Back in January I posted that this year is going to be a very Disney year. So far so good! Grandma and I had a great time at Disneyland back in February and sweated it out in May at Disney World. Our next adventure begins in around 60 days. We are taking the Grandkids and their parental units to Walt Disney World. This will be the second trip to WDW for the grandkids and this time we are doing things a bit differently. As always comments are welcome. I want to hear about your experiences.

Back to the Past

The first trip with the grandkids was 2 years ago during the first 2 weeks in December. The youngest was 4 at the time and her sister was 7. We did not rent a stroller. The 4 year old was a champ and walked our legs off! Strollers are very annoying as people use them as battering rams and just feel entitled when they push them. You always see kids that are much too old to be in strollers! Did my old heart good to see our granddaughter show them all up and just charge on!

On this trip we practiced our Crushing It! strategy and did not rush around and worry about which ride we were going on next. We took advantage of Early Entry and rode our top picks before the crowds came in. It was great watching the grandkids experience Disney Magic for the first time.

Being DVC members we stayed in a 2 bedroom villa at Bay Lake Tower. If you don’t know this is part of Disney’s Contemporary Resort. It is a very easy walk to the Magic Kingdom. The monorail also makes it handy to travel to other resorts on the loop or to Epcot. The villa is huge with 3 bathrooms. No one felt crowded or cramped. Made for a very enjoyable stay. Perfect, I might add.

Fast Forward

This time we are changing it up a bit and doing what as known as a Split Stay. A Split Stay is where you stay in more than one Disney resort. Grandma and I have done spit stays before, but this will be a first with the family. We will be staying at Animal Kingdom Lodge Jambo House, Bay Lake Tower, and finish off with The Boardwalk Villas. Each resort has its own magic and charm.

Pros and Cons of Split Stay

Why would you want to move between resorts? There are a few reasons.

First the pros:

• Experience Different Resorts
• Experience Different locations within WDW
• Free Water Park entry on each check-in day
• Disney moves the luggage

Now the Cons:

• Packing and Moving

Hmm maybe I am a bit biased, but the pros have it!

Experience Different Resorts

Disney World has 13 DVC resorts, with a 14th one under construction. Each resort has its own theme, vibe and charm. By doing a split stay we will experience 3 different resorts, themes and magic! You do not have to be DVC members to do split stays. There are 19 non-DVC resorts on property. These are broken out as Value, Moderate, or Deluxe, depending on location, size of rooms, amenities and cost. So pick your price and theme! If you are curious about the different resorts and amenities, the following resources are a pretty good place to start:

• Park Prodigy
• Resorts Gal
• Park Pass Youtube Channel.
• Second Star Adventure

By doing a split stay you can start your trip at a value resort. These resorts are the lowest price point on property. Although they are the cheapest, in no way did Disney scrimp on the theme or atmosphere. Next you could move up to a Moderate or Deluxe accommodation. These rooms can be expensive. By starting at a lower cost resort and then moving up, you can stretch your dollars. This way you can still experience all that staying on property has to offer, and not break your budget. Experiencing the different tiers is also a great way to see what best fits your family.

Experience Different locations within WDW

Walt Disney World can be thought of as having several areas. There is the Magic Kingdom or Monorail resorts. These resorts are walkable to the Magic Kingdom or have an easy boat ride across Bay Lake. Then there is the Epcot resort area. These resorts are in close proximity to Epcot and you can either walk, take the Sky Liner, or a boat to Epcot or Hollywood Studios. Finally there are the resorts close to Disney Springs. This leaves the one resort that is off on its own, The Animal Kingdom.

Each location has its own charm and special amenities. With a split stay you can experience multiple locations on a single trip. Do you want to just chill, or be in the middle of the action? Are pools important or is a good lounge more up your alley. Do you want to do more shopping or more park days. Sometimes it takes staying at a resort area to find out. For us, it’s all about our park days. Being able to walk to the parks is a great bonus. That’s why Magic Kingdom area and Epcot resorts are more up our alley.

