Don't Panic, but Here's a Head's Up..

[BebopBaloo]

Just called to make an ADR after having just booked the free dining package and I decided to double check and make sure that all the previous ADR's that I had made way back at my 180day mark did not need to be connected to my package reservation number.

The CM, was very sweet, and helpful, and told me that I had to have the dining plan attached to my ADR's, which meant that all new reservations had to be made. Fortunately, I was still able to get all of mine at the same time, or pretty close to the same time that I had already reserved.

If you have made ADR's before booking a package with the dining plan, you should call and have the ddp added asap to ensure that you still get around the same time that you want.

I'm not trying to cause a panic, just wanted to relay the info.

 

[atmail35]

That's interesting because I called last week to ask if my room reservation or Dining Plan needed to be connected to my ADRs (which I made before I had the ressie #/booked DP) and I was told I didn't. The CM said it really is only important for places like CRT or dinner shows where they require you to pay in advance. Since I didn't have that type of ADR she told me I could leave it as is.

I believe I just need to inform the server that we are on DDP when we arrive?

But now I'm not sure which is correct! But we leave this week so I don't really want to mess around with changing ADRs since I doubt they'd be able to book the identical ones since there is no availability at places like Chef Mickey's.

 

[BebopBaloo]

I thought the same thing, that we just had to notify the restaurant when we arrived. Perhaps I had to change mine for some reason b/c of the free dining promotion...

 

[ncmickeyluvr]

I was 99% sure that this was not true but I called wdwdining just for clarification. The CM I talked to checked with a supervisor to make sure. Both said that this is not true. You DO NOT have to cancell because of free dining!! The only thing that may need to be adjusted is a prepaid ADR such as CRT. They would be able to add fd to it but it's more complex and if a CM tells you that they have to cancell HANG UP and get someone else. It does not need to be done.

 

[BebopBaloo]

I was 99% sure that this was not true but I called wdwdining just for clarification. The CM I talked to checked with a supervisor to make sure. Both said that this is not true. You DO NOT have to cancell because of free dining!! The only thing that may need to be adjusted is a prepaid ADR such as CRT. They would be able to add fd to it but it's more complex and if a CM tells you that they have to cancell HANG UP and get someone else. It does not need to be done.

Okay, good to know for future reference. This makes me really glad that my reservations are all still about the exact same time as the original ADRs!

 

[Huff]

So whats the concensus here? I made all my ADR's at 180+10 weeks ago along with our resort ressie at POP and they are tied. Today I called and added FD to the resort ressie. Am I good to go or do I need to call dining?

Back at 180+10 I did make and ADR for Hoop Dee online and it appeared as if it charged my credit card at that time. Do I need to call and change that? I plan to use TS credits for 1/2 our party and pay OOP for the other half.

 

[tami82]

No you dont have to rebook, anything you made beforehand doesnt have to be tied to your hotel reservation.

 

[siskaren]

Huff, you don't need need to re-book but you should probably call with regard to the Hoop-De-Doo so that you can get the charges removed from your card.

 

[PrincessArlena'sDad]

You do NOT need to rebook for (almost) all ADRs. When you check in just tell them you'll be using the dining plan. They don't process the dining plan credits at all until you pay the bill, so it doesn't make a difference to them whether you tell them you'll be using the dining plan now, or when you get there.

Here are the exceptions.

CRT: This isn't really an exception. When you show up, they can refund your card and charge your dining plan instead. But, this could be a bit of a hastle. So, it's better to try and make a new reservation with the dining plan, if you can, for about the same time, and THEN cancel the original, and they'll refund your card (as long as it's not past the no cancelation mark, which I THINK is two days). But, if you can't make a new ADR, then just have them refund your card when you get there.

As for the shows: you could have a problem here. You can only use the dining plan for cat 2 or 3 seating. So, if you have cat 1 seating, you CAN NOT use your dining plan and have your card refunded.

