Help with split stay questions

I am considering a split stay for next fall b/w Poly and WL (3nights poly, 5 WL). We would be on the DDP and have multi day park tix. How does it work with booking dining? Do I get to book the whole 8 days at 180 or would I be doing the first 3 nights and then have to wait a few nights to book the ADR’s that would be attached to the WL stay? sorry if that’s confusing but I don’t know much about split stays but the idea of it intrigues me for our next trip b/c I am really torn b/w these 2 resorts. any info that anyone has would be appreciated.

This last go-around, we had to wait to book the second half of our trip. Not sure if it was a matter of getting the right CM on the phone or not having access to the system before the second hotel’s start date (think it’s the latter), but we had two 180-day starts for booking ADRs. Luckily, we were able to book BoG for the third night of our trip during the first leg, even though we had a party of 7 that needed to be split.

Even though it’s a pain in the butt, I really do love split stays. Our family likes to split between EP and MK resorts, getting the best of both worlds. Sounds like you have two fantastic hotels picked!

Just a thought, but you won’t be able to have the dining plan throughout the stay. To buy the dining plan (or get it free), you have to have a package of hotel & ticket. Since your ticket will last longer than your first stay, you’d only be able to get the plan for the first part of your stay.

We love the Poly - excellent choice! I can’t say about WL, since we’re going for the first time in March, but we’re pretty excited about trying it.

interesting point at @tobybowen. that may kill the possibility of it then b/c we would be going in late oct or mid nov next year which have typically been FD periods. and it wouldn’t be much of a money saver to only have FD for the first part of the trip. I guess we could try to book under a RO discount for the whole trip and not use the dining plan. decisions decisions!

I have never had any great love for the Poly, and it would interest me even less until all of the construction is done. I have never been in the rooms at WL, but the public spaces are absolutely beautiful. If I was going to stay deluxe, and NOT at AKL, WL would probably be my next choice.

if it doesn’t work out to split, then we will be at WL. we would actually do a 1 BR villa there. the standard rooms (even at 400 sq feet at the poly) would be too tight for the 4 of us for more than a few nights. I thought a split would be the perfect choice but maybe too complicated since we would be hoping to apply some sort of discount, whether it’s FD or RO to the stay.
@bswan26 - I followed your last trip report a bit and appreciated all the info you gave. I read about the mess you had leaving MK on a party night. but other than that, how were crowds in your opinion that week? that’s roughly when we would go next year vs. the last week of October. my kids have had school breaks one of those weeks every year, I am just waiting to get their school calendar for next year though.

The MK seemd to be nasty all day. The “classic wisdom” is that it’s usually less crowsed on a party day - I didn’t find that to be the case. The predicted crowd level was a 2, but the actual turned out to be a 4, and it was the most crowded I’ve ever seen the MK. All of the TP wait times were off, often by a factor of 100%. By 3PM there was not a single FPP left in the entire park. The departure was an experience straight out of Hell. I will NEVER go to the MK on a party day again, unless I plan to leave at lunch time and hop somewhere else for the afternoon/evening.

The other parks all seemed reasonable; not as empty as I’ve seen in Jan (probably my favorite time to go), but very managable. Osborne Lights are kind of a madhouse for the first 45 min they are on, but the crowds thin out as the night progresses.

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what if you don’t use the DDP at all with a split stay, just pay OOP for meals, can you use a RO discount for both the 1st and 2nd parts of the trip?

Yes, I have an AP and for my week-long trips I always do split stays. You do two RO reservations and make ADRs at 180 plus for each stay ( you have to wait for the 2nd part of the split stay). FPs can be made for your whole stay ( both parts of stay) at day 60 if you have tickets linked.

thank you @principaltinker! that’s the exact answer I was looking for,( I mean hoping for!)!