How does Disney know if you are using a child credit for an adult meal?

[bicker]

You're correct, of course; they cannot make such assumptions. However, they do have to make rules based on what people-in-general are actually doing (rather than dealing with everything on a case-by-case basis) and the limitations on the control they can assert, based on the current state of the information systems. This is what folks typically mean when the refer to how people who are not trying to cheat get hurt by the actions of those who are.

 

[triron]

Thank you for saying this. I agree. The original purpose of this thread I thought was "This is the place to discuss the Disney Dining Plan. Ask questions, tell us about your experiences, and share strategies for making the most of the plan." Since we will be going to Disney toward the end of August, I was looking for information and a strategy for using the disney plan from members with first hand experience that this website has provided in the past. For the most part, all I see are opinions, speculation, and moral judgements on how the plan should be used. I agree with Mickey-4-Me, I am staying off of the Dining Plan thread only morbid curiosity has been attracting me lately. Nor do I want any PMs about this subject. I will go in August with the information that I have now.

With no disrespect to OP - I cannot stand this topic anymore!

For sanity reasons, I am going to completely stay off of the Dining Plan thread altogether.

Just a suggestion - bicker, Pedler, Lewisc, and the like should create a Members Only thread and gripe (I didn't want to be ejected for a different word choice.) until you are content. Trust me, EVERYONE that has EVER been on a (any) DINING THREAD remotely hinting to this topic knows your point of view.



Okay... I feel better.

 

[lisaross]

So now at the end of my trip if i have 4 TS credits left (2 would be A and 2 would be C), and my husband and i go to a Signature restaurant requiring 2 TS credits each will they or not know that 2 are actually childrens credits??

I'm not tring to take advantage, actually most of our TS meals are for lunch - and are not at the most expensive places - BUT that being said i'll be paying for my kids to stay in the kids club and in addition paying for there dnr there since i can not use a CS or TS for a meal there.

So will i be able to use this?

 

[bicker]

At this time, there is no way for CMs to know how you've used your credits. That may or may not change, regardless of the actual rules.

 

[Nasus]

No matter how the credits are used, if they weren't making a profit, the plan would be discontinued. We went in May and paid for the dining plan. It was a huge boon to our family to be able to pay in advance and order what we wanted off the menu and not have to worry if we brought enough cash with us. Disney guaranteed that we would eat on THEIR property. Our money for extras was spent there and nowhere else. You can't tell me they are not making hand over fist with this plan!!!

Just my 2 cents,
Susan

 

[bicker]

I agree, Susan, profit is irrelevant in this case. It's simply a matter of personal integrity, being an honorable member of society, etc., nothing else.

 

[pplasky]

No matter how the credits are used, if they weren't making a profit, the plan would be discontinued. We went in May and paid for the dining plan. It was a huge boon to our family to be able to pay in advance and order what we wanted off the menu and not have to worry if we brought enough cash with us. Disney guaranteed that we would eat on THEIR property. Our money for extras was spent there and nowhere else. You can't tell me they are not making hand over fist with this plan!!!

Just my 2 cents,
Susan

Agreed. If they were losing money, it would be discontinued. The fact that they offer it for free in slow periods only strengthens the fact that it is designed to get people in the parks and STAY there. Why so many people worry about how it is possibly being abused/not abused is beyond me.

 

[bicker]

Why so many people worry about how it is possibly being abused/not abused is beyond me.

Why do so many people worry about how rude students are to their teaches in elementary and high schools, these days? Why do so many people worry about (non-child) pornography? Why do so many people worry about abortion? It's all a matter of concern about society. In my book (i.e., according to my religious beliefs), practicing deception, either by explicit dishonesty or by surreptitious means, is far worse an offense than relatively innocuous things (again, according to my religious beliefs) like terminating an inadvertent pregnancy, viewing adult entertainment, or even rudeness.

 

[bstnsprts]

Why do so many people worry about how rude students are to their teaches in elementary and high schools, these days? Why do so many people worry about (non-child) pornography? Why do so many people worry about abortion? It's all a matter of concern about society. In my book (i.e., according to my religious beliefs), practicing deception, either by explicit dishonesty or by surreptitious means, is far worse an offense than relatively innocuous things (again, according to my religious beliefs) like terminating an inadvertent pregnancy, viewing adult entertainment, or even rudeness.

From many of your previous posts it would be fair to say that your religion,(seeing that you choose to bring it up), does not teach to not judge others. Here's to our founding fathers who had the wisdom to separate Church and State.

 

[bicker]

Our founding fathers did have the wisdom, however, to make the rule of law apply to everyone, regardless. There is no defense, either religious or legal, for violating the tenets of a legal agreement you enter into voluntarily.

 

[rantnnravin]

 

[disneydaveb]

With no disrespect to OP - I cannot stand this topic anymore!

For sanity reasons, I am going to completely stay off of the Dining Plan thread altogether.

Just a suggestion - bicker, Pedler, Lewisc, and the like should create a Members Only thread and gripe (I didn't want to be ejected for a different word choice.) until you are content. Trust me, EVERYONE that has EVER been on a (any) DINING THREAD remotely hinting to this topic knows your point of view.



