Can you share on the DDP???

[Jenna319]

I really want to try a lot of the nicer 2TS restaurants for our honeymoon in October but I hate to have to use the credits and having to pay OOP for others! Can I just use my two credits for say, Cali Grill, and I can eat the appetizer and my husband have the entree?? This way the next 2TS restaurant we try, he can use his 2 credits and this way, instead of using 8 credits for both, we only use 4?? We really do not need that much food and are more interested in just trying out as many nice places as we can! Is this allowed? Thanks!

 

[kimberlyp02]

Not sure why anyone hasn't replied to you yet and I may not be of much help, but we shared last year. They were supposed to make some changes by this year though so you may want to hunt around and see if you can find out the latest on how it works. When we went it was 3 adults and we shared 2 meals at every place we ate but the places with buffets. No one gave us problems and in fact, were great about it. Good Luck! Hopefully nothing has changed in that respect! It's WAY too much food for one person to eat.

 

[Katiebell]

This has been discussed extensively on here recently, rather heatedly at times.

~Most people are saying they have shared at most restaurants (non-buffet/all-you-care-to-eat) and have had absolutely no problems at all.
~A couple of people have said they were not allowed to share in specific instances (like they weren't allowed to share their meals with their kids, the kids were required to order as well).
~A couple of people have been very adamant that sharing is not, and should not, be allowed on the DDP.
~And a few of us (I was one) wrote to Disney Guest Services for clarification, and were told that two adults on the DDP may not share one meal -- but I was told that one could use a TS credit and the other could pay OOP for whatever they order.

So...the answer is...we don't know. Disney seems to be discouraging it. It isn't addressed specifically in the DDP brochure (although it specifies adults and kids can't share credits, and you can't use your credits to buy food for people not on your package). It seems that most restaurants allow it with no problems, but each restaurant also has some interpretation up to their discretion.

I would say -- you can always ask, but the restaurant could say no, so don't plan your food budget counting on it as a sure thing.

 

[lonegungirl]

~And a few of us (I was one) wrote to Disney Guest Services for clarification, and were told that two adults on the DDP may not share one meal -- but I was told that one could use a TS credit and the other could pay OOP for whatever they order.

So...the answer is...we don't know.
I would say -- you can always ask, but the restaurant could say no, so don't plan your food budget counting on it as a sure thing.

I would agree that it seems likely to be ok, but you can never be sure as it's probably largely server dependent. I know in the past, I have had a server check with a manager who told her it was fine if we shared a TS but everything is subject to change.

I suppose you could argue that one person could use a TS credit and the other person could have water and order that way.

 

[bicker]

Unfortunately, on this question, it seems we need to refer you to the Magic Eight Ball.

 

[Katiebell]

I suppose you could argue that one person could use a TS credit and the other person could have water and order that way.

Yeah, I asked about that...what if I ordered a pine float? (for those of you too young to know, that's a toothpick in a glass of water...) The email I received did say that one person could use a TS credit and the other could pay for their food and beverage OOP. DH and I will often share menu items when dining out -- especially appetizers and desserts, but sometimes even entrees if they are huge. That way there's nothing wasted, and on vacation we can't exactly take leftovers home with us (I just don't think 3 day old pasta would make a very good souvenir ) We had planned on sharing a couple of meals during our trip, so we could try a few more TS restaurants, maybe a light lunch and light dinner one day. Ultimately, we decided not to, because it would end up costing us a lot more money. For example:

Sci Fi lunch
1 TS credit (appetizer and dessert to share; entree; beverage)
additional entree $12
additional beverage $2

Le Cellier dinner
1 TS credit (sharing appetizer, entree, and dessert; beverage)
additional appetizer to share $8
additional beverage $2

That's $24 extra OOP just for that day, not including the additional tax and tip...and 2 unused CS credits, if we didn't eat them at breakfast, that might still be unused at the end of our vacation. And if we couldn't get enough TS ADR's, or missed one or two, then we'd have wasted TS credits, too.

So, for us, it makes more sense to just both order full 3 course meals, eat what we want, share what we want (once it's on the table, we've already ordered 2 TS meals, so sharing would not be an issue since we aren't splitting a single meal), and not worry if something is left. If it's possible to take the dessert to go, we might choose to do that, so we can really enjoy it later when we aren't so full from dinner.

 

[lonegungirl]

Yeah, I don't think I would pay extra either. If they were deadset against letting us share, we'd probably either cough up the additional credits or walk, depending on how much we wanted to eat there. Worst comes to worst, we share a CS for that meal and then have the extra credits to use for the next meal, should they deny us as well.

For me, the better solution for the DP would be to reduce the cost and the portions, but clearly they must make more $ off their current pricing strategy. It's too bad the DP continues to get more restrictive, because the last time I was there without it, I thought that the OOP prices had largely increased beyond what seemed reasonable--possibly because people on the DP no longer care what the prices are, or may even appreciate higher prices, because it makes the DP appear more of a bargain.

 

[kimberlyp02]

I have an idea. When making reservations make them for 1/2 the people that will be there. Then have whoever you are with go to the bathroom before you order then come to the table. Voila....lmao You could always leave that person outside, eat only 1/2 your food and take the other 1/2 to go for them.

Ok, before anyone flames me, those were TOTALLY jokes. I would never do either one. I'm hoping they do allow sharing though still. That is WAY too much food for us to eat and I hate wasting a ton, you know?

 

[50 years Too!]

Just got back using DDP while staying DVC.
We had 8 in our group. Two of the girls, 10 and 11 yrs, eat like birds.
Spoodles and Liberty Tree Inn (lunch) let them share. Le Cellier would not.
The rest of our TS were buffet.
Good luck, you might want to call ahead and check on each restaurant's policy.

