Converting Room Only to Package Reservation

[Kathy Z]

I’m thinking of booking a room only reservation. I’m also considering purchasing No Expiration Date park tickets. Here is my question: if we decide to convert our room reservation to a package in order to take advantage of a free dining plan (if one becomes available for our travel time) what is the specific requirement for purchasing park tickets necessary to book a package? Two or three of us could have No Expire tickets but the other two would not yet have any tickets.

 

[vicki_c]

To get a free dining offer, you currently have to purchase a minimum of 2 day tickets for everyone in the room.

 

[drstrange79]

I hate to sound crazy, but I saw if you had an annual pass that it would suffice.

 

[rlovew]

An annual pass will work to get the dining plan but not to get free dining.

 

[Kathy Z]

Thanks Vicki and rlovew, I was pretty sure this was the case. We would not have annual passes but am considering buying 10 day tickets with the No Expiration date option. For DH & I we do not like the dining plan but if we take 3 grandchildren along with us instead of just 1 child (8 years old, cheap to feed) we would probably do better with a dining plan, especially if it is offered free when we travel.

 

[sndral]

What a wonderful grandparent!
I booked a room only (bounceback % off discount) last Dec. for 12/12. Last week I switched it to a package w/ dinning. The downside is that your one night deposit you paid when you booked the room only gets refunded and you put a new $200 package deposit down on the package. So if you book room only, thinking you'll later switch to a package, factor the wait for the original deposit (up to 14 days) into your plans.

To add paid for dinning as part of a package you must buy at least 1 days park ticket for everyone in the room and everyone's tickets must be the same. Note, you can change these tickets once you get there - see posts 6 and 12 in this thread for details
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1452684

To book a package w/ the free dinning, everyone in the room must again have the same number of days and types of tickets, currently the minimum days are 2, but I believe that once you get there you can upgrade each person's ticket to what you want (you might post over in the attractions area of disboards to verify this.)

The only time you can book a package w/ paid for dinning and not have to buy the same park tickets for everyone in the room as part of the package is if 1 person in the room has an annual pass (and it only needs to be 1 person) in that case you can book the room + dinning package (no tickets) and get your tickets separately from wherever. I did this last year to take advantage of a room discount offered to AP holders.

 

[Kathy Z]

What a wonderful grandparent! How sweet of you to say this.
I booked a room only (bounceback % off discount) last Dec. for 12/12. Last week I switched it to a package w/ dinning. The downside is that your one night deposit you paid when you booked the room only gets refunded and you put a new $200 package deposit down on the package. So if you book room only, thinking you'll later switch to a package, factor the wait for the original deposit (up to 14 days) into your plans.

To add paid for dinning as part of a package you must buy at least 1 days park ticket for everyone in the room and everyone's tickets must be the same. Note, you can change these tickets once you get there - see posts 6 and 12 in this thread for details
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1452684

To book a package w/ the free dinning, everyone in the room must again have the same number of days and types of tickets, currently the minimum days are 2, but I believe that once you get there you can upgrade each person's ticket to what you want (you might post over in the attractions area of disboards to verify this.)

The only time you can book a package w/ paid for dinning and not have to buy the same park tickets for everyone in the room as part of the package is if 1 person in the room has an annual pass (and it only needs to be 1 person) in that case you can book the room + dinning package (no tickets) and get your tickets separately from wherever. I did this last year to take advantage of a room discount offered to AP holders.

Thanks for this AP twist. Now I have another plan of attack to think over.

 

[Sue M]

We have APs, and to book free dining last Aug we had to get 2 day park tickets each.

 

[Kathy Z]

Thanks, Sue. It sounds like things can change all the time and it's best to not plan too far ahead what MIGHT be able to work (in regard to future special offers.)

 

[Sue M]

Very true. In our case, we get APs every year we plan on going for at least 2 trips, this Aug we'll just use those 2 day tickets toward our new AP, so it works out ok for us.