2006 Disney Dining Plan FAQ

[MJB]

It goes by the nights you stay :banana:

[binkyboots]

free dining, sounds too good to be true...

ok, we're booked for january '07, staying at pofq/akl. we booked through virgin, but it's from their disney brochure, we're booking tickets and were given the option to buy the dining plan, do you think we'll be able to book the free dining? it would make a huge difference to our trip

[jjohnson]

free dining, sounds too good to be true...

ok, we're booked for january '07, staying at pofq/akl. we booked through virgin, but it's from their disney brochure, we're booking tickets and were given the option to buy the dining plan, do you think we'll be able to book the free dining? it would make a huge difference to our trip

The current free dining package is for stays from 8/13-9/30/06

[binkyboots]

ah well, I guess I'm back to buying it, definately cant bring our stay forward!

[bicker]

It depends on whether or not that pricing already has some other discount applied to it.

[brober]

I've got the dining plan, I think I understand the concept but I still have a couple unanswered questions. Is priority seating the same as a reservation and how does one go about getting either? Is there a number to call or can I do it on line?

[bicker]

Yes, brober: ADR is the new name for PS. There is no way to make online ADRs.

[DebIreland]

I've got the dining plan, I think I understand the concept but I still have a couple unanswered questions. Is priority seating the same as a reservation and how does one go about getting either? Is there a number to call or can I do it on line?

Call 407 WDW DINE. You can make ADRs (Advanced Dining Reservations) 180 days in advance. If you're staying onsite at a WDW resort you can make up to 10 days worth of ADRs at the 180 mark i.e. 180 plus 10. If offsite, you can make them 180 days exactly from each day you require or, of course, any time up to your trip (depending on availability).

Be sure to have a pen and paper handy or be ready to type as they'll give you a confirmation number for each ADR booked and you'll need to bring this number with you to each meal!

[scottb8888]

I think I basically understand the plan. One question: My brother-in-law is going to join us for a couple nights, staying, maybe, in our 2 bdrm. Do I have to put him on the plan? and for how long? I would just prefer to exclue him.

[bicker]

It depends on whether you want your brother-in-law to have access to any resort benefits, such as use of the resort pool, EMH (Extra Magic Hours at the theme parks), etc. As long as those aren't a concern, you can consider him just an overnight guest.

[vellamint]

but are you allowed only one beverage with the table service meals? I dont mean alcoholic beverage.....soda or milk you know......

Just want to be prepared if it is only one allowed per person as my experience has shown my kids can drink a lot too!!

Thanks!

[daisyduck123]

but are you allowed only one beverage with the table service meals? I dont mean alcoholic beverage.....soda or milk you know......

Just want to be prepared if it is only one allowed per person as my experience has shown my kids can drink a lot too!!

Thanks!

We did the Dining Plan in January...as I recall, at the TS restaurants, we got free refills on sodas. I don't think we ever tried to get refills at CS places.

[Dizzy for Dsny]

If my husband and I share a meal, do they deduct 1 or 2 TS credits?

[angel's momma]

If my husband and I share a meal, do they deduct 1 or 2 TS credits?

One, unless it's a Signature Restaurant.

[vald1977]

Firstly, thanks to all of you for providing information on the DDP :thumbsup2 !

We are traveling with my MIL and FIL (they have their own reservation, room, etc.). We will be having meals with them for the most part. How does it work for their ts credits to be deducted off their room key and our families off of ours? I just want to make sure they have theirs on their room we have ours to keep track of them, kwim?

[angel's momma]

Firstly, thanks to all of you for providing information on the DDP :thumbsup2 !

We are traveling with my MIL and FIL (they have their own reservation, room, etc.). We will be having meals with them for the most part. How does it work for their ts credits to be deducted off their room key and our families off of ours? I just want to make sure they have theirs on their room we have ours to keep track of them, kwim?

You just tell the CM that you need seperate bills.

My parents were with us for part of the trip & we never had any problems.

[vald1977]

:) Thanks. That's what I figured.

[SMP]

We are purchasing the dining plan at DVC members. There will be three adults and two children. We are bringing a sitter with us to help out. A couple of nights we plan to go to dinner by ourselves while the sitter is with the kids. Can we use more of the credits on ourselves for table service or are the credits assigned to a specific person? Thanks.

[bicker]

The credits are not assigned to specific people.

[pixleyyy]

What wonderful information! Thank you.

I do have one clarification questions.

We are arriving on a Tuesday and staying Tuesday night through the following Tuesday. Do we get/pay for dining for all 8 days even though we are only there 7 nights? I ask only because we are arriving very late on Tuesday evening and wouldn't be able to take advantage of any dining that day.

[jjohnson]

The dining plan is based on the number of nights of your stay so each member of your party would have 7 credits each.

[pixleyyy]

The dining plan is based on the number of nights of your stay so each member of your party would have 7 credits each.
Thank you!!!

[stschaefer]

I just made my ADR's for September with dining package. I had the dining plan last year and DW, DD(4), and myself went to Mama Melrose. DD didn't like any of the choices and we ended up not using a credit for her and saved for another character meal for her - got her PB&J meal after the meal. We were offered the opportunity to sign up for Fantasmic package with our ADR this year. Question would be will we have to use a credit for DD - or are we obligated to use a credit for Fantasmic? She is content sharing a plate there with the appetizers, salad, pasta, and desert and getting a PB&J later. Would like to save her credit for Character meal later. Any plate sharing allowed for Fantasmic Mama Melrose?

[MJB]

You only get as many nights as you stay :banana:

[jjohnson]

I just made my ADR's for September with dining package. I had the dining plan last year and DW, DD(4), and myself went to Mama Melrose. DD didn't like any of the choices and we ended up not using a credit for her and saved for another character meal for her - got her PB&J meal after the meal. We were offered the opportunity to sign up for Fantasmic package with our ADR this year. Question would be will we have to use a credit for DD - or are we obligated to use a credit for Fantasmic? She is content sharing a plate there with the appetizers, salad, pasta, and desert and getting a PB&J later. Would like to save her credit for Character meal later. Any plate sharing allowed for Fantasmic Mama Melrose?

You could always ask but I think the answer will be no. Also, they probably won't give you her voucher to get into the reserved seating if you didn't pay for her meal.

[psimon]

I sadly think I know the answer to this.... are Turkey Legs part of the dining plan? If so, hopefully, woul dit be Quick Service or Snacks?

Thanks....

---Paul in Southern NJ

[jjohnson]

I sadly think I know the answer to this.... are Turkey Legs part of the dining plan? If so, hopefully, woul dit be Quick Service or Snacks?

Thanks....

---Paul in Southern NJ

It definitely would not count as a snack. The Lunching Pad at MK is a participating CS that serves the turkey legs. It would probably count as an entree there. Oh..Toluca in MGM too. I can't remember where else that they serve turkey legs but both of the above do & participate in the DP.

[angel's momma]

I sadly think I know the answer to this.... are Turkey Legs part of the dining plan? If so, hopefully, woul dit be Quick Service or Snacks?

Thanks....

---Paul in Southern NJ

Like jjohnson said, you can use a CS at Lunchingpad.

You are only allowed the turkey leg, bag of chips, and a fountain drink or bottled water - no dessert.

[cinbis]

I have a very basic question. We already have our park tickets. Can we purchase the DDP seperately? When I called Disney, they told me no...that it has to be part of a package. I wanted to check on this forum to see if there was a way around that.

[angel's momma]

I have a very basic question. We already have our park tickets. Can we purchase the DDP seperately? When I called Disney, they told me no...that it has to be part of a package. I wanted to check on this forum to see if there was a way around that.

Sorry - You have to purchase at least a one day ticket for every person (3 & older) in the room.

[cinbis]

Sorry - You have to purchase at least a one day ticket for every person (3 & older) in the room.

Thanks for the info. We got a good deal on the park tickets (through our h.s. band) so I won't complain that we can't do the DDP!

[DJNOWICK]

I just made my ADR's for September with dining package. I had the dining plan last year and DW, DD(4), and myself went to Mama Melrose. DD didn't like any of the choices and we ended up not using a credit for her and saved for another character meal for her - got her PB&J meal after the meal. We were offered the opportunity to sign up for Fantasmic package with our ADR this year. Question would be will we have to use a credit for DD - or are we obligated to use a credit for Fantasmic? She is content sharing a plate there with the appetizers, salad, pasta, and desert and getting a PB&J later. Would like to save her credit for Character meal later. Any plate sharing allowed for Fantasmic Mama Melrose?

I am pretty sure that I read (either in my Passporter or on allearsnet.com) that you All have to either pay OOP or ALL have to use DDP credits for Fantasmic! dinner packages.

Jackie

[Pooh Fan]

Has anyone gone recently with the DP and used the child TS for an adult meal. The situation is: we are doing the DP over Easter (6 nights) with 3 boys - 3, 5 and 7. We had to purchase for our 3 year old who doesn't eat too much. Question is: If we don't use his TS and he shares with the other boys, could we book another meal with his 3 extra TS meals that we saved. We'd like to book another character meal. We would need 5 TS for all of us, because I'm assuming for buffets we would have to use the TS for all of us as long as everyone is 3 and over. This would mean then we would also have to POO for 2 kids meals with the ones we have already booked. We have reserved Hoop Dee Do and one other buffet, so we are already locked in with 3 TS for the 3 year old. I hope this makes sense. I just hate to book another TS and then run out. Also, is there a way to know what we would have left on the card? Thanks so much for any help!! :sunny:
I have been trying to figure out the same thing. Anyone have an answer to this question??

[jjohnson]

I have been trying to figure out the same thing. Anyone have an answer to this question??
This question is answered on the first page.

[HaleyB]

Originally Posted by FogliaFamily
Has anyone gone recently with the DP and used the child TS for an adult meal. The situation is: we are doing the DP over Easter (6 nights) with 3 boys - 3, 5 and 7. We had to purchase for our 3 year old who doesn't eat too much. Question is: If we don't use his TS and he shares with the other boys, could we book another meal with his 3 extra TS meals that we saved. We'd like to book another character meal. We would need 5 TS for all of us, because I'm assuming for buffets we would have to use the TS for all of us as long as everyone is 3 and over. This would mean then we would also have to POO for 2 kids meals with the ones we have already booked. We have reserved Hoop Dee Do and one other buffet, so we are already locked in with 3 TS for the 3 year old. I hope this makes sense. I just hate to book another TS and then run out. Also, is there a way to know what we would have left on the card? Thanks so much for any help!!

I have been trying to figure out the same thing. Anyone have an answer to this question??

The short answer is yes, you can do this. Every time you use the plan you get a receipt. At the bottom it tells you how many credits you have left. It reads:

T.S.= # C.S.=# Snack=#

There is no such thing as a "child credit" all credits are just credits. A family of 5 will have 5 times the number of nights they are there. You can do any combo of OOP and credits you want. IF you use a credit for a child they MUST order off the child menu. This is the only rule about how you can use credits that involves children. We paid OOP for kids meals a number of times. We did not really keep track of how many credits went towards adult meals and how many towards children's meals. There is no need to. We just used a credit if we wanted a full meal and if someone only wanted soup or salad then we paid OOP.

[HaleyB]

We are purchasing the dining plan at DVC members. There will be three adults and two children. We are bringing a sitter with us to help out. A couple of nights we plan to go to dinner by ourselves while the sitter is with the kids. Can we use more of the credits on ourselves for table service or are the credits assigned to a specific person? Thanks.

Same question really as the one I just responded to but I wanted to add one thing.

First off, short answer is yes you can use more credits on yourself. Long answer is above :)

I wanted to add that you could be eating at one place and at the same time the sitter and kids could eat somewhere else and both couuld use the DP credits. So you could eat at the Flying Fish and send the kids to Spoodles :thumbsup2 Just like with room charge, you can pick which keys have DP charge.

[DisneyMommyMichelle]

my DC will be joining us halfway through our trip maybe she is 9. is this adult or child? and do i have to get her the same day tix that we have and just buy her no-expiry? or can she get a lower number of ticket days since we are all on the DP? TIA

[robinb]

I just wanted to add a couple of links to this thread. I did a couple of spreadsheets that I converted to HTML. OP (jjohnson) Please feel free to add them to the first post on this thread if you find them useful.