Okay... I feel better.

Ia agree. Well said!

 

[DebbieB]

I am not trying to start a debate, since it now states in the Dining brochure this is no longer allowed. I just want to know how does Disney know? Are they really relaying on the integrity of their customers to police themselves? Obviously that is not going to be a good strategy. What methods are in place to enforce this? Is it by requiring everyone either be OPP or DP for every meal? I really can't see another way to do it. And I also think it would be virtually impossible to keep track for CS meals. Lastly I don't know why Disney would even bother. To book the DP, you need to pay rack rate for your room. Depending on available discounts, you could be paying $50 or more a night if you are staying in a deluxe room to take advantage of the dining. Therefore the dining plan now costs a family of 4 (2 adults, 2 children) $150 a night. If you divide that by 4 the price is $37.50 each which is appoximately the cost of an adult credit. So Disney is really charging alot more for the dining plan than its actual cost. By requiring that you purchase it for everyone in your room for every night you are there, they are also insuring they get all your food costs upfront and that you eat a TS every day. To me it seems the Dining Plan is a huge moneymaker for Disney now matter how people use it. Why is it becoming so complicated?

2 Adults ($37.50 x 2) + 2 Children ($10.99 x 2) = $96.98 per night.

 

[MomofKatie]

2 Adults ($37.50 x 2) + 2 Children ($10.99 x 2) = $96.98 per night.

plus the amount extra by paying rack rate for the room. OP was using $50 as an example. $96.98+$50.00=around $150. Some might pay less, some might pay more.

 

[DCDisney]

So, will they just take the 4 TS credits to cover 2 meals, allowing us to pay OOP for the other 2? If so, which meals will they apply the credits to? 1 adult and 1 child is what it should be, if credits are tracked. However, if they don't track credits and the server applies the credits against the 2 adult meals, should I correct them?

Anybody come across this?

We had a similar issue at O'Hana breakfast our last day. We had 2 child credits left after paying OOP for them at a place where there was a kids meal for $5 rather than O'hana which was $10. The CM absolutely insisted on using the credits for the adults and letting us pay OOP for the kids--probably realizing he was going to get a nice tip which of course he did...

Yvonne

 

[Brian Noble]

I can see Disney living with a certain amount of abuse of the plan the same way they do with refillable mugs

Absolutely---and a more relevant example might be credit cards. Credit card companies assume a certain amount of fraud will take place when they establish merchant fees, interest rates, and customer fees. It costs more than it would save to attempt to prosecute minor fraud, so instead the card companies work to make fraud difficult (but not impossible) and focus on the big offenders. Minor fraud is just a cost of doing business.

In other words, this is an instance where crime does pay. The banks don't pay for it, however; we all do---even if we have fee-free cards that we pay off in full every month, because merchant fees are higher than they might otherwise be in a fraud-free world, and, in the end, the consumer pays for those too.

There will always be people who use the plan to their maximum financial benefit, even if it is against the "rules", as long as those rules are not enforced. However, I suspect that printing the "rule" in the plan brochure, plus re-training CRO and Foods CMs to stop suggesting that guests do this (and, as we've seen, start suggesting to guests that they are "breaking the rules" with too many TSes), will combine to bring the number of people doing this to tolerable-to-management levels.

And, if you think about it, there are already innumerable ways in which WDW depends on the discretion of its guests to play by the "rules". For example, I don't know that any CM has ever asked for a birth certificate for a suspiciously mature 2 year old.

 

[HaleyB]

Our founding fathers did have the wisdom, however, to make the rule of law apply to everyone, regardless. There is no defense, either religious or legal, for violating the tenets of a legal agreement you enter into voluntarily.

That is well said and very much to the point. Even if you violate the intent of the agreement it is wrong.

That said I do think this board is getting lost in the moral debates and is failing to be very informative these days. Perhaps these debates would best be done somewhere else. It is enough to answer an honest question with the facts and leave it at that.

I think the OP asked if Disney could see (or if the user of the plan could easily see) if remaining credits were adult or child. The ansewer is not currently.

 

[bicker]

It is enough to answer an honest question with the facts and leave it at that.

That's a bit like answering a question like, "At what URL can I download MP3 of current, popular songs without paying for them?" IMOH, that's a question that should be answered with a firm iteration of the fact that it isn't appropriate behavior, and nothing else.

Seems like we disagree Haley.

 

[Mickey]

This is why threads like this get locked. A question was asked how disney knows when you are using a child credit for an adult meal, and that should be the focus of this discussion. I would like to hear if people have experienced this in their recent trips. Have you used child credits for adult meals? We know who opposes this, and you have stated your views and we got the point. So please let the thread continue without getting off the subject!

 

[tinkwannabe2]

That's a bit like answering a question like, "At what URL can I download MP3 of current, popular songs without paying for them?" IMOH, that's a question that should be answered with a firm iteration of the fact that it isn't appropriate behavior, and nothing else.

Seems like we disagree Haley.

Have you ever considered not responding if you don't want to answer the question???

I vote for Haley.