October 29, 2025 • 22 mins
On this week's episode, Krystle and Julie break down everything you need to know about split stays. We share our own split stay experiences, the pros and cons of moving mid-vacation, and insider tips to make it as seamless (and magical!) as possible. Whether you’re dreaming of starting your trip immersed in Disney magic at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort and ending with thrills at Universal’s Cabana Bay Beach Resort, or just curious about how to make the most of your resort hopping — this episode will help you decide if a split stay is right for you
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (00:00):
Welcome to Wonderlust and Wishes, the
podcast where we explore theworld one destination at a time.
I'm Julie.
SPEAKER_01 (00:06):
And I'm Crystal.
As travel agents withfantastical vacations, we are
here to share our passion fortravel and help you turn your
wonderlust into reality.
SPEAKER_00 (00:15):
From hidden gems to bucket list adventures, join us
as we dive into the sights,sounds, and stories of our
favorite destinations.
SPEAKER_01 (00:21):
So grab your passport, pack your bags, and
let's embark on this journeytogether.
Hi everybody, welcome to episode75 of Wonder Lust and Wishes.
This week we're going to talkabout split stays, what they
are, why people do them, andwhether they're worth the
(00:44):
hassle.
SPEAKER_00 (00:46):
If you've ever thought about staying at two
different resorts in one trip,maybe a few days at Disney Hotel
or a few days at Universal oreven two different Disney
resorts, that's what we're gonnachat about.
Because we've done them, we lovethem, sometimes we hate them,
but split states is a verycommon term among the theme park
(01:06):
world.
So let's chat about it.
SPEAKER_01 (01:08):
Yeah, and like Crystal said, we've both uh done
this before.
So we're gonna share somepersonal experiences and we also
have clients that do this, andjust to give you some tips on
how to make this go smoother orwhether it's the right option
for you in differentcircumstances.
Just starting off with thebasics, a split stay is when you
(01:30):
divide your vacation between twoor more resorts, and that can be
two or more resorts at the samedestination, like two Disney
resorts or two Universal Orlandoresorts, or across destinations.
So splitting your stay between aDisney resort for part of your
trip and a Universal Orlandoresort for another part of your
trip.
SPEAKER_00 (01:50):
Sometimes it's just one night somewhere special
before moving to your mainresort, like my one night stay
at Beach Club just for the pooland the convenience of waking up
steps from Epcot.
SPEAKER_01 (02:01):
I love those resorts.
I love being right there.
It's such a nice perk.
Other times it's, you know, ithas to do with what's most
practical.
Like we've done a couple oftimes actually with our agency
trips.
Crystal stayed at dockside atUniversal Orlando first, where
we wanted to go for a couple ofdays, and then we moved over to
the Riviera for the rest of thetrip because our agency trip was
(02:25):
focused in Walt Disney World.
And then the next year, ouragency trip was actually at
Universal and we started off atCabana Bay, and then moved over
to Caribbean Beach to kind ofget in some Disney bubble time.
We actually have to, just as anexample, we have an agent
friend, Danny.
She's a little crazy about thesplit states.
There's been a couple of timesthat I've been like, wow, this
(02:47):
that's a lot.
I'm pretty sure that there wasan instance where she has gone
on a trip with her dad to DisneyWorld.
And I know her dad has DVCpoints, and so I think they used
points for this, but they stayedat like four different resorts
while they were there.
And it was when she was justwith her dad, so they didn't
have a lot to carry around, soit it made it easy, but still I
(03:09):
thought that was a lot.
SPEAKER_00 (03:10):
Uh, as agents, we hear all sorts of fun stories
because uh collect resorts asagents, but it's to help you all
with our experience.
So yeah, it's resource.
Yes, exactly.
So let's talk about the why youwould do a split stay.
There are so many reasons toconsider it.
One big one for me personally isthe budget.
(03:31):
You can spend a night or two ata deluxe resort to get those
extra perks, like extendedevening hours, but then stay the
rest of the trip at a moderateor value to keep the cost down.
So we have a couple of quoteexamples, caveat, these are
examples.
Pricing availability will varyby day, and honestly,
availability will vary by hour.
(03:52):
These are November 25th throughthe 29th of this year with a
three-day park hopper.
If we were at the GrandFloridian that entire time, it
would be$7,196.
Is this just two people?
SPEAKER_01 (04:04):
It is two adults and two kids, eight and ten.
Sorry, I forgot to put that inthere.
SPEAKER_00 (04:08):
And then if you were to do those same dates, same
three-day park hopper, half thetrip at Pop Century, half the
trip at the Grand Floridian, itwould be five thousand seven
hundred and sixteen, saving youaround fifteen hundred dollars
for food, merch, all the things.
So you still get theexperienceable, but you're
saving a big chunk of money.
SPEAKER_01 (04:31):
Exactly.
It's a it's a great way to getthe taste of a higher-end resort
without the full-on price tag.
To give another example atUniversal Orlando, if you stay
at Hard Rock, Puertofino Bay, orRoyal Pacific for one night, you
get unlimited express passes forcheck-in and checkout dates.
So that's a really major perk,but those hotels are expensive.
(04:54):
If you stayed, same scenariowhere you stayed the same dates
November 25th through the 29thof 2025 with a three-day park
hopper, two adults, two kids,eight and ten.
