Sharing Credits: Disney says NO

[BusMan]

DW and I are happily planning/researching a three generation trip to WDW in fall 2016. We're going to have two rooms, on two separate accounts, and are considering putting Deluxe Dining on one and the standard Dining Plan on another, because Deluxe on both rooms would provide WAY too much food.

Everything we've read on the boards and various blogs indicates that we can share meal credits between the two plans. But we've also talked to various cast members, both in online chat and over the phone, who say we CAN'T share credits.

What is the OFFICIAL Disney meal plan credit sharing policy?
Is the credit sharing policy poorly understood by some/most cast members?
Is this possibly the kind of thing that Disney allows in practice but doesn't indicate is permissible beforehand?

Thanks for your help in advance.

 

[sharonabe]

There is no OFFICIAL policy. The brochures used to state that you could not share DDP credits of any kind with anyone who was not on the DDP. That wording was omitted from the most recent brochures, and nothing was put in its place. So, Disney is SILENT on this issue.

There have been multiple reports of people using the DxDDP exactly as you desire to use it. In fact, they didn't even have the other room on the DDP. The people in two rooms shared the DxDDP credits. AND if you put more kids in the room with the plan (1 adult, 3 kids), you pay less, but can use all the credits for adult meals. I expect Disney to figure this out eventually and put a stop to it with either a price increase or enforcing the "kid's must order from the kid's menu" clause, but for right now, it's a loop hole for those with kiddos still on the reservation.

 

[senadler]

I can only speak to our experience this past October and that was that we were able to share credits across two rooms. We had one with the DxDDP and one with no plan. We also put the two youngest on the room with the plan. We used the plan to cover meals for all 10 of us even though only 6 were on the plan. This included HDDR where we used the plan for all 20 credits.

 

[BusMan]

Thanks, all. Very helpful and confirms a lot of what we were thinking.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

They may also be interpreting "share credits" as pooling them. Only someone on the room with DxDP can access and pay with those credits. Only someone on the room with DDP can access and pay with those credits. So they can't be pooled at the point of purchase, more split down as far as who pays for what.

Example:
Bobby, Suzy and Lulu are in room 1 on DxDP.
Bob Sr., Susan and Louise are in room 2 on DDP.

Bob Sr. cannot pay for his meal with one of the DxDP credits. But Bobby can pick up the table's check for his dad.

 

[mort1331]

To make it even easier then the PP which is good too. They have changed the rules that if you have a DP and are dining with people who dont, it doesnt matter. You can use your credits to pay for the whole table if you desire and they all fit into the plan you have. It just means that you will have less later. Also Disney has officially came out and said that all CS meals are equal credits. That means that they do not distinguish the difference between an adult and child and you can use them interchangeable.

 

[disneymath]

To make it even easier then the PP which is good too. They have changed the rules that if you have a DP and are dining with people who dont, it doesnt matter. You can use your credits to pay for the whole table if you desire and they all fit into the plan you have. It just means that you will have less later. Also Disney has officially came out and said that all CS meals are equal credits. That means that they do not distinguish the difference between an adult and child and you can use them interchangeable.

Not doubting you, but Can you point me to an "official" statement from Disney on this? We are on the fence regarding DDP for our upcoming trip and this definitely swings things in favour of the plan.

 

[mort1331]

Not doubting you, but Can you point me to an "official" statement from Disney on this? We are on the fence regarding DDP for our upcoming trip and this definitely swings things in favour of the plan.

I am not the best had adding attachments, but if you have ever been on the DP or ask someone who has, the server never asks if everyone is on the DP. They just bring the bill and you tell them. Well now you just hit your MB and tell them that all the meals are coming from the DP. They only see the number of credits that are there and that are taken. I believe that Disney did this to make it easier on all the servers, not having to ask.
It did come out from Disney and I hope someone with better PC skills then I can add the link.

 

[disneymath]

I am not the best had adding attachments, but if you have ever been on the DP or ask someone who has, the server never asks if everyone is on the DP. They just bring the bill and you tell them. Well now you just hit your MB and tell them that all the meals are coming from the DP. They only see the number of credits that are there and that are taken. I believe that Disney did this to make it easier on all the servers, not having to ask.
It did come out from Disney and I hope someone with better PC skills then I can add the link.

