Can an AP holder get DDPlan while staying at SWAN?

[ntautz]

This is my very first THREAD, so please bare with me.
It's true we LOVE Mickey and have been to DW many times now! Our very first time staying on property was when our kids were munchkins back in 1997 staying at Coronado Springs, 2004 WL, 2007 SSR, 2009 BLT (which has been our favorite so far!)

But now that the kids are high school/college age, we want one last blow out and thought it would be great to travel with all the cousins. So we are shooting for a Grand Gathering of 9 New Year's of 2012! But with the large group of family and it being the holiday setting, RCI trading would be the only way we could afford to stay in a deluxe resort.

I've been on a RCI waiting list for Grand Villa since Jan of 2010! It's true, up at the crack of dawn mountain time to reach the east coast desk. STILL don't know if the reservation will come through or not. You know how waiting on RCI can be!

SO, I'm working on a Plan B: Seemingly an affordable option is staying at the Swan or Dolphin. BUT we LOVE the Disney Dining Plan!! Everything I've read says the DDP is NOT available when you stay there. I'm looking for any loop hole that might help me out!!

So here's my question in a nut shell:
If I buy an Annual Pass, even though I'm staying at the Swan,could I(our whole group) be eligible for the DDP? Does anyone know anyway to make this happen?

Any information, or recommendations for that matter, would be so helpful!

THANK YOU!!

 

[cmwade77]

I have to say that I do not know how waiting on RCI can be. We are DVC members and when we want to exchange we call member services and it's all done instantly.

DDP is not offered at the Swan or Dolphin for anyone, they are not owned by Disney, but still get some perks like Extra Magic hours.

Another affordable option is to rent points from DVC members. We rented out some of our points to be able to go on a Disney Cruise that points wouldn't work for, others have similar reasons.

 

[purple figment]

Seemingly an affordable option is staying at the Swan or Dolphin. BUT we LOVE the Disney Dining Plan!! Everything I've read says the DDP is NOT available when you stay there. I'm looking for any loop hole that might help me out!!

!!

to the Disboards!

Now, on to the bad news. There is absolutely no loophole that will allow you to purchase the Disney Dining Plan while staying at the Swan or Dolphin (or Shades of Green) because even though those three resorts are on Disney property they are not operated by Disney.

 

[aubriee]

Even AP holders must be staying in a Disney owned resort in order to add the DDP.

 

[TDC Nala]

No way to make it happen, as anyone, regardless of what type of ticket they hold, must stay at a Disney-operated resort in order to get DDP. The only way to make it happen would be to book a reservation at a Disney resort but just use that reservation for dining credits and stay at the Swan, and paying for two rooms just to have dining credits does not sound like a good value. There are DVC guests who have done this, but it's usually during free dining - they book a value resort and tickets to get the free dining credits, but stay at DVC. With the current free dining promotions, even that is less of a value as any DVC member who did that would now have to buy 2 day tickets and pay to upgrade the plan to get regular dining.