New Policy for Adding Dining Plan

[TDC Nala]

So here is our possibe scenario. Our daughter would like to take 4 friends next June for their Senior trip (I will be along). Two friends eat like birds, 2 friends have been to WDW with us before and think everything is overpriced and my daughter and I love the DDP because we can try new things. Will it be possible to get varying plans to accomodate eating habits and budgets? Each girl is paying their own meal expenses.

So 4 nights basic DDP for DD and myself.
4 nights qsdp for 2 girls
no DDP for 2 girls.

Possible?

Apparently not - it looks like everyone in the room still has to have the same dining plan. You can switch dining plans between "accommodations" which now means you can switch them without having to change resorts, including adding and removing people from the room for different "accommodations," but everyone registered in the room on any given night still must have the same plan.

But DB is scheduled to be off-site a few of the days with some friends. So I'd be interested in DDP for myself and MommaBear for the duration. (I need him on the ressie for ME to/from MCO.)

If you break up your reservations into "accommodations" based on the nights your brother will stay and the nights he won't, and register him only for the "accommodations" where he will be present, you'll only have to get the plan for him on those nights. But you can't have him registered in the room and not get him a dining plan.

You won't be able to register him for your first night just so he can use DME, without getting him a dining plan. You and your mother could use the credits allotted for him, though.

 

[tjkraz]

Apparently not - it looks like everyone in the room still has to have the same dining plan. You can switch dining plans between "accommodations" which now means you can switch them without having to change resorts, including adding and removing people from the room for different "accommodations," but everyone registered in the room on any given night still must have the same plan.

I agree.

You can split up the type of dining plan purchased for any given day and even forgo a dining plan on certain days. But on any given day, all listed occupants of the room must have the same dining plan...or none at all.

 

[alldiz]

Hi,

I am going to WDW in April.....Will I be able to take advantage of this new DDP perk....or is this just for new DVC reservations.

Of course my dining reservations opens up Oct 12th...so I'll have to wait to the 14th to make my dining reservations. I would love to be able to know if i can mix and match Deluxe and regular DDP as I am making my reservations.
Thanks
Kerri

 

[Nennie]

This sounds like an amazing perk!!

So, if I stay Thurs-Tues...I can purchase the DxDpp for Fri night (1 night) and then again just for Mon night (1 night) for a total of 2 nights, but then I can actually use Fri night's credits on both Fri and Sat, and then use Sun night's credits on both Sun and Mon????

If so...this is a HUGE deal for us! We don't get the DDP right now (unless it's free dining) b/c we never use up all the credits. If we could split it up like this though, we couldn't actually get our $$ worth!!

 

[perpetualplanner]

If it works the way Nennie suggested we might actually give the dining plan a shot. It's never seemed like a good deal to us but that would work nicely.

 

[brookelizabeth]

I'm thinking the credits will only be good for one day, midnight to midnight. Is the current workings on the plan where they extend into the next day?

Example: If you are staying for one night, they are good on the day you check-in, yet still good the next day as well when you check-out?

This will be interesting....

 

[thepops]

Currently they are good from when you check in until midnight of the day you check out. If they did midnight to midnight on the day you check in, then if you had a late flight, you most likely would not use up all the credits before the expired.
-Nellie - actually the second set would be Monday until Tuesday night (unless you asked for the "check-in" on Sunday).

 

[brookelizabeth]

Currently they are good from when you check in until midnight of the day you check out. If they did midnight to midnight on the day you check in, then if you had a late flight, you most likely would not use up all the credits before the expired.
-Nellie - actually the second set would be Monday until Tuesday night (unless you asked for the "check-in" on Sunday).

Ah! That makes sense. We haven't done the DDP in a few years, so I had forgotten how it works. Thank you!

 

[BWV Dreamin]

I am not so sure I like this new change. As I understand it, if you add the DDP later on after making your initial reservation, you stand a chance of loosing part of your reservation. Secondly, if I book close to 11 mos out, I won't know yet if I can get my desired dining reservations. Having to pay for the DDP upfront at the time of booking also means you need to have all of that money available then (or charge it). Can I cancel and get a refund once I pay for the DDP if I can't secure ADR's?

 

[tjkraz]

I am not so sure I like this new change. As I understand it, if you add the DDP later on after making your initial reservation, you stand a chance of loosing part of your reservation.

Yes and no. If you just want to add one of the dining plans to your entire length-of-stay for an existing reservation, there is no risk of losing the booking.

The risk comes if you have (for example) an existing 6 night reservation and decide that you only want the dining plan for the first 3 nights. Technically Member Services has to cancel 3 of the nights and re-book them under what they call a second "accommodation" in their computer system. There is SOME risk that the 3 canceled nights could be grabbed by another agent while the entire transaction is being processed. But that would seem to be an infinitely small risk. The agent handling your reservation adjustment would only need seconds to cancel out the days and re-book them. Another agent assisting another member would take much longer to recognize the existence of those dates, communicate it to the caller, and successfully book the trip.

