Possible split stay/UY maybe a great dining plan strategy - lemonade from lemons?

[Pluto777]

Ok so here's a possible positive I just thought of (making lemonade out of lemons).

Let's say you have 2 contracts at the SAME resort, but 2 different UY (but the UY's are VERY close, say March and February). Now assuming you do NOT try to transfer points to make a reservation, your stay would TECHNICALLY not be linked together, yes? For example:

My GFV March has 90 points, and my GFV February has 160 points. I make a (GFV) ressie for July 1-5 with my 90 March UY contract, and a separate ressie at THE SAME resort (GFV) for July 5-15. Now some people might say this is bad because you will NOT have the ressies linked, and therefore may be forced to change rooms July 5th (thus be stuck for 5 hours without a room, plus have to pack/unpack) -although I hear that if it's possible the resort may try to work with you and keep you in the same room as this makes less work for everyone anyhow - assuming the 2 rooms are the same type...

BUT the benefit COULD be if you wanted a dining plan for only PART of the trip (say from July 5-15). As I understand it, dining plans are 'all or nothing', meaning it must be for EVERYONE in the room, and for the ENTIRE stay. If however, you did it this way, maybe you could get the dining ONLY for July 5-15, even if you only TECHNICALLY are making a second stay, but the front desk allows you to stay in the same room without moving?

 

[Pluto777]

Also for this reason, and because the UY are SO close together, maybe two different UY (that are within a month or two of each other) are not such a bad idea?

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Yes, some people will book their reservations this way to get the DP for part of the stay. As you mention their will be the possibility of being required to change rooms but odds are likely you won't be. It's still a possibility.

What doesn't really matter is how close together the UY's are though when doing this.

 

[Pluto777]

Yes, some people will book their reservations this way to get the DP for part of the stay. As you mention their will be the possibility of being required to change rooms but odds are likely you won't be. It's still a possibility.

What doesn't really matter is how close together the UY's are though when doing this.

Great, so I invented (or reinvented?) a strategy to get 'partial' dining then : ) As far as UY being close together, I believe it is important so that you don't get confused. In the above example, a Feb & Mar UY your banking deadlines are Sep & Oct. Wouldn't you be coveredf you to 'emergency bank' in July then for cancellations on BOTH UY's for the same years points that are used? I think it makes it easier to manage (as opposed to say a March and August)

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

For me it doesn't matter having banking deadlines close - they are still different but that will vary person to person. And I'd actually not do 2 UY's in order to do a split stay for the DP. You also could just book the reservations separately in the same UY. A few people say they get them combined without asking but I've never had that happen. Of course I've always wanted them merged so have had to call in so I suppose if you don't want them merged then they would! Still, in the end it's a pain and I'd risk getting reservations merged (which I in my experience is unlikely) and just stay with a single UY unless there were some other reason for having two such as regular travel that is 6 months apart and you planned to use them separately or something like that.

 

[Pluto777]

For me it doesn't matter having banking deadlines close - they are still different but that will vary person to person. And I'd actually not do 2 UY's in order to do a split stay for the DP. You also could just book the reservations separately in the same UY. A few people say they get them combined without asking but I've never had that happen. Of course I've always wanted them merged so have had to call in so I suppose if you don't want them merged then they would! Still, in the end it's a pain and I'd risk getting reservations merged (which I in my experience is unlikely) and just stay with a single UY unless there were some other reason for having two such as regular travel that is 6 months apart and you planned to use them separately or something like that.

Well, I was looking to add on and saw a great deal, but the UY is only 1 month away, so I took it. I don't see why it's so complicated when the banking deadlines are only a month apart - and I didn't want to pay a ton more money just to get the exact SAME UY. If I know my banking deadline is September on 'A', and October on 'B' then I can just treat them BOTH as a sep deadline and it's easier to remember than UY's that are far away from each other, no?

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Well, I was looking to add on and saw a great deal, but the UY is only 1 month away, so I took it. I don't see why it's so complicated when the banking deadlines are only a month apart - and I didn't want to pay a ton more money just to get the exact SAME UY. If I know my banking deadline is September on 'A', and October on 'B' then I can just treat them BOTH as a sep deadline and it's easier to remember than UY's that are far away from each other, no?

I've never considered the banking deadlines the complicating part of different UY's. If you're organized at all that's the easy part! It's more that it's just a PITB when making reservation if you're using the 2 UY's together. Also not impossible nor terribly complicated just an annoying thing to bother with. And if you do have the reservations linked for continuing stays the bother can extend to the resort and MB's that won't access information correctly. Even not linked we get issues with split stays and all that takes time away from the vacation. Things just work better with less complications.

