Unordinary segmented question

[Nanapapa3]

We are visiting DisneyWorld for the first time as DVC owners in September.
As this will be a trial run before we bring the kids/grandkids, we wanted to stay at different resorts and experience the DDP for the first time.
We are staying 6 nights and each night is segmented as a single night stay so we can use the DDP every other day.

Day 1: BCV no DDP
Day 2: BCV - DDP
Day 3:VWL no DDP
Day 4: VWL - DDP
Day 5: OKW no DDP
Day 6: OKW DDP

Here are my questions:
First, is this a completely crazy plan?
Second, since each night is booked as a separate stay will we have to switch rooms? If not, will mousekeeping treat this as separate stays and clean the room, sheets, towels, etc?
Thanks in advance for your answers!

 

[vicki_c]

Based on posts here and others' experiences, I would NEVER do what you are suggesting - changing dining plans every night.

I would pick DDP for one location, no DDP for another.

If you do that, you will just have 3 reservations in 3 separate locations and it will be much simpler.

 

[cvjw]

Speaking as someone who had a nightmare experience at Kidani with the segmented dining plan, you will be most likely be fine. You will have to check in to each separate resort on the first day and get a set of keys. The next day when your dining plan starts, you will probably have to go and get a different set of keys. I say probably because they may can work it out to where you only have one set of keys. We did two segmented dining stays at BWV and BLT where we had the DDP for the first two nights, and then no dining plan for the next two (opposite of yours). We were issued one set of keys when we checked in that had our dining credits loaded. When the dining plan ended on day 3, we did not have to get new keys or check in/out, or change rooms. We did not have to change rooms between segments at any of the resorts we stayed at with the segmented dining reservations (BWV, BLT, or KV).

 

[rlovew]

You will not get mousekeeping at all on your stay if you change resorts every 2 days. I would do what others have suggested and not do the dining plan every other day but at either 1 or 2 resorts instead. If you are looking at a 2012 stay you very well may not be allowed to segment as listed and add the dining plan- people are starting to report an unavailability of adding the dining plan for 2012 stays that are segmented.

 

[disneynutz]

We are visiting DisneyWorld for the first time as DVC owners in September.
As this will be a trial run before we bring the kids/grandkids, we wanted to stay at different resorts and experience the DDP for the first time.
We are staying 6 nights and each night is segmented as a single night stay so we can use the DDP every other day.

Day 1: BCV no DDP
Day 2: BCV - DDP
Day 3:VWL no DDP
Day 4: VWL - DDP
Day 5: OKW no DDP
Day 6: OKW DDP

Here are my questions:
First, is this a completely crazy plan?
Second, since each night is booked as a separate stay will we have to switch rooms? If not, will mousekeeping treat this as separate stays and clean the room, sheets, towels, etc?
Thanks in advance for your answers!

I would DDP on day 1, 3, and 5. If you do have a problem, you can fix it before you move to the next resort and you can eat leftovers or lighter on day 6 before you go home.

Bill

 

[Dean]

Yes, it's completely crazy, too much risk and work for too little benefit.

 

[JoJostar]

Maybe you could do dining plan at two of your resorts and no dining plan at the third. Or maybe just do two different resorts with half dining plan and half no dining plan. It seems that you may spend all your time packing and not be able to enjoy yourself.

 

[mousefan1972]

Yes, it's completely crazy, too much risk and work for too little benefit.

I agree. Too much hassle, too many opportunities for errors, and way too many trips to the front desk to make it worth the effort.

 

[spiceycat]

are you planning on doing anything else?

like going to the parks or DD? - then yea way to busy and time consuming.

but if that is all you are doing - then go for it.

of course if this is a relaxing trip - then you won't be doing alot of relaxing (my opinion)

 

[Nanapapa3]

Thanks everyone for your replies!
Alot to think about. This trip is a trial run and we like to do "off the beaten path" stuff. We have Premiere Passes for WDW and DL, but we may not even get to the parks much, as we really want to see the different DVC resorts. We are also using ME...CRAZY!
We detailed the days of our trip a bit more...so chime in on our craziness!

Day 1. Check in BCV too late for DDP.

Day 2. Go to front desk, get new keys w/DDP, go to Epcot, lunch at Le Cellier.

Day 3. Check out of BCV, use left over CS, snack credits somewhere. Check in VWL. No DDP

Day 4. Go to front desk, get new keys w/DDP, Magic Kingdom with TS meal.

Day 5. Check out of VWL, use left over CS, snack credits somewhere. Check in OKW.

Day 6. Go to front desk, get new keys w/DDP, figure out what we want to eat!

Day 7. Check out OKW, use left over credits. Fly home

Footnote: As you can see, food is not such a big deal to us, but we want to see how things work

 

[lilpooh108]

Thanks everyone for your replies!
Alot to think about. This trip is a trial run and we like to do "off the beaten path" stuff. We have Premiere Passes for WDW and DL, but we may not even get to the parks much, as we really want to see the different DVC resorts. We are also using ME...CRAZY!
We detailed the days of our trip a bit more...so chime in on our craziness!

Day 1. Check in BCV too late for DDP.

Day 2. Go to front desk, get new keys w/DDP, go to Epcot, lunch at Le Cellier.

Day 3. Check out of BCV, use left over CS, snack credits somewhere. Check in VWL. No DDP

Day 4. Go to front desk, get new keys w/DDP, Magic Kingdom with TS meal.

Day 5. Check out of VWL, use left over CS, snack credits somewhere. Check in OKW.

