Dining plan counter sevice for children

[always on vacation]

Knowing that they don't separate CS meals it seems there's no way to stop us from sharing adult cs between all of us a few times a day rather than eating a larger meal all at once. We have never been on the dining plan before & that's usually the way we eat when we're there. Especially in Epcot. It's fun to try all of the different cuisines a little at a time & some of the desserts are really delicious but I really cant enjoy them if I eat a whole meal myself..too full.

Now that we're on the dining plan 3 adults & 1 child there's no problem at the TS but since they dont separate cs & I really don't want to have to do accounting on vacation (isn't that one of the reasons we get the dining plan in the first place) I see things getting a little crazy since we will most likely never order 3 adult & 1 child cs at the same time...no biggie just a little annoying that I should be expected to keep track. If we order a kids meal & 1 adult meal at 1 cs that leaves us 2 adult cs for later but if we're at the cs with our child later I'm sure the assumption will be "cheating". Also If I want to eat the child's hot dog & give my nephew the adult ribs what's the difference as long as I'm paying for it....sorry to vent but it would be much easier if they just separated both & I'm sure that they will since there's no way to control adults getting tables with their kids while another adult orders all adult cs meals for everyone.

Just MHP....we're leaving in 2 weeks for 5 short nights

 

[bicker]

Knowing that they don't separate CS meals it seems there's no way to stop us from sharing adult cs between all of us a few times a day rather than eating a larger meal all at once.

With only two adults and one child it is easy: First CS meal, order 1 adult meal + 1 child meal. Second CS meal, order 1 adult meal. Third CS meal, order 1 adult meal + 1 child meal. Fourth CS meal, order 1 adult meal. And so on.

What you're suggesting is actually a violation of the rules. It is up to you what you do, but the DIS does not promote ways to cheat Disney or get around the guidelines. In other threads, moderators have deleted posts on how to get around the system.

 

[LizinSTL]

Knowing that they don't separate CS meals it seems there's no way to stop us from sharing adult cs between all of us a few times a day rather than eating a larger meal all at once. We have never been on the dining plan before & that's usually the way we eat when we're there. Especially in Epcot. It's fun to try all of the different cuisines a little at a time & some of the desserts are really delicious but I really cant enjoy them if I eat a whole meal myself..too full.

Now that we're on the dining plan 3 adults & 1 child there's no problem at the TS but since they dont separate cs & I really don't want to have to do accounting on vacation (isn't that one of the reasons we get the dining plan in the first place) I see things getting a little crazy since we will most likely never order 3 adult & 1 child cs at the same time...no biggie just a little annoying that I should be expected to keep track. If we order a kids meal & 1 adult meal at 1 cs that leaves us 2 adult cs for later but if we're at the cs with our child later I'm sure the assumption will be "cheating". Also If I want to eat the child's hot dog & give my nephew the adult ribs what's the difference as long as I'm paying for it....sorry to vent but it would be much easier if they just separated both & I'm sure that they will since there's no way to control adults getting tables with their kids while another adult orders all adult cs meals for everyone.

Just MHP....we're leaving in 2 weeks for 5 short nights

My suggestion is to use the child's CS meal for a breakfast CS meal at the resort in the morning before hitting the parks. It's usually plenty to share if you aren't big breakfast eaters (especially if you add a snack credit box of donuts and refillable mugs to the mix) and then have the child share the adult CS meals at lunch or dinner the rest of the day. No one is cheating disney and no one has to keep track of anything to make sure no one is cheating disney. LOL

 

[always on vacation]

With only two adults and one child it is easy: First CS meal, order 1 adult meal + 1 child meal. Second CS meal, order 1 adult meal. Third CS meal, order 1 adult meal + 1 child meal. Fourth CS meal, order 1 adult meal. And so on.

What you're suggesting is actually a violation of the rules. It is up to you what you do, but the DIS does not promote ways to cheat Disney or get around the guidelines. In other threads, moderators have deleted posts on how to get around the system.

Sorry but I don't see how it's cheating. If we use a child cs for either breakfast or lunch & later on in the day get 3 more adult cs meals that we all share. I thought that your dining credit were yours to use however & whenever you want to during your entire stay. Suppose I want to use cs for breakfast & lunch 1 day or ts for both lunch & dinner in the same day. How is that different than sharing cs meal throughout the day? I don;t see any breaking of the rules here

 

[Katiebell]

Thanks, Scrapperjill.....when DD8 orders a CS lunch, for example, is it the same as what we were just buying her this last trip, for example, mac and cheese, 2 sides - grapes and applesauce - and a little milk. Does hers include a dessert now too, in addition, on the DP???

Dessert was always included -- but the only kids' dessert at most CS is sugar free gelatin.

