"Disney doesn't know if it's child or adult credit"

[Lewisc]

I can't see logistically how they would allow just the occasional pooling of credits. Still I would think that the wholesale use of credits in this manner is very far and few between. I would guess that most of the use of pooled credits is for adults to go to a signature meal or to stretch the credits to an extra TS meal or two. That it appears is fine with Disney.

Very easy, charge 1 (or 2) TS credit(s) for everyone at the table. You either use the meal plan for everyone or you pay out of pocket for everyone. That will get rid of most of the schemes that "banked" credits.

 

[mickman1962]

This is probably the best estimate of what the intent of the plan is. I think the flexibility is there for the occasional use of adults of credits purchased at an adult price but I don't think the intent was to let people engage in wholesale use of the plan and never "waste" a credit on a kids meal.

See that, we can agree a little bit.

 

[tfiga]

I really felt strongly that using child credits for an adult meal was wrong until yesterday... My DH and I are going to Yachtsman for dinner so I emailed Resort Guest Services for clarification on how exactly to use the plan without cheating (I specifically stated that since credits are pooled, how can I use the adult credits), I received my response yesterday which said "for your 8 night stay you will receive 16 credits/16 credits, in total 32 credits to be used at any restaurant that participates in the plan.... So apparently Disney is okay with this the use of child credits for adult meals, at least occasionally.

 

[angel's momma]

I have always entered at 7 and a bit disappointed to see you can enter at 4. Why is this not advertised on the ticket? or elsewhere. We plan according to enter at 7 and make the most of our time. I will say I am skipping this year due to I think it is too much for such a short amount of time. If it was advertised as 4 pm then I might think different.

Lines were overwhelming from 6-7.

They started allowing people to enter at 4.

If they advertised it - lines would be overwhelming at 4.

 

[traviesojmt]

I have no plans of paying OOP for any of my children's meals to get more TS credits for the adults. We have the dining plan and I intend to use it. BUT, my DD3 tends to eat most of her food during breakfast and lunch. By dinner, she doesn't eat much at all. It makes no sense to get her a separate meal some nights (excluding buffets and family style). She will eat more than enough sharing with the other 5 people in our party. So, one child credit will be saved. Now, we have booked 3 more TS meals than we have credits for. We fully intend to pay OOP for these. So, let's say that I don't order my DD3 dinner twice. There will be 2 child TS credits remaining. When I go eat one of those TS meals that I had initially planned to pay OOP for, they are going to use those extra TS credit for the adults. That's what they do. I didn't have any intent of stealing from anyone. My daughter just wasn't hungry.

 

[Pedler]

See that we can agree a little bit.

And the need for refillable beer mugs! Preferrably by the pool.

 

[Pedler]

Very easy, charge 1 (or 2) TS credit(s) for everyone at the table. You either use the meal plan for everyone or you pay out of pocket for everyone. That will get rid of most of the schemes that "banked" credits.

The only problem with this implementation is that it would prohibit scenarios where a family is legitimately using credits by the intended recipients but is going to selectively pay for some meals in order to eat at more TS places. For example the kids meals at Alfredo's were $4.95. If we were doing more TS places than we were staying nights and had to pay out of pocket for some meals I would rather pay OOP for the kids $4.95 meal than the CM Dinner buffet or the Concourse Steakhouse. The same goes for adults if you have a situation where one adult doesn't want an appetizer or desert and just wants to pay OOP for a low end meal and save the credit for dinner at a more expensive place. These are legit uses of the credits just using them to maximize the plan.

Disney could make it an all or nothing but I think it would cause them more problems than it would solve. Even here at the DIS, one of the more active boards there are hardly any posts that talk about the worst case scenerio for use of pooled credits. Almost all of the talk is people going to a signature place without the kids or banking some credits to get an extra TS meal or two.

 

[Sammie]

Exactly, my problem is with people who state "Disney allows the use of the plan in this manner and also encourages the use of the plan in this manner".

Are they letting you "get away" with something, probably.
Are they "encouraging" you to do it, I doubt it.

Actually to me it's very simple, purchase a child's meal means you are paying for a child's meal therefore you have not purchased an adult meal. I don't purchase a child's ticket and expect to get an adult in the gate. And I am sorry the adage, Disney allows it, makes it ok, is simply an excuse not a reason. I can probably cheat on my taxes and get away with it, does not make it right. There are many things in life that require self discipline.

