2006 Disney Dining Plan FAQ

[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.