All Disney Restaurants By Credit Type:
http://personalpages.tds.net/~rb/DIS/MYW%20Dining/MYWDiningRestaurants.htm (http://personalpages.tds.net/%7Erb/DIS/MYW%20Dining/MYWDiningRestaurants.htm)

The second spreadsheet was originally created by Mouse Eared Kiwi. She did 95% of all the leg work looking up the prices, etc. I did a little more research and massaged the data and put it in a different format.

Restaurants Ranked By Value Per Credit
http://personalpages.tds.net/~rb/DIS/MYW%20Dining/DisneyDiningRanking.htm (http://personalpages.tds.net/%7Erb/DIS/MYW%20Dining/DisneyDiningRanking.htm)
Note: click on "Ranking" tab to see analysis.

[jjohnson]

I just wanted to add a couple of links to this thread. I did a couple of spreadsheets that I converted to HTML. OP (jjohnson) Please feel free to add them to the first post on this thread if you find them useful.

All Disney Restaurants By Credit Type:
http://personalpages.tds.net/~rb/DIS/MYW%20Dining/MYWDiningRestaurants.htm (http://personalpages.tds.net/%7Erb/DIS/MYW%20Dining/MYWDiningRestaurants.htm)

The second spreadsheet was originally created by Mouse Eared Kiwi. She did 95% of all the leg work looking up the prices, etc. I did a little more research and massaged the data and put it in a different format.

Restaurants Ranked By Value Per Credit
http://personalpages.tds.net/~rb/DIS/MYW%20Dining/DisneyDiningRanking.htm (http://personalpages.tds.net/%7Erb/DIS/MYW%20Dining/DisneyDiningRanking.htm)
Note: click on "Ranking" tab to see analysis.

This is great. Thank you. :)

[bicker]

The second spreadsheet is very interesting. Any idea how she came up with the choices she based the prices on? I did something similar for myself, twice, once picking actual meals that I thought the specific people we were visiting with would choose, and once picking the second most expensive choice available in each category (appetizer, entree, dessert). It seems like she choose the most expensive choice, which I felt wouldn't give a realistic result.

[robinb]

The second spreadsheet is very interesting. Any idea how she came up with the choices she based the prices on? I did something similar for myself, twice, once picking actual meals that I thought the specific people we were visiting with would choose, and once picking the second most expensive choice available in each category (appetizer, entree, dessert). It seems like she choose the most expensive choice, which I felt wouldn't give a realistic result.

She picked the most expensive item in each category. Since she did that for every restaurant I think it works OK using it as a comparison between restaurants. Of course, if you're a vegetarian or only eat chicken the most expensive meals (steak and sea food) won't mean a darn thing to you. If you click on the tabs at the bottom of the page you can see exactly which items she chose from each restaurant.

[bicker]

Since she did that for every restaurant I think it works OK using it as a comparison between restaurants.Yeah, one reason why I selected the second-most expensive item in each category is that some restaurants have one outrageously expensive item that utterly distorts the numbers for that restaurant. For example, Alfredo's contribution to the chart is $5 more than anything else on the menu, for Coral Reef that's $3, and for Chefs de France that just $2.

Don't get me wrong... the work in that spreadsheet is incredible, and greatly appreciated, but it does make me wonder if it wouldn't be fun (for me) to re-do the analysis with more data... maybe average the #2, #3 and #4 selections in each category. ;)

[robinb]

Don't get me wrong... the work in that spreadsheet is incredible, and greatly appreciated, but it does make me wonder if it wouldn't be fun (for me) to re-do the analysis with more data... maybe average the #2, #3 and #4 selections in each category. ;)

Hee Hee Hee. You're a man after my own heart. Too bad we're married to other people. JUST KIDDING!!!

If you want the real Excel spreadsheet I would be happy to send it to you.

[bicker]

It's downloadable directly into Excel, off the website. ;)

And I have the afternoon off. :rotfl:

[robinb]

It's downloadable directly into Excel, off the website. ;)

And I have the afternoon off. :rotfl:

Yeah, put you lose the pivot tables. I stuck the real spreadsheet in the same directory. You (or anyone else who wants it) can download it from here:
http://personalpages.tds.net/~rb/DIS/MYW%20Dining/DisneyDiningRanking.xls

Enjoy :).

[bicker]

Hmmm.. they came down to me with the pivot tables... Regardless, I don't know how to use Pivot Tables. :rotfl:

[jjohnson]

Does the spreadsheet include the DTD restaurants?

[robinb]

Does the spreadsheet include the DTD restaurants?

It only has some DTD Counter Service restaurants. Mouse Eared Kiwi didn't do any of them and I added a couple of the Counter Service ones that I was interested in.

[ReneeQ]

We are going back to Disney in Feb '07, 3 adults (myself, brother and sister) and 1 child (nephew, age 8, my sister's child). We're DVC members and staying at BWVs for 7 nights. I am a diabetic, as is my brother. We are currently questioning whether my nephew is diabetic (he's showing some signs) and will soon be going for testing.

I'm considering the dining plan, but we CERTAINLY can't eat all those desserts. Can you get an additional side, or appetizer, instead of a dessert? This would let us share more, and save some of the TS credits for Hoop Dee Do.

Having recently been on the Disney Cruise, I LOVED the sugar free or fruit choices they offered along with the typical desserts. Do any of the Disney World restaurants offer sugar free desserts?

Thanks!

[tkd lisa]

I recently read a trip report from a diabetic on the plan. She was able to subsitute fruit for dessert most of the time, and several restaurants have sugar free desserts.

Good luck!

[robinb]

I made a couple interesting changes to my Restaurant Ranking spreadsheet. First of all, I added the DTD restaurants (subject to the restricttions that I knew of) and they took over the top ten!

Secondly, I took the top 25 table restaurants and top 10 couter service restaurants by maximum price and calculated the average prices for those places. I had a spreadsheet to help me, but there was still a lot of cutting and pasteing!

Take another look ... there was some interesting movement (up and down) on some restaurants.

It can still be found at:
http://personalpages.tds.net/~rb/DIS/MYW%20Dining/DisneyDiningRanking.htm

[DCDisney]

but are you allowed only one beverage with the table service meals? I dont mean alcoholic beverage.....soda or milk you know......



Thanks!

It's much the same as any restauant. Free refills on tea, coffee, soda, lemonade but not for milk, special drinks. On occasion we were allowed a soda and coffee with dessert on the plan as well.

Yvonne

[jjohnson]

I made a couple interesting changes to my Restaurant Ranking spreadsheet. First of all, I added the DTD restaurants (subject to the restricttions that I knew of) and they took over the top ten!

Secondly, I took the top 25 table restaurants and top 10 couter service restaurants by maximum price and calculated the average prices for those places. I had a spreadsheet to help me, but there was still a lot of cutting and pasteing!

Take another look ... there was some interesting movement (up and down) on some restaurants.

It can still be found at:
http://personalpages.tds.net/~rb/DIS/MYW%20Dining/DisneyDiningRanking.htm

This is fantastic RobinB. I edited my OP. Thank you!

[sameyeyam]

I am wondering about the child's appetizer. Is this on the Disney website or literature somwhere?

Also - I am disappointed, though not surprised about the shakes. Where did this info come from, and could a milkshake be used in place of dessert, if not a drink? What about other non-alcoholic specialty drinks (smoothees, etc.) - would they be allowed?

Thanks.

April 2006 - our child was usually allowed to pick an adult appetizer if child one's were not available. We always told our server we were on the DDP and did that restaurant have any restrictions. The CM's were always helpful. Every restaurant was different. Found very few restrictions. Counter & table service meals were no problem. Snacks were more confusing, but just ask first. Don't worry about child having appetizers - on this plan you will eat like a pig and there will be plenty to go around!!

[sameyeyam]

the plan says a snack choice could be a "Frozen ice cream novelty". Does this seem to be limited to the Mickey Bars and related items at the little carts, or has anyone had any success using snack credits for such ice cream as an ice cream cone at Mrs. Potts Cupboard, Main Street Ice Cream Parlor, Enchanted Grove, Italy's Gelato Stand, anyplace else with ice cream?

April 2006 Disney Trip w/Dining Plan. Snacks are the only confusing part. Be sure & ask at each place, that is the only way to know for sure. You will find lots of snacks not listed on the Disney literature. For instance Frozen Lemonade from stands at Epcot was on the DDP, but same Frozen Lemonade at Typhoon Lagoon was not. You will have more food than you can possibly eat on this plan. I took 2 teenage girls and 7 year old son. Don't regret getting the plan at all. Will get it again next year if offered.

[Bmwdsny]

We did encounter some TS places that didn't have kids appetizers and didn't allow kids to order adult appetizers among those was Whispering Canyon, Mama Melrose, and Le Cellier. The policy we were told was that they could only order from the children's menu period. So in terms of desserts they were limited to the children's menu desserts or a plain scoop of ice cream at MM. At WC both desserts were chocolate and my son doesn't eat chocolate so they allowed him to have a shake instead but that may have actually counted as a drink rather than dessert. At CS the kids could haev any dessert. This was the last week of January.

Yvonne

NOw my question is this...How does the servers know if my kids are consider a child or an adult?? I have a 11 year old but looks much younger than her age and of course, she would get a adult credit. Would the servers assume she is younger than 9 and said she would have to order a child meal?? Is there a breakdown of child and adult credits?? I am confused with this with children and adult menus with regards to dining plan.

Also, anyone ate in Japan using the dining plan?? Was there any restrictions on ordering the food??

[pedro2112]

NOw my question is this...How does the servers know if my kids are consider a child or an adult?? I have a 11 year old but looks much younger than her age and of course, she would get a adult credit. Would the servers assume she is younger than 9 and said she would have to order a child meal?? Is there a breakdown of child and adult credits?? I am confused with this with children and adult menus with regards to dining plan.

Also, anyone ate in Japan using the dining plan?? Was there any restrictions on ordering the food??


There is no such thing as a child or adult credit, just credits. However, On the front of your KTTW card, it will state how many adults and children in your room (i.e. 3A 2C), so there shouldn't be any questions regarding your 11 year old.

[sameyeyam]

There is no such thing as a child or adult credit, just credits. However, On the front of your KTTW card, it will state how many adults and children in your room (i.e. 3A 2C), so there shouldn't be any questions regarding your 11 year old.

Your child's card will say "Child" on the front, adult cards say "Adult". However, you need only use 1 person's card to pay for the meal. The dining credits are all "linked together" to one room. My 7 year old DS looks like a child, so he obviously had table service kid's meals. We went to Raglan Road, Crystal Palace, Hollywood & Vine, Ohana, Donald's Breakfastsaurus, Wolfgang Puck Cafe, & Coral Reef for sitdown meals. Wolfgang was the only one that said no appetizer for child and made him have a child's dessert menu (but it was a great build your own sundae!).

If my child wanted something from the adult menu, we just asked the server and most all were pleased to accomodate us. Trust me, you will have plenty of food to go around!

[pedro2112]

Your child's card will say "Child" on the front, adult cards say "Adult". However, you need only use 1 person's card to pay for the meal.

All KTTW cards will indicate the entire dining plan party on the front as follows... if you have 3 adults and two children it will state "3A 2C". So no matter who uses the card, the CM will know how many adults and children are on your dining plan. Having said that, the fact of the matter is that most CMs aren't enforcing that rule according to the reports of board members who have recently been to WDW.

[MinnieM3]

We are staying for 8 nights at the Poly and have 7 days parkhoppers. Do we get 8 dining credits and 8 cs and 8 snacks on the dining plan? :confused3

I still feel incredibly stupid! I hvae read some but not all of the 20 pages here. We are staying for 7 nights at POP and have not gotten our tickets yet, but will probably get 7 or 8 day parkhoppers. (similar to the person who posted above)

Can we even GET the Dining Plan? The answer to the quoted poster was yes, it went by the # of nights.

But, I think I see other posts that says you have to have some kind of a package. We've never had a "package" that I know of. We book through Disney, 1-407-W-DISNEY. We don't have a special room rate or anything like that (ie, AP, codes, etc.).

I'd really like to try this Dining Plan this trip, but still can't figure out if I can. :confused3 Sorry to sound so stupid! And Thanks for any info.!

