AP Dining Plan Questions

[AtlantaDisneyDreamer]

Hello! I am planning our July trip and have a few questions I am sure you guys can help with . . .


My daughters and I have APs. I am considering doing the dining plan for our stay this summer since it might be worth it with one adult and two children. My mom just said she might consider staying with us. She does not have an AP but I know that everyone in the room has to be on the same dining plan.

My husband said he might want to fly down for a few days and spend part of the vacation with us. We are staying for 10 nights, but he might want to stay for only three or four nights and not do the parks.


Questions:

• If Mom comes with us, can she get a ticketless package and add the dining plan even if she is not going to the parks at all and will have no park tickets?

• Can my husband add the dining plan for only the four nights he is there?

• If we decided to add the dining plan, how late can we add that to our room only reservation (I think I have read we have to do it at least ten days in advance, but I am not sure about that time frame)?

Thank you! I always seem to have complicated situations due to other people's plans . . .

 

[deakam]

I am in a similar situation. I have a friend coming down to stay with my son and I. We are AP holders, my friend is not. She is planning to purchase tickets prior to arrival which we can link to the reservation but she may not be there the entire 9 days that we are staying. I too would like to know if we need to have her pay for a dining plan for the entire stay or just the nights she will be there.

 

[purple figment]

Questions:

• If Mom comes with us, can she get a ticketless package and add the dining plan even if she is not going to the parks at all and will have no park tickets?

You can get a ticketless Package and add the dining plan. Everyone who is on the reservation before you arrive will have the dining plan for the length of the resort reservation. Your mother does not need tickets or she can buy them separately from Disney or an authorized third party vendor if she decides she wants to go to the parks.

• Can my husband add the dining plan for only the four nights he is there?

• No. You can add him to the resort reservation after you arrive and he will only be charged as the third adult for the nights he will be there, but he cannot add the dining plan because the dining plan has to be for the entire length of the resort reservation. If you include him on the reservation before your arrival he can have the dining plan and any extra credits he doesn't use can be used by anyone else staying in the room.

• If we decided to add the dining plan, how late can we add that to our room only reservation (I think I have read we have to do it at least ten days in advance, but I am not sure about that time frame)?

• You cannot add the dining plan to a room only reservation. You will have to book a ticketless package and cancel the room only reservation. The deposit for the room only will be refunded and a new package deposit will be charged because the 2 reservation types are booked from separate inventories and entities. There are differences in the deposit amount, final payment deadline, and change penalties between room only and package reservations. The dining plan must be added to the package no later than 72 hours before arrival.

Thank you! I always seem to have complicated situations due to other people's plans . . .[/QUOTE]

 

[AtlantaDisneyDreamer]

You can get a ticketless Package and add the dining plan. Everyone who is on the reservation before you arrive will have the dining plan for the length of the resort reservation. Your mother does not need tickets or she can buy them separately from Disney or an authorized third party vendor if she decides she wants to go to the parks.

• No. You can add him to the resort reservation after you arrive and he will only be charged as the third adult for the nights he will be there, but he cannot add the dining plan because the dining plan has to be for the entire length of the resort reservation. If you include him on the reservation before your arrival he can have the dining plan and any extra credits he doesn't use can be used by anyone else staying in the room.

• You cannot add the dining plan to a room only reservation. You will have to book a ticketless package and cancel the room only reservation. The deposit for the room only will be refunded and a new package deposit will be charged because the 2 reservation types are booked from separate inventories and entities. There are differences in the deposit amount, final payment deadline, and change penalties between room only and package reservations. The dining plan must be added to the package no later than 72 hours before arrival.

Thank you! I always seem to have complicated situations due to other people's plans . . .

[/QUOTE]

Thanks so much for the info. I am actually glad to know that DH can be added to the room but not to the package. He would not want the dining plan anyway. So in that scenario, could we add Mom to the room after we arrive if she did not want the dining plan, even if she were staying the entire time?

The concern I would have about adding it 72 hours in advance is that the rooms and rates I have booked might not still be available. That is a real possibility, isn't it? Since we have APs, we would likely still get the same discount if the room were available, but I would think a lot of the rooms would be sold out 72 hours in advance.

 

[AtlantaDisneyDreamer]

Bump! Anyone know the answer to my last two questions?

Are most people who want to add the ddp 72 hours in advance usually able to do so, or do they find unavailability for their room type?

What happens if we add ddp for myself and the girls, show up on check in day, then add Mom to the room? She can no longer add ddp bc it is less than 72 hours from check in, but now she is violating the rule about everyone in the room being on the same plan. Bit of a paradox. How will Disney handle this?

 

[Wood Nymph]

Are most people who want to add the ddp 72 hours in advance usually able to do so, or do they find unavailability for their room type?

You can add a dining plan to your reservation. This isn't like free dining, where you can only have it if there is availability. You just have to give Diseny your money and you can add the dining plan.

What happens if we add ddp for myself and the girls, show up on check in day, then add Mom to the room? She can no longer add ddp bc it is less than 72 hours from check in, but now she is violating the rule about everyone in the room being on the same plan. Bit of a paradox. How will Disney handle this?

Purple Figment answered this question:

You can add him to the resort reservation after you arrive and he will only be charged as the third adult for the nights he will be there, but he cannot add the dining plan because the dining plan has to be for the entire length of the resort reservation.

She would not be violating any rules if you add her when she checks in. Disney allows you to add people at check in without requiring them to be on the same package.

 

[AtlantaDisneyDreamer]

You can add a dining plan to your reservation. This isn't like free dining, where you can only have it if there is availability. You just have to give Diseny your money and you can add the dining plan.



Purple Figment answered this question:


She would not be violating any rules if you add her when she checks in. Disney allows you to add people at check in without requiring them to be on the same package.

That is great! I know of I have seen people post that they don't want all in the room to be on the dining plan and the answer is always, "Everyone in one room must be on the same package." Seems like if Disney allows you to add guests to the room at the last minute without making them be on the same package, then that would solve the problem for those people. Just add them at the last minute and they don't have to purchase the dining plan.

 

[purple figment]

That is great! I know of I have seen people post that they don't want all in the room to be on the dining plan and the answer is always, "Everyone in one room must be on the same package." Seems like if Disney allows you to add guests to the room at the last minute without making them be on the same package, then that would solve the problem for those people. Just add them at the last minute and they don't have to purchase the dining plan.

While it would work for some, the fact that it seems like you cannot make FP+ in advance with the rest of the family or ride DME if arriving at the airport at the same time are problematic for others.

 

[DISbot]

While it would work for some, the fact that it seems like you cannot make FP+ in advance with the rest of the family or ride DME if arriving at the airport at the same time are problematic for others.

You also won't get a custom magic band which is another loss for day-of additions.

 

[AtlantaDisneyDreamer]

While it would work for some, the fact that it seems like you cannot make FP+ in advance with the rest of the family or ride DME if arriving at the airport at the same time are problematic for others.

Those are excellent points. We drive and Mom lost all interest in doing the parks when we were there the first week of April, so this situation works very well for us.

You also won't get a custom magic band which is another loss for day-of additions.

Good point, also. Mom has at least four or five active Magic Bands, so she won't need one of those either.

I can see that a late-add doesn't work for everyone, but it would work very well for our plans. Mom just enjoys relaxing at the resort and enjoying watching the kids in the pool and having some resort meals with us. She would not want a dining plan. She doesn't eat much and would feel that it was a big waste.