Adding a late arrival to our reservation

[DisDad4Life]

We're planning a BC or YC vacation in August. Initially there will be four of us flying down with my DIL joining us a day or two later because of a previous commitment. With everything that we need to plan in advance (ADRs, FP+, etc.) I'm not sure how to go about doing this (Disney seems to make things so complicated sometimes!).

• Adding her to our room reservation
• Including her in our ADRs and FP+ selections
• Getting her on Magical Express to and from the resort (hopefully she'll have the same flight home as the rest of us)

I'm hoping this is much ado about nothing, but since I haven't dealt with this scenario before I'm stressing a little over this as I want to make sure we all enjoy the Disney Magic as one big happy group!

TIA for any advice you can offer!

 

[maxiesmom]

I can help with a couple of things. ADRs are no problem at all. You simply tell them how many people you will have, they don't check to see if you are staying at a resort or not. As far as Magical Express goes, she will need to be added to your room (if you don't plan on having her listed on it for your whole stay) and then she is free to use Magical Express. At the latest add her the morning she will be flying in.

 

[DisDad4Life]

Thanks maxiesmom! As I'm thinking through this I'm assuming I should book our package for the full seven nights for the four of us (have to do that today or tomorrow since the current discount expires on the 12th), then just add my DIL for the last five or six nights afterwards by calling Disney I assume? She'd also need to purchase her tickets separately, which I assume I could link to my reservation for FP+ purposes. I hope this is all I'd need to do...

 

[MakiraMarlena]

If you book a package, everybody listed on the package must have the same length tickets and the same dining plan if you have one. You will not be able to add your extra person to a package and also buy her separate tickets.

The only way to get out of the ticket issue with a package is to either just forget about the two extra days on the extra person's ticket, or add that person to the reservation after you have checked in. If you do that, they do not get access to 60 day in advance fastpasses. They also wouldn't get access to DME unless they are arriving after you and you can call DME with their flight information as soon as they are added to the reservation.

If you can, book a room only reservation and buy tickets separately for everyone. You haven't said anything that makes me think you absolutely need to book your reservation as a room plus tickets package. You haven't mentioned a dining plan but if you are getting one, you can consider booking a ticketless room plus dining package (you can do this only by phone) and then buy tickets for everyone separately. Your extra person will have to have dining credits allotted for the entire stay, but anyone can use those credits for the time she isn't there.

 

[DisDad4Life]

If you book a package, everybody listed on the package must have the same length tickets and the same dining plan if you have one. You will not be able to add your extra person to a package and also buy her separate tickets.

The only way to get out of the ticket issue with a package is to either just forget about the two extra days on the extra person's ticket, or add that person to the reservation after you have checked in. If you do that, they do not get access to 60 day in advance fastpasses. They also wouldn't get access to DME unless they are arriving after you and you can call DME with their flight information as soon as they are added to the reservation.

If you can, book a room only reservation and buy tickets separately for everyone. You haven't said anything that makes me think you absolutely need to book your reservation as a room plus tickets package. You haven't mentioned a dining plan but if you are getting one, you can consider booking a ticketless room plus dining package (you can do this only by phone) and then buy tickets for everyone separately. Your extra person will have to have dining credits allotted for the entire stay, but anyone can use those credits for the time she isn't there.

Excellent info, thank you. I hadn't considered the 60 day in advance provision for FP. I'm now thinking I might just book a room and tickets package for all 5 of us to ensure we can all coordinate our FP selections. Not sure yet if she'll be flying in Sunday or Monday (we're flying in on Saturday), so I'd just eat the cost of the lost day or two for her - I figure around $70-$80 per day. We won't have a dining plan, so that's not an issue. We'd all be booked on the same flight home, so DME won't be an issue for the return trip, but we'll have to figure out how to get her to the resort when she flies in.

 

[tinka-belle]

You can call DME directly with your Disney package reservation number and have them list her actual arrival date separately at 1-866-599-0951. The reservation CM's sometimes have difficulty splitting a party for DME, best to have DME do it directly. Might take a few days after you make your reservation for them to see it. Call as soon as you know what her flights will be.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

I have to ask why you'd be sold on the room/tickets package if you don't want a dining plan and you need different length tickets. it's easy to book the room and tickets separately and it likely won't cost more. Usually you can get the same discount on a room only as you can on a package, unless it's a package-specific discount like free dining.

If she is on the reservation at the time she arrives, she can go to the DME desk and they will give her a voucher for her bus ride. But if she's on your reservation from the beginning you will receive a magic band for her, and she can use that whenever she gets in. You do not all have to arrive together.

 

[DisDad4Life]

You can call DME directly with your Disney package reservation number and have them list her actual arrival date separately at 1-866-599-0951. The reservation CM's sometimes have difficulty splitting a party for DME, best to have DME do it directly. Might take a few days after you make your reservation for them to see it. Call as soon as you know what her flights will be.

Thank you. Sounds simple enough. I'll keep that phone number.

 

[DisDad4Life]

I have to ask why you'd be sold on the room/tickets package if you don't want a dining plan and you need different length tickets. it's easy to book the room and tickets separately and it likely won't cost more. Usually you can get the same discount on a room only as you can on a package, unless it's a package-specific discount like free dining.

If she is on the reservation at the time she arrives, she can go to the DME desk and they will give her a voucher for her bus ride. But if she's on your reservation from the beginning you will receive a magic band for her, and she can use that whenever she gets in. You do not all have to arrive together.

The only reason I was thinking of booking everything together from the start (except airfare) is so that we'd all be on the same reservation to ensure I can book all of our fast passes together, taking advantage of the 60 day window so we get most, if not all of the attractions we want before they "sell out". If there's a better way to do this I'm all ears. I do appreciate your responses and insights!

 

[MakiraMarlena]

You will all be on the same reservation no matter how you book. Just make sure you have your tickets for everyone (including the shorter ticket for the late arrival) purchased and linked before you try to make fastpass reservations (so more than 60 days before arrival).