We’re big followers of cut up stays at Walt Disney World. We’re fairly passionate and advocate often it to trip planners. Break up stays are proper up there with the excellence of the family-style meal at Sebastian’s Bistro, wondrousness of Wilderness Lodge at Christmas, and Dino-Rama’s suckiness when it comes to issues about which we gained’t shut up.
Our cut up stays at Walt Disney World had been borne of necessity. We purchased a small Disney Trip Membership contract on the resale market with the intention of seldom utilizing it at our house resort, Saratoga Springs. As a result of we didn’t have many factors or the 11-month reserving window, we needed to be strategic in our reservations. That was our inadvertent introduction to separate stays.
We liked it. From that, we started increasing our cut up keep eventualities–not utilizing factors in any respect for weekends, doing single-night stays if we might rating an elusive Kilimanjaro Membership factors reservation, reserving an affordable arrival keep and hitting ‘reset’ on day two. And far of this was pre-blog. Our strategy acquired extra elaborate as soon as we began “needing” to check completely different room varieties…and simply eager to expertise extra resorts. We’ve realized what works (and doesn’t) for us within the course of.
Quite a lot of readers have requested us about cut up stays, whether or not they’re definitely worth the effort, and how you can leverage them strategically. We reply all of these questions and share far more than you in all probability need to know in Learn how to Do a Break up Keep at Walt Disney World Resort Resorts. Amongst different issues, that covers what we predict works and doesn’t, a couple of cut up keep eventualities, and extra.
I don’t need to rehash all of that since (hopefully!) you’ve already learn that put up in your planning course of. In case not, I’ll make a condensed model of our “pitch” for cut up stays. First, resorts assist set the tone of the journey and altering motels can thus change the vibe. You may journey to each the tropics and the Pacific Northwest throughout your Walt Disney World trip with stays at Caribbean Seaside or the Poly and Wilderness Lodge.
Second, cut up stays can allow you to stretch your trip funds and splurge on a resort you may not be capable of afford (or justify) for the total journey. You might begin at Pop Century for 4 nights, ending with 2 on the Polynesian–checking it off your bucket checklist within the course of.
Our third and fourth factors are strategic extensions of this–timing that keep proper on the Poly opens the door to Prolonged Night Hours not simply as soon as however probably twice. Likewise, the Poly is handy to Magic Kingdom and Pop Century is right for attending to EPCOT or Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Nice for Early Entry or noon breaks.
Lastly, there are the extra advanced-level cut up keep eventualities. These contain reserving Membership Degree stays, utilizing the Disney Eating Plan, renting Disney Trip Membership factors, and extra. These intersect (to a point) with why it’s best to do a cut up keep throughout your 2025, so we’ll circle again to them.
Let’s begin with the cut up keep situation for 2025 that breaks the Disney bubble–a cut up between Common Orlando and Walt Disney World. With Epic Universe debuting subsequent yr, Common goes to be competing for vacationers’ time–and being the homebase for Central Florida holidays.
For anybody doing multi-day visits to the Common parks, our suggestion is staying on-site there. That is nothing new–it’s what we’ve at all times suggested. Common Orlando and Walt Disney World aren’t as shut as you would possibly suppose, every supply precious perks, and transportation (or strolling!) from Common’s on-site motels to its perks is way simpler than driving and parking. All of that is triply true in 2025 when Epic Universe opens.
Anybody who has complained about digital queues, upcharges, or convoluted entry relating to Walt Disney World may be in for a impolite awakening with Epic Universe. We’ve achieved the 2 current variations of Tremendous Nintendo World (only one land within the new park) in California and Japan. It’s unbelievable. It additionally attracts nightmarish crowds, and it’s essential to do every part in your energy to beat them.
On condition that Epic Universe is a brand-new theme park that may attract free-spending vacationers, my expectation is that Common pushes the upcharges so far as attainable. Paid Early Entry and Categorical Move are apparent candidates, together with who is aware of what else. Each of the at present current variations of Tremendous Nintendo World additionally use digital queues when attendance is excessive simply to enter the land.
A few of you would possibly assume staying in Laborious Rock Resort, Royal Pacific, or Portofino Bay for a couple of hundred bucks per night time is the straightforward answer, as that’ll supply Limitless Categorical Move to Epic Universe, simply because it does with the present gates. That may be wishful pondering. I’d be shocked if the legacy Loews Premier Resorts will get Categorical Move at Epic Universe. Perhaps I’m fallacious; possibly it’s going to.
However in the event you solely have in the future for Epic Universe, I’d in all probability plan on staying at Common Helios Grand Resort, the flagship in-park resort at Epic Universe. No matter the very best entry is for the brand new park and its hottest lands, it’ll in all probability be provided to company of Helios Grand.
These perks–whether or not they be Early Entry or Categorical Move or one thing else–will in all probability be essential to expertise every part at Epic Universe in a single day. In fact, that’s all only a guess, but when I had been planning a 2025 Florida trip now and had the funds for one fancy lodge and one common one, I’d allocate the cash to Common’s Helios Grand Resort over Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort.
