Are we eligible?

[kpj820]

hi all,

I had a question about the dining plan and thought short of calling disney itself, this would be the way to go!

I am traveling from 10-16-10-25. Myself, my husband and 3 children 5 and under. (ages 5, 3 and infant). The first two nights we will be staying at the dolphin, and the remainder at bonnet creek. We purchased our tickets through undercover tourist. I did not think we were eligible for free dining, but then a friend suggested i look into it further...if perhaps one more night at the dolphin would qualify us?

any help or advice is greatly appreciated!

 

[kmk1180]

the dolphin is privately owned and technically not disney property thus
your not staying at a disney resort so you don't qualify.
even if you did, you only qualify with certain rooms, certain times of year, so even if you stayed at a resport you wouldn't qualify unless you booked a free dining package which is probably sold out.
When you do you only get 1 day of free food for 1 night.
so you'd only get 1 day of food, even if you qualified. which you don't
sorry.

 

[Faldred]

Not only are you not eligible for "free dining", you cannot purchase any of the dining plans at all, since you are not staying at a Disney-owned resort.

 

[carmie3377]

I don't think the Swan and Dolphin are Disney owned resorts so therefore not eligible for the DDP. Even if they were, you'd still have to buy at least a one day ticket to be eligible even though you already have them.

You are correct that it must be a min 3 night stay, but it must be a Disney owned resort and you must buy at least a one day ticket.

 

[Singinglizzie]

Not only are you not eligible for "free dining", you cannot purchase any of the dining plans at all, since you are not staying at a Disney-owned resort.

Well, even though you can't purchase the dining plan, you can still make ADR's and dine at any of Disney's restaurants. During free dinning many of the restaurant slots get booked right away, so best to check availability using the WDW website that allows you to book your own ADR's 90 days in advance regardless if you are staying on site or not! HAve a fun trip!

 

[TDC Nala]

You must stay at a Disney-owned resort to use any of the Disney dining plans, so you are completely ineligible for this stay.

The Swan and Dolphin resorts, while they are located on Walt Disney World property, are not owned by Disney, so they are not eligible.

 

[hoosiergirl7]

What they all said. It stinks but Swan & Dolphin are not Disney resorts and no Dining Plan. And staying somewhere else you can't do the DDP either.

 

[beroh2253]

Don't forget that if you got a discount on a package or a room at those resorts you would have lost that discount to get the free dining so it may be better off with what you have and not being able to get the free dining.

 

[purplebelle]

What they all said. It stinks but Swan & Dolphin are not Disney resorts and no Dining Plan. And staying somewhere else you can't do the DDP either.

It almost seems like Swan and Dolphin are Disney property when it's convenient... Why does Disney advertise S&D on their website? And why are they so connected with Disney transportation? I still don't quite get how S&D were able to snag the locations they have. Built before Disney expanded?

 

[TDC Nala]

They're on Disney property. That does not make them Disney resorts - they're Starwood resorts. While Disney allows them to take part in the resort transportation, they are restricting the dining plan to their own resorts. The dining plans are immensely popular, and Disney apparently doesn't want more of its guests running off to stay at a Starwood hotel.