QS dining question

[DallasBBWmom]

I am sure this is answered somewhere but I can't seem to find it.

We are staying at Pop century in March during free dining. I booked the vacation with Southwest Airlines vacations.

After booking I realized that kids under 10 would be required to order off the childrens menu. My son will be almost 9 and there were times last year the kids meal wasn't enough.

I contacted Southwest to upgrade his ticket to an adult ticket and the agent told me that the quick service plan does not distinguish between children and adults, all credits are the same and there is no reason to upgrade his ticket.

Is this true? I don't want to get there and be stuck with him getting nuggets and carrots for a week.

Thanks for your help!!!

 

[LilyWDW]

I am sure this is answered somewhere but I can't seem to find it.

We are staying at Pop century in March during free dining. I booked the vacation with Southwest Airlines vacations.

After booking I realized that kids under 10 would be required to order off the childrens menu. My son will be almost 9 and there were times last year the kids meal wasn't enough.

I contacted Southwest to upgrade his ticket to an adult ticket and the agent told me that the quick service plan does not distinguish between children and adults, all credits are the same and there is no reason to upgrade his ticket.

Is this true? I don't want to get there and be stuck with him getting nuggets and carrots for a week.

Thanks for your help!!!

Kids with the children's dining plan are required to order off the children's menu where available. When you go to pay, your card will state the number of adults and number of kids on the card. This is how they know how many of which meal can be purchased. So, if you have 2A/1C you will only be able to buy 2 adult meals and 1 child meal at a time.

Discussing ways to get around the rules set forth by Disney are against the policies of this board.

 

[DallasBBWmom]

I am not trying to cheat the system. I am trying to understand the rules. Below is the reply I got from the agent. I even called Southwest and got the same answer.

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Thank you for choosing Southwest Vacations. We are here for you from beginning to end!


And thank you for your travel inquiry. A child becomes an adult ticket when they turn age 10. Since you child is age 8 they are entitled to a discounted child’s base ticket. I show in your vacation you have included the 5 day Quick Dinning plan there are no restrictions for children in this plan. This option includes the following for all:

2 Quick-Service meal (entree and non-alcoholic beverage) or full combo meal (entree, side dish and non-alcoholic beverage if available)
*2 Snack (such as snack cart ice cream, popcorn, or a non-alcoholic beverage)
*1 Resort refillable drink mug per person. Entitles guest to unlimited refills of fountain soda from the quick service restaurant in the hotel where the guest is staying. Mugs are not eligible for refills in Theme Park, Water Park or Downtown Disney locations.

I hope you found the information provided useful. Please let us know if you need further assistance. Enjoy your dream vacation to the most Magical Place on Earth!


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See why I am confused????

 

[nkereina]

SW is incorrect.. they do differentiate children and adults. Children under the age of 10 will have to order kids meals. If you were to pay OOP for the quick service dining plan, adults would be $34.99 and children under 10 would be $11.99 per night, so there is a signifcant difference in price. Free dining is no differerent in the rules even though it's "free". On wdwinfo.com, it states that "Meal entitlements for children ages 3-9 are not transferable to adult guests in the party ages 10 and up."

As far as your options go, I guess you could just pay OOP for additional sides and snacks for your child as needed. You could also look into other discounts that are out there and if you find one, forego free dining and pay OOP for your meals. That way you could order whatever you want for your child.

 

[smitch425]

It is somewhere around $25-$30 to upgrade to an adult ticket. While it is true that the QSDP does not differentiate between child and adult credits, it will be easier for you and the right thing to do. We had to stand in two separate lines our last trip to get 3 adult meals because our card read 2A/2C. It was completely legal because we only had 3 credits remaining and they were all adult credits.

For what it's worth, I don't believe that you (OP) had any ill intentions when asking your question. I can understand why you were confused. Also, some people think that upgrading a child during free dining is some shady way to get more food, but let me assure you that Disney has ZERO issues with doing this and more often than not, they encourage it.

