Resort Hopping

By: Becky CriswellApril 10, 2018My family and I just returned from another amazing Walt Disney World vacation. We enjoyed 9 wonderful nights and 10 packed days of pool time, charming characters, timeless rides and endless memories. On this particular trip we also did something that we have never done before…RESORT HOPPING! We stayed at not one, not two, but THREE fabulous resorts. I’m here to tell you the pros and cons of this experience and also to tell you that if I could do it with 3 little ones and 10 suitcases, anyone can do it!We started out at the Art of Animation Resort in a Cars family suite, which we absolutely loved. The setup was perfect for our family and the kids went nuts over the décor. One thing we did not anticipate about resort hopping was the disappointment from my four-year old when we told him we were packing up after two nights and moving to a new place. In our minds, it was going to be special to move to Disney’s Beach Club Resort. My son, however, had grown attached to the brightly-colored, wonderfully themed Art of Animation Resort and was quite sad to leave. (Who could blame him!?) It makes perfect sense, but we hadn’t thought of that. Therefore, my advice would be to think about your little ones and how to prepare them in advance if you are going to be hopping to someplace new.After explaining to my son that the Beach Club also had a very fun pool, as well as a short walk to Epcot, he was more accepting of our move and we were on our way! Disney makes this process easy for you because they will collect all of your luggage at the bell desk and transfer it for you to the new resort. We dropped off all of our bags, minus a few essentials and headed to Disney’s Boardwalk for breakfast. While it was extremely convenient for them to transport our luggage while we went about our day, I wish I would have known that the transfer process was going to take most of the day. This would not have been a problem had I known, so this is another point I want to make clear to those of you reading this. Your luggage is not expected to arrive at your new resort until at least 3 or 4pm, and in our case it was later. My advice is to take a bag along with you containing anything that you may need for the rest of the day. We wanted to spend time in the pool but didn’t have our bathing suits, and we were a bit worried because we didn’t have pajamas for our kids. It all worked out for us, but this is definitely a good thing to make note of!After 6 nights at the Beach Club, we hopped over to The Contemporary Resort for our final night. This was an extra special treat for us. We enjoyed a theme-park view room which is something we would not be able to afford for an entire week. We also had extended family with us and we were able to share in the cost of this spectacular room. It was truly amazing!Was it “work” to move my family twice during our stay? Yes, it was. Was it sad to leave Art of Animation and the Beach Club? Yes, it was, as we had made memories at each one that would last a lifetime. Would I do it again? In a heartbeat! It was worth every effort to pack up our things in exchange for experiencing THREE of Disney’s amazing resorts in just one trip. There are so many amazing resorts to experience at Walt Disney World, and I feel completely blessed that I was able to stay at three of them within one week. We had the unique privilege of enjoying a variety of pools, dining locations, rooms, and beautiful views. I highly recommend resort hopping if you have the opportunity, as long as you are prepared and organized. I would advise you to organize your luggage in such a way so there are specific bags for each resort. For instance, we had two bags for our first two nights at Art of Animation and we never had to open the other 8 pieces of luggage during our stay there.If you’d like more information about resort hopping or about any of Disney’s fabulous resorts, please contact me at beckyc@wishesfamilytravel.com!