Can my kids share on DDP?

[Jen66]

I have bought the DDP for our trip next week and am wondering if my kids can share. They are 10 and 12, so I had to buy them the adult plan. No problem except they will never eat that much food at one time. I was wondering if they could just order one meal and split it. Has anyone tried this? TIA

 

[mom2mykids]

I'd like to know this also. had to do the same thing!

 

[bicker]

With children that age, you shouldn't have any problems at full service restaurants. Of course, there is no "sharing" at buffets, pre-plated meals, character meals, and other prix fixe meals.

It is customary to provide an additional gratuity when you do share. This is because the work involve in serving two guests one meal is at least double the work of serving one guest, and the gratuity included in the Dining Plan is based on the cost of what is ordered (typically) so that leaves the server shorted unless you provide an additional gratuity. A few dollars per diner not ordering should cover it.

 

[Jen66]

Thanks Bicker, I served for years through college and totally agree on the extra gratuity. I am glad they can share though because that is just too much food for kids!

 

[angiedora]

I'm glad to hear that as well. My kids will be the same age as yours at the time of travel. They still order off of the kid's menu at most sit down places at home.

 

[colonels cruisers]

We did this last year. It ended up being great bc we felt we got a ton more meals (stayed 7 days so we ended up with 7 extra cs and 7 extra ts credit to spend). We placed an order for the extra drink and then when we charged the drink to our KTTW we added the tip in there so it is also easy

 

[cinderella_mom]

For CS this is very easy. We often bought only 2 meals for the three of us and then added an extra drink as a snack. At TS, you do the same if it's not a buffet or family-style meal.

 

[SB in KY]

We have often shared meals in the past without any problem...however we did have 1 instance last January...it was the end of our stay and we had 3 TS credits remaining (4 people on the plan)...so the 4 of us decided to use the last 3 credits at Beaches and Cream. We ordered 3 meals and told the waitress we would be sharing...she said "that is fine, but we will still have to charge you 4 credits"...Huh?? Yes, she explains, you do not have to order 4 meals but if there are 4 people at the table we have to charge you 4 credits... I am thinking this poor girl is just confused, so we ask to see the manager...who basically tells us the same thing. I tell her we do not have 4 credits left, we are checking out today and we just wanted to use our last credits...OK she says, but only 3 people can eat the food!! (boy, this is getting nuttier by the minute)...she states this is per a new Disney policy that she has on her desk. By this time my DM and DSis are ready to just say adios and leave, but I am getting ticked and ask her if I can see this new policy. When she brings it to me it says essentially that the restaurant may refuse to allow sharing of DDP meals with guests not on the plan.The example given was if the Card identifies 2 guests as being on the plan they may not order 4 meals and provide the other 2 meals to non-DDP participating guests at their table. I point out to her that we are all on the plan and we are not ordering more meals than we were allowed, but less and she reluctantly agrees to serve 3 meals but feels obligated to give me the "I really shouldn't do this, but..." speech.

On that same visit we had eaten at lots of very nice TS places and shared at every one almost (my DM who is 86 and eats like a bird was with us and she never wanted to order an entire meal)...everyone was very polite and accommodating except Beaches and Cream...I thought it was funny there, because that is probably the least expensive TS place on the DDP and IMHO is a real waste of a TS credit....the only reason we went there was because it was close and my DM wanted icecream...so we thought, why not just use up the last 3 TS credits instead of letting them go to waste.

 

[illiniowl]

We have often shared meals in the past without any problem...however we did have 1 instance last January...it was the end of our stay and we had 3 TS credits remaining (4 people on the plan)...so the 4 of us decided to use the last 3 credits at Beaches and Cream. We ordered 3 meals and told the waitress we would be sharing...she said "that is fine, but we will still have to charge you 4 credits"...Huh?? Yes, she explains, you do not have to order 4 meals but if there are 4 people at the table we have to charge you 4 credits... I am thinking this poor girl is just confused, so we ask to see the manager...who basically tells us the same thing. I tell her we do not have 4 credits left, we are checking out today and we just wanted to use our last credits...OK she says, but only 3 people can eat the food!! (boy, this is getting nuttier by the minute)...she states this is per a new Disney policy that she has on her desk. By this time my DM and DSis are ready to just say adios and leave, but I am getting ticked and ask her if I can see this new policy. When she brings it to me it says essentially that the restaurant may refuse to allow sharing of DDP meals with guests not on the plan.The example given was if the Card identifies 2 guests as being on the plan they may not order 4 meals and provide the other 2 meals to non-DDP participating guests at their table. I point out to her that we are all on the plan and we are not ordering more meals than we were allowed, but less and she reluctantly agrees to serve 3 meals but feels obligated to give me the "I really shouldn't do this, but..." speech.

On that same visit we had eaten at lots of very nice TS places and shared at every one almost (my DM who is 86 and eats like a bird was with us and she never wanted to order an entire meal)...everyone was very polite and accommodating except Beaches and Cream...I thought it was funny there, because that is probably the least expensive TS place on the DDP and IMHO is a real waste of a TS credit....the only reason we went there was because it was close and my DM wanted icecream...so we thought, why not just use up the last 3 TS credits instead of letting them go to waste.

That is a very illuminating story, and thanks very much for sharing it. Good for you for asking to see this "policy," and from what you described, the policy wasn't anything new but simply an illustration of what is specifically stated in the DDP brochure, which is: "you may not use your Disney Dining Plan to redeem meals for friends or family members who are not included in your reservation and have not purchased a Magic Your Way Package Plus Dining." I stated in a thread yesterday, which has since been locked, that "I feel 100% confident in saying that what Disney is really concerned with, and what the quoted language is meant to address, is the proverbial situation where there are 4 people at a table, 2 who are on the DDP and 2 who are not, and the 2 DDP'ers try to use 4 credits to pay for everyone's meals." Apparently I wasn't too far off base. (My point in the other thread was that a DDP guest who uses a credit to order an appetizer, entree and dessert can give bites of or even all of a food item like a dessert to a non-DDP guest without even technically violating the DDP, but that's off topic for this thread.)

I am all for following the DDP rules to the letter, but guess what? Disney is obligated to follow them, too. The DDP is a contract. Unfortunately, as we all know, CMs can be and sometimes are just plain wrong about what it requires of Disney as well as of the Guests. You were an all-DDP party, and the "policy" the CM was all worried about applied only to mixed parties (DDP'ers and non-DDP'ers). Sounds like you handled the situation perfectly.