DDP - Never Again!

[Becky2005]

Just to let you know, we were on the Premium plan and had the same glitch.

I think it happens after they reset the computers after check-outs or something.

We did a room only, package, room only reservations, so even though we had until midnight to use all our credits, I know as of 6 pm, they no longer worked.

We had breakfast the morning we checked out, no problem. Lunch no problem. Dinner problem. We were at Tony's and had already eaten, etc... the waitress came back apologizing it was taking so long to get the bill straightened out but there were no credits. The manager had to call our hotel and verify that yes, we still DID have credits available. I know the form I signed said 0 credits but she told me we really DID have a few credits left and everything was fine.

I basically caused a problem at the food & fun center at the Contemporary because I didn't want my credits to go to waste, so around oh, 11:30 pm or so I was there buying stuff. Of course, my card didn't go through & I explained it ahead of time they would have to call. This poor 1 cashier TRIED to get a manager to come but there was none to be found. In the end she just let me take the food & figured they would deal with it later (they had swiped my card so had all the information). I don't know whatever happened but considering there was this huge line behind me, etc... I don't know but I ended up using my credits.

 

[makelab]

(in my best bill clinton voice) "i feel your pain", but don't let this put you down on the whole DDP. it is a great plan, and is supposed to make your visit more enjoyable. it absolutely sucks what happened to you, but just remember it next time, and if it happens again (hopefully not), you can straighten it out quicker on your last day.
the last time i was at the world, we had a handful of snack credits, and i was craving an iced espresso at MGM. thankfully, we had no troubles. i would hope/think it wouldn't happen to you again.

 

[Katiebell]

The DDP sounds like such a great deal -- so great that it almost sounds too good to be true. I'm sure over all, it works wonderfully, but once in a while folks have reported problems like we've heard here -- restaurants charging double credits, credits "disappearing", cards not working even to charge back to the hotel room, etc -- and that makes me really uneasy. We purchased the DDP to have fun, less hassles, to eat where and what we want and not have to worry about paying OOP for food -- not to add stress to our vacation!

I will save my receipts for every single meal (I got a PassPorter with pockets for each day), and will keep a careful running tally. Is there any way to take your card to the front desk at your hotel, and get a daily comparision of the credits you have left so you can compare it to your receipts? Maybe even with a printout from the hotel desk? I'm thinking it might be a good idea to do that each morning early, before leaving the hotel to hit the parks, so if there are any errors they can be cleared up right then. AND you would have something printed to show at a restaurant if there were any questions. What do you think?

 

[lucincia]

The DDP sounds like such a great deal -- so great that it almost sounds too good to be true. I'm sure over all, it works wonderfully, but once in a while folks have reported problems like we've heard here -- restaurants charging double credits, credits "disappearing", cards not working even to charge back to the hotel room, etc -- and that makes me really uneasy. We purchased the DDP to have fun, less hassles, to eat where and what we want and not have to worry about paying OOP for food -- not to add stress to our vacation!

I will save my receipts for every single meal (I got a PassPorter with pockets for each day), and will keep a careful running tally. Is there any way to take your card to the front desk at your hotel, and get a daily comparision of the credits you have left so you can compare it to your receipts? Maybe even with a printout from the hotel desk? I'm thinking it might be a good idea to do that each morning early, before leaving the hotel to hit the parks, so if there are any errors they can be cleared up right then. AND you would have something printed to show at a restaurant if there were any questions. What do you think?

I wouldn't worry about it. Keep the receipts. Compare the current receipt with the last one and make sure the math adds up (or subtracts up in this case). It's not rocket science.

Only people with problems will post on here. That's why you only hear horror stories

No one posts saying "my DDP worked fine all week!" That's boring!

Relax and enjoy!

 

[kaytieeldr]

First, keep in mind it's typical to not report (in this case, post) that everything worked exactly as it should. So for the most part we're not seeing posts stating "The Dining Plan worked exactly the way it was designed, all our credits worked, we ate at all these restaurants,,,".

Yes, you can go to Lobby Concierge at any time (well, at any time they're open) and request a printout. In addition, each receipt you get will show your remaining credits of that type - after a snack, your slip will show on the bottom that you have X snacks left, etc.

 

[DebbieB]

I had that problem on checkout day last April. Our cards would not work at MGM for Backlot Express or for snack carts. The Backlot Express manager just overrode the cash registers and took care of it. I just left the snack credit go.