And I'm sorry, not three-daypark hopper, three-day, three
park park-to-park ticket.
It would be sixty two hundredforty-four dollars eighty-three
cents for Royal Pacific for thattime frame.
(05:15):
If you were to split it withhalf at Cabana Bay and half at
Royal Pacific, it would be$4,981.81.
And so that's around the sameamount of savings.
I think just a little bit less,maybe$1,300, but same thing
where you can use that money onfood, merchandise, other fun
things that you want to doduring your trip.
SPEAKER_00 (05:38):
Well, and honestly, once you factor in the express
pass of Royal Pacific for fourpeople, you're probably saving
another$2,000.
That's true.
Yeah, especially duringThanksgiving for sure.
Another reason you might do itis the proximity and
convenience.
So let's say you're doing like aMickey's Not So Scary Halloween
party or the Christmas party.
(05:58):
If you stay on the monorail thatnight, it means you can walk or
hop on a quick ride back aftermidnight instead of waiting on
buses.
So do that for two days andthen, you know, maybe hop over
to a Skyliner resort and doEbcot or Hollywood studios on
the back half of your trip.
SPEAKER_01 (06:16):
Absolutely.
Those transportation options arehuge.
And having those, you know,using the monorail or the
skyliner makes such a hugedifference time-wise.
I know we always joke about thebuses.
The buses are great.
I mean, they really are.
It's still much better than youknow using other types of
transportation, but you reallycan't beat the skyliner in the
(06:36):
monorail.
SPEAKER_00 (06:37):
Splus days also make sense if you're doing multiple
destinations.
I have lots of clients who willdo like four days at Disneyland
and then do two days atUniversal Hollywood.
Or another popular one I see isDisneyland followed by SeaWorld
San Diego.
Yeah.
I don't think I realized thatthe SeaWorld got thrown in
there.
Yeah, it's probably about 45minutes, depending on what time
(06:58):
of day and traffic.
So it's like you're alreadythere.
Why not do a day or two?
SPEAKER_01 (07:04):
Right, right.
And of course, both of us havetons of split states between
Walt Disney World and UniversalOrlando.
There's a lot of people thatreally like to do that.
We have Harry Potter fans thatthey want to go to Disney, but
they also can't be in that areawithout visiting Universal
Orlando and being able to go tothe Wizarding World of Harry
Potter.
(07:24):
That's usually, at least in myexperience, that's been the
families that want to do thesplit stays, is those that want
to experience both of those IPsduring the same time frame.
And of course, another exampleis the pre or post-cruise stays.
A lot of people like to come inand stay at a Walt Disney World
resort before their cruise, likejust a night before they leave,
(07:48):
and they can take Disneytransportation or Disney cruise
line transportation down to theport and then also stay on the
back end.
Same thing.
They can take thattransportation back up to the
Walt Disney World Resort andmaybe go to the park for a
couple of days.
SPEAKER_00 (08:04):
I those are probably going to be my favorite because
it's like the best of bothworlds.
If you want to get really crazy,I have people who will stay at
Disney all week, but then it'scheaper to get a room at
Universal for the Express Passfor one night.
They have a place to land, theyhave a place for little kids to
go nap in the afternoon.
So they don't even technicallyunpack at Universal, but they do
(08:28):
have a room there.
SPEAKER_01 (08:29):
Yes.
I've had I've had plenty of umpeople do that.
We call those a ghost room.
It's not a bad thing or it's nota secret or anything.
Universal actually encouragesthis.
Interestingly enough, theyencourage people to do it, but
you can utilize that room to getthe express passes, and a lot of
times it's cheaper to have thatnight stay.
(08:49):
And like Crystal said, you alsohave a place to go during the
day at Universal instead ofhaving to go all the way back to
your Walt Disney World resortroom.
SPEAKER_00 (08:59):
All right, let's chat pros and cons, the good and
the bad.
Starting with the pros.
Variety is definitely a big proin my book.
You get to experience moretheming, different pools,
restaurants, and vibes all inone trip.
SPEAKER_01 (09:12):
I want to definitely hit on the pools and the food.
Generally, it kind of comes withthe pricing.
You get a little bit betterpool, you get a better, uh,
better food options at thedeluxe or the premiere resort.
So it's nice to be able to goand do that and like we talked
about the budget part of it, notspending the full amount.
It also can kind of feel likeyou have two vacations in one
(09:36):
because you get to stay in oneplace and experience everything
at that resort and then go to adifferent one and experience
that.
Also, if you're looking to trysomething new, you're afraid to
like go all in because you'venever stayed there before and
it's just a new experience.
Do this where you can splitstay, you can do a test run at
(09:57):
the second resort that maybeyou've never stayed at, and then
the other half of the time youstay at one that you are very
comfortable with and you alreadyknow it.
SPEAKER_00 (10:04):
I feel like I see that in your future.
Doing a night somewhere else andthen ending at the Riviera just
to make sure everybody is okaywith it.
SPEAKER_01 (10:11):
Yeah, I think that is definitely something I want
to try.
We'll talk about it in the cons,but I have two people that are a
little less flexible in the waythey do things.
So it would be a good test runto try out a different resort.
SPEAKER_00 (10:23):
And if you're traveling for different
purposes, like we do often, likepart work, part leisure or
family time, splitting it canmake it easier to separate those
experiences.
