone and atmosphere for the entire trip, so changing resorts makes it feel almost like a different vacation entirely–travel to both Fiji and the Pacific Northwest during your Florida trip. Right now, we’re even bigger advocates of split stays as a form of splurge that’ll allow you to take advantage of better on-site perks…
That’s because Walt Disney World is offering Early Entry and Extended Evening Hours through at least 2024 as a replacement to Extra Magic Hours. The former allows all on-site resort guests and those staying at select third party hotels to enjoy 30-minute access to any Walt Disney World theme park, every day before normal operating hours begin.
We’re big fans of Early Entry, as it essentially offer a couple of ride headstart for on-site guests, which can be pretty significant. (Learn more strategy in our Guide to Early Entry at Walt Disney World.) However, it’s not really relevant from a split stay perspective, since all on-site guests have access to this.
Where split stays come into play is with Extended Evening Theme Park Hours. This benefit is exclusively for guests staying at Deluxe Resorts, Deluxe Villas (Disney Vacation Club units), or other select hotels (currently Swan & Dolphin, Swan Reserve, and Shades of Green). Guests staying at Value or Moderate Resorts are not eligible for Extended Evening Hours.
Extended Evening Theme Park Hours occur only two nights per week in total–typically Mondays at Epcot and Wednesdays at Magic Kingdom, with a 2-hour duration starting immediately after normal park closing. Two hours should allow eligible guests to accomplish more, but this is only a perk for those who book more expensive hotels.
Currently, the two newest attractions in Epcot and Magic Kingdom–Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind and TRON Lightcycle Run, respectively–both use virtual queues. This means you can only ride once per day via the virtual queue, assuming you score a spot, but Extended Evening Hours is an exception to that. On those evenings, there’s another chance to join the VQ. (See our Guide to the Virtual Queue at TRON Lightcycle Run for everything you need to know–same applies to Cosmic Rewind.)
Extended Evening Hours (ExEH) is a huge advantage. Crowds are virtually non-existent, as are lines for most attractions. It’s way better than Evening Extra Magic Hours were, which had become overcrowded due to expanded eligibility during its last few years. However, ExEH is only so blissfully unbusy because it excludes a large chunk of guests–everyone staying at Value and Moderate Resorts.
This is where a split stay comes into play. You’re eligible for these extra hours both on your checkin and checkout days, meaning that you could theoretically do a 2-night stay at a Deluxe Resort, checking in on Monday and checking out on Wednesday, and take advantage of Extended Evening Hours in two parks. (See our Guide to Extended Evening Hours at Walt Disney World for more rules, eligibility, strategy, etc.)
As of early 2024, Extended Evening Hours is back at Magic Kingdom and EPCOT. Our favorite park for ExEH is Magic Kingdom, thanks to its ride density–there are more attractions and they’re easy to knock out in quick succession. (By contrast, there’s a lot of “commuting” at EPCOT that eats up valuable time.) Expect Magic Kingdom to continue hosting ExEH until around October 2024, when the heart of Party Season arrives and the perk is presumably (again) moved to Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom.
The same idea can be applied to a split stay and doing Club Level at Walt Disney World. You’re eligible to use the concierge lounge and all of the perks that come with staying Club Level on both your arrival and departure day, meaning that one night essentially enables you to access that lounge over the course of two days. Doing Club Level for a night or two, arriving early and leaving late gives you the most bang for your buck, and is a good way to get a taste of the Club Level life without breaking the bank.
Accordingly, we highly recommend Club Level as part of a ‘treat yourself’ split stay splurge. If you opt to do this, we highly recommend doing Club Level at the end of your vacation. This is partially because it’s tough to go back to normal accommodations once you’ve been in da club. More importantly, because you’ll spend the first portion of your trip racing around the parks doing everything that you want to get done, exhausting yourselves in the progress. Then at the end, you’ll have a Club Level stay to relax, rejuvenate, and actually vacation.
