How many splits are too many in a split stay with 3 kids?

I am the same! But we will have more days on property than tickets, so that should help. We are a RD to close family. Although on our last trip, by the 10th day in the parks in a row, the kids were ready for some down time (not me). so this trip we’re going over Thanksgiving, so we can go a little longer. Beach for Thanksgiving and then Disney starting the Sunday after with a couple days built in for moving/ resort time.

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We spent Thanksgiving 2019 at Blizzard Beach. And then Artist Point followed by the HEA Dessert Party.
Perfect holiday! Such a great time to be in the World!

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The trick is to have one bag for everyone’s hygiene stuff and one bag for all electronics. Then after that you can go by hotel.

For us, that made packing and unpacking super easy. We had a car just we just left everything else in the car. But, if you didn’t have a car, you could do the same thing only with bell services. Maybe send the bag for that part of the trip ahead of time.

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I read this thread yesterday and it has stuck with me.

To be clear, I’ve never even stayed on property and I dislike hotels, so I have zero experience with changing hotels mid-trip. We normally stay in houses when we got on weeklong vacations. So my first reaction was like, “this is crazy.” BUT - as I read through the posts, I realized that when we take our family road trips - which I love! - we stay in a different hotel every night. We are fairly good at packing up and moving on. I have six kids and often my mom comes, too, and yet we can unpack and pack well.

I do think the key is not unpacking too much. Now, for me, that would likely contribute to a sense of transience - like I can’t really settle in. You can only assess your response for yourself. I don’t bother with hotel features, normally, and it sounds like you do plan to enjoy them. Figuring out the balance of savoring the resort without settling in is probably the first step.

Report back when you get back!

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I can see both sides. But, if it were me, I think I would do 3, not 4, during the length of time. I would want to be in each location enough to feel at home. Truthfully, I probably would only do 2…but with 14 days, can see the appeal of a third.

But, as @OBNurseNH said, you do you. What each person or family finds appealing, another might find the opposite!

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You sound a lot like us.
We RD to close. Over pack. Drive or have a car.

Are you guys homeschoolers? Two weeks in Nov makes me ask.

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Just be aware that those cabanas are going quickly, especially with the limited capacity at the pools. Most people are unable to get one at their 60-day mark.

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We are not homeschoolers. We have been taking 2 week family trips every other year since 2015. The teachers have been really great about giving most homework in advance and we have the kids do it during the drive or a couple hours here and there on down days. In 2019, we did need a full half day to focus on work before we headed for home. This trip our oldest will be a 9th grader, which worries me a little, but she is a very good student and now with everyone having computers, and teachers used to distance learning, I’m hoping most of her work can be done remotely. We leave after the last day of the tri-mester, so there shouldn’t be any tests or major projects due - as long as they don’t change it on us. :slight_smile:

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That’s fabulous! We often travel in two week bursts (really feels like a vacation to me that way!), but we do homeschool.

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We figure if we are driving 36 hours each way (or paying for 5 plane tix), we have to make it worth the trip! Also, I can’t stand not buying the whole 10 days of tix when it’s only $20/person each day for the last 3 days! And we can’t drive all the way from northern MN without hitting the beach for a couple days too!

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I agree with all of this!!!

We did a split in March 2020, 3 nights at royal pacific followed by 5 at poly. I used packing cubes and had one for each day with every clothing item for each person. So no worrying about matching, stacks of shorts falling over or getting misplaced, etc. I also had a universal bag and a disney bag, and I went to the dollar tree and created duplicate toiletry bags for each suitcase. Stuff like meds got doled out by day and put in the appropriate suitcase.

If you give yourself plenty of time to plan and pack and organize ahead of time, it sounds fun to me!

Also, might I suggest NOT making your resort days your transition day. Be in a park all day and then just bus home to the next resort. You’ll want a room for changing, relaxing, etc on resort days.

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Welp, too late for me on that one! Dying by my existing plans at this point. :grimacing::sweat_smile:

I should add…our first transfer day (from UOR to WDW) we’ll go into HS to explore Batuu with my dad and have an early dinner at R&C so I guess that doesn’t count as a resort day. The other two transfer days are planned as so…Boardwalk Bakery brunch and SAB (first transfer); Topolino’s brunch and DS (second transfer).

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Absolutely agree with this. You don’t want to have a resort day on days you don’t have a resort! :slight_smile:

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I had wondered about that, and now that you say it, it seems to obvious! Thanks!

These organizational tips seem do-able and should make moving easier. I was also thinking I could assign each kid a certain area they are responsible for packing up in addition to their own stuff. I have one who is very into her hair products, so thinking she could be in charge of getting everything out of the tub. The youngest could collect up the pool stuff, and the oldest could help with the snacks and supplies. I think we can do this!

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the packing cubes are a game changer, especially if your kids have stuff they like to wear to certain parks no more “mom, where’s my star wars shirt? i want to save toy story for tomorrow!”… just grab what’s in the saturday bag for everyone, no sorting through piles for the right graphic tee or matching shorts or ankle socks vs. crew, etc. just do all that crap beforehand.

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I’ve always wondered about this. Do most people wear one outfit a day? Don’t you ever need to change clothes midday? Don’t you ever wear the same top, bottom, or sweater 2x? What if the day is unexpectedly cool - do you wear what’s in the packing cube regardless of weather?

We always have 3 areas of clothing. The clean stuff in the drawers, the dirty stuff in a laundry bag, and the worn-but-could-be-worn-again stuff that’s folded in stacks on a dresser / spare chair. There are days that one of us - usually but not always a kid :grinning: - will go through multiple shirts, shorts, etc, because we were so sweaty or spilled something and needed to change. There are other days that clothes are clean enough to wear again, which kind of makes up for the days we use extra clean clothes. We pick outfits based upon what is clean and what the weather is expected to be. I could never predict ahead of time what we’ll be wearing on different days.

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You can always pack an extra outfit or two, and have an all-trip-clothing packing cube for things like sweaters.

That is funny about “Not always a kid.” Just yesterday I bought some Shout wipes for my spills. I also have an amusement park rule. “We leave when someone gets cranky, probably me.” The beauty of that is that I only carry the stuff I want to carry. Carrying stuff/children tires me out, and I get cranky when I get tired.

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When it’s really hot & humid, aka FL, a shower and a change into a sundress for dinner became a norm on our last BIG family trip. Then it became a norm… sundresses are small, light and easy to pack up.

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