DDP credit sharing questions

[DisMumNz]

Hi all, this is my first time posting and I’m sorry if these are basic questions, but I’m getting myself very confused about the Disney Dining Plan.

We are travelling to WDW for the first time in April and have booked the Dining plan - travelling with my in-laws as well, who also have the DDP. I have been in charge of reserving Cinderella’s Table and Hoop-de-doo, both of which said the credits will be taken from my account. So now I am already down 4 TS credits each for 4 adults and 2 children. So can my in-laws use their credits to pay for our meals at other table service restaurants so we are all ‘squared-up’, at the end?

Also, do we let the servers know we are on a DP before we order, and when do we specify how many credits we’d like to use for each meal? Eg if my parents-in-law want to pay for me and my husband as well, but we still need to use our kids credits for their meals?

Hope these questions make sense! I’m quite confused about how it all works, and that’s before I get started on tipping, which we don’t do where I come from!

 

[Nancyg56]

When you use the DDP, you have a pool of credits that can be used for meals. The credits are not actually removed until you use them at the restaurant. Many people have more ADR's than they have available credits, and they choose to use the credits for their best value.

You do inform the server that you are using the plan, but you probably will not need to remember. Disney CM's generally ask if you are on a dining plan, and they are very good at helping you understand what is included.

I have traveled many times when we have two rooms and so we have two pools of credits. SO far, a credit is a credit, so the server may just use one band to use available credits, now that Disney has relaxed the policy on sharing, however in your case, since you and your parents both have the plan, and both are dinign together, teh CM will simply "pay" for the meals using the appropriate band, thus only using the credits for each family on each check.


I am not sure if I answered your questions, but if not, just come back and ask again.

 

[sharonabe]

I have been in charge of reserving Cinderella’s Table and Hoop-de-doo, both of which said the credits will be taken from my account.

If I understand the tech behind the reserving of these type ADRs, it didn't actually take any credits from you, but it did use your dining plan to reserve it. This allows you to reserve without paying in advance which OOP must do. When you get to CRT or HDDR, you will then use your credits to pay for yours and your in-laws will pay for theirs. Some people use their DDP to reserve, but then pay OOP when they get there. You won't have to do any "squaring up" at all.

You will probably have to tell each server that you want separate checks so you can each pay with your own credits. When they bring the check, each check will have a suggested tip printed at the bottom, and you can decide how much you want to tip. You can either charge that to your room or pay cash. I suggest charging to your room. There have been cases where people left cash and then found another tip charge on their room or card. I choose to believe it was done in error, but still, better safe than sorry.

 

[Nancyg56]

If I understand the tech behind the reserving of these type ADRs, it didn't actually take any credits from you, but it did use your dining plan to reserve it. This allows you to reserve without paying in advance which OOP must do. When you get to CRT or HDDR, you will then use your credits to pay for yours and your in-laws will pay for theirs. Some people use their DDP to reserve, but then pay OOP when they get there. You won't have to do any "squaring up" at all.

You will probably have to tell each server that you want separate checks so you can each pay with your own credits. When they bring the check, each check will have a suggested tip printed at the bottom, and you can decide how much you want to tip. You can either charge that to your room or pay cash. I suggest charging to your room. There have been cases where people left cash and then found another tip charge on their room or card. I choose to believe it was done in error, but still, better safe than sorry.

We charge to our room until the last day. I do not want charges left so I always write on the receipt that I paid cash for everything. I have heard of the mistakes and do not want to deal with them

 

[ptlohmysoul]

So a total of 6 people, right? With 6 people, they will automatically charge a gratuity of 18%. If you are on the Deluxe Plan, all is fine, you can pay for each other's meals, regardless of adult vs. child credit. Only on the regular dining plan does child credits come into play. Your server will usually ask at the beginning of the meal if you are on the dining plan, mainly to let you know what options are included and if there are any exclusions (previously specialty drinks, but they may be all included now).

 

[DisMumNz]

Thanks everyone, that has cleared up a lot of things for me!