Clearly there are nonetheless a whole lot of unknowns with Common on-site perks and Epic Universe, however our preliminary plan is to do Common first. The rationale for it is because it gives flexibility on the checkout day, which might change into one other park day at Epic Universe if essential to knock out every part–or it may very well be the beginning of a go to to Walt Disney World.
This opens the door to utilizing the new-for-2025 on-site perk at Walt Disney World, which is arrival day admission to one of many water parks, Storm Lagoon or Blizzard Seaside. That is included in all room-only reservations, trip packages and Disney Trip Membership stays on factors for check-in day.
The one “little” drawback with this perk is that the water parks usually shut at 5 or 6 p.m. relying upon the season, that means that the typical visitor would have 2-3 hours to take pleasure in them on their precise arrival day. And that’s in all probability the very best case situation assuming you land at MCO round midday, aren’t cursed with the final cease on the Mears route, and many others.
A cut up keep sidesteps all of these considerations. It doesn’t have to be a cut up keep between Common Orlando and Walt Disney World–it may very well be a Disney-only one. We’re simply utilizing the instance right here as a result of it really works out that manner for this versatile situation between the 2.
Even on as a part of a cut up keep, we in all probability would make the most of that free day within the water parks by arriving late. Assuming you’ve a pleasant lodge for the primary half of your journey or have simply had whirlwind days within the parks, you would possibly need to loosen up within the morning. And that’s completely high-quality! The wonderful thing about this water park day being free is that you just shouldn’t really feel the stress to be there from opening till shut (a feat only a few individuals handle, anyway).
As a substitute, intention to reach round 3 hours or so earlier than the water parks shut. That is when the early-arrivers begin getting their fill of enjoyable within the solar and head for the exits. The water parks have a really related dynamic to Animal Kingdom (too unhealthy they’re not providing free arrival day tickets there!), which has a mass exodus in mid-afternoon. That leaves the tip of the day as a good time to go to, as crowds are decrease and solar hopefully isn’t fairly as vivid.
The water parks have altering areas, so you may arrive in avenue garments and alter into swimwear. It’s also possible to change again into regular apparel previous to leaving. From Blizzard Seaside, take into account a go to to close by Animal Kingdom Lodge or Coronado Springs Resort for dinner. Sanaa, Jiko, Boma, Three Bridges, and Toledo are all wonderful eating places which can be continuously neglected. In the event you’re doing Storm Lagoon, head to Disney Springs for dinner and dessert.
This water park day gives a possibility for a brand new riff on one in all our favourite cut up keep choices, which is a Membership Degree keep paired with pool days. That’s nonetheless utterly attainable right here, even when the lodge pool is way extra handy to the lounge than a water park. It really works as a result of you may nonetheless check-in early, do an enormous breakfast on the lounge, head to the water park, after which return and proceed utilizing the lounge.
You’re eligible to make use of the concierge lounge and all the perks that include staying Membership Degree on each your check-in and take a look at days, that means that one night time primarily allows you to entry that lounge over the course of two days. Doing Membership Degree for an evening or two, arriving early and leaving late provides you essentially the most bang to your buck, and is an effective strategy to get a style of the Membership Degree life with out breaking the financial institution.
This would possibly seem to be rather a lot of transfers (and probably is relying upon the way you pack/unpack), however we like placing a Membership Degree ‘break’ for leisure and rejuvenation between parks days. So you would simply begin at Common (park days), transfer to a Membership Degree room at Walt Disney World (no-park days), and switch once more to a daily room at Walt Disney World (park days). For our favourite concierge lounges and proposals, see our Information to Membership Degree at Walt Disney World.
One possibility that we significantly love for that is Chronos Membership at Gran Destino Tower, which gives far and away the very best bang for buck out of all of the Membership Ranges at Walt Disney World. And, in the event you’re actually reticent about one other switch, you would merely go from Gran Destino over to the common rooms at Coronado Springs. As a double bonus, the lodge is a stone’s throw away from Blizzard Seaside!
The one draw back is that transportation from Coronado Springs to all the parks is by bus, which is lower than preferrred from a strategic perspective. So this isn’t the place I’d need to keep for my park days at Walt Disney World (although I do it typically–it’s a kind of ‘do as I say, not as I do’ kinda offers).
(As soon as advance-booking of Lightning Lanes debuts later in 2024, it’s additionally attainable that Membership Degree company can have entry to extra or higher experience reservation choices. See When Will Pre-Arrival Lightning Lane Bookings Begin at Walt Disney World?)
As an various to the Membership Degree keep, another choice is doing the Disney Eating Plan (DDP) for one a part of a cut up keep at Walt Disney World. (Don’t do each Membership Degree and the DDP on the identical time–full overkill and a waste of cash.) As lined in our Information to the Disney Eating Plan, we predict the DDP gives an excessive amount of meals and might take an excessive amount of time.
