Dining with a large group

[Cyndibear]

Hi!

We will be traveling with extended family (14 people total) in September.

We will be doing the dining plan frankly because I think it may be easier.

We have 3 two-bedrooms booked at BLT and reservations are linked.

To make it easier when figuring out the gratuity, we have asked each couple to pick a day and plan on paying for the gratuity for the whole group at that meal.

Question is, will we receive one bill or will it be broken down into 3 - one for each room booked?

First time for us traveling with such a large group and some of these things we are not that familiar with.

Cyndi

 

[Deb & Bill]

Hi!

We will be traveling with extended family (14 people total) in September.

We will be doing the dining plan frankly because I think it may be easier.

We have 3 two-bedrooms booked at BLT and reservations are linked.

To make it easier when figuring out the gratuity, we have asked each couple to pick a day and plan on paying for the gratuity for the whole group at that meal.

Question is, will we receive one bill or will it be broken down into 3 - one for each room booked?

First time for us traveling with such a large group and some of these things we are not that familiar with.

Cyndi

You have three separate reservations that are linked. You will have three separate pools of dining credits. Each group will be presented their own bill for their meals. You will need to tell the server which person is on which bill.

 

[Cyndibear]

Thanks! I wasn't sure how this would work but it makes sense now. We can just pool the receipts together and pay as one.

 

[Dean]

Thanks! I wasn't sure how this would work but it makes sense now. We can just pool the receipts together and pay as one.

You could even get the DP for one room and not the other if you wanted. I wonder if TIW would be cheaper for this group, you'd need 2 cards to get full discounts on 14 at one time but with kids it won't matter much even for 1 card.

 

[Deb & Bill]

You could even get the DP for one room and not the other if you wanted. I wonder if TIW would be cheaper for this group, you'd need 2 cards to get full discounts on 14 at one time but with kids it won't matter much even for 1 card.

And both card holders would need to be present to use the TIW discount for the entire group. If you had ten or fewer at the table, one card holder would need to be present.

 

[Cyndibear]

We understand that the DP might not be the best way to go but we just wanted convenience and ease for this group .

Some members of the group have already been a challenge for us!

We do have a TIW card that we will use for any adult beverage purchases. Not all members in the party will partake in that so the 10 limit will work for us.

 

[Dean]

We understand that the DP might not be the best way to go but we just wanted convenience and ease for this group .

Some members of the group have already been a challenge for us!

We do have a TIW card that we will use for any adult beverage purchases. Not all members in the party will partake in that so the 10 limit will work for us.

I really don't see the DP as a convenience in this situation. You've go to track who's used what and if you've already had drama, the DP would set you up for more than it would save. Your choice of course but there's no way I'd do the DP in this situation unless only one or 2 people were paying for everything. As the patriarch, I often find that's me for our trips but by choice as a way of giving back.

 

[Cyndibear]

Well thanks Dean for your insightful input but I was not seeking info on if the DP was a good option for our group. I just wanted to know if we would have one check or 3 separate ones. That question was nicely answered by Deb.

If you must know, the DP was easier for our group because THEY liked the fact that everything was paid for in advance and since we will be traveling together most of the days and eating together there should be no problem in tracking the credit allotment.

 

[ses1230]

I really don't see the DP as a convenience in this situation. You've go to track who's used what and if you've already had drama, the DP would set you up for more than it would save. Your choice of course but there's no way I'd do the DP in this situation unless only one or 2 people were paying for everything. As the patriarch, I often find that's me for our trips but by choice as a way of giving back.

I agree with Dean. If it is convenience of pre paid you are looking for, I would take the DDP money and put it on gift cards instead.

 

[Cyndibear]

Oh, and our way of giving back is to provide the room accommodations. Each couple had no problem paying for the DP, park passes, & flight knowing they were saving money for lodging. .

 

[Cyndibear]

Your choice of course but there's no way I'd do the DP in this situation unless only one or 2 people were paying for everything.

I also do not see the difference if one person is paying for it all or if each paid their own DP.

 

[kamik86]

Oh, and our way of giving back is to provide the room accommodations. Each couple had no problem paying for the DP, park passes, & flight knowing they were saving money for lodging. .

Its not the meal credits that will cause drama. Those are easy.

The snack credits are the ones that were issues for our family when we did a big trip. As these are the ones that one or two people are more likely to stop and get somethign when others don't

 

[Cyndibear]

Its not the meal credits that will cause drama. Those are easy.

The snack credits are the ones that were issues for our family when we did a big trip. As these are the ones that one or two people are more likely to stop and get somethign when others don't

Not hard either when each credit is tracked on the receipts

We have snack stops built in our itinerary so I don't think this will be an issue.

And it is always fun taking home things with those "left over" credits.

 

[DVC Eric]

Original poster was NOT asking if this was the best use of MONEY or a good idea for a group they were asking for information about the check from the meals.

 

[ktate82]

Not hard either when each credit is tracked on the receipts

We have snack stops built in our itinerary so I don't think this will be an issue.

And it is always fun taking home things with those "left over" credits.

I agree with you about the "leftovers"! We once had enough to bring home Mickey rice crispys for my DD's kindergarten class! I'm sure you will all have an amazing time! I have done both the DDP and TIW and both have their perks. If the DDP will work best for your group, then eat on lol!

 

[albarellic]

When we traveled with my sister and her family, there 8 of us and we had the dining plan as well. The bills were separated for each family and the gratuity was put onto each of rooms. Since we were a party of over 6 an automatic gratuity of 18% was already added to each of the bills.

 

[Dean]

I also do not see the difference if one person is paying for it all or if each paid their own DP.

Technically you can't use one plan for everyone, each person is linked to a given plan (1 of 2 in this situation). You can't simply pay for 14 meals on this card tonight and 14 on the other room card tomorrow night. That's why I suggested it was more complicated than it seemed.

 

[Cyndibear]

Technically you can't use one plan for everyone, each person is linked to a given plan (1 of 2 in this situation). You can't simply pay for 14 meals on this card tonight and 14 on the other room card tomorrow night. That's why I suggested it was more complicated than it seemed.

We are well aware that each room has to give their KTTW card in order for that nights dining entitlement to be used. So that would be three separate KTTW cards the server would get from us.

We are eating ALL the TS meals together so no one can use a TS meal credit elsewhere. Lunches are also planned as a group so no issues with that either.

 

[Pirate Granny]

I think what Dean is trying to say, is that you will give the waiter three cards to take the meals off, but tax and tip will be expected for each of the cards, they may not be able to put the tax and tip on just one room key card and the meals on their appropriate card. Most meals the tax is not included, unless its changed from the last time we had the dining plan. We were 10 people and in a GV so we had all the credits on everyone's card. And yes, we did have a SIL that we were concerned that would eat the snack allocation for everyone. We actually had one person drop out, but I kept his credits (never checked in, but I picked up his key), as a buffer for that large eater! We treated a family of five to lunch our last day to use up that extra persons credits.

We're going TIW for our 2014 10 persons 14 day trip, and Dean, as Matriarch I pick up meals, Tickets (already purchased) and airfare, otherwise they wouldnt be able to go, and I wouldn't get these great memories. There is a reason I work

 

[WilsonFlyer]

September? As in 2013? Good luck booking dining reservations that the entire group can agree on, especially for sit down meals this close to the date.

I know you didn't ask, but I'm with the others. Looks like more hassle than it's worth to me but that's obviously not the way you feel about it so good luck.