SPEAKER_01 (10:33):
So now to move on to the cons.
There are going to be a few ofthem.
The biggest one is going to bethe hassle of moving, packing
and unpacking, waiting for yournew room to be ready.
It can eat up a chunk of yourday on the day that you're
moving for sure.
SPEAKER_00 (10:49):
So Disney does transfer your luggage.
You just give it to the BellServices and they will get it to
your new location.
But they don't promise anythingbefore like check-in time, which
is like 3 or 4 p.m.
So you could potentially bewithout your bags all day.
So if you really have to plan soyou really have to plan that
transition day carefully.
(11:11):
It it's nice if you're doing iton a park day because if you're
at the park all day, you don'tneed your bag.
But the con to that is you haveto get up even earlier and the
hassle of just making sureyou're packed up and getting it
to Bell Services is that extrash that extra step while you're
trying to get to the park.
Just note that Universal Orlandono longer transfers luggage,
(11:33):
they used to.
So, like my recent trip, I justhad to get my bag to Dell
Services.
And then after I was done, I gotback to the resort, I Ubered
with my luggage to my newresort.
So it is a little bit moredifficult in that situation,
especially if you have like abig family and trying to get six
or eight bags.
SPEAKER_01 (11:54):
Another downside is you do lose that settled in
feeling.
If you or someone in your familyreally likes to get somewhere,
unpack everything, like youknow, actually utilize the
drawers and the storage space,put everything away and that
you're there for the week.
(12:14):
This is not something that wouldbe comfortable for those type of
individuals because it's gonnadisrupt that.
You're gonna have to get packedup again in the middle of your
trip and move again.
SPEAKER_00 (12:25):
So I just kind of mentioned this, but I think it's
probably even harder withfamilies, especially if you have
kids or strollers, because it'sjust an extra layer of chaos.
Depending on how well your kidsdo a transitions, or if this is
your first day, I probablywouldn't recommend it for the
first or second stay, or withlots of little kids.
(12:46):
It's a lot easier to do asadults as we talk through our
experiences.
Like most of these are justwe're doing on our own.
Rarely do we have our familieswith us?
SPEAKER_01 (12:56):
Yeah, that's true.
So moving into you know our ownexperiences, one of mine in
particular was when we stayed atCabana Bay at Universal Orlando
for our agency meeting.
I loved Cabana Bay.
We talked about this, I think,in our post-trip report and when
we've talked about Cabana Bayoverall, it was fantastic.
It was right in the middle ofeverything that we needed,
(13:16):
especially for our agency trip.
But then I had a conference formy day job, but I had a night in
the middle where I didn't haveanywhere to stay.
And so I needed a kind of anight of transition.
And I shared a room with one ofour agents, Danny, at Caribbean
Beach, and we just did that onenight, and it also got me in the
Disney bubble.
We actually walked over to theRiviera and we did some work in
(13:40):
the little library.
It was perfect, and it was veryeasy.
SPEAKER_00 (13:44):
That's a really good point.
Sometimes one night is all youneed to shift gears.
We did something similar for aspring break trip.
We drove and we gave ourselves aday on the front end of our trip
just in case something happened.
We took longer to get downthere, and we really wanted to
experience Stormlong Bay, andthat was our main reason that we
(14:08):
did one night at Beach Club.
We had my father-in-law with us,and Reese was under three.
We were in a room that sleptfive adults, so we put us all in
one room, which was also kind oflike the budget thing.
We didn't need two rooms for onenight.
We made it work.
So then we also had theconvenience of waking up steps
(14:30):
from Ebcot, which honestly, itjust felt like a mini splurge
day built into the trip becauseit was so nice to just hang out
all day at the pool.
And then since we drove, our carwas right there and we just put
all of our luggage in the carinstead of checking it with bell
services.
Right.
SPEAKER_01 (14:47):
Yeah, that it does make it easy for sure when you
are driving to get from oneplace to the other in between
the trips.
It's a little bit morecomplicated when you fly and you
don't have the option, you know,to have your own car and you
need some help getting yourluggage from one from one resort
to the other.
So we also had the the exampleof staying at dockside for the
(15:09):
first two, was it two nights orone night?
Yeah, two nights, and then movedover to Riviera for our agency
trip because it was focused atWalt Disney World.
For that one, Crystal and Iwanted to experience Universal a
little bit, uh, UniversalOrlando.
So we had a couple of days priorto when the agency trip started
(15:31):
when we needed to be there foragency meetings, and we
experienced that.
Dockside is one of the valueoptions at Universal Orlando, so
it was very budget-friendly.
And Riviera is notbudget-friendly, but it is
beautiful.
SPEAKER_00 (15:44):
And so relaxing, just to stay out the balcony on
the balcony, here's the rib.
And then if you've been hererecently, when I was just in
Orlando for the Halloween HornNights RIP tour, I did a night
at Terra Luna and then I splitit with a night at Aventura.
Aventura was just veryconvenient for and where all the
agents were staying.
It was in walking distance, andso I kind of just went from
(16:09):
there picking where I hadn'tbeen so I could check it out.
So that's why I did Terra Luna.
It's newer, but then kind of thebest of both worlds and a great
way to get first-hand experienceat two properties without
needing longer trip.
And I did have to, like I said,I Ubered with my luggage between
resorts.
