Help! Complicated Room Reservation/Dining Plan question

[mikat]

I hope all of the wonderful Disney exerts on the board will be able to help us out. I'm in the beginning planning stages for a unique "split stay" - not splitting rooms, splitting people! DH is not as obsessed with WDW as I am so I'm thinking the best way to have a long trip for me and great mommy-son time is to do the following:

Days 1-4 - me and older son
Day 5 - DH and younger son fly in
Day 6 - DH and older son fly home
Day 7-10 - me and younger son (and we will celebrate his birthday!)

Win-win for all of us (especially me) and DH will get his one day to go to Epcot fix.

The question is - how do I make the resort ressie? For the vast majority of the time it will be just me and one son, and we definitely will want the dining plan (the kids are all about the character buffets, so DDP makes sense). I assume I should just make the reservation for me and one son (and then the second son and DH will pay OOP for meals for the short time we're all together). I've read about adding on an overnight guest once we get there, so I guess that's what I should do once my husband arrives on Day 5? Also, since the second son will be having a birthday, I want to get him a celebration pin - should I just leave that off of the reservation and ask for one once he gets there? Finally, since DH and second son won't be able to use ME, I guess we should just have them rent a car for those two days?

Thank you so much for any and all help!

 

[crashbb]

You've got is *almost* perfect.

Don't wait until day 5 to add your son and husband. Tell the resort earlier (e.g. when you check in or days 2-3) that they will be coming and staying in your room for days 5 and 6. This will allow you to set them up for DME. The problem people have with DME is when they are adding someone extra to the room but that person is arriving one day 1 (let's say you and son 1 stayed 10 days and DH and son 2 only stayed the first night - that would lead to no DME from the airport).

Hmmm....just re-read your post. I'm thinking that the sons swapping out may be an issue, since technically, son 1 has dining credits for 10 days and son 2 has no dining credits. On the other hand, the credits are pooled to the room (I'm assuming both sons are 10 or older), so it may not matter.

 

[rie'smom]

Call and make the reservation. Trips like your happen all the time. The CM will be able to help you get it straight. Your husband and son may be able to use ME. I'd ask.

 

[mikat]

I'm thinking that the sons swapping out may be an issue, since technically, son 1 has dining credits for 10 days and son 2 has no dining credits. On the other hand, the credits are pooled to the room (I'm assuming both sons are 10 or older), so it may not matter.

Both sons are under 10 (8 and 4 by the time of the trip) so I figured that there would be 1 son in the same category for the length of the trip, so son1 could use the DDP alottment for days 1-4 and son2 for days 5-10. They would only really overlap for one full day (two half-days, actually - day 5 night and day 6 morning) and during that time I was going to have older son pay OOP, since he's the one who would eat more, to be fair to Disney. Will that be ok?

 

[mikat]

Call and make the reservation. Trips like your happen all the time. The CM will be able to help you get it straight. Your husband and son may be able to use ME. I'd ask.

I was going to try to do it as a bounceback - so I guess they'll be able to help me at the desk? Or do you call to make a bounceback ressie?

 

[rie'smom]

I was going to try to do it as a bounceback - so I guess they'll be able to help me at the desk? Or do you call to make a bounceback ressie?

Ask them. I've never done Bounceback so I know nothing at all about that.
If you get a CM who isn't helpful, call until you get one who knows what they're doing.

 

[PixieDustandEeyore]

could you not just have them all on and use the extra credits and do some stuff like California Grill for wishes, the castle meal etc?