Guest policy during a stay

[jrl5k]

My wife and I have a two bedroom week booked in Feb at SSR. We want to buy the Dining Plan for the two of us to use. We also wanted to invite my parents to stay one night, and then her parents to stay another night later in the week. I tried to add their names to the reservation and was told that if I do I HAVE to purchase the dining plan for any other guest on the registration. So I said heck NO to that...this is where I need all of your experience. If I walk in and tell them we will have two sets of guests staying with us on different nights but that will NOT participate in the dining plan, will they let them stay or do I need to sneak them in or something? I don't want to be dishonest but I think the dining plan glitch is dumb. Please help and thank you all.
Jason

 

[Chuck S]

Your best option is to not do the dining plan for this trip.

The rules for the DDP are set by Disney travel, not DVC. The DDP is made available to DVC point stays through an agreement with Disney, and that agreement states that all persons in the room must be in the DDP for the entire length of the reservation.

Is it just your wife and yourself in a 2 bedroom unit for most nights? Another option would be to book a 1 bedroom unit for yourselves, and a studio for your guests for the nights that they would be staying. As they would be separate reservations, you and your wife could get the DDP for your stay, and your guests would have the option of DDP for their stays, if they want it.

It would also save a lot of points.

 

[jrl5k]

thank you for the insight..i will look into the separate reservations tomorrow

 

[Chuck S]

Just remember that if your guests do want the DDP for their stays, you as the owner will need to have Member Services link it into their reservation about 48 hours before their arrival. They will pay for it at check-in. And make a request that the studios be close to your unit.

 

[oakmanner]

We have a similar situation. My wife and I will be at AKV at the end of April for eight days. My daughter who is in college will probably drop infor a couple days depending on her finals schedule. Can my wife and I have the DDP and my daughter pay cash if and when she comes?

Thanks-

 

[Chuck S]

We have a similar situation. My wife and I will be at AKV at the end of April for eight days. My daughter who is in college will probably drop infor a couple days depending on her finals schedule. Can my wife and I have the DDP and my daughter pay cash if and when she comes?

Thanks-

Official policy is that all occupants of the room need to be on the reservation. All occupants must be on the same version of the DDP for the entire length of the reservation.

You can either

a) not get the DDP

b) Get the DDP, paying for 3 adults for the length of the reservation

c) get a separate room for your daughter on the nights she is there

d) or all stay in the same room, but you will need to have separate unlinked reservations. For instance, if you are all staying in studio together, and you daughter stays nights 4 & 5 of an 8 night stay, you have reservation A for you and your wife on DP, nights 1 to 3, check-out, check-in for reservation B, possibly to a different room, for nights 4 & 5, having all 3 of you on the DDP, check out, check-in again for reservation C, possibly moving to a different room, for nights 6 to 8, with you and your wife on the DDP.

The DDP could be added or dropped from Reservation A, B or C, but you would have the hassle of check-in in and out, and possibly moving.

The DDP was designed as part of a package deal for the normal cash guest, where the entire party arrives and leaves the same day. It is not particularly friendly to DVC-style vacationing.

 

[Dean]

thank you for the insight..i will look into the separate reservations tomorrow

Remember that separate rooms are more points and there is no guarantee they'll be close to each other. I think not getting the DDP is best for such a situation. Disney does put you in a catch 22 for these situations, esp if you aren't sure if the others are coming or not.

 

[Disneyhappy]

We have a similar situation. My wife and I will be at AKV at the end of April for eight days. My daughter who is in college will probably drop infor a couple days depending on her finals schedule. Can my wife and I have the DDP and my daughter pay cash if and when she comes?

Thanks-

Chuck gave you the official policy and choices you have. I will tell you my experience when my niece joined us for the last night of our trip. I went to the front desk and asked them if it would be a problem if my niece joined us for the night. They said no problem and got her a room key. (The system gave them a bit of a problem but they were finally able to add her.) We had the DP and paid out of pocket for her meal.

 

[oakmanner]

Thanks Chuck for your detailed response.

DisneyHappy I think we will try your approach. If she comes, it won't be until the latter part of our stay. My wife and I will have already paid for the DP. I don't see what they can really do about it at that point. We'll see what happens.

Thanks Dennis-

 

[Dean]

Thanks Chuck for your detailed response.