SPEAKER_01 (16:28):
And that's a that's a good point about it being a
benefit for travel advisors.
I know we joke that we do stufffor research purposes, but we
actually kind of do.
Like we for us to be able togive you an honest opinion of
the resort and the amenities andwhat it has to offer and whether
it's worth the price.
It might be a budget-friendly,but it's, you know, maybe we
(16:49):
just don't prefer that one forsome reason.
It's good for us to be able totruly understand what we're
recommending to our clients.
SPEAKER_00 (16:58):
All right.
Now for some tips for makingyour split stay go a little
smoother.
If you're thinking about doingit, a few tips that may make it
easier is to pack by resort orby section of the trip.
So this could look like packingcubes, one for each day.
When we did our Tabana Bay toCaribbean Beach, I put all of
(17:18):
our stuff for our beach club dayin one of my kids' suitcases.
And then we left like the bigsuitcase in the car because
there's no need to bring it injust for like one or two little
things.
Another thing is to plan yourpark days strategically.
For example, on transfer day,visit a park near your new
resort, maybe do it on a restday, use Bell Services.
(17:41):
Disney will move your luggagebetween all property resorts for
free, which is a huge perk.
And then we always talk aboutthis with cruising, but it's
very helpful for split stay tokeep a day bag, have swimsuits,
snacks, maybe a change ofclothes, meds that you might
need in case your room isn'tready yet.
Like if your bag is at BellServices, you can always go and
(18:02):
ask Bell Services and like go,they'll go get it and dig
through it, talking fromexperience.
Um but if they're in the middleof the move, it might be like a
full two or three hours and theydon't know where it's at.
So I'm pulling up my air tags,like, it isn't made it yet.
I need to go find some diapers.
SPEAKER_01 (18:19):
And just little things like, I don't know, I'm
thinking like earbuds and thingslike that, or even a book, or
you know, something that you maynot, you don't want to pack it
in your suitcase that's whereyou can't get to it.
You also just need to berealistic about how much
downtime you'll have that day.
(18:40):
Probably not a good idea to planan early dining reservation or
an open-to-close park daybecause of just not knowing when
you're gonna be able to get intoyour room.
You could treat it as just achill day or a pool day,
especially like we've talkedabout.
If you have younger kids or alarge group, it's just gonna be
(19:01):
a little bit more of a difficulttransition to get everybody from
one place to the other so thatyou're not coordinating all of
that.
It's different.
I think Crystal just you knowmentioned earlier, if it's just
you or just a couple of adults,it's probably gonna be a lot
easier to coordinate.
So you just kind of have tothink about those things.
SPEAKER_00 (19:20):
I think about it a lot with our busing days.
I will plan around that.
Like if we have Magic Kingdomand Animal Kingdom, and I know
I'm busing regardless, does itmatter if I'm staying at Old Key
West, or does it matter if I'mstaying at Animal Kingdom?
Probably not, because I'm busingregardless.
So I kind of think about itthrough transportation eyes a
(19:42):
lot when I'm planning my parkdays.
But I definitely have to makesure everybody's expectations
are managed.
If you go into it knowing thatmoving day isn't a full park
day, you'll enjoy it a lot more.
You don't have to go hunt downyour luggage from bell services
after the fireworks and try andfind your room after or any of
that kind of stuff, right?
SPEAKER_01 (20:03):
Should at least plan some time where you go back to
wherever that resort is just tolike get everything settled,
even if you you know if you aregoing to do fireworks, go back
and check everything out andthen go back or go back to the
parks.
So, bottom line, split stays candefinitely be amazing if you
have a plan and settingexpectations, like Crystal said,
but they're not necessarily foreverybody.
SPEAKER_00 (20:26):
If you love a variety or want to stretch your
budget or even want toexperience multiple
destinations, then they'retotally worth it.
SPEAKER_01 (20:33):
But if you are the kind of traveler or you have the
personality that likes to trulysettle in and stay put, one
resort might be your best bet.
As an example, part of my familyis much more flexible and go
with the flow than the otherhalf.
I wouldn't think anything abouta split stay.
I think it would be super fun.
(20:54):
As long as, you know, we knowwhere we're going and what we're
doing and we have a plan.
I would be all for it.
For the other two, if I were toconsider doing a split stay,
there would be lots of preppingof expectations and kind of
talking up the split stay totalk the other two into it
because they would be grumpyabout having to change and just
(21:20):
not being as flexible withmoving their things around once
they put them in their spot.
SPEAKER_00 (21:27):
Either way, if you talk to your travel advisor, uh
hi, shameless plug.
We can help you figure out if asplit stay makes sense for your
trip and we can help you handlethe logistics so it's as smooth
as possible.
Like we said, we do it in thename of research for you guys.
Yes.
SPEAKER_01 (21:43):
And we would absolutely love to help you.
Thank you so much for listening,everybody.
We hope that this has been veryhelpful.
We would love to hear about yourexperiences with a split stay if
you have already done this inthe past and you have a
particular maybe two resortsthat you like the best or maybe
two destinations that you liketo mix up.
(22:05):
We'd love to hear about it.
Have a fantastic week and wewill talk to you all next week.
Bye.
Thanks for tuning in to anotherepisode of Wonder Lust and
(22:26):
Wishes.