Free Water Park entry on each check in day

Lately Disney has been running a perk to guests staying on property. Free water park passes on check in days. That’s right you can arrive at the resort before check in time. Drop your luggage at bell services and then snag your pass. If you are doing a split stay, this counts EVERY check in. That’s right EVERY check in. That’s a big plus, especially if you have kids in tow. The water parks are great! We plan on taking advantage of this perk at least once during our next trip. We might do it twice if both water parks are open!

Disney moves the luggage

To make split stays super easy, Disney bell services will move your luggage between hotels. On checkout day, have the bell hops take your bags, or carry them down, to bell services. There you tell them what your next resort destination is and they take care of the rest. Be sure to pack some essentials in your backpacks, as your bags may arrive later than you do. We have done this and the bags were ready for us when we checked in. Could not be simpler. One caveat. The Polynesian Tower has had issue with bell services. It is a newer resort and things are not going all that smoothly. Hopefully this is temporary and will be worked out soon. Be sure to check at Bell Services when you first arrive and ask about moving luggage. The Cast Members are extremely helpful and are a wealth of information.

How are We Doing it?

Fair question. We are going to stay at 3 different resorts. I know that sounds like a lot of moving. I just think it will be worth it. 3 resorts, 15 days, it is like having three, five day vacations! Each stop will be at a unique location. Each location has its own advantages. Not to mention Free Water Park Entry!

First up Animal Kingdom Lodge Jambo House.

Animal Kingdom Lodge is actually 2 resorts, Kindani Village and Jambo House. Kindani is a DVC property and Jambo House is both a resort hotel and DVC villas. We will be staying in a three bedroom Grand Villa at Jambo House. These villas all overlook an African savanna with different animals. It is like being at your own private safari! Imagine waking up to a Giraffe looking in at you through your window! The theme of Jambo House is fantastic. It is hard to describe the lobby. It is huge, with rich wooden accents. Not to mention the shield lights and the savanna over looks. The villa itself is to die for. It has 3 balconies, one off the prime bedroom, one off the living room and one off the other 2 bedrooms. It even has a pool table! We were very lucky the have the DVC points for this stay.

The downside to Animal Kingdom Lodge(AKV) is that you must take a Disney bus to any other destination. However, while staying at AKV, we plan on going to the Animal Kingdom most days. That is a very short bus trip.

On to Bay Lake Tower and the Magic Kingdom.

Next stop is the Magic Kingdom area and the Bay Lake Tower. This is a pretty special place. It is connected to the Contemporary Resort and has access to all of its amenities. Most of all, it is the easiest walk to the Magic Kingdom! We stayed here on our last trip. The grandkids loved the pool and the rooms. We will have a dedicated 2 bedroom villa. This means we will have 3 full bathrooms! A real life saver with 4 adults and 2 kids! We also plan on using the free Water Park Pass on check in day. From this location the Magic Kingdom is just steps away. We plan on making the best use of it!

Final Stop The Boardwalk Villas

This resort was our first DVC purchase. It is an awesome place! We will be walking to Epcot and Hollywood Studios. If we are too worn out from the days activities, the Friend Ships are a great option. During this visit, Epcot’s Food and Wine Festival will be going full swing. In all of our Disney years, we have never experienced it. Something we are really looking forward to. From here you can also dine at the Beach Club Beaches and Cream. It is one of our favorites. We also cannot rule out a trip to the Swan and Dolphin hotels for a quick bite. The down side to Boardwalk is there is not too many dining options at the Boardwalk itself. Before Covid, there were many more dining options, but many have not reopened.

Wrapping Up

At the end of the trip we will have been able to walk to 3 out of the 4 theme parks. Animal Kingdom is the only exception. However, it will be a very short bus ride to the Animal Kingdom park. We will have visited at least one water park with out any extra expense. The family will have visited all major areas of the park, sans Disney Springs. The trip will be a grand experiment with moving every 5 days. So we will see how that goes. Even if there are glitches, it will still be better than sitting at home on the couch!

Look for a trip report coming sometime after Thanksgiving!

Let me know in the comments about your Split stays or if Split Stays are something you would do.

Until next time