DVC Dining Plan

[keishashadow]

Haven't used plan since last Feb.; planning on purchasing it again in June.

Just a heads up on a few points. DIS'ers are howling now that WDW is cracking down on families that are trying to pay OOP for their children's meals; and only using credits for adults during TS dinners.

Apparently, the loophole is closing wherein you could save the children's TS credits & use them for additional adult dinners - ala a double dip of sorts.

Haven't heard of any DVC'ers bragging about adding on phantom children yet but, this was also was used @ resorts to garner extra dining credits by adding on a min. MYW child tix & length of stay dining...diabolical.

 

[swich2mac]

Where can I find details regarding the pre-paid meal plan?

 

[Rash]

Just a heads up on a few points. DIS'ers are howling now that WDW is cracking down on families that are trying to pay OOP for their children's meals; and only using credits for adults during TS dinners.

Apparently, the loophole is closing wherein you could save the children's TS credits & use them for additional adult dinners - ala a double dip of sorts.

What DIS'ers are saying that? Is there a specific thread where you read that?

 

[NMW]

What DIS'ers are saying that? Is there a specific thread where you read that?

There are several long-running threads (and new ones start all the time) on the restaurant board about this very subject.
Camp A feels that credits are credits and I can use them however I want including paying out of pocket for my kids food and then treating freinds (who are not on the dining plan) to Le Celliar for dinner, using them for more signature meals for the adults. Some people claim to have done all of these things multiple times during a trip. These people feel that since all the credits are pooled and because there is no difference between an "adult" credit and a "child" credit that it is okay. Your card will say 2 adults/2 children (for example) but you could walk up to Flame Tree BBQ and order 2 adult meals and 2 seconds later your wife could do the same thing and your family would have 4 adult counter service meals. You could do this every day. The computer system does not seperate adult and children's credits. They point out that one could use 8 counter service credits one day if they wanted to, and none the next 2 days. They are yours to use as you see fit. This camp strongly argues that they are doing nothing wrong that Disney could seperate the credits if they wanted to. They see nothing wrong in paying out of pocket for kids meals and then eating at several signature restaurants with the saved credits. They will quote the Dining literature from Disney word for word to prove their point.

Camp B thinks Camp A is wrong, wrong, wrong! They say it is unethical to pay $10.99 a day for a child and then pay cash for the kids meals and then eat at California Grill, Flying Fish, Jiko, and Yachtsman Steakhouse with those saved credits. Some threads have gotten out of hand in the past 6 months with members of this camp going so far as to call camp A members cheaters, immoral, and even worse things. They point out that recent posters on the restaurant board have reported being told that paying out of pocket for the kids is longer an option at some places, either everyone uses the plan or no one does. Chef Mickeys is one place I've read this a couple of times. They claim that this is a sign that Disney does in fact care that people are not using the credits as intended and are trying to stop it.

These threads have been around as long as the dining plan itself, I'm sure you could do a search and find some of them.

 

[amcnj]

Say there are four people in the room and thus all on the Dining Plan. Does each person's Key to the World card have their individual meals attached to it? I am getting confused as everyone describes the pooling of all the indivdual meals into one pot, so to speak. Can any of the four person's cards then be used to access all of the meals for the whole group, or is each card allotted only that indivdual's meals, necessitating handing over all four cards for a Dining Plan meal that all four partook in?

Did I confuse everyone else too???

 

[starwood]

I haven't read through the whole thread (it's a little long ). Does anyone know if you can use the dining plan at Hollywood and Vine with the Fantasmic dinner package? DS wants to do this and it's 22.50/pp without the package so it would definitely be worth it. He also wants to do Sci Fi on the same day for lunch.

 

[keishashadow]

Yes - all credits pooled on all cards in your party.

Yes - you may use for Fantasimc pkg (but still must provide CC guarantee - can cancel up to 48 hours or so prior).

If you're using dining pkg for Cinderella pkgs (breakfast, lunch or dinner) it will require two TS credits & a CC authorization (non-refundable fee charged)

Dollar-wise, Fantasmic isn't the best choice on the plan. Although we ear-mark a credit for it. I've got to laugh when people brag about choosing restaurants solely on the $ amount they'll save (never mind if they like the cusine). It's true that when you add up appetizer, dinner, desser, tip & tax; you can easily spend $60 p/adult.