 

[cvjw]

Great, so I invented (or reinvented?) a strategy to get 'partial' dining then : ) As far as UY being close together, I believe it is important so that you don't get confused. In the above example, a Feb & Mar UY your banking deadlines are Sep & Oct. Wouldn't you be coveredf you to 'emergency bank' in July then for cancellations on BOTH UY's for the same years points that are used? I think it makes it easier to manage (as opposed to say a March and August)

We’ve been doing this for years to get the dining plan for part of a stay. We typically stay at different resorts though and get different dining plans for each stay.

 

[Pluto777]

Yeah, I figured I was probably 're-inventing the wheel' but some folks out there probably never thought of it (I know I didn't). When you say 'different' dining plans, what do you mean? QS vs DDP?

 

[disneynutz]

Usually the dining plan doesn't save us money and if we really wanted it we would do a split stay. Having more than one UY just to buy the dining plan that may not be offered in the future, no way!

Bill

 

[Marionnette]

Also for this reason, and because the UY are SO close together, maybe two different UY (that are within a month or two of each other) are not such a bad idea?

I suppose for someone who wants to pay for a partial dining plan EVERY TIME that they stay for the next 25-50 years, this might be a plausible strategy. IMO, this minor benefit does not offset the hassle of dealing with two UYs when having one is so much easier to handle - especially when both contracts are for the same resorts. I don't think you're looking at the long-range picture. The dining plan may be altered so much in the future that you don't find it to be worth the cost anymore. It could be removed completely (not likely because it appears to be a big moneymaker for Disney). Or you may decide that it's such a bargain that you prefer to book it for your entire LOS on future visits.

Given that these are VGF contracts, you need 92 points to book a standard view studio July 1-5 this year. Those nights do not include a weekend night, which will to be more points. You're going to need another 246 points for the July 5-15 reservation in that same standard view studio. You're already in borrowing mode on both contracts and you're just one year in.

The accounting challenge starts the following year when you're really short of points on the 160-point contract in order to book 7/5-7/15. So short that borrowing from the next year is not going to do it. So you end up doing 7/1-6 using the 90-point contract (which requires 115 points) and that necessitates borrowing 27 points from that contract's next year allotment. Meanwhile, you book 7/6-7/15 using the 160-point contract. That's gonna take 223 points. You have 74 points in the current year and you borrow 149 from the next year. So far, it not too confusing.

Now, we're into your 3rd year of ownership. Same dates. Same number of points. Your current UY has 63 points in the 90-point contract and only 11 from the 160-point contract. There aren't enough points to pay for the entire trip this year. Do you bank those points and skip this year? Or do you shorten the trip and borrow everything you need? Do you wait until the 7-month booking window and try to book OKW?

Let me point out that being in perpetual borrowing mode happens to quite a few people and it takes a lot of thought and consideration to keep it straight with just a single UY. You really have to plan your points usage out for not just the current trip, but for future trips as well. When you have multiple UYs, it's a major headache. Having different UYs makes more sense if you plan to consistently use the points for different trips and/or with different home resorts.

 

[supersnoop]

Just put your spouse’s name as the lead on a second reservation. That might increase the risk that you have to change rooms, but it mitigates all the headaches of multiple use years.

 

[bumbershoot]

You also could just book the reservations separately in the same UY. A few people say they get them combined without asking but I've never had that happen.

Mine have almost always been combined automatically.


But if the OP puts the Dining plan on some and not others, that would make the reservations uncombinable because they are different. Front desk might keep them in the same room, but it wouldn’t be done automatically.

 

[supersnoop]

Mine have almost always been combined automatically.


But if the OP puts the Dining plan on some and not others, that would make the reservations uncombinable because they are different. Front desk might keep them in the same room, but it wouldn’t be done automatically.

Rumor has it that they’ll combine the reservations and cancel the dining plan. Most likely, they won’t actually notify you. Folks have discovered this when they see the refund hit their account. That’s based on the reports I’ve seen.

 

[Marionnette]

If you have room to add a "phantom" guest to your villa, you could include your "friend" in the reservation for the non-dining plan portion of the trip. Having that one extra person makes it different. So it might look like this:

VGF Studio with DDP July 1-5:

Mr. A Smith
Mrs. B Smith
Little Smith
Younger Smith​

VGF Studio w/o DDP July 5-15:

Mr. A Smith
Mrs. B Smith
Little Smith
Younger Smith
Mrs. C. Jones​

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Mine have almost always been combined automatically.


But if the OP puts the Dining plan on some and not others, that would make the reservations uncombinable because they are different. Front desk might keep them in the same room, but it wouldn’t be done automatically.