You can also get away with putting 75 cents in a paper stand and taking every paper in there. Does USAToday allow it, Yes by virtue of how paper stands work. Do they want you to do that, absolutely not.

Actually the sad thing to me and this is based on direct conversations with those working on the Dining plan and changes to it, is they truly did not think people would do this. They thought people would actually use it correctly. And hopefully most do.

And alot of what Pedler has said is true, changing it is very difficult. They don't want to punish those of us who have used it correctly. There are also tech issues involved on how to make it work.

 

[mickeymousemom]

I did read the brochure. I viewed that section as just an illustration of how credits ork in that there is one deducted per person per meal not that use must use credits to pay for each person. That just doesn't make sense at all forget banking "child" credits for adult use. If a family is planning more meals than they have credits for they are going to selectively pay oop for meals.

I haven't read past this post in the thread, but I was JUST getting ready to post the same thing. I think these descriptions in the brochure have nothing to do with the fact that a person cannot pay OOP for any one in their party. That would have to be totally asinine. Esp. during the time when the DP is not free and I have PAID for that credit, but still choose to pay OOP. I can see people arguing whether or not I should use a child credit for an adult meal, but to pay OOP for a meal is MY perogative and I'll argue to the death about it.

 

[Sammie]

I haven't read past this post in the thread, but I was JUST getting ready to post the same thing. I think these descriptions in the brochure have nothing to do with the fact that a person cannot pay OOP for any one in their party. That would have to be totally asinine. Esp. during the time when the DP is not free and I have PAID for that credit, but still choose to pay OOP. I can see people arguing whether or not I should use a child credit for an adult meal, but to pay OOP for a meal is MY perogative and I'll argue to the death about it.

You are absolutely correct, you can pay OOP anytime you want. For example my family is on the dining plan, but I have friends that are not. I am taking their child to the parks and we are dining. We are using the dining plan, the child of my friend is not. I am not going to use my plan to cover this meal, I am going to pay OOP.

Also at times I might be saving my adult credits for a signature meal that the kids are not going to. So at times they will use their credits but we won't. If a CM gives you a hassle over this, this is simply another case of they don't always know what they are doing.

 

[Pedler]

Actually to me it's very simple, purchase a child's meal means you are paying for a child's meal therefore you have not purchased an adult meal. I don't purchase a child's ticket and expect to get an adult in the gate. And I am sorry the adage, Disney allows it, makes it ok, is simply an excuse not a reason. I can probably cheat on my taxes and get away with it, does not make it right. There are many things in life that require self discipline.

You can also get away with putting 75 cents in a paper stand and taking every paper in there. Does USAToday allow it, Yes by virtue of how paper stands work. Do they want you to do that, absolutely not.

Actually the sad thing to me and this is based on direct conversations with those working on the Dining plan and changes to it, is they truly did not think people would do this. They thought people would actually use it correctly. And hopefully most do.

And alot of what Pedler has said is true, changing it is very difficult. They don't want to punish those of us who have used it correctly. There are also tech issues involved on how to make it work.

There is clearly a difference in your examples. Taking every newspaper in the stand for 75 cents is stealing and illegal. Cheating on your taxes is also illegal. Using pooled credits is not illegal. Setting aside all of the technical difficulties and the inside knowledge that you have said you have, Disney has not in anyway publicly expressed that they do not want the plan used in this manner. Until they do so I would not equate this with stealing or cheating on your taxes. They are both clearly illegal, this is not.

Regardless of what you think of the use of pooled credits I do not think it should be equated with illegal behavior. You can call the wholesale use of credits greedy as LewisC has or call it a loophole or oversite as others have but it is in no way illegal.

Note: Making up people or lying about the age of a 2 year old to get free dinning plan credits is clearly fraud and illegal. The use of pooled credits is not.

 

[mickman1962]

There is clearly a difference in your examples. Taking every newspaper in the stand for 75 cents is stealing and illegal.

Actually I just triple checked the paper box outside my door. NOWHERE does it specifically state that I am only allowed to take 1 paper. It is ASSUMED that I will because it is the right thing to do. Exactly what I think Disney intended for the Dining Plan. You, I know think the opposite.

