Add Tickets

[reggiemcp]

Hi

We are booked for 8 nites at AKL with BRY code. Because I didn't want to have to pay 45 days in advance, I didn't book the package deal. However, if I decide I want to add tickets and dining, can I do that? How does that work? Is it even possible?

I know that all my fellow dis pals should be able to answer my question.

Thanks!

 

[LindyN]

At Disney you either book a package (with tickets and optional dining) or a room-only reservation.

What you have is a room-only ressie; and any tickets will need to be purchased seperately. To add dining you must cancel the RO ressie with monies being refunded back to you, and then rebooking a package which gets you a different confirmation number and deposit/payment requirements. Then you have the 45 day policy for payment. (Never let anyone tell you they can move money from a RO ressie to a package: they can not do this as it is a separate booking system).

Disney requires packages to be paid in full 45 days prior to check in, while ROs have a one night deposit and then the balance is paid upon check in. You cannot add package components (like dining) to room-only reservations: its just a room.

If you have any inkling at all about the dining plan you can book a package reservation with a one day basic ticket, and then upgrade. Disney will let you upgrade... downgrading is a problem and involves a penalty. As a travel agent I often upgrade people a couple of times based upon their financial status. First we do a room and one day basic ticket, then we upgrade the tickets, and then finally the dining.

You need a room, and you need tickets. Your discretionary budget is food. I have never done the dining plan despite 26+ trips to Disney. As a family if four we average about $120/day in food, and we eat pretty well. For my 12 day trip in August we spent just under $1000 on food. The DDP would have cost me about $1500. This is for two adults/two kids age 11 and 9. No one starves either and we do eat TS meals daily. However we do not feast like the dining plan. Our sit-down meals are mostly lunches, and we do character buffets too. If I ate like the DDP nothing would fit me after three days.

The dining plan is a great deal, but its not the only way to do Disney. If you're heading there on a budget there are plenty of counter service options that won't break the bank, nor will they have you eating burgers and fries for your entire trip (or making grilled cheese sandwiches in your room with aluminum foil and an iron).

You need to run all of your numbers to see if the BRY with add-on tickets is a better deal than a package with a discount room, tickets, and optional dining plan. Lately packages have been beating the RO ressies with add-on tix, but it depends upon the time of year and the tix.

HTH.

Linda N

 

[famofour]

Linda - Your situation sounds similar to mine - we (me, dh, ds13 and dd9) were thinking of the dining plan, but this being our first trip, we thought we'd just "wing it" and see how it goes not being on the plan. We plan to eat breakfast in the room and then eat out one TS or CS a day as well as some snacks throught out the day.

So, it does seem reasonable then to spend an average of $120 a day on food? Is that with or without alcoholic beverages? We're not big drinkers, but we do plan to have a few here and there.

Our TS's include Le Cellier, 50's Primetime and Chef Mickey's (these will all be me and kids, dh leaving wdw early). We'll also be going to Wolfgang Puck's for dinner (all 4 of us).

TIA!

 

[LindyN]

If you eat TS dinners you will go through that $120 pretty fast (remember tax and tip). I do LeCellier for lunch, CM for breakfast. Primetime has mostly the same menu for both meals--not a place I care to dine as that's the sort of food I typically prepare at home. Sometimes at TS places I just eat two appetizers and a dessert rather than an entree. Adult beverages are $5-8 each, depending upon what you order. I drink my adult beverages in Epcot, at the World Showcase. Cheaper and no tip, LOL. (I am a very good tipper, and give cash rather than a room chargeas long as I get good service).

One of the reasons why I'm not keen on the dining plan for me personally is that I tend to go to Disney a lot (four or five times a year) and just hop around to the places where I really want to go just for a specific food item. Like I love the Chicken Corn Chowder at Boma, and the desserts at the Crystal Palace, and I always make a stop in to LTT for lunch so I can have the Colony Salad. Tony's has the best Tiramisu I've ever eaten, and the Garden View Tea at the GF is another don't-miss for me and DD. If this is your one big trip and you will not be going back to Disney for a few years, I do recommend the dining plan. Food is a big part of the trip, and the dining plan allows you to eat pretty well and not run around looking for cheap food, which is what I do. When you're running around looking for food you're not doing the attractions. There are some places I go to just to eat, but this type of touring is not typical of most people. (For example I will go to AK just for lunch at Tusker house, the safari and Everest, and see FOTLK and then go to another park).