 

[kimberlyp02]

Is it going by restaurant though or by waiter? I mean, I'm sure there are lots of waitstaff that just overlook the no sharing policy. I had called ahead last time and was told no sharing was allowed at 50's diner. We figured we'd try anyway and the waiter said sure, no problem! So it may be the person you get too?

 

[lovesdumbo]

When I made my ADR's for August (paid DDP) the CM said after every ADR this restaurant requires 1 TS credit from each diner, is non smoking, requires park admission (if it did) and allow up to 1 hour to get there via Disney transport. I don't remember them saying that part about credit from each diner last year....

 

[rentayenta]

The answers really do vary. The CM I spoke with today said that as long as everyone at the table is on the DDP, and it's not a buffet, then it's okay to share. I was explaining to her how little my children will eat at times and she said it was fine if they share, we can use them any way we want, and that there shouldn't be an issue. She said with all character meals sharing is not allowed.

 

[jodifla]

It's my bet that next year we'll see the brochure say "no sharing" on the DDP. They are already making moves toward this. It was NEVER designed to have two people share one meal.


People have taken advantage of it, so it's going away.

 

[kimberlyp02]

I have NO idea why in the world they would care though? I mean, it's still the same exact amount of meals. It's not like we are cheating them out of anything. I think the "people are taking advantage of it" comment it silly. How is that taking advantage if you are getting the same amount of food?

I can TOTALLY see how people were taking advantage with ordering adult meals and sharing with a kid and not ordering a child's meal the next time, but when it's 2 adults, I have no clue how they could have issue with that?

 

[bicker]

I have NO idea why in the world they would care though?

There have been a lot of threads where the explanation of why has been gone over and discussed in great detail. I would check the archives for them. In a nutshell, they would care if the practice resulted in significantly less revenue overall for them. That's not hard to see happening.

How is that taking advantage if you are getting the same amount of food?

The cost of the food ingredients is not a majority of the costs associated with operating a restaurant. In reality, it is only 38% on average. So when people share meals, the restaurant is effectively losing revenue intended to cover 62% of the costs of the restaurant, plus a corresponding allocation for profit, for each guest who isn't ordering their own meal.

 

[Katiebell]

*Katiebell waits for the stroganoff to hit the fan...*

bicker is totally correct, this has been discussed, quite passionately at times, on numerous threads. I'm sure it will continue to come up though. And the statistics he provides are usually right on the money, and help to explain things from the restauranteur's point of view regarding costs.

As I explained in post #6 above, I found that splitting meals and buying a few extra items would end up costing us more.

People do share at restaurants, routinely. Of the 10 appetizers on the Raglan Road menu, 7 of them are listed as "Starters for Sharing (for two people)". Ghirardelli's serves an Earthquake Sundae for 24.95 and Beaches and Cream serves the infamous Kitchen Sink for 21.99 -- both of which are designed for more than two people to share.

For portion control purposes, some diners wish to share extremely large entrees, even if it does not state on the menu specifically that the dish is for two people. Shula's Steakhouse at the Dolphin says right on their menu there is a $10 plate splitting charge -- which is not unheard of, given their prices. And surely they must expect guests to share menu items like their $75 48 oz Porterhouse -- I can't imagine many diners could hope to consume three pounds of beef in a meal. It would be like the steak Fred Flintstone ordered at the car hop restaurant that tipped his car over Even split 3 ways, it would be 3 enormous portions of steak. Shula's is an extreme example, though, and isn't even on the dining plan. Entrees at other restaurants may be large, but I doubt there's anything that extravagant.

Although...if you went to an all-you-care-to-eat buffet...you could just ask for the entire prime rib at the carver's station...tell them, "I care to eat all of that meat," just to see the look on their face

 

[jodifla]

*Katiebell waits for the stroganoff to hit the fan...*

bicker is totally correct, this has been discussed, quite passionately at times, on numerous threads. I'm sure it will continue to come up though. And the statistics he provides are usually right on the money, and help to explain things from the restauranteur's point of view regarding costs.

As I explained in post #6 above, I found that splitting meals and buying a few extra items would end up costing us more.

People do share at restaurants, routinely. Of the 10 appetizers on the Raglan Road menu, 7 of them are listed as "Starters for Sharing (for two people)". Ghirardelli's serves an Earthquake Sundae for 24.95 and Beaches and Cream serves the infamous Kitchen Sink for 21.99 -- both of which are designed for more than two people to share.

For portion control purposes, some diners wish to share extremely large entrees, even if it does not state on the menu specifically that the dish is for two people. Shula's Steakhouse at the Dolphin says right on their menu there is a $10 plate splitting charge -- which is not unheard of, given their prices. And surely they must expect guests to share menu items like their $75 48 oz Porterhouse -- I can't imagine many diners could hope to consume three pounds of beef in a meal. It would be like the steak Fred Flintstone ordered at the car hop restaurant that tipped his car over Even split 3 ways, it would be 3 enormous portions of steak. Shula's is an extreme example, though, and isn't even on the dining plan. Entrees at other restaurants may be large, but I doubt there's anything that extravagant.

Although...if you went to an all-you-care-to-eat buffet...you could just ask for the entire prime rib at the carver's station...tell them, "I care to eat all of that meat," just to see the look on their face

Yes, people paying OOP share at restaurants.

This is completely different than sharing when you are on a dining plan that's ALREADY a huge cost savings.

 

[kimberlyp02]

Well, sorry to have mentioned it then...lol I tend to only frequent the boards a few months in advance before our trips. I do know that a good friend of mine posted once about her 7yr old using a stroller while there and you would've thought she asked if she should let her start prostituting or something...lmao...people were horrible. There are some people here with WAY too much time on their hands if they are that on fire about it.