FAQ about the Disney Dining Plan

[pedro2112]

Out of curiousity, why are you so hung-up on how people use their meal plan credits? You have seen that dozens of people use as many credits as they want. Bottom line, if someone has an individual issue with a manager or CM at a restaurant, they should call Dining to have it resolved or renforced.

I'm not hung up at all. From a logical perspective, it seems as if it shouldnt' matter. IF one on the plan pays for a guest for a meal, that's one more meal that the individual on the plan will have to pay for himself. I just wanted to pass along the information I received from the resort management about how the plan is supposed to work, so that board members are aware that they may not be able to pay for people not on the plan.. That's all.

 

[macraven]

hi pedro2112, you mentioned you received your info from the cm.
was it after i had my trip oct 12 this year?

or did you get your info prior to when i went last month?
i noticed in your siggie you listed a 2003 and 2005 disney stay. i am assuming you are talking from the trip this year.

maybe we are cossing wires here because you went on your trip to disney the last three weeks ? or was it before mine?

that might make the difference on the info you received from what i received.

 

[pedro2112]

hi pedro2112, you mentioned you received your info from the cm.
was it after i had my trip oct 12 this year?

or did you get your info prior to when i went last month?
i noticed in your siggie you listed a 2003 and 2005 disney stay. i am assuming you are talking from the trip this year.

maybe we are cossing wires here because you went on your trip to disney the last three weeks ? or was it before mine?

that might make the difference on the info you received from what i received.

We went in March, when the plan was relatively new. I don't think we are crossing any wires. Your CM allowed you to use your credits for someone else's meal. Many other posters have indicated they were allowed to do this too. Again, from a monetary perspective, I don't think it makes any difference .. disney isn't "losing out" because the meal you pay for someone else is one less meal credit you can use (thus forcing you to pay out of pocket for that meal). The only thing I wanted to inform people is that there is the possibility that you may not be able to do this, as it is not how the plan was originally intented. So you may get a CM who is a stickler for the rules. That's all.

 

[kutchyone]

pedro2112,

Thanks for the information that you have shared with us. I needed to hear what everyone knew and experienced. I would never use a childs credit for an adult meal but I am not putting anyone else down if they did, I just wouldn't do that. I will attempt to pay for our adult children who are not on the plan with us by using additional TS credits at two meals. Because of the information that you have provided I won't take a chance on paying using the 4 additional TS credits on the last meal just in case the CM won't allow it. Since the kids will also be dining with us at Tony's on the first full day I will use 2 additional credits at that meal, paying OOP for the other 2 and then I will attempt the same thing at LeCellier on our last day. Hopefully everything will go well and I won't end up trying to get rid of any of those "extra" TS credits. I think Disney counts on many of those going unused.

Thanks again for sharing what you have been told.

 

[tlbwriter]

Again, from a monetary perspective, I don't think it makes any difference .. disney isn't "losing out" because the meal you pay for someone else is one less meal credit you can use (thus forcing you to pay out of pocket for that meal).

That's not necessarily true. When colleges, etc. sell a meal plan, they calculate the price using a "missed meal factor," which means they know the typical resident is not going to eat all of their meals for the week. This is why they don't let you share your meal plan with anyone else (or at least they didn't back in my day), because then you end up using more meals than they calculated you would use. Disney may have done the same thing, assuming that the typical guest will not eat all of the meals on their plan, and they may have priced it accordingly. If so, they do lose money on those who use all of their credits, either on their own or with guests. And if that's the case, they probably will, at some point, clamp down on guests allowing others to use their credits.

 

[kutchyone]

Like they aren't already making a ton of money off of us! If I have any credits left on my plan You can be sure that I will do everything in my power to make sure that they get used even if I have to give them away to strangers!

 

[tlbwriter]

Hey, I'm not saying they should do it. Just that they could, and they wouldn't be the first.

 

[halld6479]

are the menus posted at different sites just a preview of items on there ordering menu's or are you limited to the items posted for that location? and can two people in your party order with meal plan and two not wanting the meal plan order and pay out of pocket?

 

[pedro2112]

pedro2112,

Thanks for the information that you have shared with us. I needed to hear what everyone knew and experienced. I would never use a childs credit for an adult meal but I am not putting anyone else down if they did, I just wouldn't do that.

