Is This OK to do when staying DVC???

[Wendybird55]

Hi,

We're going in Sept. with our son who will be a few weeks shy of 3 when we go. We're staying at BWV.

I'm planning on buying mine and DH park passes from Under cover tourist.

Right now we're planning on doing the Deluxe dinning plan for me and DH and share with son. But son is getting at picky age where he can eat hot dogs for every meal and we think we may need to buy some kids meals fro him depending upon restaurants we go to.

I was doing some figuring last night and....If I buy regualr dining plan for myself DH and childs dinning plan for DS if of course will cost less than 2 deluxe plans. BUT we enjoy going to character breakfasts in the morning and DS LOVES breakfast (that's why deluxe plan). But when I figured the cost of character meals for me and DH (since DS is under 3 and we ill pay OP we don't have to pay for him - right?) It's still less money then 2 Deluxe plans.

SO...what do you think? Can I do this...
Buy 2 Adult and 1 child dinning plan thru DVC. Use it for lunch & dinner for the 3 of us.
When we go to character meals play for 2 adults out of pocket and let DS share.
Buy our park tickets on undercover tourist - DS doesn't need a park pass because he's under 3.
If I do this I will not merge park tickets and meal plan onto room key like I did last year.

Because I'm going DVC I can buy the meal plan seperate from park ticket.
But what do you think of this plan - is it OK? Is it "ethical". I want to save money where I can, but is this feasible?

Has anyone bought meal plan thru DVC for child under 3 without buy them a park ticket?

Thanks for the input!

 

[RLRDA]

Yes, you can pay OOP for some meals and still get the regular DDP. We've done this in the past and it makes sense to do what you've already done - figure out what your least expensive TS will be (in this case the Characater Breakfasts) and pay OOP for those. I've had friends pay OOP for meals because they needed to use 2 TS credits for Signature Dining later in their stay. You're DDP credits will be on your room key, I'd say pay with cash or another credit card (don't charge it to your room) so it somehow doesn't get fouled up.

We have also purchased the dining plan for our youngest when he was under 3yo. IMO it's worth it -plus with DVC you don't need the package of purchasing park tix.

 

[Brian Noble]

Right now we're planning on doing the Deluxe dinning plan for me and DH and share with son.

Unfortunately, this is not possible. Everyone listed on the room reservation has to be on the same plan if anyone is, for the duration of the reservation.

 

[hockeyprincess]

Unfortunately, this is not possible. Everyone listed on the room reservation has to be on the same plan if anyone is, for the duration of the reservation.

It is possible as the son is under 3. Yes you can purchase the dining plan for him w/o having to purchase a park ticket. I fully believe DDP is worth it for kids, ESPECIALLY kids. $11 per day to eat? Heck yeah I would do that w/o a blink of an eye. And yes, you can pay OOP for whatever meals you choose, to save your credits for dinner TS or Signature TS meals, as a PP said. Have fun!

 

[Brian Noble]

Ah, I missed the not-quite-three part. My mistake! In that case, I'd get just the plan that the two of you want, and pay for him as you go. The downside of "aging him up" is that Disney actually keeps track of these things, and you'll have to explain later why your 9 year old is not really ten.

 

[kristenrice]

It should be MUCH cheaper to pay OOP for your child's meals than to add the DxDDP for him. The Deluxe Dining Plan is $21.99 per night of your stay for your not-quite-3-year old. Since a typical kids meal at a TS restaurant will only run you about $8 and a CS meal runs about $6, he would have to eat at least 2 TS meals and a CS meal every day to break even. (Oh, of course there's the snacks and mugs too.) On top of that, any meals that are buffets or family style would be free for him.

If you did a character breakfast buffet (FREE), a snack (apples with caramel $4) and a CS meal ($6), you would only be spending about $10 a day for his food. Granted, that is a light menu, but you can double it and still be under the cost of the DxDDP.

We did the DDP when our youngest was 2 and it was well worth it. Our oldest was 4 so we paid $10/day for her. The kids meals were big enough (and the girls eat like birds!) that they were able to share almost all of the CS meals. Sometimes, we'd pay OOP for an extra order of yogurt or something, but they shared really well. Even the snacks on the DDP were splittable. They shared popcorn, apples and zebra domes. For our TS meals, we ate at Akershus, Chef Mickey's, 1900 Park Fare, and Cinderella's Royal Table. At Cindy's, they offered our 2 y.o. a mac and cheese type dish with a beverage. The server said that it was the only thing they could offer at no charge. We could either let her eat off our plates or spend the $30 to order her own meal. She happily ate the mac and cheese!

If I were you, I would not even think about paying $21/night so my 2yo could do the DxDDP. Your TS meals (non-buffets) will include 2 appetizers, 2 entrees and 2 desserts so there should be plenty for him to nibble on. Even if you have to pay OOP for him, I can't see a 2 y.o. eating $22 a day worth of food, especially since the buffets/AYCE meals are free.

 

[RLRDA]

Ah, I missed the not-quite-three part. My mistake! In that case, I'd get just the plan that the two of you want, and pay for him as you go. The downside of "aging him up" is that Disney actually keeps track of these things, and you'll have to explain later why your 9 year old is not really ten.

When we did this a few years ago (when our youngest was 2yo) he was listed on the reservation as being "2" - they did not list him as 3yo simply because we purchased the DDP for him. I'm not sure if that's what you mean.

 

[Brian Noble]

Interesting! I guess because DVC dining plans are decoupled from the ticketing system, they don't need to "age up".

Yet again, I stand (sit) corrected.

 

[Micca]

Interesting! I guess because DVC dining plans are decoupled from the ticketing system, they don't need to "age up".

Yet again, I stand (sit) corrected.

I know where you're coming from Brian. I think I know a lot about WDW then I come here and... I'm no professor, but absent minded fits me pretty well.

 

[Wendybird55]

Thanks for all the input - It seems I won't be making a big "Faux pas" if I get the regular dinning plan for my son (under 3) DH and myself and keep park tickets seperate.

It just gets so confusing trying to figure out which plan is best. Last year we did DxDP for me and DH and it was more than enough to share with DS - we were going crazy the last day buying lollipops and such to use up the snack credits!

It's just that now that our son developing his own picky tastes - I'm not sure how many meals he'll share with us as Hot Dogs are now his favorite and we can't eat at Germany or Caseys every day!

Also if we go to some of the family style or buffet meals (Ohana, Cape May Clam Bake, etc) I don't think we'll really get our money's worth with DxDP.

I'm trying to figure out our dining schedule and with the help of the menus on AllEars.net I can figure out which plan will be best for us.

I'm leaning towards regular dining for all of us and Pay OP for the breakfast as it will allow me to make sure I can order something my son will eat. Plus ine snack a day for each of us is MORE than enough!

Thanks again!