CRO says I can't do the meal plan w/ my rack rate reservation

[WendyinNC]

I'm coming to WDW August 10th - 16th with my 3 kids. My DH will be coming down for the night of the 13th and 14th. The CM says the only way I can do the Meal Plan is to pay for my DH for the full trip. I'm not about to do that. Anybody have a similar situation and a work around? I thought about not putting him on the reservation, but then I might not get a room that sleeps 5. We're staying at the YC.

 

[CLEO Z]

I am no way an expert so maybe we could get other's thoughts on this:

Don't put hubby on room and ask for roll away. They can't expect you to sleep with your kid, even if you don't really mind.

Buy hubby park ticket for only when he is there.

Use your Dining Plan as suggested on below site if one of your kids is under 11 yrs. It sounds like a great loop hole where you can use your "credits" bought for kids for the adults.
http://www.touringplans.com/MYWDining.html
Scroll down to the part about using your "children as license to print money".

What do the DIS experts out there think?

 

[cjsmith]

I'm coming to WDW August 10th - 16th with my 3 kids. My DH will be coming down for the night of the 13th and 14th. The CM says the only way I can do the Meal Plan is to pay for my DH for the full trip. I'm not about to do that. Anybody have a similar situation and a work around? I thought about not putting him on the reservation, but then I might not get a room that sleeps 5. We're staying at the YC.

You need to make sure you add him for the reservation for those nights he is there for a few reasons. The first is to make sure that you do get a room that has a day bed, not all of the rooms do at the YC. Secondly and more importantly, if he is not on the reservation list he won't get his KTTW card which is both his ID, charge and room key.
Why don't you call back and see if a supervisor can help you and just add his name to the reservation for the nights he is with you along with a note on the front end that you will eventually be a party of 5. Maybe this way they can also add the meal plan for you.

 

[jel0511]

The problem here is that Disney's rules state that all persons booked in a room, be booked on the same package for the entire stay. Since your husband isn't going to be there the entire time, you can't book the package, without paying for him for the entire length of the reservation. Now, you could leave him off the ressie, but then you do run into the problem of getting a room without a day bed, and then he won't have an ID to use for Early Entry and SAB. You do need EVERYONE in your party to have an ID to gain access to SAB, so if you just have him show up, it could be a problem accessing the pool.

 

[leighe]

It would be a pain, but is there any way you could break your ressie up? Do the first part of the week before he gets there as a package, then room only for the days he is there and then another package ressie for the last few days? This is exactly why we decided not to go with the dining plan this summer. My sister and her boyfriend will be coming for part of the trip and it's apparently all or nothing with the dining plan. We're staying at YC as well.

Good luck!

 

[Selket]

Breaking up the ressie would work for the room and meal plan - wouldn't cost any more I think, but it would mean a big difference in the price you pay for park tickets right? Cause the longer you stay the park ticket prices per day get really cheap.

I'm not one to generally try to get around things but it seems ridiculous that you can't take advantage of the meal plan when your DH is only there 2 days.

 

[pezpam]

Breaking up the ressie would work for the room and meal plan - wouldn't cost any more I think, but it would mean a big difference in the price you pay for park tickets right? Cause the longer you stay the park ticket prices per day get really cheap.

Your tickets are separate, so it won't matter. Your dining plan is tied to how many nights you'll stay, but your tickets can be for any length - meaning you could break up your reservation and still have the same park tickets. Make sure you can pick up your tickets when you arrive - should not be a problem.

 

[eeyore45]

Or, as another "dumb thought"... what if you dont tell Disney about your dh until he arrives, then when he arrives he stops at the check in desk and says he is "surprising" his family.. and ask to be 'added' on at that time... then maybe then they will help???

 

[kelscross]

I had a similar situation last year when we possibly were going to add another adult to our room, but that adult wasn't for sure he was coming and wouldn't know until the last minute. We were already on the dream maker package. I called CRO and explained the situation and they said that it was fine not to put him on the ressie and then when we got to the resort we would then pay the extra adult charge and they would give him a room key.

We didn't have to do it because he was unable to make it. I would say not to put your DH on the ressie.

 

[coinkc]

We have a similar situation. We are travelling with another family and using the dining plan (their choice). They will be there 7 nights, we are only able to join them for 5. I called CRO several times to see if there was a way that we could only pay for the 5 nights we are there. I got lots of conflicitng info! Some times they said "Yes, they can just add my daughter and myself to their reservation at check-in just for the nights we would be there." Other times I was told that they could add us at the time of check-in but would still have to pay the entire 7 nights worth. My travel agent also checked and was told that there was no way to add us for only part of the stay.

So we decided to just pay for the 7 nights even though we will only be there 5. Since the credits are not tied to a specific day we can just use two or three on some days and if we have any left our friends can use them for their family.

 

[kjustice]

Buy some Quick and Casual Dining Certificates for lunch and some dinners.
Eat breakfast in your room (quicker and far far less expensive).

 

[disdancin]

I booked an 8 day package with dining through AAA for DD12 and me. My DH and DD16 are joining us later in the week, on different days. My TA notified Disney and was told it was ok to book the package for the two of us and get tickets for others at check-in. I am planning to get the late arrivals shorter stay park hopper passes. My TA says this will be fine per Disney; I hope she is right!!

 

[safetymom]

Vouchers after they expire in May will be no more. WDW discontinued them.