My family is hoping that I, again, don't force them to order appetizers & desserts they're not interested in...because they're already paid for!

 

[Rash]

Yes - you may use for Fantasimc pkg (but still must provide CC guarantee - can cancel up to 48 hours or so prior).

If you're using dining pkg for Cinderella pkgs (breakfast, lunch or dinner) it will require two TS credits & a CC authorization (non-refundable fee charged)

Isn't Fantasmic Dinner Package two TS credits also since Brown Derby is listed as two TS credits?

 

[Rash]

There are several long-running threads (and new ones start all the time) on the restaurant board about this very subject.
Camp A feels that credits are credits and I can use them however I want including paying out of pocket for my kids food and then treating freinds (who are not on the dining plan) to Le Celliar for dinner, using them for more signature meals for the adults. Some people claim to have done all of these things multiple times during a trip. These people feel that since all the credits are pooled and because there is no difference between an "adult" credit and a "child" credit that it is okay. Your card will say 2 adults/2 children (for example) but you could walk up to Flame Tree BBQ and order 2 adult meals and 2 seconds later your wife could do the same thing and your family would have 4 adult counter service meals. You could do this every day. The computer system does not seperate adult and children's credits. They point out that one could use 8 counter service credits one day if they wanted to, and none the next 2 days. They are yours to use as you see fit. This camp strongly argues that they are doing nothing wrong that Disney could seperate the credits if they wanted to. They see nothing wrong in paying out of pocket for kids meals and then eating at several signature restaurants with the saved credits. They will quote the Dining literature from Disney word for word to prove their point.

Camp B thinks Camp A is wrong, wrong, wrong! They say it is unethical to pay $10.99 a day for a child and then pay cash for the kids meals and then eat at California Grill, Flying Fish, Jiko, and Yachtsman Steakhouse with those saved credits. Some threads have gotten out of hand in the past 6 months with members of this camp going so far as to call camp A members cheaters, immoral, and even worse things. They point out that recent posters on the restaurant board have reported being told that paying out of pocket for the kids is longer an option at some places, either everyone uses the plan or no one does. Chef Mickeys is one place I've read this a couple of times. They claim that this is a sign that Disney does in fact care that people are not using the credits as intended and are trying to stop it.

These threads have been around as long as the dining plan itself, I'm sure you could do a search and find some of them.

Thanks for the info. I'm aware of the two camps, and I read (browsed) the mentioned threads, I just don't recall reading any recent posts about Disney cracking down on the credit thing. I'll try search of course, I was just hoping that the previous poster may know exactly where they read this since they brought it up.

 

[keishashadow]

Nope, unless they've changed it in the last month, it's always been 1 TS.

Initially, you couldn't use the plan for the Fan. or Candlelight Proc. ; but they caved. When I booked our CP for LeCellier (the first day available last year) I ran into some difficulty securing the time I wanted...many reported being shut out for mid-Dec.

They've tweaked the number of TS for a few rest. over the last year (LeCellier & Coral Reef have dropped to 1) & added/dropped sites in Epcot.

Can't recall spec. when I read last post as to "cracking down"...sometime in the last month I'd say. It's a regular hot topic on the restaurant & resort boards always a good read.

Isn't Fantasmic Dinner Package two TS credits also since Brown Derby is listed as two TS credits?

 

[Rash]

Nope, unless they've changed it in the last month, it's always been 1 TS.

Wow - that makes no sense to me. Brown Derby is 2 TS credits, but if I can eat there and get the advantage of reserved seating at Fantasmic for one credit. Why would they do that?

 

[beattyfamily]

Wow - that makes no sense to me. Brown Derby is 2 TS credits, but if I can eat there and get the advantage of reserved seating at Fantasmic for one credit. Why would they do that?

They wouldn't. Brown Derby is 2 TS credits whether you do the Fantasmic package or not.

 

[Rash]

They wouldn't. Brown Derby is 2 TS credits whether you do the Fantasmic package or not.