Beth

[digskat]

I still feel incredibly stupid! I hvae read some but not all of the 20 pages here. We are staying for 7 nights at POP and have not gotten our tickets yet, but will probably get 7 or 8 day parkhoppers. (similar to the person who posted above)

Can we even GET the Dining Plan? The answer to the quoted poster was yes, it went by the # of nights.

But, I think I see other posts that says you have to have some kind of a package. We've never had a "package" that I know of. We book through Disney, 1-407-W-DISNEY. We don't have a special room rate or anything like that (ie, AP, codes, etc.).

I'd really like to try this Dining Plan this trip, but still can't figure out if I can. :confused3 Sorry to sound so stupid! And Thanks for any info.!

Beth
Hi Beth,
You absolutly can get the dining plan. You have to buy at least one base ticket for the parks. We had tickets left over from a previous trip 'cause I buy the non expiry, so I just bought one day base ticket for this trip, and got the dining plan. All you need to do is figure out the number of days for tickets you need and then call Disney and add the tickets and the dining plan. Hope this helps Cheers Kathy

[Princess Amy]

As long as you have a Magic Your Way Package - which is resort room and park tickets - you can get the dining package. You can add it to your reservation up to 5 days prior to your trip. :thumbsup2

[anita22]

Just wondering, From what I read here I cannot stay at say pop my first night (just one night) but have a purchase tickets & dinning for 5 days included. then later on move to another resort or outside possibly??? :confused3

[bicker]

Correct... the dining plan is tied to your room stay.

[MinnieM3]

Hi Beth,
You absolutly can get the dining plan. You have to buy at least one base ticket for the parks. We had tickets left over from a previous trip 'cause I buy the non expiry, so I just bought one day base ticket for this trip, and got the dining plan. All you need to do is figure out the number of days for tickets you need and then call Disney and add the tickets and the dining plan. Hope this helps Cheers Kathy

I think I"m getting it....not sure still.....

So I can get my room at POP for 7 nights, but any amount of days of tickets (1 day, 4 days, 7 days, whatever) and then add DDP for the 7 days that = the number of nights we're at POP. I'm glad you can add this at the last minute so to speak (up to 5 days prior?). When you do add it, is it charged in its entirity to your credit card?

thanks again,
Beth

[digskat]

I think I"m getting it....not sure still.....

So I can get my room at POP for 7 nights, but any amount of days of tickets (1 day, 4 days, 7 days, whatever) and then add DDP for the 7 days that = the number of nights we're at POP. I'm glad you can add this at the last minute so to speak (up to 5 days prior?). When you do add it, is it charged in its entirity to your credit card?

thanks again,
Beth
I would imagine that it would be charged to your credit card at that time. We booked thru CAA which is Canada's answer to AAA, so we were charged for the entire package at that time, which we will pay for in cash. And as for the tickets you can get any # of days base, plus or non expiry and get the dining plan you just have to have a least one day base to get it. Hope this helps Kathy

[tiffick]

How big are the portions? Do they size them down when they find out you are using the dining plan?

[bicker]

No, the portions for Dining Plan patrons aren't any different than for regular patrons, nor is the service any different whatsoever.

Portions vary from restaurant to restaurant though, and generally folks have noted that the finer restaraurants tend to have more reasonable (smaller) portions.

[QJ411]

This DDP is only good for people who purchase Disney's package? We booked our room already and have APs, does this mean we can participate in the DDP? Is there an alternative? :confused3


THANKS!!!! :yay:

[vellamint]

This DDP is only good for people who purchase Disney's package? We booked our room already and have APs, does this mean we can participate in the DDP? Is there an alternative? :confused3


THANKS!!!! :yay:

I believe you would need to rebook your trip as a package adding a one day pass for each person in your group in order to qualify. From what I have read you can save those one day passes (ONLY the one day passes) for another trip as they will not "expire". Someone else please jump in if I am incorrect here....good luck....it may be worth it to your group to buy the one day pass and eat the whole time you are there for free.....

[angel's momma]

From what I have read you can save those one day passes (ONLY the one day passes) for another trip as they will not "expire". Someone else please jump in if I am incorrect here.....

As long as you don't use any days on the ticket, you could buy any length of ticket to save without buying the no expiration option. The ticket expires 14 days after first use.

[bicker]

As long as you don't use any days on the ticket...They're one day passes... :wink:

[QJ411]

Thanks for the info, but we booked our room using an AP rate...can I still call to rebook w/ that rate and add a one day pass to it? It's just DH and I with our 6 month old, but I was checking out some of the threads on it and it seems like a good deal...but I don't want to lose my AP rate on the room also. :confused3

Are there any other dinning options like this?

Diskat:: is that your bullie on your avatar? I have an all white bullie (w/ brown spotted ears) and I love him to pieces! :love: :love:

[angel's momma]

They're one day passes... :wink:

Maybe I worded my response wrong.

The person I quoted said that ONLY the one day passes could be saved.

I was trying to say that a ticked with any number of days could be saved.

[angel's momma]

Thanks for the info, but we booked our room using an AP rate...can I still call to rebook w/ that rate and add a one day pass to it? It's just DH and I with our 6 month old, but I was checking out some of the threads on it and it seems like a good deal...but I don't want to lose my AP rate on the room also. :confused3


Sorry, but you would have to give up the AP rate.

[bellenbuzz]

Just decided to browse around this thread, and your information in alot of work. Thanks, I appreciate it!
We are going in November and have the Dining Plan, so many choices & decisions, its so hard to narrow it down. :tink: :daisy:

[bellenbuzz]

I wish I was there now !!!! AAhhhhhh
I love looking at people's WDW trip pix, it gets me more thrilled about our upcoming trip!
Thanks for Sharing !! :hippie: :thumbsup2

[robinb]

Just decided to browse around this thread, and your information in alot of work. Thanks, I appreciate it!
We are going in November and have the Dining Plan, so many choices & decisions, its so hard to narrow it down. :tink: :daisy:
Thanks! Enjoy the spreadsheet and the planning :).

[Koda]

My twin DDs will be 10 for our upcoming trip in July. Do I need to get them the adult DDP for 37.99 a day, even though I know they will always want to order off the children's menu? Can I just get them the child's DDP, since these are the meals they will be ordering? Thanks for the help.

[bicker]

Unfortunately, no: If they're 9 years old, you do need to pay the regular price for the Dining Plan for them, not the discounted price which is for younger children. You may find that, given your family's specific preferences, the Dining Plan isn't that great of a deal for you.

[sameyeyam]

My twin DDs will be 10 for our upcoming trip in July. Do I need to get them the adult DDP for 37.99 a day, even though I know they will always want to order off the children's menu? Can I just get them the child's DDP, since these are the meals they will be ordering? Thanks for the help.

I will probably get all sorts of ugly posts for saying this. But I will anyway. If your DD's are not real big for their age, I doubt if you would even be questioned for booking the trip with an age of 9. You would also have to order the child's park tickets, since DDP is part of package. If you booked through Disney before, they might have your DD's ages in their computer already, so it might not be possible. It's kind of one of those things that depends on how you feel about fibbing. Some people have no problem, other's think it's a sin.

If you don't have a problem with with lieing about their age, then just think about the worst possible scenario. If you get caught, I doubt if they are going to kick you out of Disney World forever! They would probably just make you upgrade and pay the price difference.

That being said, everyone please don't give me a lecture on cheating Disney! I personally have never lied about my kids ages to get a discount. I find honesty is usually the best policy. My DD (14) still likes kids menus at some restaurants, so I usually tell our server, "she's over the kids age, but still would like to order from that menu, is that ok?". I have never once been told no.

[bicker]

I will probably get all sorts of ugly posts for saying this.If you need to say that, then you know it is wrong. Consider yourself flamed.

Honesty is the best policy. :teacher:

[Lewisc]

My twin DDs will be 10 for our upcoming trip in July. Do I need to get them the adult DDP for 37.99 a day, even though I know they will always want to order off the children's menu? Can I just get them the child's DDP, since these are the meals they will be ordering? Thanks for the help.

Are you planning on dining in any buffets, character meals, dinner shows or packages like the FDP? You'll have to pay adult prices for your twins.

What was the purpose of your post. :confused3
Pricing is based on the age of your child as of the date you check in IT IS NOT BASED ON WHAT THEY EAT. That answers your direct question.

Disney hasn't authorized any of us to give you permission to break the rules. Some people will tell you to lie and cheat and others will tell you to be honest but none of us can change the rules. I guess you could start a poll but a vote from an internet poll really won't change anything. You have to do what you're comfortable doing, honesty (or lack of) isn't subject to a vote. My suggestion is to skip the dining plan.

I wouldn't do it unless you're comfortable teaching your kids to lie about their age if anyone asks.

[sameyeyam]

If honesty were always the best policy then WDW probably wouldn't be charging adult prices for kids age 10-12 that couldn't possibly eat an adult size portion. I know a line has to be drawn somewhere, but isn't charging for something that you know you will never have to deliver also being a little dishonest? Trust me the corporate executives at Disney know that the average 10-12 year olds will never eat adult size portions of food, yet they have no problem charging them for it! I guess in that case, honesty is the best policy, unless it affects the bottom line or corporate profits!

I guess there are always numerous ways of looking at the situation. But I really didn't feel that it would be that horrible, since her children wanted to eat the kids meals anyways. They wouldn't be getting any extra food above and beyond those eaten by a 7 year old. Is it really any better that she pays the adult prices, her children order from the adult menu and leave most of the food on their plates, and it gets thrown away? Who am I to judge if being wasteful is better than being dishonest?

It would be wonderful if Disney would let anyone that wanted to eat from the child's menu pay a reduced price. I was at WDW in April and on the DDP. The tremendous amount of food that was wasted by the two 14YO's I took along was saddening. Unfortunately we were at PC and had no refrigerator in the room, otherwise we would have been eating leftovers for breakfast every morning.

I don't really want to argue with everyone here on the honesty. But judging from the many comments I have read about the DDP, it is very obvious that a lot of others have the same problem, paying for adult meal prices when their children will never eat them.

[bicker]

Pricing is based on the age of your child as of the date you check in IT IS NOT BASED ON WHAT THEY EAT.I know a line has to be drawn somewhere, but isn't charging for something that you know you will never have to deliver also being a little dishonest?No. As Lewis pointed out, it's not based on how much they eat, but based on their age.

I guess in that case, honesty is the best policy, unless it affects the bottom line or corporate profits!That is an inappropriate and baseless accusation in abstensia. Disney is completely honest and above-board in its pricing and administration of the Dining Plan. It may not always be structured to every individual customer's benefit, but the vast majority of guests who patronize the plan get a very substantial benefit from it, and using the plan are treated with great respect and honor.

[Lewisc]

Disney, and restaurants in general, offer discounted prices for children as an accommodation to families. It doesn't have much do with the reduced cost of the food the kids consume. Let's go to the extreme, some restaurants have a kids eat free policy. Should those restaurants extend that policy to older kids that don't eat much? Some of Disney's restaurants are packed. Disney may prefer to fill the tables with guests who want to pay to eat.

Guests who don't think they'll be getting their monies worth with MYW Dining don't have to purchase it but I don't see where they get to change the rules.

The adults in the family may be getting far more than their monies worth at most meals. The kids will probably be getting their monies worth at the CS meals. I can't picture most 10 year olds being happy with the kids CS meals. Same with the snacks. If the adults are getting enough of a "good deal" to offset the not so good deal the kids are getting then they should buy the plan otherwise don't buy it. Every person, at every meal, doesn't have to be getting food that's worth more than the cost of the plan.

Some guests may lie and cheat but asking us for permission doesn't do anything to make it right.



If honesty were always the best policy then WDW probably wouldn't be charging adult prices for kids age 10-12 that couldn't possibly eat an adult size portion. I know a line has to be drawn somewhere, but isn't charging for something that you know you will never have to deliver also being a little dishonest? Trust me the corporate executives at Disney know that the average 10-12 year olds will never eat adult size portions of food, yet they have no problem charging them for it! I guess in that case, honesty is the best policy, unless it affects the bottom line or corporate profits!
.......I don't really want to argue with everyone here on the honesty. But judging from the many comments I have read about the DDP, it is very obvious that a lot of others have the same problem, paying for adult meal prices when their children will never eat them.