Have a fantastic trip!

 

[sharonabe]

It doesn't really matter what Southwest quotes to you. Disney's own literature states that children must order from the child's menu when there is one.

I would call Southwest back and tell them what Disney's policy is and that you want to abide by their policy, so please upgrade my child to an adult and let me give you more money.

 

[smitch425]

SW is incorrect.. they do differentiate children and adults. Children under the age of 10 will have to order kids meals. If you were to pay OOP for the quick service dining plan, adults would be $34.99 and children under 10 would be $11.99 per night, so there is a signifcant difference in price. Free dining is no differerent in the rules even though it's "free". On wdwinfo.com, it states that "Meal entitlements for children ages 3-9 are not transferable to adult guests in the party ages 10 and up."

As far as your options go, I guess you could just pay OOP for additional sides and snacks for your child as needed. You could also look into other discounts that are out there and if you find one, forego free dining and pay OOP for your meals. That way you could order whatever you want for your child.

This is not exactly true. While a KTTW card does list the number of child and adults on the QSDP, in reality, the credits themselves are not broken down into adults and children. When you get a QS receipt, it lists the total number of credits remaining. There is no difference between the two. The only way to know what has been used is to keep track of it yourself.

 

[DIS_MERI]

Their literature is also wrong about the snacks. In 2012 there aren't 2 snacks on the QSDP, just 1.

 

[sharonabe]

Their literature is also wrong about the snacks. In 2012 there aren't 2 snacks on the QSDP, just 1.

Good catch, DIS MERI! I didn't even notice that.

So, OP, since we know Southwest has that blatently incorrect, I'm not sure I would trust them with any other info when it comes to Disney Dining.

 

[havoc315]

It is somewhere around $25-$30 to upgrade to an adult ticket. While it is true that the QSDP does not differentiate between child and adult credits, it will be easier for you and the right thing to do. We had to stand in two separate lines our last trip to get 3 adult meals because our card read 2A/2C. It was completely legal because we only had 3 credits remaining and they were all adult credits.

While upgrading to adult is usually a no-brainer under the regular DDP... At $25-$30, it's not so automatic on the QSDP. If the child will never ever want the child meals, then yes, it makes sense.
But if it's just to get a few adult entrees here and there, it may be cheaper to just pay OOP on those occasions. (Or share meals, which is pretty easy to do under the QSDP).

 

[sarmat1]

While upgrading to adult is usually a no-brainer under the regular DDP... At $25-$30, it's not so automatic on the QSDP. If the child will never ever want the child meals, then yes, it makes sense.
But if it's just to get a few adult entrees here and there, it may be cheaper to just pay OOP on those occasions. (Or share meals, which is pretty easy to do under the QSDP).

Just to clarify for the regular DDP (assuming free dining), is there ANY downside to upgrading both of my kids to adults and just paying the $50 to give them significantly more eating options? If they wanted a child's meal, would it be a problem since the KTTW card will state 4A and I'd be ordering 2A and 2C meals? I realize that is not the best use of the plan (them ordering child's meals), but assuming it's no issue, I'd be happy to pay the 50 bucks or so to give them a week's worth of meal flexibility, even if they only choose to use the adult part a couple of times.

ETA: My question actually pertains to both CS and TS as far as having 4A on the KTTW card, but actually ordering 2A and 2C (or 3A and 1C) under my scenario.

 

[TDC Nala]

Because Disney's written rules (on the official DDP brochures) state that children under 10 must order from children's menus at restaurants that have them, at both table and counter service, the policy of the DIS Restaurant Board is that discussion of the possibility of using chldren's counter credits to order adult meals at restaurants that have children's menus is not permitted.

As that is the topic of this thread, it's now closed.

The British 2012 literature states that the counter plan issues 2 snacks per night per person. The American literature states one snack per night. We're not sure whether British guests will actually get two snacks in 2012 or not. apparently SWA has not updated their literature yet.