So, if you have Cat 2 or 3 seating, it's the same story as CRT. If you have Cat 1, you either must leave it as is (leaving it on the credit card), or make a whole new ADR for cat 2 or 3, and cancel the Cat 1.

Places like Princess Storybook Dining that require a credit card guarantee, but don't make you prepay, are NOT exceptions. As long as you show up, the credit card guarantee means nothing. They, too, won't care how you pay.

 

[MrsLS]

I've never attached my dining reservation to my resort reservation. We've now gone two years in a row, both for 8 nights with the delux plan and never had a problem. You just tell them when you get there/are seated. Half the time the waiter asks you again even if it says so on the receipt that they put at your table and sometimes they want to see your card to either get the number or make sure you have the correct plan that you say you do or the amount of people on it.

 

[PoohsFan1]

Wow, this happened to us just last night. We decided to upgrade our reservation from a room only to a package with DxDP. My DH talked to someone about our ADRs that we made back in March and she said that we didn't have to do anything with them, they will be the same. However, when I called to make an ADR for CRT the guy I was talking to said that all of my previous ADRs would be lost due to us changing reservations. So I spent 45 minutes with him last night trying to rebook my ADRs and cancel the ones I did have confused3, don't ask me why, that is just what he did) until his computer wasn't working anymore so he told me to call back this morning . Yeah right!!!!, I then immediately got on the online dining and was able to retrieve all of the ADRs that were just cancelled and link them with my new Reservation. It was such a confusing matter last night, and what made it worse is that this is the first time we decided to use the DxDP (we have always paid OOP), so I was starting to get a bad taste in my mouth. Hopefully nothing else will go wrong, because if all goes well this trip, we will more than likely start using DxDP on future trips.

 

[BebopBaloo]

Making our reservation for CRT is what started the whole thing for us too. I'm just glad to hear that it seems you don't have to link them. I'll definitely remember this for future planning.

 

[BebopBaloo]

Speaking of CRT, anyone know how the gratuity is handled there? Just curious. I was confused by what the CM said. She was being so nice and I was already so confused by having to redo all the ADR's..that I didn't ask...

Thanks!

 

[triciari]

You do NOT need to rebook for (almost) all ADRs. When you check in just tell them you'll be using the dining plan. They don't process the dining plan credits at all until you pay the bill, so it doesn't make a difference to them whether you tell them you'll be using the dining plan now, or when you get there.

Here are the exceptions.

CRT: This isn't really an exception. When you show up, they can refund your card and charge your dining plan instead. But, this could be a bit of a hastle. So, it's better to try and make a new reservation with the dining plan, if you can, for about the same time, and THEN cancel the original, and they'll refund your card (as long as it's not past the no cancelation mark, which I THINK is two days). But, if you can't make a new ADR, then just have them refund your card when you get there.

As for the shows: you could have a problem here. You can only use the dining plan for cat 2 or 3 seating. So, if you have cat 1 seating, you CAN NOT use your dining plan and have your card refunded.

So, if you have Cat 2 or 3 seating, it's the same story as CRT. If you have Cat 1, you either must leave it as is (leaving it on the credit card), or make a whole new ADR for cat 2 or 3, and cancel the Cat 1.

Places like Princess Storybook Dining that require a credit card guarantee, but don't make you prepay, are NOT exceptions. As long as you show up, the credit card guarantee means nothing. They, too, won't care how you pay.

Just bumping, so I don't forget to do this!

 

[Mndisneygirl]

Speaking of CRT, anyone know how the gratuity is handled there? Just curious. I was confused by what the CM said. She was being so nice and I was already so confused by having to redo all the ADR's..that I didn't ask...

Thanks!

The tip is included in the price.

 

[BebopBaloo]

The tip is included in the price.

Thanks, so if on the Free Dining plan, we will just pay what we are told the tip is, correct?

 

[Cherlynn25]

I had a cm tell me the same thing, that i couldnt use the ddp unless i went and added it to all of my reservations that i had already made. FALSE! it doesnt matter, with the exception of CRT and others that require cc payment ahead of time.