Can you use dining credits on friends?

[Monorail Bob's dd]

I have a question for a client of mine who has the deluxe dining plan. They want to know if you can use dining credits to pay for friends who are meeting them for dinner at Flying Fish. They will have credits to spare and would like to cover their friends. I asked Disney Dining directly and got a mixed bag/gray area sort of answer. They technically you can only use it for the people on the plan but followed that up by saying restaurants typically do allow it. Has anyone here had experience with doing this? Thank you!

 

[tinkerbellandeeyor]

Never been on the plan but my question how is this different then my dad taking me out to eat when he is in town

 

[noahdove]

I guess it will depend on the server and how many credits will be left. Just ask...or, maybe it won't come up. I tell them I am on the dining plan when CM asks for our choices... I do see it as a problem as it tells on the card how many credits left..so....good luck..

 

[Monorail Bob's dd]

I guess it will depend on the server and how many credits will be left. Just ask...or, maybe it won't come up. I tell them I am on the dining plan when CM asks for our choices... I do see it as a problem as it tells on the card how many credits left..so....good luck..

Thank you. They will definitely have enough credits to cover their friends, they were just wondering if it was allowed.

 

[figment_jii]

No, you cannot use your credits to purchase meals for people not on your room reservation. It's clearly stated in the DDP/DxDP brochure (page 6):

Q. Can I use my Disney Dining Plan to redeem meals for friends or family members who are not included in my reservation or have not purchased a Disney dining plan?
A. Sorry, you may not use your Disney Dining Plan to redeem meals for friends or family members who are not included in your reservation or have not purchased a Disney dining plan.

Sorry, but this is the official policy of Disney and it's against the Disboard rules to discuss methods of getting around the rules.

 

[ConnieB]

I think the problem isn't that there are enough credits left....but that the dining plan will show that there are "x" number of people on the plan. And "the rules" say that only those on the plan can use the credits.

Now...if your friend is traveling in a party of 4 on the same dining plan, I know that they won't know WHO shows up for dinner. So...let's use the scenario that mom, dad, and two teens are on the dining plan.....as far as Disney is concerned that is 4 adults. So if mom, dad and two friends go to dinner, that's still 4 adults.

The problem arrives when mom, dad, two teens, and two friends show up.....that's 6 adults and the dining plan is for 4 adults.

We did it once but not on purpose. A friend joined us for dinner. I did tell the server that three of us were on the plan and one wasn't.....but when the bill came 4 credits had been used. I was pleasantly surprised but hadn't even thought it was possible, lol.

So I guess the big question is how embarrassing it might be if your friends are told at the end of the meal that only the number of people on the plan can use the credits......the others will have to pay cash. If it would be embarrassing, I would not do it....if it's one of those friendships where you can say before you go "well, let's see if they'll let us use the credits, if not, we'll split the bill" or something, then go for it, because you don't have much to lose. So long as they know there is a chance they'll not be allowed and are ok with that, then whatever happens works.

 

[ConnieB]

No, you cannot use your credits to purchase meals for people not on your room reservation. It's clearly stated in the DDP/DxDP brochure (page 6):



Sorry, but this is the official policy of Disney and it's against the Disboard rules to discuss methods of getting around the rules.

I don't think OP was asking for a way to get around the rules....but whether this was a rule that is actually enforced or not. Kinda like the old FP use it all day rule.....it was the official rule, but never enforced....now of course it's enforced.

Disney has a lot of official policies that they openly ignore.....and so letting others know that Disney doesn't pay attention to their own rules isn't trying to get around the rule. OP said she called Disney and even THEY said it's a grey area, lol.

 

[tinkerbellandeeyor]

Still trying to see how this is different then some one treating to someone in the real world

 

[purple figment]

As a PP posted, it is specifically stated in the dining plan brochure that you cannot use credits to pay for meals for people who are not on the dining plan.

Also, the KTTW cards will state the number of Adults and Children on the plan. If it says 2 Adults, 2 Children then the maximum number of meals that can be purchased at one time will be 2 adult and 2 children's meals. At TS places most the servers are pretty careful about adhering to these limits. While there might be an occasional server who doesn't follow this rule, I would assume almost all of them will so it's best to expect that the extra guests' meals will need to be paid for OOP.

 

[smbowtie]

I have a question for a client of mine who has the deluxe dining plan. They want to know if you can use dining credits to pay for friends who are meeting them for dinner at Flying Fish. They will have credits to spare and would like to cover their friends. I asked Disney Dining directly and got a mixed bag/gray area sort of answer. They technically you can only use it for the people on the plan but followed that up by saying restaurants typically do allow it. Has anyone here had experience with doing this? Thank you!

Don't know about the deluxe but we have used out quick dining for friends. The way it works is if a couple is staying 5 days that gives you 10 meals say. Disney doesn't care if you eat all of them in one day, you just won't have any left for the rest of your stay. We have gone to diner and given my wifes card to our friends. When we order I have them put both of ours on my card, when our friends order they just have them put it on her card. 4 meals total, as long as there was 4 left on the plan. Never had a problem.

 

[LilyWDW]

Still trying to see how this is different then some one treating to someone in the real world

Because you are opting to use the dining plan and thus have to abide by the rules set by Disney.