With only two adults and one child it is easy: First CS meal, order 1 adult meal + 1 child meal. Second CS meal, order 1 adult meal. Third CS meal, order 1 adult meal + 1 child meal. Fourth CS meal, order 1 adult meal. And so on.

What you're suggesting is actually a violation of the rules. It is up to you what you do, but the DIS does not promote ways to cheat Disney or get around the guidelines. In other threads, moderators have deleted posts on how to get around the system.

OK, bicker...gotta admit I'm confused I thought what you suggested was what the PP was suggesting? To be honest, I can't quite figure it out. OK...let me try this: 3A 1C, they can never eat a whole CS meal each and always split 2A meals OR split 1A meal and 1C meal. Basically, as long as they don't exceed the number of A meals on their card at any register transaction AND they don't exceed the total number of A meals on their plan for the whole stay, isn't that within the rules? In fact, they may end up with a lot of A and C CS meals left over, because each time they are ordering much less than one meal per person? I dunno, I can't figure it out...must be because it's 6:26 on a Saturday and I have no coffee...

My suggestion is to use the child's CS meal for a breakfast CS meal at the resort in the morning before hitting the parks. It's usually plenty to share if you aren't big breakfast eaters (especially if you add a snack credit box of donuts and refillable mugs to the mix) and then have the child share the adult CS meals at lunch or dinner the rest of the day. No one is cheating disney and no one has to keep track of anything to make sure no one is cheating disney. LOL

Makes sense...1 child's CS used in the morning, and know that the party has a total of 3 adult's CS meals left for the rest of the day. I think that would work Seems like the best way to make sure you don't make a mistake is just be sure you order 1 child's CS meal each day, so the correct number of credits are deducted from your total...

 

[always on vacation]

My suggestion is to use the child's CS meal for a breakfast CS meal at the resort in the morning before hitting the parks. It's usually plenty to share if you aren't big breakfast eaters (especially if you add a snack credit box of donuts and refillable mugs to the mix) and then have the child share the adult CS meals at lunch or dinner the rest of the day. No one is cheating disney and no one has to keep track of anything to make sure no one is cheating disney. LOL

We were actually thinking of sharing 2 breakfasts a couple of mornings & then doing the same for lunch since we have ADR's for all ts dinners & also skipping breakfast a couple times when we have early dinner adr & sharing 2 cs at lunch & saving 2 cs for late night dining at dtd or epcot..I was just wondering if it would seem like we're cheating..as it evidently seems to by bicker...when it doesnt seem that way to me at all.

 

[LizinSTL]

We were actually thinking of sharing 2 breakfasts a couple of mornings & then doing the same for lunch since we have ADR's for all ts dinners & also skipping breakfast a couple times when we have early dinner adr & sharing 2 cs at lunch & saving 2 cs for late night dining at dtd or epcot..I was just wondering if it would seem like we're cheating..as it evidently seems to by bicker...when it doesnt seem that way to me at all.

I think an adult breakfast combo and a kid's breakfast combo will easily feed 4 people at the resort food courts unless y'all are huge breakfast eaters.

As far as the cheating comments go, I wouldn't worry about it. As far as I can tell, Disney doesn't really care about it. My friend went to Disney in March. She was never "forced" to order the 1 A, 3 C counter service meals at any one visit to the cash register. Sometimes she'd order 1 A meal. Sometimes she'd order only childrens meals. Sometimes she'd order a combination. Just as long as you don't exceed the number adult meals according to the number of adults on your card, they are more than willing to sell you the meals for your CS credits (and sometimes they don't even care about that...but that is pixie dust don't count on it)

For what it's worth, Disney does NOT expect the guest to keep track of their DDP credits- especially how many child and how many adult CS meals they've used. It's ethical to try to stay as close as possible to what the plan intends. But for people to suggest that Disney wants us to carry around a spreadsheet and make check marks when our kids order chilled chicken at pecos bills, well that's just silly.

It is, however, in the guest's best interest, to hang on to his/her receipts to make sure that they've been charged correctly for the meals ordered so that any errors can be corrected by the hotel's concierge quickly and without much hassle. Just grab a little plastic gift bag or ziploc bag and toss all the receipts in each day- glance at them each night and make sure the totals are what they should be. If they are incorrect- swing by the desk and make sure they are corrected. We never had any problems but sometimes folks with kiddos under 3 are incorrectly charged at character meals or CS meals are double charged (or room charged vs DDP credits deducted, etc) It just makes sense to glance at that nightly.

 

[always on vacation]

I think an adult breakfast combo and a kid's breakfast combo will easily feed 4 people at the resort food courts unless y'all are huge breakfast eaters.