[Pedler]

I will probably get all sorts of ugly posts for saying this. But I will anyway. If your DD's are not real big for their age, I doubt if you would even be questioned for booking the trip with an age of 9. You would also have to order the child's park tickets, since DDP is part of package. ....

If you don't have a problem with with lieing about their age, then just think about the worst possible scenario. If you get caught, I doubt if they are going to kick you out of Disney World forever! They would probably just make you upgrade and pay the price difference.
....


I am generally the last one to be the morality police but I had to respond to your post. In the same post that you actively encourage a person to lie about her kids age and evaluate the potential outcomes of getting caught to engage in fraud and theft from Disney you say that honesty is the best policy and please don't lecture me about Disney.


That being said, everyone please don't give me a lecture on cheating Disney! I personally have never lied about my kids ages to get a discount.

So you don't feel it is not appropriate for you to lie to Disney but you do feel it is appropriate to encourage others to lie to Disney. Very bizzare indeed.

[DebIreland]

My twin DDs will be 10 for our upcoming trip in July. Do I need to get them the adult DDP for 37.99 a day, even though I know they will always want to order off the children's menu? Can I just get them the child's DDP, since these are the meals they will be ordering? Thanks for the help.

Hiya! :) Unfortunately 10 is the start of the adult rate for dining. It's only my opinion but I honestly wouldn't get the Dining Plan in your situation. I think it's very unlikely that your girls will eat 76 dollars worth of food in one day though admittedly that would be 64 dollars worth + 18% gratuity unless of course you'll be doing a character buffet every day which, at the adult rate could be as much as 27 dollars each but other than those character buffets I hear Disney is quite leniant with the child ages at meals. On the menu it says the kids meals are for 9 and under but and I believe it won't be a problem for your girls to eat child meals when you're not on the plan and just paying as you go, if this makes sense! I think a lot of the kids meals are great value at 5.99 and I've seen them as low as 4 dollars! Remarkable value and sounds a lot better than 38 a day!! lol As I say just my opinion though. Good luck with the decision. I can't believe after all these months of planning I'm still torn myself on whether to get it or not. I don't think we will but I'm tempted still. Aaaarrrgh!!! :)

[pyrxtc]

what about the Candlelight Processional Dinner Package ? Where can you eat? How does this work? Never been and didn't pay much attention last year cuz I didn't know I would be going this year.

You can purchase a special Candlelight Processional Dinner Package and bypass the typical 45-minute wait in line to get seats for the presentation. With this special package you pay a flat rate for a sit-down meal at an Epcot restaurant and you get preferred seating for the Candlelight Processional at no extra charge.

In 2005 you could use the dining plan for the Candlelight Processional Dinner Package.

How many credits would this take? How hard is it to get this? Is it worth it? Can I eat at Le Cellier? It would be my only night at Epcot and i want to try that resteraunt and enjoy myself. Will my tow boys like it? they are 5 and 3.

[sameyeyam]

I would really like to apologize to everyone for causing a stir on this thread about the age issue. It really was not my intent to cause such a commotion. I am rather new to this discussion forum and I am learning! So please forgive me.

I will now put the age/honesty issue in the same category with politics & religion. Something that I can have an opinion about, but should never discuss with others and know that it's best to keep such thoughts to myself.

This is such a nice group of people and I just hate to get on a thread where people of bickering, I truly don't want to be one of them. So once again I apologize. :) :) :)

[Koda]

I guess my question about whether or not my 10 y.o. twin DDs could get the child DDP caused quite a discussion! Just to clarify, my purpose was not to take a poll on whether or not people thought we should lie about my DD's ages to get a cheaper plan. I would never ask my kids to lie to save a few bucks. We have never used the DDP before, and age was never an issue for us, because my DDs turned 9 on the last day of our last trip to WDW. I merely wanted to know if it was acceptable to buy them the plan that best fit their eating habits, rather than by age. Needless to say, we will NOT be getting DDP.

That being said, I do feel that 10 is a bit young to be considered an adult (especially at WDW!). It would be nice if there was a "youth" rate for park tickets, buffets, etc. for kids 10-17 years. I'm sure that we are not the only family to be hit with "adult-price shock". For example, we did the FDP at HBD on our last trip. The food was awesome, and my DH really wanted to do this again. At 37.99 for an adult meal (compared to 10.99 for under 9years), we just cannot afford this. Especially since my girls would not appreciate filet or salmon. That is a HUGE price difference! I don't mind paying the extra $$ at a buffet, because I know that my 10 year olds eat more than most toddlers, and there is always plenty of kid-friendly food to fill them up.

IMO, it would make sense to have a 3-tiered system for the dining plan: for Hearty, medium, and light appetites. The light plan would be geared more towards kids and seniors, the hearty plan for people who enjoy 1 or 2 TS meals every day, and the medium plan for those of us who enjoy several TS meals on our trip, but also like the flexibility of eating at CS on several days. You could choose whichever plan best meets your individual needs. But since I am not making the decisions for Disney regarding the organization of their dining plan, we will just pay OOP for our meals! :)

[traviesojmt]

I guess my question about whether or not my 10 y.o. twin DDs could get the child DDP caused quite a discussion! Just to clarify, my purpose was not to take a poll on whether or not people thought we should lie about my DD's ages to get a cheaper plan. I would never ask my kids to lie to save a few bucks. We have never used the DDP before, and age was never an issue for us, because my DDs turned 9 on the last day of our last trip to WDW. I merely wanted to know if it was acceptable to buy them the plan that best fit their eating habits, rather than by age. Needless to say, we will NOT be getting DDP.

That being said, I do feel that 10 is a bit young to be considered an adult (especially at WDW!). It would be nice if there was a "youth" rate for park tickets, buffets, etc. for kids 10-17 years. I'm sure that we are not the only family to be hit with "adult-price shock". For example, we did the FDP at HBD on our last trip. The food was awesome, and my DH really wanted to do this again. At 37.99 for an adult meal (compared to 10.99 for under 9years), we just cannot afford this. Especially since my girls would not appreciate filet or salmon. That is a HUGE price difference! I don't mind paying the extra $$ at a buffet, because I know that my 10 year olds eat more than most toddlers, and there is always plenty of kid-friendly food to fill them up.

IMO, it would make sense to have a 3-tiered system for the dining plan: for Hearty, medium, and light appetites. The light plan would be geared more towards kids and seniors, the hearty plan for people who enjoy 1 or 2 TS meals every day, and the medium plan for those of us who enjoy several TS meals on our trip, but also like the flexibility of eating at CS on several days. You could choose whichever plan best meets your individual needs. But since I am not making the decisions for Disney regarding the organization of their dining plan, we will just pay OOP for our meals! :)

IMO, this is a situation in which there is no way that Disney can begin to please everyone. I have read numerous posts of people complaining that their children have to order off the kid's menu and would prefer if they could order adult meals. Then there are those who want their kids to order off the child's menu when they are, by Disney standards, adults. There really is no cut off age that would please everyone. I have a 9 year old nephew who would probably starve if he had to eat off the child's menu. He looks like a small linebacker and eats a lot. The beauty of the DP is that it is optional. If it works for your family, great. If it doesn't, that is great too. I could start a whole new complaint about having to pay child prices for a 3 year old at a buffet when I know she won't eat anything but a couple of grapes. But, she is 3 and Disney does charge for 3 year olds. I know this and when I chose to go to Disney or any other restaurant, I will abide by their rules. Sorry, I got off my point. I just believe that there is no way to please everyone with this one.

[Koda]

You are right, there is no pleasing everyone, and I believe that Disney does their best. A little constructive criticism never hurt, though. Sorry if I got off on a tangent!

[disyady]

Hi! Does anyone OT know if the BC Marketplace participates in the DP? Thanks!! :goodvibes

[jjohnson]

Hi! Does anyone OT know if the BC Marketplace participates in the DP? Thanks!! :goodvibes

Even though the online brochure at disney.com is not updated, BC Marketplace is now participating in the dining plan.

[disyady]

Thank you so much jjohnson!!! :cool1:

[annieh6]

I am confused about this whole dining thing :confused3 , how is it possible to get a weeks worth of dining with a one day base ticket? We already have annual passes, but would be willing to buy a one day base ticket to be able to buy a weeks worth of dining but I didn't think it was possible.
C :wizard: ould somebody enlighten me?
many thanks

[bicker]

When an admission pass purchase is required, they're not requiring that you purchase admission for your entire stay, but rather just one day (if you wish).

[Disneymaniacs]

I will be renewing my annual pass this trip but I want to try the dining plan. If I purchase the one day pass will they credit the cost towards our annual passes? I thought I read this somewhere but I cannot find it now.

[aviva5675]

The dining is based on number of nites you stay- not the length of your tickets. Thats why if someone has a one day ticket but are staying 5 nights they can get 5 days worth of dining. Im not sure tho if you can choose the number of days of dining you want--like if you are staying 7 nights but plan to spend 2 days at Universal you can choose to buy dining plan for 5 days only.

[Bmwdsny]

The dining is based on number of nites you stay- not the length of your tickets.

That is correct...remember, even if you don't go to parks all the days, there are plenty of resturants in the resorts hotels to use the DDP.

[annieh6]

That is correct...remember, even if you don't go to parks all the days, there are plenty of resturants in the resorts hotels to use the DDP.

Okay, I THINK I am beginning to get some understanding of this. But tell me, if I have my reservations booked as a annual passholder, then can I buy a one day base ticket and still get the dining plan? :confused3

[bicker]

Yes..

[Bmwdsny]

Okay, I THINK I am beginning to get some understanding of this. But tell me, if I have my reservations booked as a annual passholder, then can I buy a one day base ticket and still get the dining plan? :confused3


YES!! :thumbsup2

[annieh6]

:teeth: YES!! :thumbsup2

Thank you for your quick response. I feel very challenged understanding the ins and outs of the dining plan
THANKS :cheer2:

[DebIreland]

Okay, I THINK I am beginning to get some understanding of this. But tell me, if I have my reservations booked as a annual passholder, then can I buy a one day base ticket and still get the dining plan? :confused3

If you mean you have booked a room with an AP discount and want dining, you would have to give up the discount and book a package at rack rate. I'm not sure if you did mean that you have a discounted AP room booked though, maybe you have it booked at regular rates. Disney requires that the dining is purchased as part of a package at rack rates (with the exception of an AAA discounted package or DVC resorts booked through Member Services).

Just want to be sure you know you can't keep the AP discount - have to choose between them which is a shame.

[jenncsw]

I don't know if anyone can help me with this, but this is my situation.

My husband and I just got back from a terrific (kid free) trip for six days to SSR. We had the dining plan,and it was a great deal for us. The only problem we had was getting reservations because we didn't realize you could do it ahead of time. We still got into some great places, though, like the Wispering Canyon at the WL and the Coral Reef at EPCOT.

HOWEVER....in late June, I am staying at Pop Century with my mother and six year old son. We (ie my son and I) want the dining plan, but my mother absolutely refuses to pay up and do it too, thus preventing us, at least by official Disney Policy (we called and asked) from buying it :confused3 .

Any ideas? We have considered paying all or some of her share, but she won't go along and we are unlikely to change her mind. Has anyone got a way around this policy? She doesn't even plan to eat or tour with us, just share a room (so we wouldn't be cheating by giving her my son's credits). I know Disney always tries to please, but they seem to be firm on this.

Thanks for your help!

Jenn

[DebIreland]

I honestly don't see any way around it Jenn, unless your mother gets a separate room but that seems extreme and unnecessarily costly.

Do you have an annual pass? I was just wondering, because if you go often you might have one or perhaps you might consider one. With the annual pass you could get great room discounts and you could also avail of the Disney Dining Experience which costs 60 dollars for membership and entitles you to 20% off almost all table service meals and some counter service meals in WDW. It's a good way to save money on food. That's what we'll be doing in October and we did it last year too - the savings added up!

[chrisb71]

A question about the free dining for travel from 8/13/06 - 9/30/06. We are arriving on 9/29 for a three night stay (at the Poly - I am so excited!!) and have a package booked that included the free dining. Even though the promotion ends on 9/30, we still get our three days of free dining per person, correct? From what I have been reading, your credits expire on midnight of your last day.

::MickeyMo

[TyRy]

Even though the promotion ends on 9/30, we still get our three days of free dining per person, correct? From what I have been reading, your credits expire on midnight of your last day.