When we stay Club Level at Walt Disney World, we seldom leave the hotel–often bouncing between the lounge and the pool. For our favorite concierge lounges and recommendations, see our Guide to Club Level at Walt Disney World. If it’s going to be a big splurge and you want to do it but are unsure it’s in your budget, our recommendation would be Chronos Club at Gran Destino Tower, which offers far and away the best bang for buck.
(Once advance-booking of Lightning Lanes debuts later in 2024, it’s also possible that Club Level guests will have access to more or better ride reservation options. See When Will Pre-Arrival Lightning Lane Bookings Start at Walt Disney World?)
Only do the Disney Dining Plan for a portion of the stay, if at all. As covered in our 2024 Disney Dining Plan Info & Tips post, we think it provides too much food and can take too much time. Only doing the Disney Dining Plan for one portion of the trip allows us to do an attractions-oriented half of the trip, and a food-oriented half.
We almost always do the food half of the trip second, when we’re ready to slow down, relax, and focus more on eating. This also allows you to maximize savings by booking ADRs for the Best Uses of Disney Dining Plan Credits during the second half of your trip, while focusing on your favorite ‘good value’ restaurants during the first half. This isn’t something often discussed when it comes to split stays, but we wholeheartedly recommend it.
To that point, do NOT do the Disney Dining Plan at the same time as Club Level. It’s one or the other, not both. However, if you have a really long Walt Disney World vacation and really want to get creative and have fun, consider splitting your trip into thirds. This does allow you to do both the DDP and Club Level, just not at the same time.
If you’re worried about split stays wasting too much time, don’t. They actually offer a number of other different strategic advantages. One is in leveraging location for more efficient transportation to the theme parks near your hotel. This is of particular relevance when it allows you to avoid Disney buses, which aren’t typically as efficient as the non-bus transportation.
If you do a stay at Crescent Lake or at one of the Skyliner resorts, you have easy transportation–either via gondola or your feet–to both Epcot and Disney’s Hollywood Studios. If you follow that up with a Seven Seas Lagoon or Bay Lake resort stay, you have non-bus transportation to Magic Kingdom. That leaves only Animal Kingdom, and you could probably just deal with the buses for that.
The benefits of a convenient location cannot be overstated. This is especially true for Early Entry–walking to Epcot or Magic Kingdom, or taking the Skyliner to Disney’s Hollywood Studios or Epcot is far more efficient and easier first thing than relying on a bus. The time you save during Early Entry in turn gives you the freedom to leave the park–avoiding crowds in the middle of the day by taking breaks for pool time, afternoon naps, etc. Seriously, split stays open up a world of time-saving opportunities that you probably never imagined existed.
This approach also opens up more opportunities for enjoying and comparing a variety of amenities. For instance, you could do a head-to-head comparison and settle the Polynesian vs. Caribbean Beach Resort debate once and for all. Or, you could simply enjoy a greater range of restaurants, pools, and other entertainment that’s unique to each resort.
If you’re going to be spending more time at the pools or eating breakfast and dinner at your hotel, this helps you mix things up. Doing a split stay opens up more options–variety is the spice of life and all that.
As you can probably tell, we are huge fans of split stays. We change hotels frequently at Walt Disney World. Part because we really enjoy it and part because it’s necessary to keep our Walt Disney World Hotel Reviews updated. There were times in the past when we’ve done as many as 6 hotels in a single trip! While I definitely wouldn’t recommend that, changing once over the course of a week is really no big deal at all.
For our own sanity, we’ve developed a few more ‘rules’ when it comes to split stays…
First, never do just a single night at any hotel. We’ve done that several times, and it can become exhausting. Unpacking and packing, settling in, and getting acclimated, only to do it all over again the next day. Plus, one night is simply not enough time to ‘get to know’ a resort and even partially enjoy its amenities.
Second, coordinate park days with resort stays. If we’re staying at the Contemporary or another monorail resort for one part of the trip, that’s when we go to Magic Kingdom. If we’re staying at Beach Club or another Crescent Lake Resort, that’s when we go to Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Epcot.