Ok, thanks.

 

[sharonabe]

Also Disney has officially came out and said that all CS meals are equal credits.

This is not true. The brochures still very plainly state that Kid's must order from the kid's menu where it is available. The fact that it doesn't happen in practice all the time does not make it official in any way.

Even before MBs, the QS credits were not separated out. When you checked your receipts, they never told you how many adult/child QS credits were used/remained. The KTTW card DID tell the servers you how many adults and how many kids were on the plan, and most places would not allow you to order more of either kind at one time than you had. Now, you could easily have two different people from the same family ordering right behind the other and end up with four adult meals and no one batted an eye. There were always ways to "get around" the stated rules.

The rules have not changed, but it does seem like the "getting around" is much easier.

 

[Nancyg56]

This is not true. The brochures still very plainly state that Kid's must order from the kid's menu where it is available. The fact that it doesn't happen in practice all the time does not make it official in any way.

Even before MBs, the QS credits were not separated out. When you checked your receipts, they never told you how many adult/child QS credits were used/remained. The KTTW card DID tell the servers you how many adults and how many kids were on the plan, and most places would not allow you to order more of either kind at one time than you had. Now, you could easily have two different people from the same family ordering right behind the other and end up with four adult meals and no one batted an eye. There were always ways to "get around" the stated rules.

The rules have not changed, but it does seem like the "getting around" is much easier.

I am not sure that "getting around" the rules is what Disney is allowing. They want to sell the plans. They want folks to commit to staying onsite. They want their restaurants to be filled. I think that they have relaxed their hard stand in order to encourage the sales of their plans.

 

[supersnoop]

I am not sure that "getting around" the rules is what Disney is allowing. They want to sell the plans. They want folks to commit to staying onsite. They want their restaurants to be filled. I think that they have relaxed their hard stand in order to encourage the sales of their plans.

Sure, it seems that way, but they haven't changed the official terms or made any announcements.

 

[Nancyg56]

Sure, it seems that way, but they haven't changed the official terms or made any announcements.

No, they have not. They have removed some of the language that disallowed certain practices, and I can attest that children can order from the adult menu. Disney CM's across the board tend to follow rules when it comes to teh DDP, so I think that while Disney may not advertise the changes, they may be relaxing the way the rules are applied.

 

[disneymath]

Thanks for the extra info. To the OP, sorry for hijacking your thread.

 

[DIS_MERI]

I am not the best had adding attachments, but if you have ever been on the DP or ask someone who has, the server never asks if everyone is on the DP. They just bring the bill and you tell them. Well now you just hit your MB and tell them that all the meals are coming from the DP. They only see the number of credits that are there and that are taken. I believe that Disney did this to make it easier on all the servers, not having to ask.
It did come out from Disney and I hope someone with better PC skills then I can add the link.

I don't believe that it is true that they don't know how many are on the plan. We had a friend join us for a meal at Crystal Palace, and the server said, "I see you have 1 more adult than you have on the plan, what would you like us to do?" I said we would use a credit if we could, or use my TIW, and they let us use a credit. So, we were able to use more credits than people on the plan, but they certainly knew how many we had on the plan.

 

[mom2of2]

When your MB is scanned in a TS restaurant it has the following information: Your name, resort, zip code, type of DP, amount of credits, type of discount if any (AP,CM,DVC,FL, Military,FD), guests in room ie: Adults, Children, Infant and whether you have charging privledges.

 

[mort1331]

Well let me be the first to apologize if I have steered people wrong. I could have sworn I read it just before Christmas that they have officially changed their policy about the QS meals and keeping tract. And in that same communication was where I saw the statement about paying for all at the table if you wish. Regardless if they are on the meal plan or not.
I want the boards to be accurate info for all, and if I have mislead. I am sorry.
I do know that in practice this can be done.

 

[mustlovecats]

I stayed at the RPC on my last trip so I emailed the concierge beforehand to confirm. I've included a screenshot of the response. Now, it was only something that a CM said but I tend to trust the concierge CMs. We took the chance and we didn't have any issues throughout the trip.

 

[supersnoop]

There's a difference between sharing a meal and sharing a credit.

 

[mort1331]

There's a difference between sharing a meal and sharing a credit.

Yes but as mustsharecats screen shot show you can share credits.