::MickeyMo

You are correct - have a great time!

[Subrbnmommy]

We are going to WDW on a family trip (nine total). We have all been numerous times but we have never booked the dinnig plan. We always thought it looked too complicated (what you can't or can have). My father is not the most patient person so trying to figure out whether he "can" or "can't" order something would frustrate him.

So here's my question - how hard is it to figure out what is on the plan (especially at CS). What are the limitations, if any? When there are limitations is it written clearly or is it at the Cm's discretion?

(Ooos -guess I have more than one question :rolleyes1 )

Thank you!!

[bicker]

how hard is it to figure out what is on the planIt is really not that difficult: Ask the cashier -- they'll know.

[sameyeyam]

As long as you use the restaurant's on the plan you will be fine. I thought it would be confusing but it really wasn't.

Counter service was the least confusing, just order a combo meal, drink & desert. I always told the cashier that I was on the DDP BEFORE ORDERING, that way if there were any restrictions they could let me know. But I didn't find any restrictions at the counter service places we ate at.

Table service - Again I recommend you tell them before ordering that you are on the DDP. We only found 1 restriction the entire 7 days. I think it was at Wolfgang Puck Cafe - we could EACH only order the appetizer's for 1, they have a list of "appetizers for 2". Basically each person couldn't order a double appetizer, but that was it!

I thought it actually made things easier. If we had any questions we just asked a CM and they were more than happy to help us out!

[Subrbnmommy]

Thanks a lot for the info. I'll suggest to my family that we take the dinnig plan!

Cant' wait to go to WDW :cool1: !!

[katlas&kids]

If I book a dinner at WCC, and it offers the canyon skillet and the entres, on the dining plan can I chose either? Or is this set by each resturant?

Hmmm.. that confuses me. If there is a buffet ofered and entres offered, can you choose either one for TS on the dining plan? I think that is worded better!

Thanks!!

[angel's momma]

If I book a dinner at WCC, and it offers the canyon skillet and the entres, on the dining plan can I chose either? Or is this set by each resturant?

Hmmm.. that confuses me. If there is a buffet ofered and entres offered, can you choose either one for TS on the dining plan? I think that is worded better!

Thanks!!

You can order either. If some at the table want entrees, and some want the skillet, that's fine too.

The skillet isn't a buffet, it's an all you care to eat meal served at your table.

[mushumadness]

we have just booked disney dining for october 2007

when can we book our adrs?

[mysticcruiser]

Can you book Disney into 2007? I was looking to book for March, but was told the prices aren't out yet?

[angel's momma]

mushumadness - 180 days in advance

mysticcruiser - you can book for 3/07

[mxtiger67]

I have a question. I printed out the dinning plan, where it says what restaurant are participating and what services they offer. My question is that most of the restaurants that we'd like to go to, offer TS, can I go there for lunch and use CS? And are they strictly TS. Or can I use my CS and pay the difference?
Please help!

[pedro2112]

I have a question. I printed out the dinning plan, where it says what restaurant are participating and what services they offer. My question is that most of the restaurants that we'd like to go to, offer TS, can I go there for lunch and use CS? And are they strictly TS. Or can I use my CS and pay the difference?
Please help!

A restaurant is either Table Service or Counter Service. If it has a waitress, it is Table Service (whether it's a la carte, family style or buffet).. and if you order your food at the counter and bring it back to a table, it is counter service. What you order, or what meal it is (break, lunch or dinner) is irrelevant.

[mxtiger67]

Ok, then I guess my question is: Can I use Quick Service Meals points at table service restaurants with Dining plan?

[pedro2112]

Ok, then I guess my question is: Can I use Quick Service Meals points at table service restaurants with Dining plan?

No. You use Table service credits at Talbe service restaurants, and counter service (aka quickservice) credits at counterservice restaurants.

[mushumadness]

Can you book Disney into 2007? I was looking to book for March, but was told the prices aren't out yet?


Im in the uk, we dont book directly with disney, we do packages through travel agents, there are prices out here right to december 2007

[Boardwalk Tigger]

I'm sorry to ask this because I know the answer is somewhere on this thread but .....if we arrive on a Tuesday and depart on the following Tuesday (7 nights) how many days do we receive meals for? Do we receive any credits for the day we leave? Thanks for the assistance :goodvibes

[TyRy]

Boardwalk Tigger - you will have 7TS, 7CS, and 7 snack credits that will expire at midnight the day you check out. The credits are based upon # of nights, but you can still use them on your last day if you have any left.

[mxtiger67]

You receive credits for the amount of nights you're staying. So it'll be 7 in your case.

[IandGsmom]

I am going to post here since I am wondering about changing from a room only reservation to a package w/ dining. Hope you can help me.

A room only at the CR $1647+ Tickets $939 = $2586 No dining OR

package with dining $3573.

Is about a thousand more for dining about right or too high. 8 days.

[angel's momma]

I am going to post here since I am wondering about changing from a room only reservation to a package w/ dining. Hope you can help me.

A room only at the CR $1647+ Tickets $939 = $2586 No dining OR

package with dining $3573.

Is about a thousand more for dining about right or too high. 8 days.

How many people? :)

It's $37.99 for adults, $10.99 for kids 3-9.

[IandGsmom]

How many people? :)

It's $37.99 for adults, $10.99 for kids 3-9.

2 adults and 2 kids ages 9.

[jjohnson]

I am going to post here since I am wondering about changing from a room only reservation to a package w/ dining. Hope you can help me.

A room only at the CR $1647+ Tickets $939 = $2586 No dining OR

package with dining $3573.

Is about a thousand more for dining about right or too high. 8 days.

If you staying 7 nights this price is too high. It should be a little over $700 for the 4 of you. Did you get the quote from Disney?

[IandGsmom]

If you staying 7 nights this price is too high. It should be a little over $700 for the 4 of you. Did you get the quote from Disney?

I figured out why its more....the package we are getting comes w/ a better view. I went ahead and booked it! So now we are going to stay in the CR w/ a better viwe and dining plus my AAA TA is going to take an additional $100 bucks off, throw in 2 bags for the kids and the package comes with a free meal at Planet Hollywood. I am not sure we need another meal but oh well!! Now I will be lurking on here to see what other people do and make the best of this plan. :thumbsup2

[JRButtercup]

Sorry if this is a repeat question, this is too long to read :)

Can my 11 year old order from the children's menu for his main meal but still get an adult dessert?

[asramears]

This is some of the best info i have found on the dining plan. I'm so glad about the snack change. We will be using our snack credits for breakfast! Keep those tips coming!!!!

[asramears]

Even though the online brochure at disney.com is not updated, BC Marketplace is now participating in the dining plan.


Where is the BC Marketplace located?

[sameyeyam]

Sorry if this is a repeat question, this is too long to read :)

Can my 11 year old order from the children's menu for his main meal but still get an adult dessert?


We were on the DDP in April and found that all we had to do was ask our server during the table service meal. As is usual Disney fashion, anytime we wanted anything different we were not turned down. We just asked nicely & politely. Even though the tip was included in the DDP we always left a little extra, especially when the server's accomodated any unusual requests.

On the counter service our 7YO ordered a child meal, but we did not encounter any desserts that were labeled either adult/child. The counter service appeared to just have desserts for everyone!

[DCDisney]

Since you are paying adult prices I'm sure he can get adult app and dessert. For kids paying the kid price generally they can't get the adult desserts. I have a non-chocolate eater and on some kids dessert menus both items are chocolate. In those situations they let him have a scoop of ice cream as a substitute but not a regular adult dessert.

Yvonne

[Epcot Mom]

You read above where it says Beach Club Marketplace is participating. Is that only the food they serve over their counter or also the stuff they sell in the "convenience store" portion of the location? This really would apply to any resort I guess. In other words, can you get a snack at the resort convenience store?

Thanks,
Epcot Mom

[brooke1]

forgive me this is a long thread, and have to book by june 4th for free dining..

Is there a penalty if for some reason you have to cancel your ressie's, i know for room only ressie you can cancel a few days before arrival, seems like i remember reading last year there was a different cancellation policy for the free dining.

thanks a bunch

brooke :sunny:

[cinderella_mom]

Hi everyone. Great information here. I still have a question, though. This was alluded to, but I'm still not clear...My party is me, DH and DD5 for three nights. We have the free dining plan. My understanding is the credits are pooled but are available for use from all of our cards. My question is...are the meals differentiated on the cards by adult and child, so if I share an adult TS meal(not buffet) w/DD, does that leave me a child TS meal or any TS meal? I guess it's really, do I have 9 TS, 9 CS and 9 snacks, or do I have 6 adult TS/3 child TS, etc.

Hope my question is clear.

[glennsgirl762]

Subscribing to this thread cause I too have the same questions and are looking for some answers. Thanks! ;) Connie

[wright1baby]

forgive me this is a long thread, and have to book by june 4th for free dining..

Is there a penalty if for some reason you have to cancel your ressie's, i know for room only ressie you can cancel a few days before arrival, seems like i remember reading last year there was a different cancellation policy for the free dining.

thanks a bunch

brooke :sunny:
Directly from our confirmation e-mail:
For a cancellation made 44 to 6 days prior to arrival, there is an additional cancellation
fee of $100 per package plus any cancellation fees assessed by hotels or other suppliers.
-For a cancellation made 5 days or less prior to arrival, there is an additional cancellation
fee of $200 per package plus any cancellation fees by hotels or other suppliers. . In addition,
with respect to Grand Gathering experiences, no refund will be given for cancellations made 5
days or less from the experience date. No refunds will be given to no-shows.
-For a change made 44 days or less prior to arrival or that results in a rate change, there is
an additional change fee of $50 per package plus any change fees assessed by hotels or other
suppliers.

[kaylie&laurensmom]

Hi everyone. Great information here. I still have a question, though. This was alluded to, but I'm still not clear...My party is me, DH and DD5 for three nights. We have the free dining plan. My understanding is the credits are pooled but are available for use from all of our cards. My question is...are the meals differentiated on the cards by adult and child, so if I share an adult TS meal(not buffet) w/DD, does that leave me a child TS meal or any TS meal? I guess it's really, do I have 9 TS, 9 CS and 9 snacks, or do I have 6 adult TS/3 child TS, etc.

Hope my question is clear.

You will have a TS meal left; all credits are pooled. So you have 9TS, 9CS, & 9 snacks to be used by whomever wants to use them!

[cinderella_mom]

You will have a TS meal left; all credits are pooled. So you have 9TS, 9CS, & 9 snacks to be used by whomever wants to use them!

Great, 'cause I'm sure DD and I will be able to share a TS meal. We usually share when we go out to dinner.

Yeah. Love all the info.

[Michelle2]

I have a question about the dining plan. We are going in September for the free dining...There will be 2 adults per room (my mom and sister in one room, and me and my cousin in the other room).....does that mean it will pool all of the TS, CS, and snack credits all together per room? So both of our credits will be on our room key?
Will we be able to just use the credits and not have to show proof of identity or whos is whos to the servers? So if one person uses some of the other's that will be fine, since they are pooled??
Thanks so much! :teeth:

[angel's momma]

I have a question about the dining plan. We are going in September for the free dining...There will be 2 adults per room (my mom and sister in one room, and me and my cousin in the other room).....does that mean it will pool all of the TS, CS, and snack credits all together per room? So both of our credits will be on our room key?
Will we be able to just use the credits and not have to show proof of identity or whos is whos to the servers? So if one person uses some of the other's that will be fine, since they are pooled??
Thanks so much! :teeth:

You are correct - the credits will be pooled by room, & you are able to just use the credits without proving which credits are "yours".

[have2getaway]

I'm sure this is a repeat question, but...can you pay OOP for a child's meal at ALL restaurants and simply use the adult credits? I'm not even sure we will do this. It almost seemed like more of a stress to try and figure out the number of credits this way--it is certainly more simple to just use 3 of our credits for each of our dinners and pay for our breakfasts. I also didn't see that drastic of a cost difference between the two methods since we have ts meals for both. I was just curious if we tried to do this if we would run into trouble. I know that in the past it was allowed, but have there been any new developments?

Thanks,
Have2getaway

[have2getaway]

Can I pay for my child’s meal and save his/her TS/CS credits for another day?

I know the answer is yes, but I was wondering if this also pertains to character meals and buffets? Can you pay for the child's meal oop and save it for later?