 

[aaarcher86]

Don't know about the deluxe but we have used out quick dining for friends. The way it works is if a couple is staying 5 days that gives you 10 meals say. Disney doesn't care if you eat all of them in one day, you just won't have any left for the rest of your stay. We have gone to diner and given my wifes card to our friends. When we order I have them put both of ours on my card, when our friends order they just have them put it on her card. 4 meals total, as long as there was 4 left on the plan. Never had a problem.

Yes, because you're using two cards. If you tried to order more meals than people on a single card you would be denied. Disney does care WHO uses the credits or they wouldn't have a policy about it.

Op, as previously explained its against policy and Disney won't charge more credits at one time than people on your KTTW. You're welcome to ask, but since CMs are putting their own neck out to go around Disney policy you're more than likely going to be met with a no, and I'd make sure they know that going in.

 

[Monorail Bob's dd]

I don't think OP was asking for a way to get around the rules....but whether this was a rule that is actually enforced or not. Kinda like the old FP use it all day rule.....it was the official rule, but never enforced....now of course it's enforced.

Disney has a lot of official policies that they openly ignore.....and so letting others know that Disney doesn't pay attention to their own rules isn't trying to get around the rule. OP said she called Disney and even THEY said it's a grey area, lol.

Thank you. I know you cannot post on this board about trying to break or get around Disney rules. I thought this was safe to post because I got mixed messages directly from Disney Dining about the rules regarding using credits for friends. Since I am a travel agent, I am always extremely careful about the information I give my clients and I am very much a play by the rules kind of girl. This seems to be an admitted gray area by Disney and I was really looking to see if anyone had any personal experience with this and how things worked out for them when they tried to use credits for others. I want to be sure I am giving my client accurate information so believe me, I am being as careful as I can here and I did let her know that while technically it is not allowed, Disney tends to turn a blind eye to the policy, which is what Disney actually said to me.

 

[btk2333]

Thank you. I know you cannot post on this board about trying to break or get around Disney rules. I thought this was safe to post because I got mixed messages directly from Disney Dining about the rules regarding using credits for friends. Since I am a travel agent, I am always extremely careful about the information I give my clients and I am very much a play by the rules kind of girl. This seems to be an admitted gray area by Disney and I was really looking to see if anyone had any personal experience with this and how things worked out for them when they tried to use credits for others. I want to be sure I am giving my client accurate information so believe me, I am being as careful as I can here and I did let her know that while technically it is not allowed, Disney tends to turn a blind eye to the policy, which is what Disney actually said to me.

I think this is a fair way to look at it. I think there's probably a fair chance that they're able to do it- I wouldn't even ask as long as they don't mind if at the end of their meal the server tells them it's not allowed.

Just because Disney has a written policy doesn't mean they enforce it and I would bet that if they didn't say anything and just handed the one card at the end, that the server would just run the card.

 

[figment_jii]

Disney tends to turn a blind eye to the policy, which is what Disney actually said to me.

I would not tell a client that Disney tends to turn a blind eye. That gives the impression that it's okay to do this and that most CMs will be willing to break the rules. While its possible that the CM they get would do this, it is by no means guaranteed. I would give them the link to the brochure and let them decide for themselves.

 

[Fantaluminishes]

No, you cannot use your credits to purchase meals for people not on your room reservation. It's clearly stated in the DDP/DxDP brochure (page 6):



Sorry, but this is the official policy of Disney and it's against the Disboard rules to discuss methods of getting around the rules.

I think it's obvious that the OP was just asking a question. Not sure why you would think they were/are trying to break any rules. I believe your tone could have been a little less harsh in your response, rather than assuming that the OP was blatently violating disboards policy.

 

[minnie mum]

I think it's obvious that the OP was just asking a question. Not sure why you would think they were/are trying to break any rules. I believe your tone could have been a little less harsh in your response, rather than assuming that the OP was blatently violating disboards policy.

Tone? What tone? When did the Disboards add audio to the boards? I don't think the poster was being in the least bit harsh. I think that she knew the poster was an infrequent poster (or they wouldn't be asking the question in the first place) and was letting the OP know about the Disboard policy. I didn't see anything whatsoever in her post that intimated that she thought the OP was trying to break any rules.

OP, I would give your client the information that was outlined in the excerpt from the DDP brochure. I definitely would omit any personal opinion as to whether or not they might get away with trying it- leave this up to them. You could also mention that it is extremely common for servers to do split cheques, with some of the guests using the DDP and the remainder of the guests paying OOP or using their own DDP.

 

[figment_jii]

Tone? What tone? When did the Disboards add audio to the boards? I don't think the poster was being in the least bit harsh. I think that she knew the poster was an infrequent poster (or they wouldn't be asking the question in the first place) and was letting the OP know about the Disboard policy. I didn't see anything whatsoever in her post that intimated that she thought the OP was trying to break any rules. Sheesh.

Thank you Minnie Mum.

 

[minnie mum]

Thank you Minnie Mum.

I just had another thought for the OP. Instead of worrying about whether or not his client can use extra dining credits for his guests, perhaps he could tell the client that it would be perfectly OK for him to pay for 2 meals with his DDP and the remaining amount can be charged to his KTTW account. He would just need to tell the server how to split the bill.

 

[figment_jii]

I just had another thought for the OP. Instead of worrying about whether or not his client can use extra dining credits for his guests, perhaps he could tell the client that it would be perfectly OK for him to pay for 2 meals with his DDP and the remaining amount can be charged to his KTTW account. He would just need to tell the server how to split the bill.

That sounds like a good idea to me.