DVC Dining Plan Question

[bhiggs7]

I am taking the in-laws on our June trip to OKW. We have already purchased the dining plan for all 6 of us going. Will my in-laws dining credits be separated on their own KTTW? I love my in-laws (honestly, I do), but I don't want them stealing my snacks!

 

[CarolMN]

I am taking the in-laws on our June trip to OKW. We have already purchased the dining plan for all 6 of us going. Will my in-laws dining credits be separated on their own KTTW? I love my in-laws (honestly, I do), but I don't want them stealing my snacks!

If you are all in the same villa, all of the dining plan credits are pooled and all KTTW cards for the villa have access to the pool.

If you booked a separate villa for your in-laws, then your credits and their credits would be separate and not pooled.

 

[disneynutz]

Could be worse.

There was a post a few years ago where a Uncle used TS credits to buy extra food like a hamburger. The member didn't realize what he was doing until they were told that they didn't have any credits left to pay for an expensive meal for 4 adults.

Bill

 

[luckyman_apd]

Could be worse.

There was a post a few years ago where a Uncle used TS credits to buy extra food like a hamburger. The member didn't realize what he was doing until they were told that they didn't have any credits left to pay for an expensive meal for 4 adults.

Bill

Yeah, a friend at work has a "large" family member. Towards the end of the trip they realized they had 15 snack credits left, with 20 minutes they were down to 2 snack credits! I would make sure that your WHOLE PARTY, understands the credits system, and after every meal/snack/qs transaction, your credits for each will be listed on the receipt so keep track.

So here's a hypothetical question. If you did have 2 separate rooms (like a 1br and a studio or 2 studio's) you can get the dining plan for 1 room, and not the other? This would actually be ideal for us (if we ever vacationed with someone). The DDP could be a good deal for us. We would just have to switch our plans from a 2 br to a 2 studios or a 1 br and a studio in order to do it. I know a studio and 1 br would be more points than just getting the 2 br lock off, but it could be worth it if Standard view is available.

Follow me here as I know it sounds crazy. Right now the only 2 br available for the week I want to go is for LV and would cost 229 pts. If standard view WERE available (i'm not in the system yet as we closed just a few days ago) then the 1 br + studio would cost 230 points. So only 1 more point, and we'd be able to essentially split the dining plan with my Mom and Step dad.

Am outthinking myself here? I

 

[Chuck S]

Yeah, a friend at work has a "large" family member. Towards the end of the trip they realized they had 15 snack credits left, with 20 minutes they were down to 2 snack credits! I would make sure that your WHOLE PARTY, understands the credits system, and after every meal/snack/qs transaction, your credits for each will be listed on the receipt so keep track.

So here's a hypothetical question. If you did have 2 separate rooms (like a 1br and a studio or 2 studio's) you can get the dining plan for 1 room, and not the other? This would actually be ideal for us (if we ever vacationed with someone). The DDP could be a good deal for us. We would just have to switch our plans from a 2 br to a 2 studios or a 1 br and a studio in order to do it. I know a studio and 1 br would be more points than just getting the 2 br lock off, but it could be worth it if Standard view is available.

Follow me here as I know it sounds crazy. Right now the only 2 br available for the week I want to go is for LV and would cost 229 pts. If standard view WERE available (i'm not in the system yet as we closed just a few days ago) then the 1 br + studio would cost 230 points. So only 1 more point, and we'd be able to essentially split the dining plan with my Mom and Step dad.

Am outthinking myself here? I

You can not "split" the dining plan with anyone. It is against DDP published rules to "share" your plan with people that are not on the Dining Plan.

Directly from the DVC DDP Brochure:

You may not redeem meals or snacks for any Guests who are not on
your Disney Dining Plan.

 

[MouseMomx2]

If you book it as two separate rooms you will run the risk of not being in connecting units. In fact, you could be quite far apart. Plus, as others have said, you wouldn't't be able to share meals with anyone not on the plan.

Yeah, a friend at work has a "large" family member. Towards the end of the trip they realized they had 15 snack credits left, with 20 minutes they were down to 2 snack credits! I would make sure that your WHOLE PARTY, understands the credits system, and after every meal/snack/qs transaction, your credits for each will be listed on the receipt so keep track.

So here's a hypothetical question. If you did have 2 separate rooms (like a 1br and a studio or 2 studio's) you can get the dining plan for 1 room, and not the other? This would actually be ideal for us (if we ever vacationed with someone). The DDP could be a good deal for us. We would just have to switch our plans from a 2 br to a 2 studios or a 1 br and a studio in order to do it. I know a studio and 1 br would be more points than just getting the 2 br lock off, but it could be worth it if Standard view is available.

