Not using all the TS or CS ?

[daisyduck123]

We were told we couldn't do this...

Wow. Where were you when that happened?

 

[solfan68]

We used all of our TS a week ago. All but one CS. And we did leave two snack credits on the table. Yes, we could have run to the resort store to burn 'em, but simply didn't want to rush for the sake of some chips and a soda.

 

[RACHELSMOM1]

I find it confusing and somewhat laughable that people leave without using up all their credits - get something, bottled water, anything!!! Why would you not use up TS before the last day? That is what I plan for the most. And, CS meals - get them just for the drinks and take the food with you to snack on later (Zip-Lock bags go with us to all parks). You can order CS foods that will go with you as you walk thru the parks (pizza sure tastes good to the kids as a between meal snack) and you can get a cookie for dessert and chips for the side. That is what a backpack is for, in my opinion, for the things we need as we walk thru the world. I will never understand the phrase, "I had leftover CS and snacks."

 

[d4est]

Well, it is a lot of food to eat. A lot. Yeah, you could drag it through the parks with you, but I am already the certified pack mule of our group--I don't need more to haul!

I did try to use snack credits--I'd bring back extra water & soda bottles to have in the room or to throw in the suitcase. But it was a pain & weighed me down!

We would usually get our desserts to go, except DH who would skip it altogether. I dunno, we just felt so gluttonous...

At any rate, I don't feel that it is "laughable" to have some left over. It is a lot of food...

 

[d4est]

Wow. Where were you when that happened?

Coronado, at the Pepper Market. According to Disney, you are not allowed to share. The DDP credits are "nontransferable."

 

[daisyduck123]

Coronado, at the Pepper Market. According to Disney, you are not allowed to share. The DDP credits are "nontransferable."

I'm glad not all cast members are thinking like that though.
That's too bad.

 

[Nancyg56]

I find it confusing and somewhat laughable that people leave without using up all their credits - get something, bottled water, anything!!! Why would you not use up TS before the last day? That is what I plan for the most. And, CS meals - get them just for the drinks and take the food with you to snack on later (Zip-Lock bags go with us to all parks). You can order CS foods that will go with you as you walk thru the parks (pizza sure tastes good to the kids as a between meal snack) and you can get a cookie for dessert and chips for the side. That is what a backpack is for, in my opinion, for the things we need as we walk thru the world. I will never understand the phrase, "I had leftover CS and snacks."

We have different view points I guess. We did try putting food in the refrigerator, but we did not eat it. So that stopped. My niece flew out before us and she used her snack credits for the wait in the airport, but the food and water was confiscated. Not a good value there. We used all of our TS and most of the snack credits. I felt that the value was good even if we left with unused CS meals. We shared a lot of them for our own version of portion control, and were satisfied.

 

[corgi_monster]

When by BF and I purchased the dining plan last year, we made out like bandits! I believe we paid $38 each for the dining plan, for a total of $76/day. The majority of our meals, including tax and gratuity, cost at least $76, if not more. We used most, but not all of our CS credits. We also had about 8 snack credits left by the last night of our trip, so we used them to bring back cookies for family members.

 

[bicker]

I find it confusing and somewhat laughable that people leave without using up all their credits - get something, bottled water, anything!!!

It's a bit like getting HBO and then not watching every movie you might possibly be interested in ... people sometimes have limited capacity and just want a certain amount. Pricing is structured to accommodate that, factoring in a certain amount of credits unused on average.

 

[Colleen27]

I find it confusing and somewhat laughable that people leave without using up all their credits - get something, bottled water, anything!!! Why would you not use up TS before the last day? That is what I plan for the most. And, CS meals - get them just for the drinks and take the food with you to snack on later (Zip-Lock bags go with us to all parks). You can order CS foods that will go with you as you walk thru the parks (pizza sure tastes good to the kids as a between meal snack) and you can get a cookie for dessert and chips for the side. That is what a backpack is for, in my opinion, for the things we need as we walk thru the world. I will never understand the phrase, "I had leftover CS and snacks."