The best way to combat this is to book the separate "accommodations" right from the start. If you know you want the dining plan for 3 of 6 nights, tell the Member Services agent when you are calling 11 months out and he/she will split the trip right from the beginning. You do NOT have to immediately add and pay for the dining plan--that can still be done as little as 48 hours prior to arrival.

It's important to note that all of this dining plan flexibility is completely optional. You do not HAVE to split your trip into separate accommodations and book the DDP for just the partial stay. You can still view it as a length-of-stay option or disregard the dining plan altogether. If that's your viewpoint, the only thing that has really changed is the need to pay for the DDP 48 hours prior to arrival rather than at the front desk.

Secondly, if I book close to 11 mos out, I won't know yet if I can get my desired dining reservations. Having to pay for the DDP upfront at the time of booking also means you need to have all of that money available then (or charge it). Can I cancel and get a refund once I pay for the DDP if I can't secure ADR's?

Again, you don't have to pay for the dining plan until 48 hours before arrival.

I'm checking on the refund policy.

 

[UConnJack]

The risk comes if you have (for example) an existing 6 night reservation and decide that you only want the dining plan for the first 3 nights. Technically Member Services has to cancel 3 of the nights and re-book them under what they call a second "accommodation" in their computer system. There is SOME risk that the 3 canceled nights could be grabbed by another agent while the entire transaction is being processed. But that would seem to be an infinitely small risk. The agent handling your reservation adjustment would only need seconds to cancel out the days and re-book them. Another agent assisting another member would take much longer to recognize the existence of those dates, communicate it to the caller, and successfully book the trip.

The best way to combat this is to book the separate "accommodations" right from the start. If you know you want the dining plan for 3 of 6 nights, tell the Member Services agent when you are calling 11 months out and he/she will split the trip right from the beginning. You do NOT have to immediately add and pay for the dining plan--that can still be done as little as 48 hours prior to arrival.

So, would there be anything to stop you from asking MS (other than their annoyance) to book each night of your stay as a seperate (but linked) reservation. And furthermore, is there any reason you couldn't make DDP reservations on multiple, single days within your stay?

If this can be done, I would make all my reservations like this, and add the DDP for every other night. Assuming a single night's DDP reservation is good for the day before and day after as it is now, this would give maximum flexibility to the DDP, nearly as flexible as if they allowed you to use an X number of days DDP credits to be used over your entire stay.

 

[UConnJack]

Nevermind tjkraz, I just saw you addressed this possibility on the other thread.

I'm sure someone will try before my next trip, but if not, I'll be the guiea pig.

 

[tjkraz]

So, would there be anything to stop you from asking MS (other than their annoyance) to book each night of your stay as a seperate (but linked) reservation. And furthermore, is there any reason you couldn't make DDP reservations on multiple, single days within your stay?

If this can be done, I would make all my reservations like this, and add the DDP for every other night. Assuming a single night's DDP reservation is good for the day before and day after as it is now, this would give maximum flexibility to the DDP, nearly as flexible as if they allowed you to use an X number of days DDP credits to be used over your entire stay.

I don't see anything wrong with what you suggest as long as you are aware of the usage limitations for each set of credits purchased.

If you buy credits on Monday, they would only be valid for Monday and Tuesday. Credits tied to the Wednesday stay would be valid for Wed and Thurs.

By comparison, when all of the days are part of a single accommodation, you have more time to use the credits. But you're also buying more, of course.

That said, I wouldn't want to be the guinea pig to make sure all of the credits are being deducted properly from my bank. It's really not rocket science to program a system that deducts the oldest credits first, but who knows where human error may come into play.

 

[Sammie]

Refund Policy: refunds will be available up to 48 hours to check in. If you cancel after that you lose it.

Also this system is not going to be full functional at every resort on the same day. This will be a rolling situation. They hope to have every resort online by Jan.

So it is possible if you are doing a split stay that one resort will have some of the new options and another resort won't, at least for the time being.

Personally after getting some additional clarification today, I am very impressed. Yes there will be a period of adjustment both for the guest and the staff but the system itself when fully functional is going to be fantastic.

 

[Doug7856]

If you split the reservation, can you still book all seven nights at the eleven month from check in day?

 

[tjkraz]

If you split the reservation, can you still book all seven nights at the eleven month from check in day?

Yes

 

[Tiger926]

Thanks all for the info!

I haven't been feeling well this past week (lots of sick students at school), and despite following each and every response, I'm a bit confuzzled on something.