SPEAKER_00 (22:26):
If you enjoyed today's episode, don't forget to
subscribe and leave us a reviewon your favorite podcast
platform.
SPEAKER_01 (22:32):
And remember, the world is full of wonders waiting
to be explored.
Until next time, happy travels.
Bye for now.
Welcome to Wonderlust and Wishes, the
podcast where we explore theworld one destination at a time.
I'm Julie.
SPEAKER_01 (00:06):
And I'm Crystal.
As travel agents withfantastical vacations, we are
here to share our passion fortravel and help you turn your
wonderlust into reality.
SPEAKER_00 (00:15):
From hidden gems to bucket list adventures, join us
as we dive into the sights,sounds, and stories of our
favorite destinations.
SPEAKER_01 (00:21):
So grab your passport, pack your bags, and
let's embark on this journeytogether.
Hi everybody, welcome to episode75 of Wonder Lust and Wishes.
This week we're going to talkabout split stays, what they
are, why people do them, andwhether they're worth the
(00:44):
hassle.
SPEAKER_00 (00:46):
If you've ever thought about staying at two
different resorts in one trip,maybe a few days at Disney Hotel
or a few days at Universal oreven two different Disney
resorts, that's what we're gonnachat about.
Because we've done them, we lovethem, sometimes we hate them,
but split states is a verycommon term among the theme park
(01:06):
world.
So let's chat about it.
SPEAKER_01 (01:08):
Yeah, and like Crystal said, we've both uh done
this before.
So we're gonna share somepersonal experiences and we also
have clients that do this, andjust to give you some tips on
how to make this go smoother orwhether it's the right option
for you in differentcircumstances.
Just starting off with thebasics, a split stay is when you
(01:30):
divide your vacation between twoor more resorts, and that can be
two or more resorts at the samedestination, like two Disney
resorts or two Universal Orlandoresorts, or across destinations.
So splitting your stay between aDisney resort for part of your
trip and a Universal Orlandoresort for another part of your
trip.
SPEAKER_00 (01:50):
Sometimes it's just one night somewhere special
before moving to your mainresort, like my one night stay
at Beach Club just for the pooland the convenience of waking up
steps from Epcot.
SPEAKER_01 (02:01):
I love those resorts.
I love being right there.
It's such a nice perk.
Other times it's, you know, ithas to do with what's most
practical.
Like we've done a couple oftimes actually with our agency
trips.
Crystal stayed at dockside atUniversal Orlando first, where
we wanted to go for a couple ofdays, and then we moved over to
the Riviera for the rest of thetrip because our agency trip was
(02:25):
focused in Walt Disney World.
And then the next year, ouragency trip was actually at
Universal and we started off atCabana Bay, and then moved over
to Caribbean Beach to kind ofget in some Disney bubble time.
We actually have to, just as anexample, we have an agent
friend, Danny.
She's a little crazy about thesplit states.
There's been a couple of timesthat I've been like, wow, this
(02:47):
that's a lot.
I'm pretty sure that there wasan instance where she has gone
on a trip with her dad to DisneyWorld.
And I know her dad has DVCpoints, and so I think they used
points for this, but they stayedat like four different resorts
while they were there.
And it was when she was justwith her dad, so they didn't
have a lot to carry around, soit it made it easy, but still I
(03:09):
thought that was a lot.
SPEAKER_00 (03:10):
Uh, as agents, we hear all sorts of fun stories
because uh collect resorts asagents, but it's to help you all
with our experience.
So yeah, it's resource.
Yes, exactly.
So let's talk about the why youwould do a split stay.
There are so many reasons toconsider it.
One big one for me personally isthe budget.
(03:31):
You can spend a night or two ata deluxe resort to get those
extra perks, like extendedevening hours, but then stay the
rest of the trip at a moderateor value to keep the cost down.
So we have a couple of quoteexamples, caveat, these are
examples.
Pricing availability will varyby day, and honestly,
availability will vary by hour.
(03:52):
These are November 25th throughthe 29th of this year with a
three-day park hopper.
If we were at the GrandFloridian that entire time, it
would be$7,196.
Is this just two people?
SPEAKER_01 (04:04):
It is two adults and two kids, eight and ten.
Sorry, I forgot to put that inthere.
SPEAKER_00 (04:08):
And then if you were to do those same dates, same
three-day park hopper, half thetrip at Pop Century, half the
trip at the Grand Floridian, itwould be five thousand seven
hundred and sixteen, saving youaround fifteen hundred dollars
for food, merch, all the things.
So you still get theexperienceable, but you're
saving a big chunk of money.
SPEAKER_01 (04:31):
Exactly.
It's a it's a great way to getthe taste of a higher-end resort
without the full-on price tag.
To give another example atUniversal Orlando, if you stay
at Hard Rock, Puertofino Bay, orRoyal Pacific for one night, you
get unlimited express passes forcheck-in and checkout dates.
So that's a really major perk,but those hotels are expensive.
(04:54):
If you stayed, same scenariowhere you stayed the same dates
November 25th through the 29thof 2025 with a three-day park
hopper, two adults, two kids,eight and ten.
And I'm sorry, not three-daypark hopper, three-day, three
park park-to-park ticket.
It would be sixty two hundredforty-four dollars eighty-three
cents for Royal Pacific for thattime frame.