DisneyHappy I think we will try your approach. If she comes, it won't be until the latter part of our stay. My wife and I will have already paid for the DP. I don't see what they can really do about it at that point. We'll see what happens.

Thanks Dennis-

What they can do is make you pay for her for the entire stay for the DDP. I haven't heard of them doing so in this situation but it would be the technically correct answer.

 

[Brian Noble]

Given that the DDP doesn't represent a huge savings for most people's "regular" eating habits, I'd just drop it.

If you happen to have an AP, I think the Tables In Wonderland card is a much better deal than the Plan.

 

[dallastxcpa]

Thanks Chuck for your detailed response.

DisneyHappy I think we will try your approach. If she comes, it won't be until the latter part of our stay. My wife and I will have already paid for the DP. I don't see what they can really do about it at that point. We'll see what happens.

Thanks Dennis-

We like to eat at a lot of the signature restaurants that take two credits. If you added your daughter for the week this would allow you and your wife to enjoy some of the better dining experiences (California Grill, Narcossees, etc) and still cover your daughters meals once she arrives.

 

[JW9DVC]

What a horrible policy. If someone stays just one night, why must we pay for all nights? Just another way for the mouse to get the money I guess. If someone just stayed in the room for one night, really why does Disney need to know? Besides safety and what not. JW

 

[Brian Noble]

Just another way for the mouse to get the money I guess.

Well, sure!

The dining plan is not there to help guests save money. The dining plan is there to convince as many guests as possible to pre-pay for meals---hopefully more than they really need---to prevent them from straying off-property with their vacation time and dollars.

 

[Dean]

What a horrible policy. If someone stays just one night, why must we pay for all nights? Just another way for the mouse to get the money I guess. If someone just stayed in the room for one night, really why does Disney need to know? Besides safety and what not. JW

It's based on the All Inclusive concept where guests tend to eat less and less costly over the length of a stay than if they can pick and choose. Disney has used this concept of Length of Stay and all persons for at least 13 years now that I'm aware of. Remember that it wasn't originally an option for DVC members and they asked for it. I would agree that it doesn't fit as well for many DVC member stays as it does for hotel guests. I'm guessing they'll allow some flexibility eventually like they did with the various incarnations of the Food n Fun and subsequent related incarnations. They'll likely do so just before they discontinue the program. As Brian noted it's not really a savings tool, more of a planning tool and it's completely optional.

 

[JimMIA]

What a horrible policy. If someone stays just one night, why must we pay for all nights? Just another way for the mouse to get the money I guess. If someone just stayed in the room for one night, really why does Disney need to know? Besides safety and what not. JW

DDP is like a lot of other Disney promotions -- they are designed for specific purposes and they are not designed to fit every circumstance. DDP is what it is -- and if that doesn't suit your needs, there are other options.

One option is to just forgo DDP for this trip. Frankly, with the appetizer and gratuity no longer included in DDP, you're probably not missing much. There are many good options offsite, from casual to fine dining.

Another excellent suggestion is to use the TiW card, which gives you a 20% discount for almost all TS restaurants, including alcoholic beverages.

Another excellent suggestion is to go ahead and get the plan for your whole party and use any unneeded credits for Signature Dining for the folks staying longer.

You really have an array of good choices. Just consider your options and take your pick.

 

[Chuck S]

A reminder that it's fine to discuss Disney/DVC policies, discuss the reasons for policies, the impact of policies, whether you like or dislike a policy. But it is against board policy to openly advocate for breaking those Disney/DVC policies or suggesting ways to do so.

Thanks.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Thanks Chuck for your detailed response.

DisneyHappy I think we will try your approach. If she comes, it won't be until the latter part of our stay. My wife and I will have already paid for the DP. I don't see what they can really do about it at that point. We'll see what happens.

Thanks Dennis-

Question - How did you already pay for the dining plan?? If you are staying on points, you don't pay until you arrive. DVC doesn't accept prior payment. You can only pay ahead of time if you book through CRO and then you must purchase a package.

 

[Chuck S]

Question - How did you already pay for the dining plan?? If you are staying on points, you don't pay until you arrive. DVC doesn't accept prior payment. You can only pay ahead of time if you book through CRO and then you must purchase a package.

I think he is referring to the fact that they will already have paid for the DDP at check-in for he and his wife, prior to their daughter's arrival a few days later.