This may seem like a minor or even odd thing, but it’s strategically huge. Walking between the Contemporary and Magic Kingdom is a pleasant stroll of less than 10 minutes, with the shortest security check you’ll encounter for the park. Waiting for and taking a bus, then going through the main bag check, can take over an hour. Ditto walking to and from Epcot or DHS.
Finally, go low to high if at all possible. This is to say, start at the lowest tier hotel and end at the highest. This is kind of implied above with the Club Level recommendation, but applies even beyond that. One big motivation for doing split stays is to splurge on something nice without breaking the bank on a full week there. You probably do not want to go from the Grand Floridian for 2 nights to All Star Sports for the next 5 nights.
That’s simply too jarring of a change, and in the wrong direction. Experiencing the nicer properties first really amplifies the shortcomings of the lower tier ones, and will make you less comfortable. It might sound silly, but beginning at a Value and ending at a Deluxe is a far superior approach, and will help you appreciate the Deluxe more.
Here’s our ‘formula’ for this:
- Start with 3-4 nights at a lower tier resort and go hard on the parks
- Switch to a nicer resort, get the Disney Dining Plan, and slow down for the next few nights
- End it all with a couple days for rest and recovery with Club Level accommodations.
Numbers 2 and 3 could even be at the same resort if you don’t want to hassle with transfering your luggage repeatedly. We’ve done trips like the above, and they’re a ton of fun. It sounds more complicated than it really is!
It’s worth noting that the low to high “rule” can be difficult to reconcile with the above advice about Extended Evening Hours, since those happen Monday and Wednesday and most vacations start over a weekend. If it comes down to one or the other, err on the side of Extended Evening Hours. Like the Pirate’s Code, these are really more what you’d call “guidelines” than actual rules.
With that said, consider “rethinking” your vacation time frame if at all possible. Resorts tend to be more expensive over the weekends, so it can be savvy to do a Value Resort Friday through Sunday to pay the (comparatively) lower rates for those as opposed to a Moderate or Deluxe Resort.
Equally as significant, crowds on Saturday and Sunday are lower than Monday through Thursday. Accordingly, you can do ‘commando style’ park touring over the weekend, then take things slower Monday through Wednesday, enjoying the nicer resort more before doing Extended Evening Hours to end the night! (See the ‘Wonky Weekends’ section in our updated Best & Worst Days to Visit Every Park at Walt Disney World.)
The resort transfer itself is pretty easy. On the morning you check out of your first resort, take your luggage down to Bell Services and indicate that you’re transferring resorts. They’ll ask where you’re going, at which point you’ll want to specify the full name of the resort to which you’re going.
As we cover in our Tipping at Walt Disney World: Info & FAQ, you’ll need to tip the Cast Member to whom you give your luggage. After that, you can head to the bus stop/monorail/etc. and start your day. Only a few minutes of extra effort, and you can be on your way to the theme parks.
Most transfers occur in the mid-afternoon, so plan on not receiving your luggage at the next resort until as late as 5 p.m. At your new resort, you’ll almost always have to either go down to Bell Services to retrieve your luggage or call down to have it delivered again. Again, you’ll need to tip.
One thing we’d caution against is opting to ‘do it yourself’ and transfer resorts via Uber, Lyft, or (worst of all) Disney transportation. There are several exceptions to this: those with a rental car, transferring between monorail resorts, or any hotels within walking distance of one another.
Additionally, it can be easier at resorts that are spread out among multiple buildings (like Caribbean Beach), or between off-site and on-site hotels (at which point doing it yourself is necessary). In these cases, Uber or Lyft can pose an advantage.
We understand that some of you may be apprehensive about the luggage transfer, but we have done split stays dozens of times (probably nearly 100 times–so many we’ve lost count) and have had zero issues with the luggage transfer. This doesn’t mean they don’t happen, but they so infrequent it’s not worth worrying about.
More importantly, doing it yourself is a complete waste of time and money. You’ll have to take the time to go to the new resort and spend the money on a ride. You’ll most likely still have to drop your luggage off with Bell Services at the new hotel, because you’ll be arriving there by about noon at the latest and your room is unlikely to be ready.
