How to manage a split-stay at Disney resorts
Plus, some thoughts and tips based on our recent experience
Prior to our most recent trip, I had never experienced a split-stay on Walt Disney World property so it goes without saying that I had many, many questions about how it would play out. The reservations, the bags, the transfer — how does it all work?
To channel that same curious energy, that’s how I’ll be structuring this post — Q&A style, baby. But if you’ve got any other questions that aren’t covered here, feel free to drop them below!
What is a split-stay?
A split-stay is simply when you divide your Disney trip between two or more resorts. For example, we stayed at Disney’s Art of Animation Resort for one night and transferred to Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge the following day and stayed there for the remainder of our trip.
We decided on a split-stay because we wanted to take full advantage of Star Wars Day, which was when we were originally scheduled to arrive. Since we preferred to be on property by park opening, we bumped our flight up to May 3rd and booked a room-only reservation at Art of Animation for that night.
We chose Art of Animation because it’s conveniently located on the Skyliner so unless there was inclement weather, we’d be able to hop over to Hollywood Studios fairly quickly the next morning (and we did!).
There’s a variety of reasons for why one might choose to do a split-stay. Maybe they book a few nights at a value resort to be close to the Skyliner or a specific park but want to spend the remaining few days of their trip at a deluxe resort, or the resort of their choice simply wasn’t available for all nights of their trip so they needed another place to lay their head.
Additionally, some folks might choose to stay at an off-property resort for a portion of their trip and hop over to a Disney resort later on.
Whatever the reason may be, split-stays can offer guests a bit more flexibility during their visit and give them the opportunity to be closer to specific amenities, parks and dining, or price points that may be of interest to them.
However, choosing multiple resorts for a single trip doesn’t come without some possible stipulations. Let’s explore those.
Will a split-stay impact my reservation window?
Yes and no. It can vary depending on the reservation type, so let’s dissect this a lil’ bit.
Advanced dining reservations
You will need to book advanced dining reservations (“ADRs”) 60 days out from the check-in day of each resort stay. Since we stayed at two resorts during our last trip, I had to wake up bright and early twice to book two different sets of ADRs.
While sitting in front of my computer at 6 a.m. EST isn’t my favorite thing to do, there is a small silver lining to this. If you get overwhelmed by the process, splitting up the reservations into two separate booking buckets can help lessen the stress a lil’ bit.
However, the main drawback to this is that other resort guests with the same arrival day as you but won’t have a split-stay will be able to snag ADRs for the entirety of their trip. So while you might be arriving on the same day as them, you would only be able to book dining reservations for your check-in day, any days spent at the first resort, and the day you check out. Any other ADRs would need to be reserved during that second booking window for the other resort stay.
If you’ve got your sights set on a reservation that can be more difficult to secure (i.e. Cinderella’s Royal Table, Space 220, Topolino’s Terrace, etc.), this might be something to keep in mind.
Lightning Lanes
On the other hand, all Lightning Lane (“LL”) reservations can be made seven days from your first check-in day at a Disney resort or select hotels beginning at 7 a.m. EST (with valid theme park admission).1 If you have a split-stay at one or more on-property resort, you’ll only need to do this once. Huzzah!
If you’re staying off-property at any point during your trip, LLs can be purchased up to three days prior to your park visit. If you don’t have a date-based ticket, you’ll also need a theme park reservation for each day that you’ll be booking LLs.
How do I get my bags from resort to resort?
There’s a couple different ways you can transport your luggage across property to your next resort:
You could move it yourself if you brought or rented a car, or take a ride-share service (i.e. Uber, Lyft, etc.). You cannot use Disney transportation to move your bags.
Or, the alternative is to use Disney’s free, internal luggage transfer service at your first resort’s Bell Services desk (open 24 hours). While this is the most hassle-free option, the downside of it is that you don’t really know when your bags will show up at your new resort. It’s usually by early to mid-afternoon but the Cast Members (“CMs”) might not be able to guarantee a specific arrival time so it’s always a good idea to communicate with them to make sure the service is right for you.
A lil’ note: As with any service, it’s always best practice to have some cash on hand to tip the CMs who are handling your bags.
If you choose to leave your bags with Bell Services, you can either drop them off yourself or call the front desk to have them picked up from your room. Once you arrive at your next resort, CMs will usually drop them off in your room but if you arrive just before check-in, you can also swing by Bell Services and pick them up yourself.
Will my MagicBand(s) work at each resort?
They sure will. As long as your MagicBand(s) are linked to your My Disney Experience account, they can be used at all parks and any resort that you stay at.
However, check-in day can be a lil’ wonky sometimes so if you experience any issues unlocking your door for the first few tries, head to the front desk and let a CM know. We had to do this at Animal Kingdom Lodge and the friendly CM made sure all of our MagicBands were showing as linked within their system and gave us a keycard to use, just in case.
Oh — and since you booked a split-stay, you’ll have the opportunity to place a MagicBand order at a discounted rate for each separate reservation. If you’d rather go without a MagicBand or want to use one that you already own, don’t worry about it. The option is there only if you want to use it.
Okay — but what about my refillable resort mug?
You betcha! The refillable resort mugs are valid for 14 days from the date of purchase, and they’ll work at any resort on property regardless of if you’re staying there or not.
On our most recent trip, we purchased our mugs at Art of Animation and later used them at the Riviera Resort, Polynesian Village Resort, and Animal Kingdom Lodge.
Would we do a split-stay again?
Absolutely, but maybe not for just one night. While Art of Animation is a fun resort, our reasoning for doing a split-stay there was purely for technical reasons. We needed to get to Hollywood Studios bright and early with the least amount of hassle possible.
In the future, I could totally see us staying at two resorts for equal amounts of time to really soak up and explore what each one has to offer. We didn’t really get to spend much time at Art of Animation, which was kind of a bummer but, again, we knew that would probably be the case in our situation.
Split-stays can be a great option for a longer stay, and Disney makes it pretty darn easy and hands-off to do so. However, if you love a specific resort or don’t want to deal with hopping to a new one, a split-stay might not be the best choice for you.
Recent posts from our May trip
There we have it — all your burning, split-stay questions answered. Have you ever stayed at multiple resorts in a single trip before? If so, what are your biggest tips or takeaways from it? Would you do it again? Let us know below!
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This includes all Disney resorts, as well as Walt Disney World Dolphin Hotel, Walt Disney World Swan Hotel, Walt Disney World Swan Reserve, and Shades of Green Resort.