As far as the cheating comments go, I wouldn't worry about it. As far as I can tell, Disney doesn't really care about it. My friend went to Disney in March. She was never "forced" to order the 1 A, 3 C counter service meals at any one visit to the cash register. Sometimes she'd order 1 A meal. Sometimes she'd order only childrens meals. Sometimes she'd order a combination. Just as long as you don't exceed the number adult meals according to the number of adults on your card, they are more than willing to sell you the meals for your CS credits (and sometimes they don't even care about that...but that is pixie dust don't count on it)

For what it's worth, Disney does NOT expect the guest to keep track of their DDP credits- especially how many child and how many adult CS meals they've used. It's ethical to try to stay as close as possible to what the plan intends. But for people to suggest that Disney wants us to carry around a spreadsheet and make check marks when our kids order chilled chicken at pecos bills, well that's just silly.

It is, however, in the guest's best interest, to hang on to his/her receipts to make sure that they've been charged correctly for the meals ordered so that any errors can be corrected by the hotel's concierge quickly and without much hassle. Just grab a little plastic gift bag or ziploc bag and toss all the receipts in each day- glance at them each night and make sure the totals are what they should be. If they are incorrect- swing by the desk and make sure they are corrected. We never had any problems but sometimes folks with kiddos under 3 are incorrectly charged at character meals or CS meals are double charged (or room charged vs DDP credits deducted, etc) It just makes sense to glance at that nightly.

Thanks. Great idea to check receipts but these spreadsheets & all of this figuring how to get the best bang for your buck is way too intense for me. We just want to have a magical expreience more carefree than worrying about rules & figuring out ways to use them to our best advantage

 

[bicker]

Sorry but I don't see how it's cheating.

Maybe I misunderstood your message. I read, "it seems there's no way to stop us from sharing adult cs between all of us a few times a day" ... I didn't see any discussion of using CS credits for child meals in that paragraph. I couldn't follow the rest of your message very well, so perhaps you were trying to say something there about how the child's meal entitlements would get used up?

Regardless, since the enforcement on the CS side is visual and case-by-case, now, you might encounter a problem only ordering adult meals at a CS. You might want to keep your receipts with you, so you can show, if necessary, that you're ordering child CS meals as well, at times. Most CMs will be reasonable once they see you have proof.

 

[bicker]

OK, bicker...gotta admit I'm confused I thought what you suggested was what the PP was suggesting?

Could be. To be honest, I can't quite figure out the second paragraph in always on vacation's message, and its relationship to the first. I'm hoping she can clarify it for me. As it is, the quoted words in my message, by themselves, would be a violation.

OK...let me try this: 3A 1C, they can never eat a whole CS meal each and always split 2A meals OR split 1A meal and 1C meal.

Yup, that's exactly what I suggested.

 

[LizinSTL]

Could be. To be honest, I can't quite figure out the second paragraph in always on vacation's message, and its relationship to the first. I'm hoping she can clarify it for me. As it is, the quoted words in my message, by themselves, would be a violation.

Yup, that's exactly what I suggested.

Well, you only quoted part of the message! The rest of the message clearly talked about ordered 1 A/ 1 child meal and having the child eat ribs and the adult eat a hot dog! Or some variation of that. Just because you chose to take the post out of context doesn't mean the poster was planning to cheat disney! LOL
Considering this comment was in the post........If we order a kids meal & 1 adult meal at 1 cs that leaves us 2 adult cs for later but if we're at the cs with our child later I'm sure the assumption will be "cheating". I'm not sure how you can "accuse" someone of cheating Disney by ordering all Adult CS meals.

 

[always on vacation]

Maybe I misunderstood your message. I read, "it seems there's no way to stop us from sharing adult cs between all of us a few times a day" ... I didn't see any discussion of using CS credits for child meals in that paragraph. I couldn't follow the rest of your message very well, so perhaps you were trying to say something there about how the child's meal entitlements would get used up?

Regardless, since the enforcement on the CS side is visual and case-by-case, now, you might encounter a problem only ordering adult meals at a CS. You might want to keep your receipts with you, so you can show, if necessary, that you're ordering child CS meals as well, at times. Most CMs will be reasonable once they see you have proof.

That's my problem! I thought since there was no separation between adult & child cs that get deducted from your card I wouldnt be able to proove that already used our child cs for breakfast or lunch & we showed up at the counter there would be a problem..the whole visual case by case thing..I didnt know they would separate them on the receipts I just figured they would show cs...Thanks for the tip.

 

[bicker]

Well, you only quoted part of the message! The rest of the message clearly talked about ordered 1 A/ 1 child meal and having the child eat ribs and the adult eat a hot dog!