With the greatness of split stays established, let’s turn to some of the potentially unpleasant logistics. Some Walt Disney World visitors make a huge deal about the planning “hurdles” that come with a split stay, but in fairness, people make a huge deal about everything Walt Disney World-related. It’s not that much additional coordination at all.
No matter how you want to do the split stay, you’re going to be stuck booking multiple reservations. This is irrespective of whether you’re doing a vacation package, room-only reservation, Disney Vacation Club booking. Unfortunately, Disney’s system is not sufficiently sophisticated to allow for a single reservation to encompass multiple hotel stays.
From our perspective, tickets are the most important element to discuss, and you’ll want to purchase tickets for the full duration of your stay with the first stay. The reason for this is, quite simply, that one 7-day or 10-day ticket is cheaper than two shorter tickets.
There are potential hiccups and exceptions (you know, the usual when it comes to Walt Disney World planning), but that’s essentially it. For most visitors, booking a split stay and planning all components shouldn’t be much of a challenge, particularly if you’re a more laid back planner.
With that said, we did just lay out a bunch of rules/guidelines, some of which are contradictory. If you want more thorough guidance or assistance navigating the ‘split stay’ planning waters, we’d highly recommend contacting an Authorized Disney Vacation Planner. Those travel agents are free-to-use so long as they handle your booking, and they can offer personalized planning that takes into account your priorities and preferences. No Disney planning advice is one-size-fits-all, and that includes our strategies for split stays!
Overall, hopefully this helps you understand the ins and outs of how to do a split stay and, much more importantly, the upsides of doing one. In case you can’t tell, we love split stays. There’s something truly special about sleeping in the rustic seclusion of Fort Wilderness for a night, and then flipping a switch to the grandiosity and elegance of the Grand Floridian the next.
Likewise, staying within walking distance of Magic Kingdom at the Contemporary for a couple of nights, and then walking distance of DHS and Epcot at BoardWalk a few nights is both a ton of fun and smart strategy. Those are just a couple of examples, but the options for changing from one richly-themed environment and ‘region’ of Walt Disney World to another are pretty much boundless.
Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!
Your Thoughts
Have you done a split stay at Walt Disney World? What’s your favorite approach to doing different resorts during the same WDW vacation? Do you agree or disagree with our advice? Any hotel combos you particularly like? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
Hi Tom,
This post provides a lot of great information on split stays, thanks!
We are planning a split stay for June 2025. We know for sure we want to do a couple of nights at AKL in a Savannah view room, but are not decided on the other hotel yet. Will be traveling with my husband, our two daughters (15 & 18), and my mother (70). We plan to book 2 rooms at each hotel.
Curious about your thoughts on the following:
-Second hotel – Wilderness Lodge, Boardwalk Inn, Beach Club, or Yacht Club
-AKL first or last?
– Which you would recommend for travel days – Sun-Sat, Sat- Fri, or Mon-Sun
We are thinking of doing 5 nights at Contemporary followed by 3 at Beach Club. Mainly for the proximity to MK and Epcot. We’ve been told we can only get the dining plan at the first hotel (where we get our park passes) as we would be booking room only at the second hotel. Any recommendations to get around this?
You can enjoy the Club Level luxury on a budget by coming early and departing late. Excellent advice for maximizing your financial resources!
I have a question.
We are planning a split stay in late August (3 nights Beach Club to 2 nights Contemporary). We are on the fence about dining for our Contemporary stay. when do your dining credits kick in on the transfer day if you only have it for the second part of the trip? Do you have to wait until check-in time of the 2nd resort to use them? Thank you!
When do your dining credits kick in on the transfer day if you only have it for the second part of the trip? YES. Since you need to book split stays separately, you would add the dining plan on the 2nd leg and will have them tied to that reservation.