Solely doing the Disney Eating Plan for one portion of the journey permits us to do an attractions-oriented half of the journey, and a food-oriented half. This works particularly nicely for the laid-back lodge day(s), as you may give attention to good dinners, snack crawls, or no matter. It additionally helps that most of the finest makes use of of DDP credit are resort eating places. So with this feature, you’ve the chance to discover different resorts–one other nice strategy to have enjoyable with out park admission.
Actually, the DDP will not be actually obligatory to do that, and it’s typically not even advantageous. However in the event you’re going throughout Free Eating dates and even when the eating reward card is being provided (two particular gives it’s protected to imagine are returning in 2025), this generally is a higher possibility than reserving Membership Degree. Even when it’s “free,” the Eating Plan remains to be overkill when paired with Membership Degree–so don’t do each concurrently.
Lastly, use cut up stays to assist not bust your funds. In order for you each Membership Degree and Free Eating, for instance, do a cut up keep and take the room-only low cost for the Membership Degree portion of your journey after which Free Eating for the rest. (As famous above, each on the identical time is overkill–but additionally, room-only reductions are nearly at all times higher for Membership Degree.)
A extra widespread instance of utilizing cut up stays to economize is by being aware of resort charges on completely different days of the week. Within the Least expensive Instances to Go to Walt Disney World, we cowl seasons in addition to days of the week. Slicing to the chase, Sunday via Thursday nights which have the decrease costs than Friday and Saturday nights, with Mondays via Wednesdays having absolutely the least expensive charges.
Throughout sure occasions of the yr, the variations are fairly pronounced. For instance, the Polynesian has a typical rack charge of $738 per night time on October 1, 2025 and the weeknights earlier than and after that date. Now, you would possibly suppose that’s insanely costly; no argument from me there. Nevertheless, it’s really the cheaper of the charges on this situation. Weekend costs on the Poly for October 3-5 are $917 per night time.
This isn’t a cherry picked instance to magnify the purpose. Weekends are normally significantly dearer than weeknights, that means it can save you significantly by doing a less expensive resort on the weekends and fancier one on weeknights. This doesn’t keep away from the difficulty solely–the All Stars are additionally dearer on weekends, however the unfold isn’t as giant.
Along with that, there are some dates when reductions are solely provided for Sunday via Thursday nights. Even when that isn’t the case (and it typically will not be), availability below particular gives typically improves in the event you’re keen to do a cut up keep and have flexibility in your resort/room preferences.
I do know this can be a firehorse of knowledge and potentialities, however my mind instantly started gaming out attainable cut up keep eventualities and how you can finest leverage them for 2025 when the brand new water park perk was introduced and room/package deal pricing was launched. I’ll minimize this off right here, as I do know cut up stays are sometimes complicated, and that is already rather a lot.
In the end, I hope that this helps you perceive the strategic facet of cut up stays and how one can leverage them to your benefit when visiting Walt Disney World and/or Common Orlando in 2025. In case you may’t inform, we love cut up stays. There’s one thing really particular about sleeping within the rustic seclusion of Wilderness Lodge for an evening, after which flipping a change to the isles of the Poly the following. Or going easy with All Star Sports activities to save lots of up for a splurge at Coronado Springs’ Chronos Membership.
There are countless permutations for cut up stays, and we’ve achieved a lot of them over our years as Walt Disney World followers and resort fanatics. With Common opening Epic Universe and Helios Grand presumably being fairly expensive (however providing wonderful entry), we assume the door goes to be opened to much more strategic eventualities for cut up stays between Common and Disney.
With that stated, we all know all of this may be complicated and never tailor-made to your celebration’s wants, preferences, and so forth. In order for you extra thorough steering or help navigating the ‘cut up keep’ planning waters, we’d extremely advocate contacting an Approved Disney Trip Planner. These journey brokers are free-to-use as long as they deal with your reserving, and so they can supply personalised planning that takes under consideration your priorities and preferences. No Disney planning recommendation is one-size-fits-all, and that features our methods for cut up stays!
Planning a Walt Disney World journey? Study motels on our Walt Disney World Resorts Critiques web page. For the place to eat, learn our Walt Disney World Restaurant Critiques. To save cash on tickets or decide which kind to purchase, learn our Suggestions for Saving Cash on Walt Disney World Tickets put up. Our What to Pack for Disney Journeys put up takes a singular have a look at intelligent gadgets to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Trip Guides will assist. For complete recommendation, the very best place to start out is our Walt Disney World Journey Planning Information for every part it’s essential to know!
Your Ideas
Have you ever achieved a cut up keep at Walt Disney World? What about one between Common Orlando and Walt Disney World? Planning on doing one (or a number of) in 2025 to benefit from the free water park day at WDW or on-site benefits for Epic Universe? In the event you’ve achieved cut up stays up to now, are there any lodge combos you significantly like? Do you agree or disagree with our recommendation? Any questions we might help you reply? Listening to your suggestions–even while you disagree with us–is each fascinating to us and useful to different readers, so please share your ideas under within the feedback!