Thanks for clarifying that.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Do You Have To Pay For The Day You Are Checking Out..even If Your Flight Is Early Am And You Wont Get A Chance To Use The Card On That Day

Yes. You're not paying per day, you're paying per night of your stay.
Example:
Guest A arrives and checks in at 8 AM Sunday, and leaves on a 10 PM flight on Friday. Guest A pays for five nights' hotel and five nights' dining plan, and rations out the credits over what is actually a six day stay.
Guest B arrives and checks into the same resort at 10 PM Sunday, and leaves on a 7 AM flight Friday. Guest B pays for Guest B pays for five nights' hotel and five nights' dining plan, and rations out the credits over what is really a four day visit

Does anyone know the answer to this:

We are staying one night in SS, and than switching to 6 nights at VWL. so....if I buy the dining plan....do I need to buy it for my first one night at SS....if so.....could I "save" that TS credit to use for later in the week (say, to use two TS credits at the CRT meal)

No, you can't save credits for later in the week. You can use them the day you check out of SSR (by midnight), or you could just choose not to purchase the MYW Dining Plan for that one SSR night.

Isn't Fantasmic Dinner Package two TS credits also since Brown Derby is listed as two TS credits?

The Fantasmic! Dinner Package 'costs' one TS credit per person if you dine at Mama Melrose's or Hollywood & Vine; it's two TS credits if you choose Hollywood Brown Derby.

 

[rward]

Do you pay in full when you call or when you check in?

Anyone know if DVC MS can take care of refunding our Hoop and CRT ressies if we want to use credits from the Dining Plan instead?

Thanks!

Not sure if this has been answered, but just got off the phone with DVC and dealt with this issue. You pay in full when you check in. Can't add this option at check in however, so you must let them know ahead of time if you want the DDP.

Your Hoop question is more interesting, can they refund reservations. The answer is yes. Hoop now requires you to pay up front when making reservations. So, when you add the DDP to your Villa reservations you can ask them to refund your Hoop cost. I just did this and what they wanted to do was cancel my Hoop reservation and add a new one. No deal, I didn't want to lose my reservation date I made six months ago. For those who dont know, Hoop tables are based on your reservation date. I had to explain this, they were great, called dinning and got my refund and modified my Hoop reservation. So, don't let them cancel and rebook... They can simply modify your Hoop reservation.

Reservations complete at VWL Dec 23 to Dec 31, now to just get though the rest of the year

 

[bkjones911]

The meal plan is well worth the money. I just returned from WDW yesterday and used the meal plan. Our meals averaged $80+ a person per day for 4 adults. The only thing that I did not like is that you get too much food. Ex. We ate the Norway counter service and you have to order a sandwich, salad/ fruit cup, dessert and drink to qualify for the meal plan. The meal was good though and we saved the fruit cups for breakfast the next morning.
If you wait until 1pm to eat lunch then you should wait to eat dinner later in the night. I would not waste the meal vouchers on breakfast. You can order cereal and milk for breakfast or eat leftovers (fruit cup) and save the meals vouchers for the more expensive meals.
I recommend making plans on where and when you are going to eat. If you were going to do a sit down meal then I would make reservations well in advance so you are guaranteed seating. Ex. Eating at Mama Melrose (MGM) for guaranteed seating for “Fantasmic!” The food is great and you do not have to wait in line for the show because you get to go through a separate entrance. My family used a 2 meal voucher for Artist Point at Wilderness Lodge. It is a made to order meal and not a buffet. The food is excellent and I highly recommend it.
Just beware that if you make reservations and decide to change them later you could be charged a cancellation fee. Keep in mind the extended park hours, show times and the fireworks when making meal reservations.

Ben Jones

10 months until we return to WDW…

 

[bkjones911]

Thanks for clarifying that.

I recommend eating at Mama Melrose (MGM) for guaranteed seating for “Fantasmic!” The food is great and you do not have to wait in line for the show because you get to go through a separate entrance and it is only 1 sitdown meal per person. That is what we did.

Ben Jones

 

[DIS4MYGIRLS]

I just got a letter in the mail today offering us the option to add the dining plan to our trip planned for July. The problem is I can't get the price off the DVC site I can't remember my login. Has anyone else received the letter and does anyone know the pricing? I feel so goofy that I can't remember my pass words.

 

[brandip22]

I didn't get the letter, but I booked the Dining Plan when I booked our Dec ressies. I think the pricing was $37.99 for adults and $10.99 for kids. I know that my total was about $645 for 2 adults and a child for 8 nights. And, you don't have to pay until you check in!

 

[DIS4MYGIRLS]

Thank You...