[bicker]

have there been any new developments?I would ask just before your next trip, since that is as likely as anything to change on very short notice.

[jjohnson]

I know the answer is yes, but I was wondering if this also pertains to character meals and buffets? Can you pay for the child's meal oop and save it for later?

Yes just tell you server when you are seated what you would like to do.

[Nancy N.]

Okay... I think I have this correct. Please tell me if I am wrong. We are going in September, staying at the Yacht Club on the concierge floor - we love it there! And with the free dining, we can have dinner (ANY app., entree,dessert, non-alcoholic bev.) every night, lunch (counter service) which includes entree, dessert, non-alcoholic bev. every day, and one snack - ice cream bar, soda, water, popcorn, every day. Regardless of the menu price.

And if we didn't use our dinner tickets one night and wanted to go to the California Grill, by using (each of us) TWO tickets, we could order ANY app/entree/dessert and non-alcoholic beverage.

By doing this, the only food we would pay for would be any additional snacks we would purchase, any wine/liquor we might purchase. And the only cost would be for additional food purchase and any additional tip we might include for our server.

This could be the start of a wonderful thing:)

[jjohnson]

Yes you are correct except they expanded the snack options on 5/1. I've been putting together a list that may help you:

http://disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1109080

[Caitsmama]

And someone please check me on this question..

We have reservations at WL in Nov. and we are thinking now we want to add the DP.
So, am i correct in thinking from reading here, that since we have in park reservations, we can add the DP at any time, as long as we buy at least a one day park pass each?
that is how i read this.. is it correct??

[jjohnson]

Yes your correct. If you have a room only reservation & would like the dining plan, you need to switch your reservation to a package, at least a one day ticket for each guest + the dining plan.

[Mickey02]

Great information.
Thanks!

[I_Tink]

:wave: Hi all. I'm subscribing to this thread. I want to read up and learn as much as I can so I can decide if we want to try the Dining Plan on our next trip.

My DD is bringing her BFF and I am thinking this may be a good option. We would be able to give her parents a pretty set food price and know the girls are eating as they wander the parks.

Anyway, Howdy! :goodvibes

[bellenbuzz]

I had to ask.....
Now for Dining Plan, we are a group of 10ppl and we all are getting the DP.......It is So Worth It, We will eat the kings & queens and gain a few pounds too!
The choices are wonderful, and it is convenient to just sign your name knowing that the food was paid off already!
I highly recommend it, plus with the DP we are eating at restaurants we may have skipped because they are more expensive places!
:beach: pluto: ::MickeyMo

[Uberweasle]

I understand that you have to have park tickets to participate in the DP. Is it necessary that I buy my tickets through Disney, or can I still take advantage of the DP if I purchase my tickets through AAA?

[bicker]

The tickets used to qualify for the Dining Plan must be purchased as part of the package. Since AAA offers the Dining Plan, you could go that way. What you cannot do is purchase the passes through a discounter like TicketMania or Undercover Tourist.

[Mariposa]

bellenbuzz: I Tink......Silly Question....Whats "BFF" I can't figure it out....

Um, when I was growing up it meant Best Friends Forever.. or, if you asked the boys, it meant Booger Friends Forever. :sad2: But they had cooties anyway, so we never paid their theories any attention. :thumbsup2

But, the PP could me something else entirely by BFF.. I don't know. :confused3

[tresas]

Hi, I Am Staying At Okw Using My Dvc Points For Seven Nights. I'm A Little Confused What To Do About Dining. I Was Planning On Getting A 4 Day Hopper Pass And Then Purchasing The Dining Plan.

Is It Better To Get An Annual Pass With The Dvc Discount And Then Get The Disney Dining Experience?

Anyone Have Any Ideas? Thanks

[jjohnson]

Hi, I Am Staying At Okw Using My Dvc Points For Seven Nights. I'm A Little Confused What To Do About Dining. I Was Planning On Getting A 4 Day Hopper Pass And Then Purchasing The Dining Plan.

Is It Better To Get An Annual Pass With The Dvc Discount And Then Get The Disney Dining Experience?

Anyone Have Any Ideas? Thanks
:welcome: to the boards!

If your planning another trip within a year. I think it is better to purchase the Annual Pass & DDE card.

[I_Tink]

Yes, it means "best friends forever" :P They don't anywhere without each other. Good thing we like her friends!

[NMW]

Hi, I Am Staying At Okw Using My Dvc Points For Seven Nights. I'm A Little Confused What To Do About Dining. I Was Planning On Getting A 4 Day Hopper Pass And Then Purchasing The Dining Plan.

Is It Better To Get An Annual Pass With The Dvc Discount And Then Get The Disney Dining Experience?

Anyone Have Any Ideas? Thanks


The dining plan for DVC members is not tied to tickets in any way. Call Member Services to add the meal plan for your trip. It HAS to added before check-in. You pay when you check-in, you can't pay before. We have the DDE card, but for us the dining plan is a much better deal. You can use the two together anyway. Use the dining plan to pay for the meal, and the DDE card for alcohol or specialty drinks. There is info on the DVC member website about it too.

[Jerseygirl63]

:confused3 HELP! We are coming the BWV and staying on points. I have notified DVC that we will be purchasing the dining plan on arrival and our confirmation states "Disney Dining Plan has been added to your reservation."
Here's where it gets fuzzy: At check in do we pay for the dining plan AND our park passes together? We wanted to buy our passes at AAA and use the Disney Dollars we received from referring new DVCers to pay for the Dining Plan at check in. From reading this thread it sound like that can not be done and the dining plan is "linked"to your park passes. If anyone can help us out and set us straight it would be most appreciated :disrocks:

[natanya]

From what I have gathered if you are staying in a DW hotel the dining plan is linked to your passes. We are renting points from an owner and when I called and added the DP they didn't even ask about passes - they said we could only add the DP for the days we booked at BWV - so it is linked to your room. Hope this helps.

[Ellester]

The tickets used to qualify for the Dining Plan must be purchased as part of the package. Since AAA offers the Dining Plan, you could go that way. What you cannot do is purchase the passes through a discounter like TicketMania or Undercover Tourist.

But, you could purchase just a one day ticket if it worked out cheaper to get the rest of your days from a discounter (I don't know if it would be or not) or if you had AP's or old hoppers to use. The Dining Plan is for the number of nights you are staying, it is not tied to the number of ticket days you have.

[Jerseygirl63]

:confused3 I guess this is where my confusion comes into play. How can your park passes be linked to the dining plan when it should be tied to your room key. :confused3 :confused3 :confused3 :confused3 :confused3 HELPPPPPPP!!!!!! It doesn't make sense to me. Maybe I'm reading this thread all wrong. It wouldn't be the first time that's happened :rotfl2:

[jjohnson]

If your staying at BWV on points the DP has nothing to do with your park tickets. You pay for the DP when you check in.

[bicker]

It doesn't make sense to me. I'm not sure that sense is really the objective. :)

The Dining Plan must be booked for the entire length of your hotel stay, so there is some linkage there. Furthermore, if you're not a DVC member on points, a ticket purchase must be part of the package, in order to have the Dining Plan. Just that simple.

[Jerseygirl63]

Thanks! Now I see the light! :rotfl2:

[Spicey477]

Can someone please explain what the "free" dining in September is all about?

Thanks!

[aristocat]

Can someone please explain what the "free" dining in September is all about?

Thanks!

Disney was offering package where you booked a stay onsite with park tickets and got the disney dining plan free... But that promotion has ended.

[mrstbalt]

Is the dining plan just to be used at the resorts and 4 theme parks or can they also be used in downtown disney and the waterparks?? Maybe I missed it, but how many TS for character breakfast at Chef Mickey's?? Thanks

[robinb]

Is the dining plan just to be used at the resorts and 4 theme parks or can they also be used in downtown disney and the waterparks?? Maybe I missed it, but how many TS for character breakfast at Chef Mickey's?? Thanks

The answers to all of your questions and more can be found in the very first post in this thread. Click on "First" at the bottom of the thread to get there. You may have to open up some other links to find some of the information :).

[Spicey477]

Disney was offering package where you booked a stay onsite with park tickets and got the disney dining plan free... But that promotion has ended.

Wow, that is pretty amazing. The DDP is such an amazing deal itself, I can't imagine it being free as part of a promotion!

Thanks!

[kaylie&laurensmom]

Is the dining plan just to be used at the resorts and 4 theme parks or can they also be used in downtown disney and the waterparks?? Maybe I missed it, but how many TS for character breakfast at Chef Mickey's?? Thanks

The dining plan can be used at a few places in downtown Disney as well as counter service locations at the water parks. Clink the link below for a complete list.

http://www.allearsnet.com/pl/packages06a.htm

Chef Mickey's (and all character meals EXCEPT Cinderella's Royal Table) are only 1 TS.

[mrstbalt]

If we are staying for 4 nights, but only get a 3 day hopper pass do you still get a 4 day dining plan??

[kaylie&laurensmom]

If we are staying for 4 nights, but only get a 3 day hopper pass do you still get a 4 day dining plan??

Yes, your dining plan credits correspond to your hotel NIGHTS, not your park tickets. Therefore, each member of your party will have 4 TS, 4 CS, & 4 snacks.

[Ariel413]

I just need help clarifying something...We are going Christmas week for 6 nights. My DH, DD, and I already have park passes from our last trip that we are going to use. We are thinking of adding on the one day passes to our reservation to be eligible to pay for the 6 nights on the dining plan.

Because my DS was under 3 on the last trip, we do not have park passes for him. We were planning on buying him a four day pass for this trip. Can the 3 of us only purchase one day passes and my son purchase a four day pass to be eligible for the dining plan?

Thanks.

[Mariposa]

Because my DS was under 3 on the last trip, we do not have park passes for him. We were planning on buying him a four day pass for this trip. Can the 3 of us only purchase one day passes and my son purchase a four day pass to be eligible for the dining plan?

Thanks.

No, all the passes have to match, if you get a one-day pass your son has to as well. What you can do, though, is upgrade his one day pass to a four day pass at any of the parks or Downtown Disney after you check in.

[Ariel413]

Thanks. That sounds like a good idea. :)

[neatokimmo]

Can someone tell me a good place to eat after leaving the Animal Kingdom? In Sept it closes at 5 and I looked through some of the park menus and it seems like I could do better in a hotel or in the Downtown area. TS or CS will work.

Thanks! - Kim

[Mickey-4-Me]

Can someone tell me a good place to eat after leaving the Animal Kingdom? In Sept it closes at 5 and I looked through some of the park menus and it seems like I could do better in a hotel or in the Downtown area. TS or CS will work.

Thanks! - Kim

Are you traveling with children? If so, here is what we are doing. It is just a suggestion. When Animal Kingdom closes at 5 p.m. we are going to go to the Wilderness Lodge and look around until dinner. We have an ADR at Whispering Canyon Cafe at 6:20 p.m. After dinner we are going to go to the Chip 'n Dale Campfire Sing-A-Long at the Wilderness Campgrounds at 8:00 p.m. We are going to roast marshmallows and watch a Disney movie on an outdoor screen. We have never done that before, but it sounds like fun.

[jjohnson]

Can someone tell me a good place to eat after leaving the Animal Kingdom? In Sept it closes at 5 and I looked through some of the park menus and it seems like I could do better in a hotel or in the Downtown area. TS or CS will work.

Thanks! - Kim

Where are you staying & when? AK will be opening a new sitdown restaurant that I'm sure will be on the dining plan. You could have an early dinner at Boma/AKL. The buses will still be running until 7 at AK

[neatokimmo]

I am so excited! I thought I had ruined our trip because I didn't have reservations. So after a sleepless night I called this morning and got all the restaurants we wanted :) This is what/when we got things. We are eating a little earlier than I planned in the day but that is ok, I'll just push all the meals back some. How early can you eat a CS meal in the parks for lunch?

Sept 10- MK - Tonys @ 5:35 (steak - yum yum)
Sept 11 - O'hana @ 6:35 (AK closes at 5 and fireworks are at 9:00, we'll watch them on the beach :)
Sept 12 - Le Cellier Steakhouse Dinner @ 4:40 (this was the only dinner time left for this week, I'll take it!)
Sept 13 - Hollywood and Vine 5:30 Fantasmic Package (eat then play in the park then come back for our seat)
Sept 14 - Les Chefs De France 5:30 (this menu excites me the most!)
Sept 15 - Mama Melrose's Ristorante Italiano @ 5:00 (Fantasmic Package again!)