Do you have to wait until check-in time of the 2nd resort to use them? NO. You get a “bank” of credits depending on how many nights you are staying that start once you check into your hotel on the MyDisneyExperience app. Remember that doing online check in does not equal your room being ready. So, for example, if you are staying two nights on the quick service (QS) plan, each person gets 4 QS credits (2 per day x 2 days) and 2 snack credits (1 per day x 2 days). You can use them in any order, however many you want, until 11:59 pm of your check out day.
Great article and from all the responses a very popular topic! We thought we were the only ones doing this but have been doing split stays since 1992. We have annual passes so tickets are not a problem. We often split between universal and Disney but our most recent stay of 15 nights was all Disney, one night French Quarter, 3 nights Dolphin, 5 at Yacht, 6 at AKL. Everything usually goes smoothly and it’s fun to experience new hotels.
I am thinking about make my family vacation in may diffidently this blog gives me so much ideas thank for the a such a wonderful blog.
We are thinking about a split stay in April. This split will be to save some money.
Here’s what we are thinking about doing: check in late on our arriving night at either all stars movies or music – a standard room.( room only reservation)
Then, the next morning early check into all stars music family room with a package that includes our tickets & dining plan.
We want to do early entry to a park that morning & also to use the dining plan that day… how does it work?
Do we have to do to the front desk to check out that morning & to check in also for our package & tickets to be activated?
Or can you do it online ?
We have never done a split stay & I’m not real clear on how it works.
Is it possible to decide on splurging for a couple of nights at a different hotel at the end of a holiday whilst you are there? Could this be done at front desk? and would they take the nights you already had booked into consideration in the price? Of course one would be rather limited on possible choices so not a good way if have heart set on a specific resort, and pricing could be astronomical or reasonable depending on space.
I have done this due to a storm back home and not wanting to deal w cancelations. But this is all dependent on availability, and it’s possible nothing is available. I did this is Feb 2021, things were still not back to normal in terms of travel. We went to the front desk.
Hey Tom,
We are doing a spit stay b/t Art of Animation and the Swan (I have a work conference here). I keep reading that you can’t do a luggage transfer to the Swan since they are not a Disney hotel. I’m trying to clarify if this is true or not. Any advice is greatly appreciated!
Thanks!
That is correct. You would need to take an Uber. Even if you were all small bags the giant hassle of attempting to take the skyliner for this would not be worth it.
Swan and Dolphin do participate in luggage transfer…. We just had this done 2 weeks ago transferring from the Dolphin to the Yacht club with no isssues.
I love split stays! I love experiencing new hotels. That being said: I am going to be in Disney for Marathon Weekend without my family. Staying at the Gran Destino Wed-Sunday. My original plan was to then do 2 nights at Jambo or Cooper Creek (using DVC) in a studio, having never stayed in that room category. BUT then I realized if After Hours remain at Epcot on Mondays staying at the Boardwalk would be beneficial to walk back to after a long day (and who can resist the boardwalk at night?!). Do you think it’s crazy to do just Sunday night at Jambo or CC and Monday night at Boardwalk? Attempting to add Saturday at Jambo or CC to get 2 nights there, but so far no luck.
Ever since we became empty nesters we’ve always done split stays and we love them. Even if you have super limited funds and time, it’s worth trying a few days at All Stars and a few at Pop to experience the skyliner. TIP #1: We like to do what we call Skyliner Days where everything we visit/do is along the Skyliner route. You don’t even need to go into a Park for a great day.
TIP #2 I’d say don’t go too crazy with the number of resorts you book. This year we’re going for 24 days and originally I had 6 different resorts. That’s insane, but I enjoy booking and got carried away. When I came to my senses I ended up with 4 resorts. The first 11 days are at Pop Century.
Tip #3 If you can go for a long stay (14+ days) you may want to put together a 7 – 10 day run at one resort in order to book your must do ADR’s and experiences. This will insure you get any restaurant or tour. It’s true, when you string together multiple resorts, you have to wait for 60 days out from the first day of each separate resort to book ADR’s and experiences, thus you run the chance of missing out on your must do activity by stringing together say 2 three day stays. That said even with a string of short stays we’ve always gotten what we wanted BUT we usually go during slow weeks/months.
