Split Stay and Dining Plan?

[phoebec]

We got free dining in November. Is it possible to do a split stay with the dining plan? I thought I read somewhere if you do a split stay with the dining plan it increases the ticket cost considerably. Any experience with this?

 

[mommadjones]

We got free dining in November. Is it possible to do a split stay with the dining plan? I thought I read somewhere if you do a split stay with the dining plan it increases the ticket cost considerably. Any experience with this?

What you would need to do is split your ticket. SO if you went for 8 days and you want to do 4 days at each resort you would have 2 4day tickets. This will increase your stay cost but only you will know by how much and if its worth it.

 

[Lehuaann]

Disney tickets are front-loaded, meaning the first 4 days are the most expensive. Therefore, purchasing 2 FD packages with 2-4 day tickets is not cost effective.

This is one of the reasons many people, like myself, book a FD package split with a room only reservation for extended stays.

 

[danceintherain]

Since the dining plan isn't a good deal for most people, and definitely not without effort in planning on your part, it doesn't make sense to do this. The cost to start over with your tickets will more than likely negate any savings you may get on the dining plan. Free Dining makes it slightly better, but only if you can't get any other discount. Even so, most people won't split a free dining stay.

AP holders can split their stay and get the dining plan for both parts, but that's because tickets aren't required for these packages.
I suppose military personnel could do the same thing, but since military tickets only include 4 park days it doesn't make much sense there either.

 

[purple figment]

Disney doesnt actually recognize "split" stays, but treats them as 2 separate reservations so if you decide to stay at 2 separate resorts (or even room categories within the same resort) any requirements for FD for stay #1 would also be required for stay #2.

FD requires room at rack rate, 2 day tickets for everyone in the room 3 years or older and a minimum stay of 3 nights. Having to purchase the second set of 2 day tickets usually negates the savings of FD.

If you really want to do a split stay with FD for all nights, it is best to get tickets for your entire stay on the first reservation and order just 2 day tickets for the second stay. The 2 day tickets can be saved and used on a future trip - just be careful not to accidently use them at the gate during this trip. A PP said you would have to order 2 sets of tickets equal to the length of the stay (e.g. 2 sets of 4 day tickets), but this is incorrect.

What many people do if they want a split stay is make one res with dining and the other as a room only reservation, hopefully with a room rate discount. If you want FD for the entire trip, then a split stay is probably not cost effective.