DDP Question

[jakenjess]

I'm sorry if this sounds convoluted; I'll hopefully make it clear enough to understand!

We have invited three family members to join us in January and have been fortunate enough to book a 2 BR LV at BLT for five nights. A sticking point has come up, however. Two of them want to get the DDP, as they've always done that in the past and like it. They stay at values and mods and find it's a good deal. For us, however, it's trickier to make the numbers work. We have two children, 12 and 14, who are considered adults but are not big eaters. One is extremely picky. Since either we all get the DDP or no one, we have to figure out what to do. They've suggested they may just book a room at All Stars to get the DDP but stay with us at BLT. Those numbers may work in their favor if there's free dining at that time, but otherwise I'm not sure.

Sorry to ramble. To get to my question, would there be a problem for them to be listed on an All Star reservation and also on our BLT reservation? We're all staying the first night at a value then moving to BLT, so we would need Disney to transfer our luggage to BLT also. They would essentially be checking into two resorts on the same day.

Thanks for any help or suggestions!

 

[Chuck S]

You have invited them, and I am assuming they are not paying anything towards the DVC room stay. Personally, I'd simply tell them they need to pay out of pocket for their meals. If the DDP is that important to them, then they should either pay for the DDP for your entire group, or they should pay for their own room package through Disney.

You are correct, unless "free dining" is being offered, it will cost far more to pay for a room and the DDP than simply paying out of pocket.

 

[JimMIA]

The other option would be to get a 1 BR for your family and a studio for them on a separate reservation. Then, they could buy DDP if they want.

 

[JimMIA]

Getting a 1 BR and a studio would also offer you some protection in case their plans change and they cancel on you. You could just cancel the studio.

The way you're doing it, if they cancel, you're stuck with a 2 BR. A 2 BR for four people is not the worst problem to have, but it would entail more points than you would have spent otherwise.

 

[jakenjess]

I like the studio idea, except it would require an additional 30 points. We're really stretching it to stay at BLT as it is. I'm concerned about running into red tape with their names on more than one reservation.

 

[Sandisw]

I'm sorry if this sounds convoluted; I'll hopefully make it clear enough to understand!

We have invited three family members to join us in January and have been fortunate enough to book a 2 BR LV at BLT for five nights. A sticking point has come up, however. Two of them want to get the DDP, as they've always done that in the past and like it. They stay at values and mods and find it's a good deal. For us, however, it's trickier to make the numbers work. We have two children, 12 and 14, who are considered adults but are not big eaters. One is extremely picky. Since either we all get the DDP or no one, we have to figure out what to do. They've suggested they may just book a room at All Stars to get the DDP but stay with us at BLT. Those numbers may work in their favor if there's free dining at that time, but otherwise I'm not sure.

Sorry to ramble. To get to my question, would there be a problem for them to be listed on an All Star reservation and also on our BLT reservation? We're all staying the first night at a value then moving to BLT, so we would need Disney to transfer our luggage to BLT also. They would essentially be checking into two resorts on the same day.

Thanks for any help or suggestions!

To answer your question, yes, this can be done. Some DVC members are doing it during August/September free dining.

I don't know how cost effective it would be for them to do it this way if there are no deals, but if they want to (and its their money), then I say tell them to go for it. Plus, if they have the room, there is a place for them to go if they decide they want some time away.

The other option, since you mention needing an extra 30 point, is asking them to pay for the transfer of the 30 points to your account so you can book the 1 bed and studio. It would be cheaper for them then getting the room at one of the values and would allow you both to do your dining in the way that you want.

Just a thought! Good luck!!!

 

[DebbieB]

With 2 of them, I don't think it would pay to reserve at All Star if there happened to be free dining. An All Star room is $82 plus tax (this year's rate). So they would have to eat over $90 a day in food. Plus buy a ticket.

 

[jakenjess]

With 2 of them, I don't think it would pay to reserve at All Star if there happened to be free dining. An All Star room is $82 plus tax (this year's rate). So they would have to eat over $90 a day in food. Plus buy a ticket.

Thanks! I'm so out of the loop with the rack rates and free dining that I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around the numbers and figuring out the best deal for everyone. We have APs and a TiW card, so it's difficult to make the DDP work for us. As for everyone else, I'm just not sure what makes the most sense.

The other thing I'm grappling with is, correct me if I'm wrong, if there are seven of us in a 2 BR, won't all the DDP credits be pooled together? So each family will have to keep track of their own credits? TS would be easy, but I can see us easily getting confused with the CS and snack credits if that's the case.

 

[Chuck S]

The other thing I'm grappling with is, correct me if I'm wrong, if there are seven of us in a 2 BR, won't all the DDP credits be pooled together? So each family will have to keep track of their own credits? TS would be easy, but I can see us easily getting confused with the CS and snack credits if that's the case.

Yes, they are pooled.

Will you be having most of your TS meals together with your guests? If so, why not just use your TIW card and divide up the bill later, or have them treat every 2 or 3 meals?

 

[Muushka]

I don't mean to sound like a Debbie-downer, but if it is starting out like this, I would be very very afraid.

The offenders or perps or what ever you call the 2 who want the DDP should pay for their meals OOP and be grateful for the wonderful accommodations that you are giving them.



But best wishes!

 

[GuySmiley]

Ask them if they will apply the price of the all-star room to your DDP. No, don't do that, it would be rude.

They should not dictate to you how you will vacation, and neither should you dictate to them what they ought to do. If they want the DDP so bad and are willing to get an all-star room to do it, fine, let them. Seems like a waste of money to me, but its their money.

 

[jakenjess]

Thanks for all the suggestions, guys! I've decided to just crunch the numbers every which way, and if it's going to cost us too much to do the DDP they can book All Stars. Sounds like there's no problem being on two reservations, so we'll go with that. It's already costing us a lot in points to stay at BLT; I don't want to overspend on food.