Follow me here as I know it sounds crazy. Right now the only 2 br available for the week I want to go is for LV and would cost 229 pts. If standard view WERE available (i'm not in the system yet as we closed just a few days ago) then the 1 br + studio would cost 230 points. So only 1 more point, and we'd be able to essentially split the dining plan with my Mom and Step dad.

Am outthinking myself here? I

 

[disneynutz]

Yeah, a friend at work has a "large" family member. Towards the end of the trip they realized they had 15 snack credits left, with 20 minutes they were down to 2 snack credits! I would make sure that your WHOLE PARTY, understands the credits system, and after every meal/snack/qs transaction, your credits for each will be listed on the receipt so keep track.

So here's a hypothetical question. If you did have 2 separate rooms (like a 1br and a studio or 2 studio's) you can get the dining plan for 1 room, and not the other? This would actually be ideal for us (if we ever vacationed with someone). The DDP could be a good deal for us. We would just have to switch our plans from a 2 br to a 2 studios or a 1 br and a studio in order to do it. I know a studio and 1 br would be more points than just getting the 2 br lock off, but it could be worth it if Standard view is available.

Follow me here as I know it sounds crazy. Right now the only 2 br available for the week I want to go is for LV and would cost 229 pts. If standard view WERE available (i'm not in the system yet as we closed just a few days ago) then the 1 br + studio would cost 230 points. So only 1 more point, and we'd be able to essentially split the dining plan with my Mom and Step dad.

Am outthinking myself here? I

About those snack credits, back when the DDP was a deal we ended up taking home 12 cookies from Goofy's Candy Company. We froze them and ate on them for several months, (cookies were bigger back then).

I wouldn't go out of my way to try and scam the system for the DDP, the food just isn't that great anymore and I can eat at home.

If you want to get a better value the only option left is to do a split stay and only get the plan for the first part of your vacation. We are getting the Deluxe Plan for one night, 6 TS credits for 2 people, steak and lobster at Narcoossee's and the next night another TS dinner for 2.

Bill

 

[Dean]

You can not "split" the dining plan with anyone. It is against DDP published rules to "share" your plan with people that are not on the Dining Plan.

Directly from the DVC DDP Brochure:

You may not redeem meals or snacks for any Guests who are not on
your Disney Dining Plan.

However, Disney doesn't always enforce this rule. If you ask, sometimes the venues will allow usage for others. The 2 room situation does sometimes give one the option of orchestrating the group for the best benefit.

 

[supersuperwendy]

But you can book separate rooms and get separate dining plans so you don't have to share credits. We went to Kidani last year and brought my best friends family. We were in rooms next to each other and I added her dining plan for her...and mine for me. It worked out great.

We still ate all of our sit down meals together...but this way her kids couldn't blow through our snack credits!! The servers always took both of our KTTW cards and deducted the apporiate credits for each of our families.

 

[TDC Nala]

However, Disney doesn't always enforce this rule. If you ask, sometimes the venues will allow usage for others. The 2 room situation does sometimes give one the option of orchestrating the group for the best benefit.

They may not always enforce this rule, but they're supposed to, and until you get to the restaurant you don't have any way of knowing who is going to enforce and who isn't - and if they enforce, your plans go out the window and you have to cough up some cash to feed your extras.

 

[luckyman_apd]

Everyone relax, it was just a thought. The availability to do the stay that way isn't there. We will probably end up with a TIW card, but I was just thinking of a scenario.

I've never had a server actually check who was on the plan and who wasn't. They just took the KTTW card and swiped it.

I've come to the conclusion that the DDP is usually NOT worth it for us. We like to do a lot of character breakfasts. They can be pricey, but they are usually still cheaper than dinner somewhere. The TS credits are better used on dinners if you want to get Maximum value on the Plan. I do agree with most that the DDP has made the restaurants worse. I'm a big Mexican food fan but I wouldn't recommend the San Angel Inn to worst enemy. We got a reservation there once because it was all that was available. We got lucky and got a table right on the water, but the food and service was just awful. I remember years ago eating there and it was fantastic.

We enjoy a lot of the quick serve foods in Epcot, and usually skip the sit downs except for maybe 1 night. We have just decided that sit down meals take up too much time when we are in the parks.

 

[Dean]

They may not always enforce this rule, but they're supposed to, and until you get to the restaurant you don't have any way of knowing who is going to enforce and who isn't - and if they enforce, your plans go out the window and you have to cough up some cash to feed your extras.