(05:15):
If you were to split it withhalf at Cabana Bay and half at
Royal Pacific, it would be$4,981.81.
And so that's around the sameamount of savings.
I think just a little bit less,maybe$1,300, but same thing
where you can use that money onfood, merchandise, other fun
things that you want to doduring your trip.
SPEAKER_00 (05:38):
Well, and honestly, once you factor in the express
pass of Royal Pacific for fourpeople, you're probably saving
another$2,000.
That's true.
Yeah, especially duringThanksgiving for sure.
Another reason you might do itis the proximity and
convenience.
So let's say you're doing like aMickey's Not So Scary Halloween
party or the Christmas party.
(05:58):
If you stay on the monorail thatnight, it means you can walk or
hop on a quick ride back aftermidnight instead of waiting on
buses.
So do that for two days andthen, you know, maybe hop over
to a Skyliner resort and doEbcot or Hollywood studios on
the back half of your trip.
SPEAKER_01 (06:16):
Absolutely.
Those transportation options arehuge.
And having those, you know,using the monorail or the
skyliner makes such a hugedifference time-wise.
I know we always joke about thebuses.
The buses are great.
I mean, they really are.
It's still much better than youknow using other types of
transportation, but you reallycan't beat the skyliner in the
(06:36):
monorail.
SPEAKER_00 (06:37):
Splus days also make sense if you're doing multiple
destinations.
I have lots of clients who willdo like four days at Disneyland
and then do two days atUniversal Hollywood.
Or another popular one I see isDisneyland followed by SeaWorld
San Diego.
Yeah.
I don't think I realized thatthe SeaWorld got thrown in
there.
Yeah, it's probably about 45minutes, depending on what time
(06:58):
of day and traffic.
So it's like you're alreadythere.
Why not do a day or two?
SPEAKER_01 (07:04):
Right, right.
And of course, both of us havetons of split states between
Walt Disney World and UniversalOrlando.
There's a lot of people thatreally like to do that.
We have Harry Potter fans thatthey want to go to Disney, but
they also can't be in that areawithout visiting Universal
Orlando and being able to go tothe Wizarding World of Harry
Potter.
(07:24):
That's usually, at least in myexperience, that's been the
families that want to do thesplit stays, is those that want
to experience both of those IPsduring the same time frame.
And of course, another exampleis the pre or post-cruise stays.
A lot of people like to come inand stay at a Walt Disney World
resort before their cruise, likejust a night before they leave,
(07:48):
and they can take Disneytransportation or Disney cruise
line transportation down to theport and then also stay on the
back end.
Same thing.
They can take thattransportation back up to the
Walt Disney World Resort andmaybe go to the park for a
couple of days.
SPEAKER_00 (08:04):
I those are probably going to be my favorite because
it's like the best of bothworlds.
If you want to get really crazy,I have people who will stay at
Disney all week, but then it'scheaper to get a room at
Universal for the Express Passfor one night.
They have a place to land, theyhave a place for little kids to
go nap in the afternoon.
So they don't even technicallyunpack at Universal, but they do
(08:28):
have a room there.
SPEAKER_01 (08:29):
Yes.
I've had I've had plenty of umpeople do that.
We call those a ghost room.
It's not a bad thing or it's nota secret or anything.
Universal actually encouragesthis.
Interestingly enough, theyencourage people to do it, but
you can utilize that room to getthe express passes, and a lot of
times it's cheaper to have thatnight stay.
(08:49):
And like Crystal said, you alsohave a place to go during the
day at Universal instead ofhaving to go all the way back to
your Walt Disney World resortroom.
SPEAKER_00 (08:59):
All right, let's chat pros and cons, the good and
the bad.
Starting with the pros.
Variety is definitely a big proin my book.
You get to experience moretheming, different pools,
restaurants, and vibes all inone trip.
SPEAKER_01 (09:12):
I want to definitely hit on the pools and the food.
Generally, it kind of comes withthe pricing.
You get a little bit betterpool, you get a better, uh,
better food options at thedeluxe or the premiere resort.
So it's nice to be able to goand do that and like we talked
about the budget part of it, notspending the full amount.
It also can kind of feel likeyou have two vacations in one
(09:36):
because you get to stay in oneplace and experience everything
at that resort and then go to adifferent one and experience
that.
Also, if you're looking to trysomething new, you're afraid to
like go all in because you'venever stayed there before and
it's just a new experience.
Do this where you can splitstay, you can do a test run at
(09:57):
the second resort that maybeyou've never stayed at, and then
the other half of the time youstay at one that you are very
comfortable with and you alreadyknow it.
SPEAKER_00 (10:04):
I feel like I see that in your future.
Doing a night somewhere else andthen ending at the Riviera just
to make sure everybody is okaywith it.
SPEAKER_01 (10:11):
Yeah, I think that is definitely something I want
to try.
We'll talk about it in the cons,but I have two people that are a
little less flexible in the waythey do things.
So it would be a good test runto try out a different resort.
SPEAKER_00 (10:23):
And if you're traveling for different
purposes, like we do often, likepart work, part leisure or
family time, splitting it canmake it easier to separate those
experiences.
SPEAKER_01 (10:33):
So now to move on to the cons.
There are going to be a few ofthem.
The biggest one is going to bethe hassle of moving, packing
and unpacking, waiting for yournew room to be ready.
