Hi ya Amanda!
Thanks for trusting us with your question here, at the Disney Parks Moms Panel! Traveling to Walt Disney World Resort with family and even extended family is something we commonly do. Most of the time, my sister or sisters, join my husband and our 2 kids each trip. We actually ran into this situation last spring while planning a stay at
Disney’s Art of Animation Resort.
From our experience, if someone in your party is leaving early and another will take their place, you have two options. The first is to make two separate reservations. The first reservation would include the original Guest who is leaving early, and the second would include the new Guest arriving in their place. Typically, the
Disney Resort Hotel will try to keep you in the same room so that you don’t have to move mid-week, but there might be a chance you will have to switch rooms.
The second option is to include each member in your party on the one reservation from the very beginning. This means if you are booking a
vacation package, the cost will include all the
benefits for each Guest on the reservation, even if they will not physically be there for the entire length of the stay. This could also include any
Disney Dining Plans added as well as any
tickets included in your initial reservation.
When we experienced this similar situation, our original vacation package included everything we wanted so we just added both of my sisters to the reservation from the very beginning. It worked out better for us that way and they both ended up just staying the entire time!
If you already have a reservation, be sure to contact
Disney Resort Hotel Reservations so they can modify your existing reservation to one of the two provided options before you arrive. I hope this helps you decide which route you wish to take. I highly recommend taking Route 66 to the incredible
Cars Family Suites!
Thanks for cruising by!
-Shantel