Tip #4 There’s no rule says you can only pack one suitcase. Let’s say you drive to WDW to do a few days each at two resorts. Packing separate bags for each resort simplifies moving.
TIP #5 if you go during slow weeks don’t worry so much about booking a deluxe for the “extra hours” and the lower Mon – Wed rates. There are some incredible moderate resorts at fabulous prices you’ll want to check out on those days. Don’t get me wrong, “extra hours” are great but during slow weeks you can generally experience EPCOT and MK fully. TIP #6 The money you save between that Moderate and the Deluxe can be used for After Hours or Party Nights.
After POP we’re doing 4 days at Port Orleans – Riverside in the Royal Guest room woods view. TIP #7 Having a car for split stays in general is really helpful and this resort in particular but you can do anything within the WDW transportation system.. PO Riverside is a very romantic spot and for fans of Disney theming the Royal Guest Room is a must. The headboards have a fireworks show and as I like to say every woman, at least once in her life, should see fireworks when she’s facing the headboard.
TIP #8 If you’re driving from anywhere above VA look into the Auto Train. We were able to book round trip for $600. That’s pretty much what round trip driving from NY would cost with gas and a one night hotel stop both ways. Not only does it eliminate 26 hours of driving and 1,700 miles it’s also a mini vacation in itself.
After PO we move to AOA for three days. TIP #9 There’s no need to do the same place twice in one trip. Even if you’re looking to save as much money as possible then any combo of All Stars and/or the campsites works. We could have gone to any of these after PO Riverside and been very happy. They’ve all got their own particular charm. Camping is great fun and I love the boat ride to MK. Since this is only three days we decided to return to the skyliner plus strong Disney theming.
TIP #10 Keep checking the dates you’re going for any changes in resort inventory. People book early then have to move things around making rooms available. For example, our final stop is Wilderness Lodge. It’s our favorite and we do it every year for my wife’s birthday. When I first booked it I could only get Tuesday to Sat. I had wanted Mon to Fri but it was’t available for the great rate I was getting from Tuesday on. After booking, I kept an eye on WL and sure enough the same room type, standard view King bed (call us crazy but we like our room to open up on the lobby) became available at my price point for that Monday night. However, despite repeated attempts I could not add it onto my reservation. I booked it anyway then later I called Disney. TIP # 11 The phone lines are open late and I find calling in the evening often works well. The CM I spoke with was then able to make a note to add this to our other WL reservation. Worst case scenario we have to move once within WL but I can’t imagine that happening.
TIP # 12 Be proactive. I’m very laid back but I made an ADR for Whispering Canyon on our second day at WDW partly to check with the front desk about the room we want during our final stay and to see about combing the 2 WL reservations.
TIP #13 CM’s are the best and will help out in any way they can especially when asked nicely. So don’t be afraid to approach them and TIP #14 then follow up by leaving them positive feedback. It’s really easy to do and it helps them out which in turn motivates them. It’s a circle of good Karma.
TIP #15 Even after you’ve booked everything keep your eyes and ears open by reading Tom’s blogs for any changes in Disney pricing and the latest news about events, construction, ride closures etc. so you can tweak your trip accordingly. Disney’s in a constant flux and the best way to stay on top of everything is with this, the only blog you need.
Tom’s so thorough he covers stuff I don’t even want to know about. A pictorial essay on the best restroom murals? Really?! The history of Disney Parks Popcorn Buckets? 30,000 words,, single spaced, on the best uses of the unlimited refill mug? OK, that one I enjoyed. And think of what he has in store for us. How to change a diaper while riding The 7 Dwarfs Mine Train. The 10 best rides to put a baby asleep. Where and where not to breastfeed in the Disney bubble. OK I may be looking forward to that. It’s why Tom makes the big bucks, so let him work for you. Not only are Tom and Sarah great but I’ve learned a lot from the readers as well. It’s one stop shopping at it’s finest.
