dining plan and DVC?

[Belle's Castle]

Hi everyone....my parents are leaving for disney (lucky them) on the 14th and staying at the Animal Kingdom Lodge using DVC points (not fair, I want to go too). They just got off the phone with DVC and were told they could not add the dining plan because they were not staying at a DVC resort. Now I was under the impression that as long as you purchase a 1 day ticket you can purchase the dinning plan. I also called Disney reservations (not the DVC number) and they confirmed my belief. The primary reservation line would not add it to the their resort reservation because, the orginal reservation was made through DVC and DVC says that it is not possible to add the dining plan. Has anyone had this same experience and how did you resolve it?? I am so confused

Thanks in advanced for your help???

 

[TDC Nala]

The information they were given is correct. A DVC member staying on points can add the dining plan only if they are staying at a DVC resort. A guest at a regular Disney resort can only add the dining plan to a room/tickets package, not a DVC point reservation. Disney reservations and DVC reservations are handled entirely separately so the CRO agent would not know anything about a DVC booking.

 

[Belle's Castle]

So they can't use the dining plan???

 

[TDC Nala]

So they can't use the dining plan???

Not on their current reservation. When one uses DVC points to book a non-DVC resort at WDW they are in effect trading out their points, so they cannot take part in the DVC offer. And they would have to have a room/tickets package with at least a one-day ticket to participate at AKL.

 

[CarolMN]

I know you were hoping to hear differently, but TDC Nala is absolutely correct.

 

[bless7ings]

If I was to rent dvc points what is the deal for dining? Could you guys get free dining in Sept when it was offered?

 

[HayGan]

If I was to rent dvc points what is the deal for dining? Could you guys get free dining in Sept when it was offered?

If you rent DVC points to stay at a DVC resort, you can add the dining plan to your stay without also having to purchase tickets. It has to be for your entire stay as well as for all members of your party. When you rent points you can not get any other specials such as free dining.

 

[JimMIA]

If I was to rent dvc points what is the deal for dining? Could you guys get free dining in Sept when it was offered?

If you rent points, you are treated exactly like a DVC owner. You can get the paid dining plan with no required ticket purchase. You will NOT be eligible for free dining for a number of reasons, not the least of which is you are not renting from Disney -- you're renting directly from an owner.

Also, the DVC owner will have to make your DDP arrangements for you thru DVC MS. As of 8/1/2006, MS will no longer talk to a non-owner about anything, including room requests, DDP, DME, etc. So you'll have to have the owner handle those things for you.

 

[bless7ings]

Can dvc owners get free dining when it is offered? Is that a perk? How much does it cost for dvc owners to get the dining plan? Is it the same for someone renting your points?

 

[jamounger]

The dining plan for DVC is the regular price, around 39/day per adult. The perk for DVC is that you don't need to be on a package or buy tickets but you do need to be staying in a DVC. This is the only way someone with an AP can get the Dining Plan without buying tickets. Be a DVC owner or rent points and have the owner arrange for DDP. It is paid for on check in but has to be arranged in advance. We did this last summer.

 

[TDC Nala]

DVC members cannot participate in the free dining promotion. As it has been offered in the past, that is a PROMOTION that is being used to sell rack rate rooms and ticket packages during hurricane season. DVC does not need to run that sort of promotion to induce its members to book.

However, they do offer us the opportunity to purchase the exact same dining plan as the package guests, at the same price, without the requirement to purchase tickets. And if you're renting you are probably getting a pretty good discount on the room (which is probably the equivalent of a deluxe room or a suite depending on what type of room you get), so it shouldn't make much difference whether the dining plan is free or not.

The above posters are correct, DVC renters must go through the member who made the reservation to add the dining plan. It must be put on the reservation ahead of time and cannot be added at check-in.

 

[bless7ings]

TDC Nala,

Thank you for your post, it was exactly what I was looking for for answers.

 

[bless7ings]

If we have a family of 9, but one is an infant, so that would be considered 8 and we wanted to stay at the beach club in value season how many points would we need per night?

 

[JimMIA]

You can go here and check the point charts. http://www.wdwinfo.com/disney-vacation-club/DVCpoints.shtml

DVC seasons are not necessarily the same as WDW, and some times which are pretty slow for WDW are very busy for DVC.

You will also note that the point costs vary by resort, and that Friday/Saturday night points costs are roughly double Sunday-Thursday. That means if you are planning a long weekend trip, or a 9-10 day trip, you really have to do the math. It might be cheaper to pay the regular price if your stay is heavy on Fri/Sat nights.

You really need to plan ahead -- most of us make ressies >7 months in advance, and if you don't plan far in advance you might not be able to get the accommodations you want. You should look at the DIS' DVC Operations and DVC Planning boards. You'll find a lot of help there.