To clarify - they've been combined by MS when you've made them separately? At some random date they've seen you made two reservations and merged them together? I on the other hand have had MS not combine even when they've filled a waitlist that matched up to other nights in the same type room and have had to call to ask them to do it.

But from what I've read I don't think they'd let the dining plan stop a merging of the reservations. As mentioned I suspect they'd be more likely to merge and cancel the dining plan(s).

 

[Pluto777]

I suppose for someone who wants to pay for a partial dining plan EVERY TIME that they stay for the next 25-50 years, this might be a plausible strategy. IMO, this minor benefit does not offset the hassle of dealing with two UYs when having one is so much easier to handle - especially when both contracts are for the same resorts. I don't think you're looking at the long-range picture. The dining plan may be altered so much in the future that you don't find it to be worth the cost anymore. It could be removed completely (not likely because it appears to be a big moneymaker for Disney). Or you may decide that it's such a bargain that you prefer to book it for your entire LOS on future visits.

Given that these are VGF contracts, you need 92 points to book a standard view studio July 1-5 this year. Those nights do not include a weekend night, which will to be more points. You're going to need another 246 points for the July 5-15 reservation in that same standard view studio. You're already in borrowing mode on both contracts and you're just one year in.

The accounting challenge starts the following year when you're really short of points on the 160-point contract in order to book 7/5-7/15. So short that borrowing from the next year is not going to do it. So you end up doing 7/1-6 using the 90-point contract (which requires 115 points) and that necessitates borrowing 27 points from that contract's next year allotment. Meanwhile, you book 7/6-7/15 using the 160-point contract. That's gonna take 223 points. You have 74 points in the current year and you borrow 149 from the next year. So far, it not too confusing.

Now, we're into your 3rd year of ownership. Same dates. Same number of points. Your current UY has 63 points in the 90-point contract and only 11 from the 160-point contract. There aren't enough points to pay for the entire trip this year. Do you bank those points and skip this year? Or do you shorten the trip and borrow everything you need? Do you wait until the 7-month booking window and try to book OKW?

Let me point out that being in perpetual borrowing mode happens to quite a few people and it takes a lot of thought and consideration to keep it straight with just a single UY. You really have to plan your points usage out for not just the current trip, but for future trips as well. When you have multiple UYs, it's a major headache. Having different UYs makes more sense if you plan to consistently use the points for different trips and/or with different home resorts.

As I said, this was a case of me getting a great price on the add on... and a different UY that is off by ONLY 1 month is not a big deal - plus I have a third resort with even more points so I don't wind up short. My real issue was saving a lot on an add-on contract (and I mean a LOT) with a UY that is only ONE month off from the original. In the case of Feb/Mar, we are only talking about a one month difference in banking deadlines.

 

[Marionnette]

As I said, this was a case of me getting a great price on the add on... and a different UY that is off by ONLY 1 month is not a big deal - plus I have a third resort with even more points so I don't wind up short. My real issue was saving a lot on an add-on contract (and I mean a LOT) with a UY that is only ONE month off from the original. In the case of Feb/Mar, we are only talking about a one month difference in banking deadlines.

Being OFF by just one month or 6 months makes no difference. They are still different UYs and are not treated any differently because they are closer. Keeping track of banking deadlines is the least of your worries. All that takes is placing a reminder in your phone. Easy peasy. It's managing banked points that must be used or planning years in advance how banking/borrowing will be effectively used.

Saving a lot on the contract has only a small impact on your overall cost of ownership. The real cost is the dues, which are going to be the same whether you own 250 points in a single UY or spread over multiple UYs.

It flies against all conventional wisdom to purchase different UYs just to work around the dining plan LOS rules. But really, it does not matter what I, or anyone else, thinks. You're the one who will deal with managing your contracts. Best of luck to you.

 

[The Jackal]

Can’t you do this with just one contract and just make 2 separate reservations?

 

[Roxyfire]

To clarify - they've been combined by MS when you've made them separately? At some random date they've seen you made two reservations and merged them together? I on the other hand have had MS not combine even when they've filled a waitlist that matched up to other nights in the same type room and have had to call to ask them to do it.

But from what I've read I don't think they'd let the dining plan stop a merging of the reservations. As mentioned I suspect they'd be more likely to merge and cancel the dining plan(s).

It happened to me for October as well, granted it was a waitlist that was matched so perhaps that did it? Edit: Perhaps it was a helpful CM who is used to taking the calls to get that done. I was planning to call anyway but once I saw it was combined I was thankful to not have to talk to an actual person.