bounceback plus adding dining

[Jimmo46]

I have the 35% bb for Nov/Dec 2012. Great. I would like and add andpay for DDP (with tickets) but the disney reps on the phone tell me I have to cancel the BB reservation and make a new reservation with the package with DDP and I will lose the discount. That seems crazy but that is what I have been told twice. Losing the bb would be a disaster. Looking at some posts leads me to believe this can be done. All help greatly appreciated.

 

[TDC Nala]

This is true if you booked a room-only reservation. In order to add tickets and dining it has to be a package, and would have to be cancelled and rebooked as a package.

 

[bedogged]

This is true if you booked a room-only reservation. In order to add tickets and dining it has to be a package, and would have to be cancelled and rebooked as a package.

So, if I understand you correctly, you cannot book BB WITH a dinning plan, but you can book AP with a dinning plan?

 

[Have3Kids&aHusband]

I'm not sure how BB works since I never did that. However, I booked a room only discount for November 2010 and then added on my family's tickets & dining plan. We even changed our previous reservation that was a package to the room only with the add ons & saved over $500.

 

[smitch425]

I have the 35% bb for Nov/Dec 2012. Great. I would like and add andpay for DDP (with tickets) but the disney reps on the phone tell me I have to cancel the BB reservation and make a new reservation with the package with DDP and I will lose the discount. That seems crazy but that is what I have been told twice. Losing the bb would be a disaster. Looking at some posts leads me to believe this can be done. All help greatly appreciated.

What you were told IS correct. When you book a room only reservation, you cannot simply add tickets and dining. Had you used the BB offer and booked a package with it originally, you could have added the dining plan at a later date. In your case, you will need to decide what you would rather have--the room discount or the DDP. Depending on your dates, though, there is a chance free dining will be offered, so there is still hope for another offer. Good luck, and sorry it won't work out with your current reservation.

 

[DJFan88]

Okay, 2 thoughts on this;
1) I have a room only booked at a discount for our upcoming trip. The CM told me I have up until 3 days before to add tickets or dining plan. She did not say I would lose my discount (only 20%).

2) If for some reason you cannot add the dining, I wouldn't sweat it. I did an elaborate cost comparison after trying to decide whether we wanted the dining plan or not. First off I booked us with our equivalent of table service meals and then went through the menus and prices taking into account of who would probably get what and adding in drinks and desserts where I thought we would actually want dessert. If in doubt I went with the higher priced items. Next I figured where we may go for an equivalent amount of quick service meals and pricing there. Again, you need to add in drinks, or whatever. Third, I added in the allowance our family would receive for our snack credit a day each. And finally I figured in the price of the mugs.
The price was cheaper for us by about 250.00. I did not add in tips, as they are not added in to the what the dining plan would absorb. Also, I did not add extra snacks that were not part of the snack credit allowance.
Now the reality is that we will probably actually spend less, because of eating habits of our group, more snacking, less big meals, but for cost comparison purposes, I wanted to see. The only thing with this is some people say they have a hard time actually spending that much on your sit down meals. But if you realize that you would've paid that and more and it's budgeted in, you can't worry about it. We are keeping our sit down meals. Well, there's one I was iffy about so I may cancel that one, but other than that, don't fret! Certainly don't give up your awesome discount for a "perceived" discount.

 

[StrwLady]

I am betting the issue is technically the booking deadline for the BB has passed. So front line CM's can not change a reservation and apply an expired rate.

Ask to speak with a supervisor. They should connect you with someone in guest services and that CM may be able to help you.

I hope they can. Good Luck!

 

[bedogged]

I am still confused! I plan to book a BB offer next month for Dec. 2012. I would like to add deluxe dinning to it. I know I will not receive a discount on the dinning in addition to the room discount. Why would that not be allowed? If you can add the dinning plan to an AP room discount, why couldn't you add it to the BB?

 

[smitch425]

I am still confused! I plan to book a BB offer next month for Dec. 2012. I would like to add deluxe dinning to it. I know I will not receive a discount on the dinning in addition to the room discount. Why would that not be allowed? If you can add the dinning plan to an AP room discount, why couldn't you add it to the BB?

You CAN do it when you book a PACKAGE with the BB offer while you are still on property. OP did not do this ORIGINALLY. Had OP booked a package with tickets initially, they could have added any dining plan they wanted up to 72 hours before arrival. There is no way to turn a "room only" reservation into a package without cancelling and rebooking.

You should have no trouble with your scenario. Just book it all at once from your room, or you can even book just the room and tickets now and add the DxDP later. Does that make sense?

 

[Jimmo46]

Thank you for all the information. I agree with the above math. At this point I am reasonably confident the OOP costs are below the meal plan, perhaps significantly. As I am taking my granddaughter I thought it would be easier and more relaxing to be on the meal plan. Additionally, as my son is in the service he can buy tickets without the sales tax at his base so overall I think OOP is a smarter option.
This is an example, however, of some of the "strange" approaches used by Disney. For example, when our whole family is there I cannot make one reservation for three rooms. Each has to be a separate reservation. I have been all over world and USA and can book multi-rooms at every hotel and resort and National Park-no exceptions. Here, I am thinking about giving Disney more money by buying the meal plan and they make it difficult.
Our family loves Disney and we always have a good time with memories but the whole reservation/dining operation is bizzare.

 

[aubriee]

So, if I understand you correctly, you cannot book BB WITH a dinning plan, but you can book AP with a dinning plan?

Having an AP has nothing to do with adding the DDP to a bounceback. As an AP holder I can book a room at rack rate or an AP discount and add the DDP without having to buy park tickets. However, if I book bouncback deals, I am just like any other visitor. To add the DDP, I would still have to buy at least one day park tickets for everyone in the room (two day park tickets if the bounceback is for free dining) and I would need to add the DDP and park tickets while the booking dates are still good.

I am still confused! I plan to book a BB offer next month for Dec. 2012. I would like to add deluxe dinning to it. I know I will not receive a discount on the dinning in addition to the room discount. Why would that not be allowed? If you can add the dinning plan to an AP room discount, why couldn't you add it to the BB?

See my post above. You can add any of the DDPs to a bounceback. You just have to make it a pkg with DDP and park tickets. If you didn't want to add the DxDDP at the time of booking, but planned to do so later, just make sure you add at least one day park tickets when you initially book. Those one day park tickets are enough to make it a pkg (vs a room only). Later, you can add more park days to those tickets or you can add any of the DDPs to that pkg. If you book room only when you first book, then try to add the DDP later like the OP wants to do, then they have to cancel the room only and rebook a pkg. Since the dates for booking bouncebacks is past, they would then lose their room discount.

I'm not sure how BB works since I never did that. However, I booked a room only discount for November 2010 and then added on my family's tickets & dining plan. We even changed our previous reservation that was a package to the room only with the add ons & saved over $500.

What the CM did was cancel the room only and rebooked a pkg. Room only and pkgs are handled differently. You can switch one room only to another room only at a different resort (or even switch your dates if you want) and still keep your discounts and even the same reservation number. You can also switch a pkg from one resort to another (or again even switch to a different date) and you can add more components to a pkg. However, if you switch from a room only to a pkg or from a pkg to a room only that's a whole different ball game. The CM must cancel the current reservation, usually refunds your money to your credit card, then rebooks the new reservation, charges you a deposit and gives you another reservation number. Room only reservation confirmation numbers are 12 digits (all numbers, like 123456789012) whereas pkg reservation confirmation numbers are like 9 digits (some numbers along with some letters, like 3RH123543).