 

[Pedler]

Actually I just triple checked the paper box outside my door. NOWHERE does it specifically state that I am only allowed to take 1 paper. It is ASSUMED that I will because it is the right thing to do. Exactly what I think Disney intended for the Dining Plan. You, I know think the opposite.

I think when it says newspaper in the singular for 75 cents that pretty much covers it as one for 75 cents. But from your post I assume that you feel use of the dinning plan in this matter is illegal? I had thought you viewed it as inappropriate but allowed. I did not realize that you felt it was illegal.

 

[mickman1962]

I think when it says newspaper in the singular for 75 cents that pretty much covers it as one for 75 cents. But from your post I assume that you feel use of the dinning plan in this matter is illegal? I had thought you viewed it as inappropriate but allowed. I did not realize that you felt it was illegal.

Doesn't say singular either, just says daily .50 Sunday $1.50. I never said it was illegal to abuse the dining plan. In case you've forgotten, I have been the one who has always said it was immoral, illegal is your term. The newspaper company and Disney assumed that since it is not a complicated transaction, there was no need to specifically state every possible way in which it should and should not be used.

Put in the money take ONE paper.
Pay for a child get a child's meal.

 

[bstnsprts]

The week before I stayed at the BC one of the bartenders was filling the refillable mugs with adult blender drinks. I hope he got good tips.

The best part of this whole debate is that come next Sunday I'll be checking into BCV, using my 20 credits how I choose, and most importantly looking for the above mentioned bartender.

 

[Pedler]

Doesn't say singular either, just says daily .50 Sunday $1.50. I never said it was illegal to abuse the dining plan. In case you've forgotten, I have been the one who has always said it was immoral, illegal is your term. The newspaper company and Disney assumed that since it is not a complicated transaction, there was no need to specifically state every possible way in which it should and should not be used.

Put in the money take ONE paper.
Pay for a child get a child's meal.

I apologize. I thought you were agreeing with another poster that said it was illegal. My mistake. I did know that you have thought the use of credits in this manner was immoral.

One difference in the newspaper analogy. If you were to call and ask the newspaper vendor if you could take more than one I think they would tell you no. If you call and ask Disney they say its OK.

 

[LoriZH]

In planning out our trip and trying to use the DDP to it's best advantage, I expect to have 1 adult and 2 child table services credits left when I hit Chef Mickey's for a character breakfast the day of our departure. I expect 3 adults and 2 children (DS 4.5 who is covered under DDP and DD 2.5 who is not) to eat at this meal.

I am happy to pay for the difference between the extra child credit and adult charge for breakfast. What I don't want to happen is I pay for 2 adults out of pocket and lose that last child table service credit.

Based upon the experience of DIS members out there, what do you think I could expect?

My goal is not to cheat anyone but not lose a credit either. I appreciate any insight you all can share!

You won't have a problem, it's not cheating and they are extremely nice about doing this for you! I as an adult ate of the children's menu and never had a problem, we payed oop for our kids meals at Chef Mickey's and no one ever said a word, they were just fine with it. If you want to pay cash for your meal and save your credits for a 2 credit meal, you can do it, it's the beauty of the plan, it's very flexible.

 

[mickman1962]

Pedler, 1 or 2 years from now, when we see if they change the plan, definitively,to the way I think they intended it to be used or the leave it alone as you say, one of us owes the other a pat on the back.

 

[puddleduck]

If Disney saw this as a big problem they could easily fix it at any time. All they would have to do is separate the credits into child and adult category. Then, even if you paid out of pocket for some kids meals, you couldn't use their left over credits for adult meals. But, you could still pay oop for regular ts kids meals and use their credits for the more expensive character buffets. Seeing as how Disney has not done this, it shows that the system is working for them. And for anyone who argues that this would be too difficult- they some how manage to put my ticket information, my room key and my credit card information on to one card. How hard is it to separate credits by adult and child if they really wanted to.

 

[Sammie]

I apologize. I thought you were agreeing with another poster that said it was illegal. My mistake. I did know that you have thought the use of credits in this manner was immoral.

One difference in the newspaper analogy. If you were to call and ask the newspaper vendor if you could take more than one I think they would tell you no. If you call and ask Disney they say its OK.

So you are saying you can purchase a child's plan and that child can order any adult meal they want and Disney does not have a problem with that? Then why does it say children must order from the child's menu if their is no difference in the credits.