When I used it in June, it worked fine on checkout day.

 

[Nancyg56]

I also agree that the problem is not with the DDP but with the keys that were issued. We just returned from the Poly and had similar issues with the keycards not working. By the end of our stay all cards but one needed to be replaced. My DD thought it may have been because they were stored near credit cards but one of the CM's said that the Poly was using the gold cards that tended to have [problems. Once they gave us blue cards they were fine. I'm sorry that the mgr of the BC did not correct the problem right away.

 

[phillytwins]

Did the OP ever get this resolved?

 

[WDW1st-timers]

Did the OP ever get this resolved?

As far as I know...not yet. I think that the OP is still waiting on word back from Disney on the complaint letter that was sent.

 

[Nennie]

Did the OP ever get this resolved?

Nothing yet! I sent a letter, and got a generic email that someone would be contacting me, but I haven't heard a thing.

My current plan is to keep waiting, and hope that they respond to my letter. If I don't hear anything by the time the credit card bills comes, I will dispute the DDP charge (which thankfully shows as a seperate charge from all my other room charges so it will be easier to dispute the sole charge), and hope that will ruffle the feathers of the powers that be, and force someone to respond to me!

I'll be back at the Beach Club in May, but don't plan on purchasing the DDP then, so I would just be happy if they let me use my unused credits when I'm there in May, and I could pay OOP for all my other meals, etc. I'm not looking for a refund, but I'd just like to get what I paid for in the first place!

I will keep you all posted!

 

[Nennie]

Just a bump to update, although there really isn't an update yet!

I still haven't heard anything from WDW, but I am still hopeful that someone will respond to my complaint.

Also, I know this was a "room key" issue, not a DDP issue, but it was the room key issue that prohibited me from using the DDP. Had I planned on paying OOP for my meals, and for some reason my kep stopped working, it would not have been as a big of a deal, b/c I would have just paid cash or used a credit card. Since I wasn't planning on paying OOP for my meals, it became an issue when my card was declined over and over again.

Hope to post again soon with a report that WDW has responded to my letter!

Thanks!!

 

[PeachesDoesHair]

I hope it gets worked out for you. We would have been up a creek without a paddle as we do not have a credit card. We don't charge to the room because it is too easy to lose track of what we've spent. I really hope they credit you the unused meals/snacks.

 

[Nennie]

Final Update!!

I just received a very nice call from guest services. The CM was friendly and professional. She apologized for what happened, and said she would forward my letter to the manager at the Beach Club for training purposes. She also said that the CMs who did help me (I had mentioned the names of the concierge CMs that assisted me) would be commended as well.

I was just happy for the apology! The CM sounded very sincere, and not like she was reading from a script, etc.

Disney is also sending me a $50 gift card to use for when I come back in May. I think this is a generous amount, and it makes up for the credits that I was not able to use.

I am looking forward to our May trip!

 

[Tina G]

This is one of the negatives of the DDP - wasting time keeping track of how many credits you use, etc. That's why it would really have to be a money-saver for me to use it (or free). We worked out the figures for our upcoming trip in May and it looks like we would pay the same OOP as if we purchased DDP. We're not big eaters, don't usually eat appetizers, dessert, etc. Even if we ended up saving $30-50 in the end, it wouldn't be worth the headaches of having to worry about it.

 

[SLDL]

I'm glad you got it worked out!!

 

[Maddie2]

It's great that they are sending a gift card for you to use -- another suggestion I would have is to ask for a box of Mickey cookies/bars/treats sent to you in lieu of missed snack credits due to their mix-ups. If they were not willing to give you $$ credit, this would be at least something.

 

[Katiebell]

Very cool! The gift card sounds like a very fair response, if it covers the cost of the meals you lost due to problems with the card -- it's not like meals you just didn't get around to using. And the sincere apology was appropriate as well. Disney has a reputation for wonderful customer service; glad you got a little pixie dust!

 

[WDW1st-timers]

Very nice, It seems that you and Disney were able to settle this matter and both parties are happy.

 

[Palendat]

I personally don't think that a $50 gift card even comes close to compensating you for such a long hassle on such a short vacation. I don't usually feel that companies owe more than what you lost out on in such circumstances, but in this case, I think the least that the BC could do was comp you one night, WITH the DDP!!!