Silly Question - DDP for Only Some Days?

[sportsfrk214]

Hi there! I have a silly question that I probably already know the answer to, but I ask anyway since I can't seem to find the information elsewhere.

I am going to be staying on Disney property for the first time next year and I'm considering the DDP. I've done some research and know that you have to be smart to maximize your value on the plan. However, when I go to Orlando I don't just go to Disney - I go to Universal. My trip is going to include 8 nights on Disney property and 6 days at the parks, but the other 2 days I will be going to Universal Studios.

Basically what I'm asking is, is there any way at all of only getting the dining plan for a certain number of days, and not your whole trip? On Disney's site, it seems by default they make the plan the length of your stay, but I don't know if theres a more advanced option somewhere. I essentially want to know if I can get a 6 day dining plan for an 8 night stay. If not then I will obviously skip the plan. Much as I would like to, I don't know if eating 8 days worth of food in 6 days is a good idea

Thanks!

 

[Elcheetah]

You can do a split stay at Disney, 6 days with DDP and 2 days on a separate reservation without the DDP.

 

[Wood Nymph]

Hi there! I have a silly question that I probably already know the answer to, but I ask anyway since I can't seem to find the information elsewhere.

I am going to be staying on Disney property for the first time next year and I'm considering the DDP. I've done some research and know that you have to be smart to maximize your value on the plan. However, when I go to Orlando I don't just go to Disney - I go to Universal. My trip is going to include 8 nights on Disney property and 6 days at the parks, but the other 2 days I will be going to Universal Studios.

Basically what I'm asking is, is there any way at all of only getting the dining plan for a certain number of days, and not your whole trip? On Disney's site, it seems by default they make the plan the length of your stay, but I don't know if theres a more advanced option somewhere. I essentially want to know if I can get a 6 day dining plan for an 8 night stay. If not then I will obviously skip the plan. Much as I would like to, I don't know if eating 8 days worth of food in 6 days is a good idea

Thanks!

You won't be able to get a 6 day DDP for an 8 night stay. You could book two reservations, though, and make the second one a room only stay. Then you wouldn't need to get the DDP for those two nights.

 

[sportsfrk214]

You won't be able to get a 6 day DDP for an 8 night stay. You could book two reservations, though, and make the second one a room only stay. Then you wouldn't need to get the DDP for those two nights.

This is very interesting. So I could theoretically book a 6 night stay with 6 day tickets and the DDP, and then a separate 2 day reservation for a room only since we won't be using any other Disney services those days other than the hotel room. The only problem I foresee with this is that they would probably make us change rooms when the reservation changed, right? That's the only downside I see, but thats enough of an inconvenience as to make the whole exercise not worth it in my opinion.

 

[sharonabe]

The other way to do this would be to plan for a signature meal for one of your nights. It may still not be a good financial value, but it's worth taking a look. It's 8 nights, so you also have your check-in night and your check-out day, so it's actually pretty easy to use those credits unless your coming in/leaving really late/early.

 

[Wood Nymph]

I would just skip the dining plan. It usually is a break even deal at best. We prefer not to buy it because we don't eat that way.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Also, your dining plan would only be good on the 6 day reservation, so the two day reservation would not have access to those dining credits. This means you'd need to do Universal in those two days.

By which point, I strongly recommend staying at a Universal hotel for your Universal visit. The benefits of that for Universal touring are rather significant. Stay at Universal for the Universal parks, and eat there. Stay at Disney for your Disney parks, and eat at Disney for those dates.

 

[sportsfrk214]

Thanks for all the incredible information everyone. It's definitely all interesting to think about, but since we'd like to spread out our Universal days throughout the trip, I think we'll just forgo the dining plan and save it for a future all-Disney trip. While it would be intriguing to stay on Universal property for a couple nights, I'm not sure my S.O. would be interested of getting all packed up to go somewhere else for 2 nights. Also we really like ordering appetizers at dinner so maybe the DDP ain't for us Thanks for all the tips though!

 

[jon18uk]

We are on the UK free dining offer and over our 14 night trip we have 5-6 off-site days. This means we are eating at a lot more signatures and I also expect to have QS credits left over. I don't feel too pressured to maximise value as the plan is "free" but we could have tried to do a cheaper stay if we didn't have the dining plan offer.

 

[hodad]

I would do 5 days with the dining plan and 3 without (because you can use the dining plan credits on the day after your fifth night), then request a continuing reservation when you check in.