Guest Question?

[Lisa0503]

We are going on our first family DVC trip and I did invite my best friend/chilren's godmother to go with us. She wants to come but is unsure if she will be able to get the full week out of work. She may want to either meet us at Disney or leave early.... Is this going to be a problem??? We had gotten a 2BR BW View regardless... I didn't think this would be a problem, but I just read a post in another thread that all members of the party must be present at check-in... Does DVC work like this too? Is there going to be a problem if we arrive on a Sunday and she doesn't join us till Wed? We also planned on getting the Dining Plan....

 

[RobDoc]

She can join you whenever she is able without problem. She will not need to be there at check-in. You can make arrangements for her to get thru the security gate after your arrival.

The dining plan must be purchased for all staying in the room for the entire length of stay- so if she will be staying with you for only part of the week, you will still need to purchase the plan for the entire week you are there.

Have a great stay!

 

[Dean]

I'll add to Doc's thoughts and to give a different perspective. The rules for the DDP say all in the party for the entire LOS. It also says you must finalize your plans through MS and that you cannot make ANY changes with the resort at check in or otherwise. This creates a catch 22 for certain situations where you may not be certain who'll be there and who will not or when people may be arriving days later always giving the chance they will not show up. Of course if you add her, you can use the extra credits for signature choices, breakfast, etc. If you are uncertain as to her making the trip, you may want to wait and try to add her at check in OR when she arrives if applicable and take your chances at that point realizing you may not be able to do so. I have a similar scenario for a trip in Sept. There may be as many as 4 and as few as just myself and I may not know until after we check in about all of the party's plans. It's likely I'll have to take my own advice and make my best guess. I'm hoping I'll know about all but 1 of the group the day prior, one is a definite last minute or even after check in risk. To top it off, this is an II exchange and I very well may not be staying the entire 7 nights, likely only 5 or possibly 6. But if I get the plan, I have to get it for the full 7 nights even if I plan a shorter stay.

I'm also hopeful that there will be enough experience by other DVC members prior so that I'll have more real world information rather than just the "rules". We all know how variable Disney and DVC can be on the rules. Come to think of it, I don't recall a single post from a member that would "test" the rules I've noted above. I do recall one who had a person arrive later and when they got her a room key, it did have the credits on it. But I don't think they tried to add her. And I don't recall a post about the party size. Surely someone must have arrived with a different party size than planned and tried to make changes at check in by now. If anyone has had direct experiences, I'm sure we'd all love to hear about them.

 

[Lisa0503]

Thanks for the quick replies. It is good to know that there will be no problem with her arriving a different day than us. I will definately tell her that she needs to pay for a full week of dining even if she is not staying the whole week and I need the money before we go down since we will have to pay for her meal plan when we check in even though she won't be there.... She should not have a problem with that since we are not charging her for the room! It is still an awesome deal for her...and we will definately take advantage of the extra credits. They will not go to waste!!!

 

[HollyH]

Lisa... It's like we're sharing the same scenario! My best friend /daughter's Godmother is invited to join us for our family gathering end of June, not certain if she can make the entire trip & we have DDP reserved.

I'd love to hear other's experiences with this type of situation.

 

[DebbieB]

I think you are talking about a post regarding the free dining promo for August/September for non-members. They want to see everyone at check-in in case some people created "phantom" guests in order to get more dining credits.

 

[rantnnravin]

Lisa,
it may not be possible, but check with MS anyway and see if you can split the stay (ie the ressie with dining plan for 4 for 3 nites connected to a ressie w/dining plan for 5 for the net 2 nites -- or whatever)
if they don't have the days available, you may consider going on the waitlist for those dates and splitting your reservation into two.
it's worth a shot since you have until the day before arrival to add the dining plan anyway.
good luck.