Still not understanding dining plan

[Nevada Jen]

We are (maybe) coming in March for 7 days. Three of the days we will be nowhere near the parks. I currently have an on site hotel booked for the 7 days. I would REALLY like to do the dining plan but paying for 7 days of it is not worth it. If I make two separate reservations at the same hotel can I just put the dining plan on one of the stays (the one where we will be in the parks)? If that won't work, what about if I switch to another on site hotel? I am trying to avoid going off site because I can't seem to find anyplace where the hotel room is acceptable and cheaper than disney.

Finally, I may not need tickets. Is there anyway to get the dining plan without tickets? I am pretty sure the answer is "no" but it doesn't hurt to ask!

 

[Kimberle]

You no longer need to buy ticket to book the DP. (Thank the AP holders. ) Your DP needs to be the same number of night as your hotel reservation and each person in your room must book it. It starts the day you check in and ends at midnight the day you check out. (I.E., you check in Sun and checkout Wed, your plan would be 3 nights, would start Sunday and end midnight Wed. If you book the standard, you get a total of 3 TS, 3 QS, 6 snacks, and 1 refillable mug per person.) The DP also works at restaurants in the resorts and Disney Springs.

Don't assume you'll save money. Many people just about break even. Currently, the regular one cost $75 per person per day. If you're on a budget, you can often eat for less per person. You will need to make a spreadsheet and figure out what is best for your family. You'll find the prices on the WDW app, and Allears.com.

 

[Nevada Jen]

OOOO! Glad I asked. Anyone know if making two separate reservations will get me out of having to buy the dining plan the days I am not in the parks? I will be gone at a show choir competition from early morning to late night. My goal is to get this trip to come in at under 3000 for two people including airfair from Phoenix. I am sure I will save money on the dining plan and even if I don't, to be able to budget would make a big difference to me right before taxes are due!

 

[sanapp]

Yes you could do it that way. You could also look at booking some 2 credit places to use the credits for the days you wouldn’t be there.

 

[sanapp]

You could also use credits for late dinners at resorts and not go in to the parks.

 

[sharonabe]

OOOO! Glad I asked. Anyone know if making two separate reservations will get me out of having to buy the dining plan the days I am not in the parks? I will be gone at a show choir competition from early morning to late night. My goal is to get this trip to come in at under 3000 for two people including airfair from Phoenix. I am sure I will save money on the dining plan and even if I don't, to be able to budget would make a big difference to me right before taxes are due!

You can definitely do a split stay at the same hotel and put the dining plan on just one of them. You are not guaranteed to stay in the same room, but chances are pretty high you will.

Since you don't need tickets, you MUST call to add the dining plan to your room only reservation. Ask for a ticketless package on whichever part of the split stay you want the dining plan. Remember, the number of credits goes by the NIGHTS you are staying, not the days you are playing.

As others have said, you could keep your one stay and use the extra credits to do some signature dining or just do two TS on a couple days. You would still have extra QS, but you could use those on your choir days for breakfast or grab something to take with you to eat for lunch if they aren't feeding you.

 

[Faldred]

If you split your stay, note that the credits are only attached to one of those stays and are only valid on the days surrounding the nights of that stay.

I.e., if you arrive on Sunday and check out the following Sunday, and split the nights Sun-Wed and Thur-Sat, your credits will be good from check-in on Sunday to 11:59PM on Thursday. You can't extend any extra credits to Friday, Saturday, or Sunday.