I prefer to travel lighter than that. I'm trying to figure out the best way to avoid the backpack altogether for our upcoming trip, and will probably go with a photographer's vest to carry my cameras, sunscreen, and other essentials. We did take leftovers back to our room for the first couple days of our last trip, but found we were generally too hot or too stuffed to eat them. And part of the problem (back in '05 when we were there) was CM confusion over what was eligible - early in our stay, we were told that the cheese/veggie tray couldn't count as a CS meal, and we didn't discover otherwise until a helpful CM on our check-out day listed it among her suggestions for portable, take-to-the-airport CS options. And the list of eligible snacks was pretty limited then too, as I recall, though it was much easier to burn up the remaining snack credits - the Mickey rice crispy treats were a big hit with my kids' friends when we got home!

But you live and learn. If we were going to do the DDP now, we'd skip the food we ordered for grocery delivery (we got cereal, fruit, chips & dip along with some Pepsi products, water and beer) and just have beer & water delivered. I think the expanded snack credit offerings and cold CS options like salads and deli sandwiches from the food court would be enough for us.

 

[mla973]

Wow - we did not have any credits leftover. It was so hot when we went last year, that we spent all our snack credit before the time was up buying water, pop, and generally any cold snack!

We did use all our CS meals as well.

We're doing the DDP this next trip, and I imagine we will use them all again. But if we don't, I think it's still worth the cost, since the TS prices add up quick.

 

[d4est]

I'm glad not all cast members are thinking like that though.
That's too bad.

It's not "thinking," it's policy and wether or not CMs are following it. I think sharing is okay, but I think Disney is against it because they figure that unused credits balance out the value of it, so they are not losing $$$.

 

[HaleyB]

So far (3 tries) we have not managed to use up all our CS credits. We ended up bringing food home and leaving some CS credits unused all together.

We are just plain full. And we were not allowed to get the 3 snacks for a CS last fall. We were counting on that, so we didn't really try to use up our CS credits.

So this year it is my goal to use up every last one. We might, my oldest son will be with us this year.

 

[belle_fan]

You're not officially allowed to use CS credits for snacks, but a lot of the hotel counter services have rice krispies treats that count as a dessert for your CS. You could very well just get that without the rest of your CS meal and take it home to share with friends and family.

 

[dbarker]

We had CS left over (1 each). I would do it again just for the convenience of everything already paid for. Any less stress is priceless for me.

As far as budget-wise, we did better w/ the dining plan, even though we did not go anywhere we would have already gone to. We have our favorites and we stick to them now. We used all our left over snack credits for snacks we could bring home. I love those kind of souvenirs.

 

[Snow_White]

It's funny, every trip we don't think we will be able to use all of our credits....but we've used 100% of our credits every time, lol. We do a TS every night, and those CS breakfasts and lunches really add up quick. Top it off with getting lots of water at the parks and there goes all of our credits!

 

[Pumbaa_]

I was rewarded for giving away a CS credit!!

Last month, we had one counter service credit left over.

We were at POP on our checkout day, trying to use up our snack & CS credits.
Well, we had one CS credit we just couldn't use.

I went up to a register in the food court & told the CM there that I wanted to buy someone a lunch. I found a family & used my credit on one of their meals. Then the CM rewarded me. He handed me a set of Tinkerbelle pins & said that I was getting them because I did a good deed. I was to keep one for myself & give the other Tink pin to someone I saw doing a good deed! How nice!

This is absolutely NOT ok. Disney guidelines are very specific about sharing with other guests not on the DDP. The CM is lucky he did not lose his job over this. While the intention to share was good, it is not allowed on the DDP and is not promoted not advocated on the Dining Boards at all.

 

[Sammy]

We had 1 CS meal (for 7 people) left over in April, and we still saved over $500 from paying OOP. On the beginning of the last day, we had 12 snack credits left. We spent the day touring a few different resorts and by the time we left for the airport, we had managed to spend all those as well (rice krispy treats, a couple boxes of cookies, and a few bags of mickey pretzels). I would do it again in a heartbeat....as a matter of fact, we are doing free dining the end of September for our Anniversary weekend trip!

 

[pooch]

but we couldn't eat any more!!!! I know we had a lot of credits left and if we had shared more, which we should have, there would have been more . My guess is we would have had 8 or 9 CS left along with the 11 SC and 1 TS (DS hung out at the pool during one of our TS) I don't know why we had so many left. It felt like we were eating non-stop! And I refuse to cart things thru the park in hopes we'll eat or drink it later. The food gets smushed and the drinks get warm! This time, I will take more stuff home to try and use all the credits. Does seem like a waste to leave them there!