My only question is, should we skip Hollywood and Vine and head out to a better restaurant in one of the resorts? I've heard mixed reviews and we do have the Fantasmic seats for Friday night. Is not having to wait in line for Fantasmic worth a so-so buffet on Wednesday?

Thanks for all your help! :) - Kim

[bicker]

Where are you staying & when? AK will be opening a new sitdown restaurant that I'm sure will be on the dining plan. Don't be so sure. The new TS restaurant will be operated by Landry's -- the same folks who operate Rainforest Cafe, which is not on the Dining Plan.

[jjohnson]

:guilty:
Thank you Bicker I didn't realize that. At least I'll still be able to use my gift cards at WDW. RFC was awful on our last trip.

[mrstbalt]

That's too bad that Rainforest Cafe is not on the list, that would make our Animal Kingdom decision easier.

[welovedis]

Does anyone know what happens if a child's b-day occurs during the trip? Is it treated the same a park ticket?

We'll arrive on Sun 12/10, DS turns 10 years old on 12/11 & we are staying thru the 16th. Will I be paying the childs price for the whole stay or just for Sun or what? I know that according to the CM I spoke with regarding his ticket that he is fine until his AP expires (on 1/6/07) they said because we are staying there during his b-day that it would not be a problem.

We just got back & enjoyed the DDP so much that we plan on it for the next trip but I need to know how much to budget! :)

[Delaware Mike]

Does anyone know what happens if a child's b-day occurs during the trip? Is it treated the same a park ticket?

We'll arrive on Sun 12/10, DS turns 10 years old on 12/11 & we are staying thru the 16th. Will I be paying the childs price for the whole stay or just for Sun or what? I know that according to the CM I spoke with regarding his ticket that he is fine until his AP expires (on 1/6/07) they said because we are staying there during his b-day that it would not be a problem.

We just got back & enjoyed the DDP so much that we plan on it for the next trip but I need to know how much to budget! :)

I'm sorry to not be able to answer your questions, however pertaining to a birthday I offer a little insight...

We typically go to WDW to celebrate my DW's (the family's Disney nut) birthday. While Disney has never offered us any provision concerning park tickets, they did provide a "Happy Birthday button", available at Guest Relations in MK, AK, and I think MGM. At EPCOT, the button is available at the turnstiles...just ask a CM.

While she wears it on her special day, CMs tend to come up to her out-of-the-blue to wish her a happy day. I can only imagine how nice they are to children....

[jjohnson]

Does anyone know what happens if a child's b-day occurs during the trip? Is it treated the same a park ticket?

We'll arrive on Sun 12/10, DS turns 10 years old on 12/11 & we are staying thru the 16th. Will I be paying the childs price for the whole stay or just for Sun or what? I know that according to the CM I spoke with regarding his ticket that he is fine until his AP expires (on 1/6/07) they said because we are staying there during his b-day that it would not be a problem.

We just got back & enjoyed the DDP so much that we plan on it for the next trip but I need to know how much to budget! :)

He would still be considered a child for your entire trip

[welovedis]

Thanks for the info!

Delaware Mike, yeah, he is really excited about getting his birthday buttons. We've told him that this trip is all about relaxing & having fun and that he can plan some of the days, esp his birthday itself. He said he wants to ride at least 1 ride in all 4 parks and get a button from each. We'll see about that! :) Although on this trip there was one day when he & I visited 3 parks in one day, we rode little but we did it. Also, about the park tickets, we have annual passes and I asked if we needed to do anything with his pass after his birthday goes by. The CM said if we were coming back again before the passes expire then we would exchange it for an adult AP, but since this trip will be the last before they expire then it wouldn't matter.

jjohnson-thanks for the info! :)

One thing I wanted to add, I don't know if it has been mentioned before but if you save up your snack credits and use them on the last day, try to do so before you are officially checked out of your resort. We had trouble using ours on the check out in the PM, although the store manager took care of it, he mentioned that the trouble arose from the fact that we had already checked out.

HTH!

[welovedis]

Another couple of things I wanted to add. Before the trip I inquired about the children's menus at both Coral Reef & Maya Grill. The menus on Deb's site did not show appetizers for children. At Coral Reef he was offered an appetizers from the adults menu. At Maya Grill he was offered either nachos (with cheese sauce & salsa on the side) or cheese sticks.

Also, I spoke with chefs at all the restaurants when we used TS credits and many said their menus had either been recently updated or would be soon to accomodate more children's options, including a possible vegetarian option at many. :)

[clkelley]

Is this the same as the DDE card I keep reading about?
No, it is not the same thing. The Disney Dining Experience card gives you a 20% discount at most Table Service restaurants. It also requires the purchase of an Annual Pass or FL resident pass.
Here is a great thread that explains DDE: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=819460



Florida residents do not have to purchase a FL Resident Annual Pass. I know of at least one Orlando couple that are friends of mine that have the DDE to enjoy the resort and DTD restaurants with the discount. They don't have passes to the parks. (They play golf, then go to dinner).

Only out of state folks have to purchase an annual pass to be eligible.

[jjohnson]

Florida residents do not have to purchase a FL Resident Annual Pass. I know of at least one Orlando couple that are friends of mine that have the DDE to enjoy the resort and DTD restaurants with the discount. They don't have passes to the parks. (They play golf, then go to dinner).

Only out of state folks have to purchase an annual pass to be eligible.

Oops! I've corrected it. Thank you.

[robinb]

Due to the rumors of "unpooling" MYW Dining Credits, I have updated my MYW Dining Planner to include seperate columns for Adults and Children. It can still be found at: http://personalpages.tds.net/~rb/DIS/MYM-Dining-Planner.xls

Enjoy :).

[thedears]

We have ressies for Dec 10 - 15 at SSR and have indicated on that ressie that we would like the DDP in which we will pay for when we check in. Our problem now is that we have decided to travel a day earlier and are staying at POP Dec 9. Is it possible to purchase one day park tickets on our ressie for Dec 9 so that we can add the DDP to that ressie and then upgrade our park tickets later in the day to a 5 day hopper ticket? We really aren't interested in entering the park that day and would like to save it for the end of our trip as "last minute" have toos. We are interested in the DDP for our dinner ADRs at Chef Mickey's though as it would cost my family of 4 alone about $105 just for that one meal where as I could purchase the DDP for $125 and have a counter and snack also for 4 people to use the day we leave.

Does this make sense to anyone and does anyone have any suggestions?

[jjohnson]

Are you staying at SSR as a member or renting points or did you book with CRO?

You can book a package at POP for 1 night dining + 5 day tickets if your reservation at SSR was made with MS. If not I wouldn't buy a 1 day ticket to get the plan for 1 day.

Did my answer make sense?

[thedears]

we are renting points at SSR. We are actually wanting park passes for 6 days.......just want to use DDP the first night and the park ticket the last day. The more I think about this the more confused I make myself.

[jjohnson]

we are renting points at SSR. We are actually wanting park passes for 6 days.......just want to use DDP the first night and the park ticket the last day. The more I think about this the more confused I make myself.

I didn't work out the numbers but it would work out best to book a room-only reservation for the first night & buy your tickets before you arrive. If you haven't done so sign up at www.mousesavers.com for their monthly newsletter. It will provide a link to discounted tickets.

To get the meal plan for the 1 night you would have to spend $105 per adult (meal plan + 1 day ticket)

[robinb]

Is it possible to purchase one day park tickets on our ressie for Dec 9 so that we can add the DDP to that ressie and then upgrade our park tickets later in the day to a 5 day hopper ticket?

You should be able to do what you want as long as there is no minimum stay for the Dining Package at POP. Since you are staying at a DVC resort on points for the rest of your vacation there is no requirement to purchase passes on that reservation. You can upgrade your one-day pass at the park gate the next day or possibly when you check into your DVC resort.

Call CRO and find out if you can book a single day with the Dining Package and report back here to us. I'm curious about what they'll say :).

[clkelley]

We have ressies for Dec 10 - 15 at SSR and have indicated on that ressie that we would like the DDP in which we will pay for when we check in. Our problem now is that we have decided to travel a day earlier and are staying at POP Dec 9. Is it possible to purchase one day park tickets on our ressie for Dec 9 so that we can add the DDP to that ressie and then upgrade our park tickets later in the day to a 5 day hopper ticket? We really aren't interested in entering the park that day and would like to save it for the end of our trip as "last minute" have toos. We are interested in the DDP for our dinner ADRs at Chef Mickey's though as it would cost my family of 4 alone about $105 just for that one meal where as I could purchase the DDP for $125 and have a counter and snack also for 4 people to use the day we leave.

Does this make sense to anyone and does anyone have any suggestions?

The dining credits for your one night reservation on the 9th with expire on the 10th.

But what you want to do with the tickets will work.

However, if you are also getting the dining plan for your reservation that starts on the 10th and were planning on using a counter service and snacks during the day on the 10th, you can use up your 1-night plan credits the day of the 10th, and have those left at the end of your trip that starts on the 10th. Does that make sense??

[thedears]

I was told when I booked room only that I could add the DDP to my ressie at POP on Dec. 9 as long as I purchased a park ticket from Disney......I couldn't purchase from another broker (ticketmania, undercovertourist, etc).


You should be able to do what you want as long as there is no minimum stay for the Dining Package at POP. Since you are staying at a DVC resort on points for the rest of your vacation there is no requirement to purchase passes on that reservation. You can upgrade your one-day pass at the park gate the next day or possibly when you check into your DVC resort.

Call CRO and find out if you can book a single day with the Dining Package and report back here to us. I'm curious about what they'll say :).

[jjohnson]

I'm sorry to tell you but you were given incorrect information. Your reservation needs to be booked as a package (room,ticket + dining) before you arrive.

[thedears]

I'm sorry to tell you but you were given incorrect information. Your reservation needs to be booked as a package (room,ticket + dining) before you arrive.



sorry I didn't make myself clear.......I was told by the CM that I can call back and make it into a package deal. As of right now I just have the room reserved.

[jjohnson]

Okay. Yes you can change it to a package but you can not add the dining plan when you arrive at POP on the 9th. It needs to be done at least 5 days before you arrive.

[robinb]

I was told when I booked room only that I could add the DDP to my ressie at POP on Dec. 9 as long as I purchased a park ticket from Disney......I couldn't purchase from another broker (ticketmania, undercovertourist, etc).

Now that I think about it ... as long as Disney allows you to book a DDP package for one day (12/9) at POP you might as well buy your passes for your entire stay at the time. It will be easier than buying a one-day and upgrading it to a 5 day. Instead, just buy the 5-day on your Pop reservation and use the pass while at SSR too.

[tracys2cents]

I'm going with 2 kids, my husband may join us for 2 nights in the middle of our 7 night stay. We are on the free dining plan package. I read that every guest in the room must be on the same package. So he cannot just "sneak" into our room and spend the night with us? He has to purchase a 7 day package in order to get into our hotel?????

[bicker]

That's correct. It sounds like the Dining Plan really would not be a good choice for you. You'd be better off without it.

[kaylie&laurensmom]

I'm going with 2 kids, my husband may join us for 2 nights in the middle of our 7 night stay. We are on the free dining plan package. I read that every guest in the room must be on the same package. So he cannot just "sneak" into our room and spend the night with us? He has to purchase a 7 day package in order to get into our hotel?????

I am sure your husband will be able to stay in your room, he just may not have any dining credits (although he could use yours really). That just seems silly that he could not stay with you in the hotel! That's still a total of 4 people so it's not like you're going over room capacity; and who would know anyway? I don't know if it's technically against some "rule" - I would call Disney and ask to speak to a supervisor and explain your special situation if it will bother you.