Currently, we have 10 nights in AKV Value 1 bedroom for next summer. It is all one reservation (first time in years, no split stay!). After reading, it now seems that if we want to do a mix of dining plans (we use TIW) for different nights, we have to:

1. Make separate reservations or
2. Add to current reservation, but risk losing nights

I just want to make sure I understand this correctly, as hubby and I have been discussing it. I guess I'm confused as to why you just can't add it to the nights you want. Even better, let guests add it online themselves for different nights. It should be up to guests to make sure all deadlines of using credits are met.

Thanks, Tiger

 

[jakenjess]

Currently, we have 10 nights in AKV Value 1 bedroom for next summer. It is all one reservation (first time in years, no split stay!). After reading, it now seems that if we want to do a mix of dining plans (we use TIW) for different nights, we have to:

1. Make separate reservations or
2. Add to current reservation, but risk losing nights

I just want to make sure I understand this correctly, as hubby and I have been discussing it. I guess I'm confused as to why you just can't add it to the nights you want. Even better, let guests add it online themselves for different nights. It should be up to guests to make sure all deadlines of using credits are met.

Thanks, Tiger

This is my confusion too. We have a five night stay President's Week at AKV, and I was thinking of adding the DDP for two or three nights. I definitely don't want it for all five. I certainly don't want to risk losing any part of the reservation. I don't understand, if we have to break it into separate reservations, how that's any improvement over what we've always had. Couldn't we always break up the reservation and link it so we probably wouldn't have to move? Maybe I'm completely misunderstanding.

 

[tjkraz]

Currently, we have 10 nights in AKV Value 1 bedroom for next summer. It is all one reservation (first time in years, no split stay!). After reading, it now seems that if we want to do a mix of dining plans (we use TIW) for different nights, we have to:

1. Make separate reservations or
2. Add to current reservation, but risk losing nights

I just want to make sure I understand this correctly, as hubby and I have been discussing it. I guess I'm confused as to why you just can't add it to the nights you want. Even better, let guests add it online themselves for different nights. It should be up to guests to make sure all deadlines of using credits are met.

Thanks, Tiger

The only answer I can give you to that question (bold) is because that's the way the system was designed. The dining plan has to be attached to an entire segment of a reservation which Disney calls an "accommodation." So if you want the dining plan for part of the stay, those dates must be part of a unique "accommodation."

It probably has to do with pooling the credits over a series of dates. That "accommodation" determines the period over which the dining credits are valid.

All of that said, I do think we're getting bogged-down in the details a bit too much. All of this is just a necessity of the computer system to make sure that the reservation is set-up correctly. If you've ever looked closely at your cable TV (satellite) or cell phone bill, you will probably see multiple line items with cryptic codes that don't necessarily mean much on their own. In the end it should all add up to the price you were quoted.

This is a similar situation. All a DVC member needs to say is "I want to book July 1-7 but only want the Dining Plan for July 2-6." The Member Services rep will take care of the rest.

If you give DVC all of that information when the room is first booked, you'll have no problems. You do NOT need to actually add the Dining Plan and pay for it 11 months out (or whenever you book.) But getting the reservation structured properly will make it easier to add the Dining Plan months later.

This is my confusion too. We have a five night stay President's Week at AKV, and I was thinking of adding the DDP for two or three nights. I definitely don't want it for all five. I certainly don't want to risk losing any part of the reservation. I don't understand, if we have to break it into separate reservations, how that's any improvement over what we've always had. Couldn't we always break up the reservation and link it so we probably wouldn't have to move? Maybe I'm completely misunderstanding.

Not really. Until now dining plans were supposed to be all or nothing. Members were supposed to buy it for the entire length of stay (at a single resort) and for the highest weekly occupancy of the villa. (i.e. if you have 6 people in the room for a couple nights and only 4 people for the rest of the stay, you would still have to buy 6 dining credits for every night of the stay.)

You might have been able to find a rep willing to split up a stay at one resort, but doing so was going against Disney policy. And in that case the reservations could not be truly "linked" together, meaning that you would have to check-in twice, would get two sets of room keys and there was some risk of having to change villas mid-stay.

 

[lauralw]

I do not think it is correct that you have to break up your reservation.

I was originally told about the new changes to the dining plan because I was breaking up my reservation into three parts. The MS representative then kindly told me that under the new system this would not be necessary. I could just add the DP to any days that I wanted.

I have since spoken to MS again and asked whether I would risk losing my reservation when I added the DDP to part of my stay. I was told no, that it is simply a modification and does not require cancelling and rebooking.

In addition, TJ was told that you could not add the dining plan for less than all in your party. I was told that you could by two different MS reps. This is not really a debate between me and TJ, but rather an internal debate at member services because they themselves are giving out conflicting information.

However, when I spoke to MS about adding less than everyone in the room to a plan, we had a very detailed discussion. The rep said that with this new flexiblity would come an additional change to the DP: credits could not be shared at a given meal. If two people in your room have the meal plan and two do not, when your family eats at a restaurant you will only be able to use the credits for two meals. The representative seemed to really know what he was talking about, given the level of detail he went into.