Okay, I really didn't get that from the message. Thanks for clarifying that.

Just because you chose to take the post out of context doesn't mean the poster was planning to cheat disney!

Well, to be fair, it was a separate paragraph. I couldn't tell that they were supposed to be related. What was your tip-off?

I'm not sure how you can "accuse" someone

Accuse? Who did I accuse?

 

[bicker]

I thought since there was no separation between adult & child cs that get deducted from your card I wouldnt be able to proove that already used our child cs for breakfast or lunch & we showed up at the counter there would be a problem..

Ah!!!! Okay, I knew there was something we were missing in your message.

The receipts generally show WHAT you ordered. So it'll say "Child Meal" or maybe even "Child Meal - Sloppy Joe"... that's not down in the summary of credits used / credits left, but rather in the upper part of the receipt where it lists what you actually ordered.

 

[Katiebell]

It's really simple Disney does not want and did not intend for kids' CS credits to be used to purchase adult CS meals. The kids' plan is only $11/day vs $39/day for the adult plan. The kids' plan includes a child's CS meal with an average value of $4.50, not an adult CS meal with an average value of $12.50.

However, Disney does not track the CS meals the same way the TS meals are separated. If you have 3 A and 1 C in your party for 5 nights, your card will show 20 CS meals, period. It is left up to your honesty that you do not use more than 15 of those CS credits for adult meals. You don't need a spread sheet. If you can't remember how many kids' meals you've ordered, just order one per day. Or put a sticky note with tic marks on the card for each kids' meal you order, until you've ordered 5, then the rest of the credits are adult credits.

That said...yes, it is silly that guests should have to keep track at all. From the very beginning of the DDP, Disney should have separated the credits to avoid honest confusion and not-so-honest rule bending (not saying the OP was intending that at all -- I did also notice they mentioned swapping a kids' entree for an adult entree at the table, indicating they were purchasing kids' meals as well ). Pooling the credits was a serious error on Disney's part, and it would be very costly for them to correct it. But they lost so much money on the TS meals that they spent the money to fix that problem -- they should just bite the bullet and correct the CS issue, too.

 

[Katiebell]

What you're suggesting is actually a violation of the rules. It is up to you what you do, but the DIS does not promote ways to cheat Disney or get around the guidelines. In other threads, moderators have deleted posts on how to get around the system.

Accuse? Who did I accuse?

I think that's probably what they are talking about.

 

[LizinSTL]

Okay, I really didn't get that from the message. Thanks for clarifying that.

Well, to be fair, it was a separate paragraph. I couldn't tell that they were supposed to be related. What was your tip-off?

Accuse? Who did I accuse?

My tip off was that I read through the entire post before I responded to it. Typically a second paragraph may have something to do with the one that preceeds it or it may be a new thought... you have to read through the entire post to find out

On your whether or not you accused Always on Vacation? You really don't think you did? Really? You told Always on Vacation that her plan was a violation of the rules. I'd call that an accusation. If that wasn't your intentions, it's how you came across. You tend to be rather "black and white" on the rules, Bicker. Just because you have a child on the plan, doesn't mean that the child has to be the one eating the kid's meal. It just means that you have to order the appropriate number of kids meals that disney gives you. Sharing , especially counter service meals, isn't hurting anyone. When you post the image of the DDP brochure about child meal entitlements whenever anyone talks about sharing with their kid- You make it seem like a giant mouse is going to come and shove 'em out of the park for giving their kid a bite of a burger at pecos bills.

 

[always on vacation]

Ah!!!! Okay, I knew there was something we were missing in your message.

The receipts generally show WHAT you ordered. So it'll say "Child Meal" or maybe even "Child Meal - Sloppy Joe"... that's not down in the summary of credits used / credits left, but rather in the upper part of the receipt where it lists what you actually ordered.

Alas! Yet another reason to keep those receipts. I really was only trying to make sure we wouldn't have trouble using our cs dining credits the way we want to especially since we won't always be eating together.

Thanks again.

 

[bicker]

Yeah, that's not an accusation. An accusation is "A charge of wrongdoing that is made against a person or other party." The quoted text was indeed a violation of the rules. As I indicated above, it wasn't clear to me that the second paragraph was related to the first, and indeed, until a few minutes ago, I don't think any of us realized what she was actually asking.

 

[bicker]

My tip off was that I read through the entire post before I responded to it.

I did.

Typically a second paragraph may have something to do with the one that preceeds it or it may be a new thought... you have to read through the entire post to find out

I did. I didn't get that message. And indeed, now it appears that you read it wrong as well. I think we can blame a generally communication gap here, and leave it at that, now that the poster has clarified what she was actually saying, okay?