To stick to a budget you need to split up your TS meals between breakfasts, lunches, and dinners, and plan, plan, plan. If you're not liking lunch menus then the dining plan is something you need to seriously consider. The DDP will cost you $125 per night of stay, which isn't too far from my $120/day. I do not get anywhere near the amount of food on the dining plan during my Disney trips when I pay OOP.

Do what works for you, but do consider the DDP if you're doing more TS dinners.

Linda N

 

[beth_cam]

Linda - Your situation sounds similar to mine - we (me, dh, ds13 and dd9) were thinking of the dining plan, but this being our first trip, we thought we'd just "wing it" and see how it goes not being on the plan. We plan to eat breakfast in the room and then eat out one TS or CS a day as well as some snacks throught out the day.

So, it does seem reasonable then to spend an average of $120 a day on food? Is that with or without alcoholic beverages? We're not big drinkers, but we do plan to have a few here and there.

Our TS's include Le Cellier, 50's Primetime and Chef Mickey's (these will all be me and kids, dh leaving wdw early). We'll also be going to Wolfgang Puck's for dinner (all 4 of us).

TIA!

120 a day -
Dining plan for 3 adults and 1 child is 125 a day so your budget is about the same as that which probably makes it a decent amount to budget and maybe just maybe you'd get lucky enough to come out ahead. You can look at menu's prices at allears.net to get an idea. We figured counterservice 2x (we will always eat 3x a day one being quick breakfast in the room) a day for our 2 adults and 2 kids was going to cost us about $60 minimum and then extra drinks/snacks. THen when you add in the couple of table services we just went ahead with the plan. I know we could have done it cheaper than the plan but I would have been being so strict and budgeted - we wouldnt have been budgeting the 120. Budgeting 120 you can be just as happy off the plan I think as long as you arent trying to get everything you could if you had been on the plan. As to winging it I wanted to remind you - Dont forget to make all your ressies before you go. If when you are there you decide you would rather do something else you can always see about changing but atleast you will have something in place if it is to crowded.

 

[LindyN]

With the dining plan, Famofour will come out ahead. I average $120/day, but there may be a day that we do not do a TS meal, or we only eat a cheap breakfast somewhere and then graze through Epcot getting what we want. A couple of days on our last trip only had $60 in food for the entire day. Food is just another attraction at Disney, and the DDP sort of makes you sit down once a day and regroup. It does allow you to try places you might not normally go and order things that may be different from your usual out-to-eat routine. As a TA I book more DDP trips than anything else. Most people do not have time to hunt for food nor do they have each menu memorized, and they're not heading back in two or three months either.

For people who refuse to entertain the thought of dining reservations and just want to wing-it then the DDP could be a huge waste of money. They're likely to show up somewhere for dinner and there will be no tables. Picky adult eaters also have problem getting a good value from the DDP. I also have difficulty with a ten year old who might not eat a whole lot but who has to pay adult prices. My DD just turned 10, which means she's an "adult" for Disney dining. She is not likely to eat $25 worth of food at a buffet which causes me to reassess my dining plans each day. At least paying OOP she can just order appetizers rather than an entree, and there's less to send back to the kitchen. Either that or we will cancel the meal and eat something when we're hungry. But this is my own personal style of eating at Disney, because I know I'll be back in a few months. Not something I recommend to first time visitors.

 

[famofour]

I'm sorry... By "wing it" I meant see how it goes this time without paying for the dining plan. If we spend more than we budgeted, oh well, live and learn.

This is our first time to disney, so we're just not sure if we'll need or use a ts and cs every day. Plus, dh is leaving three days early, so we'd be paying for extra meals we wouldn't be using.

I have adr's for all the places we want to eat at. So, in that sense, we aren't "winging it."