It can eat up a chunk of yourday on the day that you're
moving for sure.
SPEAKER_00 (10:49):
So Disney does transfer your luggage.
You just give it to the BellServices and they will get it to
your new location.
But they don't promise anythingbefore like check-in time, which
is like 3 or 4 p.m.
So you could potentially bewithout your bags all day.
So if you really have to plan soyou really have to plan that
transition day carefully.
(11:11):
It it's nice if you're doing iton a park day because if you're
at the park all day, you don'tneed your bag.
But the con to that is you haveto get up even earlier and the
hassle of just making sureyou're packed up and getting it
to Bell Services is that extrash that extra step while you're
trying to get to the park.
Just note that Universal Orlandono longer transfers luggage,
(11:33):
they used to.
So, like my recent trip, I justhad to get my bag to Dell
Services.
And then after I was done, I gotback to the resort, I Ubered
with my luggage to my newresort.
So it is a little bit moredifficult in that situation,
especially if you have like abig family and trying to get six
or eight bags.
SPEAKER_01 (11:54):
Another downside is you do lose that settled in
feeling.
If you or someone in your familyreally likes to get somewhere,
unpack everything, like youknow, actually utilize the
drawers and the storage space,put everything away and that
you're there for the week.
(12:14):
This is not something that wouldbe comfortable for those type of
individuals because it's gonnadisrupt that.
You're gonna have to get packedup again in the middle of your
trip and move again.
SPEAKER_00 (12:25):
So I just kind of mentioned this, but I think it's
probably even harder withfamilies, especially if you have
kids or strollers, because it'sjust an extra layer of chaos.
Depending on how well your kidsdo a transitions, or if this is
your first day, I probablywouldn't recommend it for the
first or second stay, or withlots of little kids.
(12:46):
It's a lot easier to do asadults as we talk through our
experiences.
Like most of these are justwe're doing on our own.
Rarely do we have our familieswith us?
SPEAKER_01 (12:56):
Yeah, that's true.
So moving into you know our ownexperiences, one of mine in
particular was when we stayed atCabana Bay at Universal Orlando
for our agency meeting.
I loved Cabana Bay.
We talked about this, I think,in our post-trip report and when
we've talked about Cabana Bayoverall, it was fantastic.
It was right in the middle ofeverything that we needed,
(13:16):
especially for our agency trip.
But then I had a conference formy day job, but I had a night in
the middle where I didn't haveanywhere to stay.
And so I needed a kind of anight of transition.
And I shared a room with one ofour agents, Danny, at Caribbean
Beach, and we just did that onenight, and it also got me in the
Disney bubble.
We actually walked over to theRiviera and we did some work in
(13:40):
the little library.
It was perfect, and it was veryeasy.
SPEAKER_00 (13:44):
That's a really good point.
Sometimes one night is all youneed to shift gears.
We did something similar for aspring break trip.
We drove and we gave ourselves aday on the front end of our trip
just in case something happened.
We took longer to get downthere, and we really wanted to
experience Stormlong Bay, andthat was our main reason that we
(14:08):
did one night at Beach Club.
We had my father-in-law with us,and Reese was under three.
We were in a room that sleptfive adults, so we put us all in
one room, which was also kind oflike the budget thing.
We didn't need two rooms for onenight.
We made it work.
So then we also had theconvenience of waking up steps
(14:30):
from Ebcot, which honestly, itjust felt like a mini splurge
day built into the trip becauseit was so nice to just hang out
all day at the pool.
And then since we drove, our carwas right there and we just put
all of our luggage in the carinstead of checking it with bell
services.
Right.
SPEAKER_01 (14:47):
Yeah, that it does make it easy for sure when you
are driving to get from oneplace to the other in between
the trips.
It's a little bit morecomplicated when you fly and you
don't have the option, you know,to have your own car and you
need some help getting yourluggage from one from one resort
to the other.
So we also had the the exampleof staying at dockside for the
(15:09):
first two, was it two nights orone night?
Yeah, two nights, and then movedover to Riviera for our agency
trip because it was focused atWalt Disney World.
For that one, Crystal and Iwanted to experience Universal a
little bit, uh, UniversalOrlando.
So we had a couple of days priorto when the agency trip started
(15:31):
when we needed to be there foragency meetings, and we
experienced that.
Dockside is one of the valueoptions at Universal Orlando, so
it was very budget-friendly.
And Riviera is notbudget-friendly, but it is
beautiful.
SPEAKER_00 (15:44):
And so relaxing, just to stay out the balcony on
the balcony, here's the rib.
And then if you've been hererecently, when I was just in
Orlando for the Halloween HornNights RIP tour, I did a night
at Terra Luna and then I splitit with a night at Aventura.
Aventura was just veryconvenient for and where all the
agents were staying.
It was in walking distance, andso I kind of just went from
(16:09):
there picking where I hadn'tbeen so I could check it out.
So that's why I did Terra Luna.
It's newer, but then kind of thebest of both worlds and a great
way to get first-hand experienceat two properties without
needing longer trip.
And I did have to, like I said,I Ubered with my luggage between
resorts.
SPEAKER_01 (16:28):
And that's a that's a good point about it being a
benefit for travel advisors.
I know we joke that we do stufffor research purposes, but we
actually kind of do.
Like we for us to be able togive you an honest opinion of
the resort and the amenities andwhat it has to offer and whether
it's worth the price.