[macraven]

I am sure your husband will be able to stay in your room, he just may not have any dining credits (although he could use yours really). That just seems silly that he could not stay with you in the hotel! That's still a total of 4 people so it's not like you're going over room capacity; and who would know anyway? I don't know if it's technically against some "rule" - I would call Disney and ask to speak to a supervisor and explain your special situation if it will bother you.



yes, what she said........

technically you can have 2 adults and 2 kids in the room without an increase of room charge.

the one thing that disney will say is only registered guests can use the transportation system.
i have been going to disney since 1975 and once the hotel system went up and transportation developed, i have never seen or heard a bus driver, monorail driver ask to see a guests card to show they are registered at a hotel.

you will have to buy park admission tickets. that is the only thing i can think of that you need.

have the hubby come and stay a few days and have a wonderful vacation at the motherland.
disney is a happy place for families !!

[Bmwdsny]

I'm going with 2 kids, my husband may join us for 2 nights in the middle of our 7 night stay. We are on the free dining plan package. I read that every guest in the room must be on the same package. So he cannot just "sneak" into our room and spend the night with us? He has to purchase a 7 day package in order to get into our hotel?????


Ok, my husband is doing the same thing in Aug. we be staying 6 nights and my DH is not coming til the 4th night. here is your choice... take him off the package and any meals he goes to you will have to pay out of pocket, but the room charge will be the same. OR leave him on the package and utilize extra dining meals for breakfast for you guys until he comes.
What i did was got a package for 4 of us with one day pass (since we have passes at home) and i will use my DH meals option for breakfasts til he comes. The night he comes, we are going to HDD show since it takes 2 tableservices and we be able to catch up.

The only down side is that if you get a exceed number of park tickets, you may wnat to add the "non expire option" so that you can keep the tickets that your DH don't use.

[First timer]

[QUOTE=jjohnson]

o As an added benefit, you may exchange 2 table-service meals for either 1 Signature Dining Experience at one of our finest restaurants, such as the acclaimed Citricos at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, or for 1 Disney Dinner Show, such as Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue.
o Select Downtown Disney® restaurants may require a surcharge for certain entree items.


Wow - thanks for this. Will definitely take into account next trip. We just returned and left behind 20 counter service meals! 4 of us traveling - one child. There was so much food that we could not use all the counter service meals. Was told on the last day that we could have used for snacks and just told the vendor to forego everything else. Tried to give away but we did not know how to do this beside standing in front of a counter service restaurant and acoste people to ask them if we could by them lunch! :)

[diswheels]

Hi! Is fulton's crab house concidered Signature dinning? Is it even on the list for the dinning plan? What restuarants would you reccommend on dinning plan that are not Signature dining?

Thanks,

Ashley

[jjohnson]

Fulton's does not participate in the dining plan.

My family takes a vote after each trip whether a restaurant is a "keeper" the only ones that have stayed are:

Kona Cafe
LeCellier
Spoodles

We also really enjoyed Ragland Road in DTD (dining plan) but were outvoted by the kids.

[Ms. WDW]

I have a question about "swapping". I know you can exchange 2 TS credits for a "signature dining" meal.

But...can you exchange any "counter" credits for table service credits?

I'm headed down Saturday and we still are toying around with "should we or shouldn't we" purchase the Dining Plan? :confused3

[macraven]

I have a question about "swapping". I know you can exchange 2 TS credits for a "signature dining" meal.

But...can you exchange any "counter" credits for table service credits?

I'm headed down Saturday and we still are toying around with "should we or shouldn't we" purchase the Dining Plan? :confused3



disney won't let you swap counter service credits to table service.

i wish they would.

[Ms. WDW]

Thanks macraven - that's kinda what I thought. Oh well..... ;)

[jjohnson]

Thanks macraven - that's kinda what I thought. Oh well..... ;)

I don't know if Disney's policy has changed since last year but the DP needs to be booked 5 days before arrival which would be tomorrow. Where are your ADR's?

[Ms. WDW]

I don't know if Disney's policy has changed since last year but the DP needs to be booked 5 days before arrival which would be tomorrow. Where are your ADR's?

When I first heard about the plan back in March, I was told that you had to book the plan before you checked in; even the day before was ok.

But I booked it about an hour ago and all my ADR's were made at participating restaurants! So I am all set!!! :cool1:

[jjohnson]

:blush:
I just noticed you are a DVC member. The rules are different for us. We can book the day before arrival. Enjoy & let us know when you return your thoughts on the plan.

[Ms. WDW]

Thank you! I'll be sure to give a full report on how the plan worked for us! :wave2:

[bicker]

i have been going to disney since 1975 and once the hotel system went up and transportation developed, i have never seen or heard a bus driver, monorail driver ask to see a guests card to show they are registered at a hotel.I've only been ID's twice in about 20 trips. Both times were prime travel times. It so rare that folks really don't need to worry much about it happening to them.

can you exchange any "counter" credits for table service credits?No, but even if you could, it would likely not be worth it. I figure it would be a 5CS to 1TS exchange rate.

[robinb]

can you exchange any "counter" credits for table service credits?
No, but even if you could, it would likely not be worth it. I figure it would be a 5CS to 1TS exchange rate.

I "value" a CS credit ar about $11-12 and a TS credit at about $35-40, so I would say it's closer to 3-4 CS credits per TS. Even so, I agree that I don't think it's worth it to trade 3-4 meals for one meal. Plus, it would be a pain in the butt for Disney to program and guests to keep track of.

[bicker]

3-4 CS per TS sounds okay.

I do agree that it would be a significant amount of extra work (and therefore extra cost) to facilitate exchanges. If they intended the system to work that way, then they would have just made a meal-agnostic points system: 1 point for snacks, 4 or 5 points for CS, and say 12 or 15 points for TS. That type of system could even better handle things like the Plaza Restaurant at MK, which shouldn't be a full TS IMHO, and Le Cellier and Chefs de France, which perhaps should be 1.3 TS credits today, based on their relative demand. However, a system like that ends up with fewer credits unused, and therefore never appears to guests to be as valueable as a system structured like the Dining Plan is currently structured.

[Lewisc]

Last year CS meals were valued at $8-$9, my receipt at EOS actually showed a dininng discount that brought the bill down to the amount Disney was paying them. The TS meals were valued at around $22, I think that may have been before tip and/or tax. I saw them ring up my meal at Chefs de France and I could see the computer discounting my meal down to what Disney was paying them.

I agree with Bicker, Disney doesn't want to reduce unused credits. My guess is we wouldn't do as well as the more expensive restaurants would be able to charge something in between regular TS and Signature credits.

If Disney made that type of change I think they'd just back to a prior plan, an adult gets around $50 worth of meal credits and a child around $16. This represents around a 25% discount. Guests could then use their credits however they wanted.

[disfountainofyouth]

Is payment required up front for DVC members or upon check-in???
Doing the math to see if this is worth it for my family. :listen: :listen: :listen:

[Bmwdsny]

Is payment required up front for DVC members or upon check-in???


YES!!

[jjohnson]

Is payment required up front for DVC members or upon check-in???
Doing the math to see if this is worth it for my family. :listen: :listen: :listen:

DVC members need to add the plan before check-in but pay for the plan AT check-in :sunny:

[bicker]

Has any DVC member been able to book the Dining Plan for 2007 yet?

[jjohnson]

Has any DVC member been able to book the Dining Plan for 2007 yet?

No, not yet. I read they haven't made a decision on the cost of the DP next year.

[anneofgreengables]

Is there a list somewhere that shows which restaurants are buffet/character, so you can't share an entree? I normally share an entree with my DH so I'd like to know which restaurants I can share at. I know that I can't share at buffets or packages (like Fantasmic). What about character meals? So I am assuming I can't share at Cinderella's Table, Akershus, Mama Melrose Fantasmic, Biergarten, Liberty Tree Tavern. Is that right? And can I share at Marrakesh and Sci-Fi? Thanks. Wasn't sure if Marrakesh is a buffet or not. So I would appreciate knowing if there was a list of buffet/character restaurants somewhere.

[DebIreland]

Is there a list somewhere that shows which restaurants are buffet/character, so you can't share an entree?

Allearsnet have all sorts of info on restaurants at WDW. Here is a link to a list of All You Can Eat & Buffet Meals http://www.allearsnet.com/din/buffet.htm Hope that helps!

[anneofgreengables]

Thanks, DebIreland! Looks like you can share at Marrakesh and SciFi and Coral Reef and PrimeTime Cafe, but not at Liberty Tree Tavern, Biegarten and Akershus. What about Teppanyaki? I know it's not a buffet, but I thought I read a thread saying you can't share there.

[Disney's Fab 4]

:blush:
I just noticed you are a DVC member. The rules are different for us. We can book the day before arrival. Enjoy & let us know when you return your thoughts on the plan.

Actually this has nothing to do with this answer... I just noticed you were the OP.... so with that being said.... I do have a question......

I don't have a trip booked, I would just like to know for future planning....

Say I book a trip for September '07 in February and add the dining plan... and pay for it (in full).... Then say in June they offer free dining for September, Would I still get free dining??????? Would they refund my $$ that I already paid for the dining plan???

I have asked this question many times and no one has been able to tell me.....

[bicker]

It will depend on the terms and conditions you agree to with your original reservation. If there is a penalty for cancellation or changes, then you'll pay that (thought you might get it waived -- I wouldn't count on that though).

[jjohnson]

I'm almost positive if you make any changes to your reservation (including applying codes for discounts) if it's outside of your 45 day penalty there should not be any problem applying the discount and getting a refund.

[macraven]

i booked my trip on january 1 of this year.

when the free dining was announced in the spring, i called and had my ressie adjusted.

i had pre paid and my trip was in the free dining dates.

disney issued me a credit on my credit card and i received it posted on my cc account 4 weeks later.

only problem i had was this.

had to cancel original ressie, refund request put in , then rebook with a new code and had to put money down on that new ressie.

i put down $200 on the new one and then paid it off when the credit came through on my cc.


to answer your question, yes.
i did it and it was easy to take care of.


on a package, i think there is a time limit on when you can make changes without penalty. some packages require paid in full 30 days prior of arrival.

room only is a deposit and paid in full at time of check in.

talk to a cm for accurate info on deadlines.

[Kristi1357]

Has any DVC member been able to book the Dining Plan for 2007 yet?

When I called member services yesterday for my January ressie, I was asked about adding the dining plan. So, yes, you can add that to 2007 ressies now.

[jjohnson]

When I called member services yesterday for my January ressie, I was asked about adding the dining plan. So, yes, you can add that to 2007 ressies now.

Had the price stayed the same?

[snow_white22]

O.k I'm sure this question was already asked but... I have already booked my hotel through a AAA room only rate in Canada through my Caa branch. Can I buy the dining plan seperately- since I have already payed for my hotel. This whole thing is a bit confusing- all of the packages seem to include accomadations.

[disney2d2]

When purchasing a package online (1 room for 2) the tickets and dining plan options are added for each guest. Is there a way I can reserve a room for two (with 2 Magic Your Way tickets) but only get the dining plan for one person? Either online on on the phone?

[jjohnson]

When purchasing a package online (1 room for 2) the tickets and dining plan options are added for each guest. Is there a way I can reserve a room for two (with 2 Magic Your Way tickets) but only get the dining plan for one person? Either online on on the phone?

No all guests listed on the reservation need to be on the dining plan.

[Bmwdsny]

No all guests listed on the reservation need to be on the dining plan.


Yes that is correct, no matter how many people in package.

[kjs1976]

Can someone tell me or point me in the direction of a good thread or two which lists what people can get for breakfast with a snack credit? THANKS!!!!!

[disneyjunkie]

Does anyone have a link to the premium dining plan brochure?

So far all I can find is the one for the MYW dining plan.

[Delaware Mike]

Does anyone have a link to the premium dining plan brochure?

So far all I can find is the one for the MYW dining plan.

The closest I could find is this: http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wdw/tickets/packageDetail?id=PackageDetailMYWPrem06Page

And this link is for the Magic Your Way Premium package, not just the premium dining package. Sorry.

[Lostgirlz]

I am not sure if this has been asked, but can you purchase like an extra dining plan for the duration of your stay? Like if you only have 2 people in your party and are getting the magic your way plus dining, but you want to add an extra dining package for your stay just for the 2 of you is this allowed or will they say no it's based on the number you have in your party? Someone asked me about this and I was like I am stumped and thought this would be a good place to ask. They are friends of ours so I thought I would help out and ask. Thank you in advance.



:::::::::::Disneymoon here we come::::::::::: :bride:

[bicker]

The Dining Plan is indeed limited to only those in your party, i.e., those registered in your hotel room(s).