Cheryl, I have great news for you, there isn't such a thing as a "child" credit.. just credits that are pooled, and anyone in your party on the plan (adult or child) can use any of those credits at any time, as long as there are credits left. So if you want to use your credits only on the adults in your party and pay for the kids out of pocket, go right ahead. The CMs at your resort will tell you more about this when you get to the world, they have been instructed by management to assist guests this way.

Have fun!

 

[d4est]

pedro2112--where did you get this info? Is this also true for 2006? If so, where can I read about it? Thanks.

 

[tink2020]

Cheryl, I have great news for you, there isn't such a thing as a "child" credit.. just credits that are pooled, and anyone in your party on the plan (adult or child) can use any of those credits at any time, as long as there are credits left.

Have fun!

This still doesn't really make sense, since you pay a large difference in price for a child vs an adult.

 

[kimmbagley]

This still doesn't really make sense, since you pay a large difference in price for a child vs an adult.

It's called "cheating"

 

[tink2020]

It's called "cheating"

Well, that's sort of what I was getting at. It didn't make sense that any CM would encourage it. I have a feeling that we'll continue to see changes on the dining plan if people keep working the system.

That's my last on the subject though. I avoid refillable mug and pool hopping debates, etc and I think this whole using child credits for adult meals is well on its way there -- if not here, then on other threads!

 

[pedro2112]

It's called "cheating"

No, it's called following the rules put out by disney, and explained to guests by Disney officials when you get to the resort. read the rules.

 

[pedro2112]

pedro2112--where did you get this info? Is this also true for 2006? If so, where can I read about it? Thanks.

It's right on the Disney Dining Plan document itself on page two. It is right in black and white. You can use your meal vouchers in any amount, and in any order you see fit until your vouchers are depleted. The reason why Disney CMs are telling people to use the plan this way is because it's an acceptable and very efficient way to use the plan. Why wouldn't they tell their guests of a great way to use the plan? Remember, if you are paying out of pocket for children, that means you are still paying something for them (plus paying ten bucks a day for them), and it gurantees you will be eating at more Disney restaurants (rather than eating offsite or at cheaper places). They'd rather have you eat more on property, than go somewhere else. They realize that this will make them more money than actually making a distinction between "child" and "adult" credits.

Here is the link to the official Disney plan.

 

[DeniseO411]

Thanks so much for the information on using the credits. I never would have thought to use the kids' credits for our meals. I came on today looking for menus so we can get the most out of our plan!

Heading out on Dec. 16th - a surprise for DD and DS!!!

 

[kutchyone]

Pedro,

Thanks for the additional information but I am not in that situation. I have no kids on the plan. I'm attempting to use adult credits for other adults not on the plan. I know you have been told it is a no no but others have done it and I will be trying the same in February. We are travelling seperately but with a HS band, if you can understand that. The kids are not on a dining plan but will be eating two table service meals with us and each is bringing a friend for a total of 4 kids with the two of us. We plan on eating counter service due to late arrival of the band at MGM (1:00) so that leaves 2 TS's on our plan for that day. The day the band departs we are eating at Planet Hollywood with them and we have a meal voucher for that meal and plan on paying OOP for our other meal so that will leave 2 more TS's. I was going to use the 4 left over TS's to pay for the kids meals at LeCellier, which is the last full day with the kids and basically our last chance to use our TS's up. Since you and a few others say that the CM will not allow me to charge 6 TS's out on my card at one sitting I will cut those in half use 4 total at Tony's and attempt to use 4 at LeCellier. If we get stopped from using the extra 2 at either one we can adjust from their.

Still would love to hear from current DDP users who use or attempt to use credits for people not on their plan.

 

[Pollito916]

I can vouch that we did it 3 times in October of this year. It was only one extra person each time, but we never had a problem with it. The CM at CRT actually told us that he would charge us per person no matter how many meals we ordered.

 

[kimmbagley]

I can vouch that we did it 3 times in October of this year. It was only one extra person each time, but we never had a problem with it. The CM at CRT actually told us that he would charge us per person no matter how many meals we ordered.

Okay, maybe I'm a little slow, what do you mean "per person, no matter how many"?

 

[pedro2112]

Okay, maybe I'm a little slow, what do you mean "per person, no matter how many"?

Pollito could have been referring to the fact that when you go to a signature restuarant or a dinner show, everyone in your party will be charged two TS credits.