It might be a budget-friendly,but it's, you know, maybe we
(16:49):
just don't prefer that one forsome reason.
It's good for us to be able totruly understand what we're
recommending to our clients.
SPEAKER_00 (16:58):
All right.
Now for some tips for makingyour split stay go a little
smoother.
If you're thinking about doingit, a few tips that may make it
easier is to pack by resort orby section of the trip.
So this could look like packingcubes, one for each day.
When we did our Tabana Bay toCaribbean Beach, I put all of
(17:18):
our stuff for our beach club dayin one of my kids' suitcases.
And then we left like the bigsuitcase in the car because
there's no need to bring it injust for like one or two little
things.
Another thing is to plan yourpark days strategically.
For example, on transfer day,visit a park near your new
resort, maybe do it on a restday, use Bell Services.
(17:41):
Disney will move your luggagebetween all property resorts for
free, which is a huge perk.
And then we always talk aboutthis with cruising, but it's
very helpful for split stay tokeep a day bag, have swimsuits,
snacks, maybe a change ofclothes, meds that you might
need in case your room isn'tready yet.
Like if your bag is at BellServices, you can always go and
(18:02):
ask Bell Services and like go,they'll go get it and dig
through it, talking fromexperience.
Um but if they're in the middleof the move, it might be like a
full two or three hours and theydon't know where it's at.
So I'm pulling up my air tags,like, it isn't made it yet.
I need to go find some diapers.
SPEAKER_01 (18:19):
And just little things like, I don't know, I'm
thinking like earbuds and thingslike that, or even a book, or
you know, something that you maynot, you don't want to pack it
in your suitcase that's whereyou can't get to it.
You also just need to berealistic about how much
downtime you'll have that day.
(18:40):
Probably not a good idea to planan early dining reservation or
an open-to-close park daybecause of just not knowing when
you're gonna be able to get intoyour room.
You could treat it as just achill day or a pool day,
especially like we've talkedabout.
If you have younger kids or alarge group, it's just gonna be
(19:01):
a little bit more of a difficulttransition to get everybody from
one place to the other so thatyou're not coordinating all of
that.
It's different.
I think Crystal just you knowmentioned earlier, if it's just
you or just a couple of adults,it's probably gonna be a lot
easier to coordinate.
So you just kind of have tothink about those things.
SPEAKER_00 (19:20):
I think about it a lot with our busing days.
I will plan around that.
Like if we have Magic Kingdomand Animal Kingdom, and I know
I'm busing regardless, does itmatter if I'm staying at Old Key
West, or does it matter if I'mstaying at Animal Kingdom?
Probably not, because I'm busingregardless.
So I kind of think about itthrough transportation eyes a
(19:42):
lot when I'm planning my parkdays.
But I definitely have to makesure everybody's expectations
are managed.
If you go into it knowing thatmoving day isn't a full park
day, you'll enjoy it a lot more.
You don't have to go hunt downyour luggage from bell services
after the fireworks and try andfind your room after or any of
that kind of stuff, right?
SPEAKER_01 (20:03):
Should at least plan some time where you go back to
wherever that resort is just tolike get everything settled,
even if you you know if you aregoing to do fireworks, go back
and check everything out andthen go back or go back to the
parks.
So, bottom line, split stays candefinitely be amazing if you
have a plan and settingexpectations, like Crystal said,
but they're not necessarily foreverybody.
SPEAKER_00 (20:26):
If you love a variety or want to stretch your
budget or even want toexperience multiple
destinations, then they'retotally worth it.
SPEAKER_01 (20:33):
But if you are the kind of traveler or you have the
personality that likes to trulysettle in and stay put, one
resort might be your best bet.
As an example, part of my familyis much more flexible and go
with the flow than the otherhalf.
I wouldn't think anything abouta split stay.
I think it would be super fun.
(20:54):
As long as, you know, we knowwhere we're going and what we're
doing and we have a plan.
I would be all for it.
For the other two, if I were toconsider doing a split stay,
there would be lots of preppingof expectations and kind of
talking up the split stay totalk the other two into it
because they would be grumpyabout having to change and just
(21:20):
not being as flexible withmoving their things around once
they put them in their spot.
SPEAKER_00 (21:27):
Either way, if you talk to your travel advisor, uh
hi, shameless plug.
We can help you figure out if asplit stay makes sense for your
trip and we can help you handlethe logistics so it's as smooth
as possible.
Like we said, we do it in thename of research for you guys.
Yes.
SPEAKER_01 (21:43):
And we would absolutely love to help you.
Thank you so much for listening,everybody.
We hope that this has been veryhelpful.
We would love to hear about yourexperiences with a split stay if
you have already done this inthe past and you have a
particular maybe two resortsthat you like the best or maybe
two destinations that you liketo mix up.
(22:05):
We'd love to hear about it.
Have a fantastic week and wewill talk to you all next week.
Bye.
Thanks for tuning in to anotherepisode of Wonder Lust and
(22:26):
Wishes.
SPEAKER_00 (22:26):
If you enjoyed today's episode, don't forget to
subscribe and leave us a reviewon your favorite podcast
platform.
SPEAKER_01 (22:32):
And remember, the world is full of wonders waiting
to be explored.
Until next time, happy travels.
Bye for now.
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