LOVE THIS! Great advice. And even though my kids are grown, I KNOW I will enjoy all the great family-focused content Sarah and Tom will have 🙂
These are all great tips–thanks for sharing such thorough advice! You are one of the readers that people learn so much from!
You, my friend, are AWESOME! Great tips, especially for non-DVC members. I’m a huge Disney nerd and have been following Tom for several years, and employing his knowledge, tips, and tricks to save money, headaches, and plan. I feel that you, Tom and myself are the one percenters when it comes to the level of detail we take in planning our vacations. I took my sister’s family of five down in 2019, which was her first trip since the mid 90’s, and she stated my level of planning hurt her head and made her anxious. After the trip, she said that they wouldn’t have enjoyed and seen at least 1/3 of the things they did without my planning.
Unfortunately I live 20 minutes from the Autotrain in Lorton, VA, so while it’s something I’ve really wanted to do, I can’t justify the cost over the 11-12 hour drive, and I’m accustomed to road tripping so the drive isn’t that bad.
For those that drive to Disney, more tips to save are:
1) Download and get familiar with the GasBuddy app (it’s 100% FREE). Updating the filters in the app before you leave. Knowing your vehicles mileage range, you’re co-pilot can use the map and locate the cheapest gas along your route in the area you will need to refill.
2) Buc-ee’s! If you have never stopped at one I highly recommend you leverage your trip to do so. Think Truck Stop meets BBQ joint on steroids! Get the briquet! They have some of the cheapest gas on the I95 route from NC south. We always stop at the one in Daytona and fill up on our way down and home. That tank of gas lasts us for 7-10 day stays at Disney.
3) If you’re an Amazon Prime member, Amazon Fresh is a great way to leverage that subscription for grocery delivery right to your resort. We typically pre-load the cart and place the order when GPS says we’re about an hour away. Our orders typically arrive withing 30 minutes of us checking into our room and starting to get settled, so it’s not disruptive to us to head to the lobby and pick it up. NOTE that in the past Bell Services would take delivery of the orders, for a fee of course, but I believe they no longer do this.
4) We enjoy having the freedom of having a vehicle available. As DVC we were fortunate not to be impacted by the recently revoked parking fees,. We enjoy free parking at any of the parks, and allows us to bypass waits for Disney transportation to access locations around the WDW Resort. We do leverage the boat rides, monorail, and skyliner for transportation to the parks when staying at resorts that they service.
5) Save space for souvenirs. Driving allows us the ability to bring back more than other modes of travel. This allows us to pick up things, including larger items, that our friends and family want, and avoid using personal Disney shoppers and shipping fees, at a substantial cost savings.
We’re huge fans of split stays. We love the adventure of trying out different resorts with different locations and themes. Plus, we don’t typically rent a car while in Orlando, so being able to spend half of our trip near Crescent Lake for easy access to HS/EPCOT, and half near MK (with bus service to AK being a bit of a neutral factor no matter where we stay), keeps us in easy reach of our planned parks the whole time. We pack light and spend our “hotel switch day” in a park until after check-in time, so switching hotels is a breeze. Buying our park tickets a la carte from an authorized reseller so they don’t have to be bundled with just one stay or the other isn’t an inconvenience, when it typically saves us a couple hundred dollars!
The only downside has been having to make dining reservations in two different blocks, but there’s an easy way around that.
what’s the easy way around splitting the ADR’s into 2? that’s what’s got me hesitating on a split stay.
We’ve done split stays but not for awhile ( they used to transfer refrigeratored items so sorry to her they don’t do that anymore)
We haven’t done it more recently as our split stay is a night or two at Universal to get the express pass. I will say we have even done arrive, 1st night at a less expensive hotel (don’t unpack), check into Universal Hotel and hot park with express pass, 1 night there and hit the second park the next day then head over to Disney. So by the time we get to Disney we have already done two 1 nights at other hotels. The family has then vetoed the split stay at Disney as they want to completely unpack and relax.
I could probably do a different resort for the last night as people mentioned here. One night at the beginning or end is not an issue as we just don’t unpack.