Yes and no. One should always go into a situation understanding what's guaranteed and what's not. I've likely had 20 meals where we were allowed to do this and have never been told no. We go in and tell them that only X people are on the dining plan and we'd like to use credits for others in the group if possible. I phrase it politely as a question rather than a statement or order. Generally they say either it's no problem or they're our credits and we can use them as we wish. Don't get me wrong, I would not have ANY problems if they said no, it was against the rules. ASAMOF, I'd prefer it they were consistent in enforcing rules in general including occupancy as written into the POS. In this situation I figure they have the option of enforcing it and if they (restaurant & DVC) aren't interested in doing so, that's their right, unlike occupancy where there is a cost to the membership because of the lack of enforcement.

 

[TDC Nala]

Just saying they shouldn't count on being able to do it, no matter what your experience is.

 

[Dean]

Just saying they shouldn't count on being able to do it, no matter what your experience is.

Count on, no, OK to ask, YES.

 

[TDC Nala]

yes, but if they have all their credit use and meal spending planned out on the answer being yes, it isn't always going to work out, because the answer isn't always going to be yes.

What they're supposed to do is if you have 3 adults on your dining plan, you can use it to pay for meals for 3 adults at a time, and no more. If some servers want to break that rule if asked, then I suppose they can. But from what I understand they are meant to stick to that rule.

 

[Dean]

yes, but if they have all their credit use and meal spending planned out on the answer being yes, it isn't always going to work out, because the answer isn't always going to be yes.

What they're supposed to do is if you have 3 adults on your dining plan, you can use it to pay for meals for 3 adults at a time, and no more. If some servers want to break that rule if asked, then I suppose they can. But from what I understand they are meant to stick to that rule.

My experience of never being told no makes me wonder if Disney intends not to enforce it. I would agree that one should plan for the worst and hope for the best. No reason not to ask though.

 

[mousefan1972]

yes, but if they have all their credit use and meal spending planned out on the answer being yes, it isn't always going to work out, because the answer isn't always going to be yes.

What they're supposed to do is if you have 3 adults on your dining plan, you can use it to pay for meals for 3 adults at a time, and no more. If some servers want to break that rule if asked, then I suppose they can. But from what I understand they are meant to stick to that rule.

I wouldn't even ask. The DDP brochure clearly states that meal credits are not to be used for people not on the plan. I wouldn't want to put the server in an awkward position by asking them to break the rules for me. What if they got caught and were reprimanded? I'd feel terrible.

Why do so many people think the rules don't apply to them?

 

[Dean]

I wouldn't even ask. The DDP brochure clearly states that meal credits are not to be used for people not on the plan. I wouldn't want to put the server in an awkward position by asking them to break the rules for me. What if they got caught and were reprimanded? I'd feel terrible.

Why do so many people think the rules don't apply to them?

I'm a rule follower by nature. However, I see no problem in asking appropriately and politely, which we do. There is no awkward position. Taking that logic, one could never ask to substitute a side item with a meal or add a person to a reservation (dining) when you check in, both of which we've done this week as well.

 

[Geomom]

I am taking the in-laws on our June trip to OKW. We have already purchased the dining plan for all 6 of us going. Will my in-laws dining credits be separated on their own KTTW? I love my in-laws (honestly, I do), but I don't want them stealing my snacks!

If you're in a 2 bedroom together, your credits will be together. We just came back from a trip with another family, we were a party of 8 (2 families each with 3 'Adults', 1 child). We had no problem with TS credits as we were eating those meals together. Each family needed to keep track of how many counter service and snacks they used up each day. When we had 3 days left, I had a talk with the other family to make sure that the number of credits used up matched what we expected. It worked out fine, just make sure your in laws understand that they have x number of snacks/counter service/table service for the entire trip--once they've used them up, they need to pay by cash. Also, if you're doing table service, you still need to pay for tips, and any extras--alcohol, appetizer, etc. We had our credit card on file, so we put it onto our room charge--marking who drank what at the meals so that we could tell the other family how much they owe us in the end. (We tend to drink more than they do, so we wanted to make it fair for them.)

 

[mousefan1972]

I'm a rule follower by nature. However, I see no problem in asking appropriately and politely, which we do. There is no awkward position. Taking that logic, one could never ask to substitute a side item with a meal or add a person to a reservation (dining) when you check in, both of which we've done this week as well.

I have no doubt you are appropriate and polite. I guess my issue (meaning me personally, not an issue with you) is that since I know the rules say I'm not supposed to use my dining credits to pay for others not on the plan, I wouldn't even ask. Oh, well. We have only dined with someone at WDW not on the DDP with us once, and we still treated her by paying cash for her meal. So she still got a free dinner, just not with our DDP credits.