Day 6. Go to front desk, get new keys w/DDP, figure out what we want to eat!

Day 7. Check out OKW, use left over credits. Fly home

Footnote: As you can see, food is not such a big deal to us, but we want to see how things work

Make sure you keep your "old" keys from the DDP day before. Sometimes the new keys will not have your new credits on there, and the credits will remain on the old keys instead. Sometimes the old key will open the room door and your new keys will not.

Also...I've run into the issue of certain keys having credits and other keys not having credits. If you want to avoid problems, try to dine all together (my parents split up from us and none of the credits were on their keys).

Lastly, keep a credit card on file (you have an option not to). If the dining credits do not work on a certain key, charge it to your room first then work it out with the front desk after you get back. Your restaurant server will not offer to work it out for you. They will charge it to your room. If you do not have a CC on file, you will have to submit statements to Disney and that is a PITA.

We've segmented twice now...and the first time was a nightmare and the second time we were prepared for ALL of the problems that we expected and did happen.

 

[dizzneebabe]

That's 6 trips to the front desk--and that's if everything goes smoothly. Way too much, IMHO.

If meals aren't such a big deal, then why even do the DDP? You have AP's--maybe a TIW card would be a better option?

 

[NikP]

I personally think you should do this. Us DVC owners need Disney to make this work so more of us can take avantage of this in the future with less complications. With more experiance and complicated reservations this should educate staff on the software capabilities and limitations. If you have a little extra time to check in and out, why not give it a shot.

We did the segmented thing this past May with 2 resorts. First night Saturday -we stayed at POFQ on a cash reservation - no dining plan. The next night- Sunday was at OKW with QSP. Monday OKW- DDP. Tuesday OKW -Deluxe Dining plan. Wednesday - Sunday Beach Club Villa -DDP.

We had to get some new keys here and there, and I tracked all our credits closely, but other than an extra trip down to front desk here and there, it wasn't too bad. We might have had some more issues if we continued to have multiple plans at the BCV. The front desk there did not have the same level of experiance as at OKW.

The only time I would say not to do this is if your time is extremely limited and you lack patience. Or if you are the personality type that needs everything to go as planned or your vacation is completely ruined.

 

[Nanapapa3]

Make sure you keep your "old" keys from the DDP day before. Sometimes the new keys will not have your new credits on there, and the credits will remain on the old keys instead. Sometimes the old key will open the room door and your new keys will not.

Also...I've run into the issue of certain keys having credits and other keys not having credits. If you want to avoid problems, try to dine all together (my parents split up from us and none of the credits were on their keys).

Lastly, keep a credit card on file (you have an option not to). If the dining credits do not work on a certain key, charge it to your room first then work it out with the front desk after you get back. Your restaurant server will not offer to work it out for you. They will charge it to your room. If you do not have a CC on file, you will have to submit statements to Disney and that is a PITA.

We've segmented twice now...and the first time was a nightmare and the second time we were prepared for ALL of the problems that we expected and did happen.

Great tips! We will definitely keep the key cards and also keep a CC on file!

That's 6 trips to the front desk--and that's if everything goes smoothly. Way too much, IMHO.

If meals aren't such a big deal, then why even do the DDP? You have AP's--maybe a TIW card would be a better option?

We want to try the DDP before we bring the grandkids with us just to see how it works. I did not know of the TIW card and looked it up...it could be an option in the future. Thanks!
Yes, 6 trips to the front desk I guess I should ask how far it is to the front desks at the different resorts...I have only stayed at VGC and the front desk is actually on the walk to the parks, so very convenient.

I personally think you should do this. Us DVC owners need Disney to make this work so more of us can take avantage of this in the future with less complications. With more experiance and complicated reservations this should educate staff on the software capabilities and limitations. If you have a little extra time to check in and out, why not give it a shot.

We did the segmented thing this past May with 2 resorts. First night Saturday -we stayed at POFQ on a cash reservation - no dining plan. The next night- Sunday was at OKW with QSP. Monday OKW- DDP. Tuesday OKW -Deluxe Dining plan. Wednesday - Sunday Beach Club Villa -DDP.

We had to get some new keys here and there, and I tracked all our credits closely, but other than an extra trip down to front desk here and there, it wasn't too bad. We might have had some more issues if we continued to have multiple plans at the BCV. The front desk there did not have the same level of experiance as at OKW.

The only time I would say not to do this is if your time is extremely limited and you lack patience. Or if you are the personality type that needs everything to go as planned or your vacation is completely ruined.

Thanks for the encouragement
We do feel like we'll have extra time to try this out without missing park time. We'll see how it goes and I'll post when we return in September.

 

[daisyduck123]

Here are my questions:
First, is this a completely crazy plan?

IMO, yes.

All I see are headaches associated with this. You are basically just asking for problems. Or maybe you like spending quite a bit of time at each resort's front desk?

You stated that food isn't even a big deal to you, so why bother? I hope you have a great vacation, but I honestly think you're going to have trouble with this. If you want to try out the DDP so badly, I recommend just trying it at ONE resort...you can get a great taste of it that way.

I second the poster that said to get a TIW card...and just be done with it.

 

[Kerchak]

Hi Nanapapa. I understand people's reservations, but based on our experience in May I'd say go for it! We stayed at 4 DVC hotels over 2 weeks and had the DDP every other day as you are proposing. Having read negative comments on the Disboard we feared the worst, but it worked like a charm, with absolutely no issues You do have to change keys every day, but it takes no more than a few minutes, so really isn't any trouble. I can strongly recommend Le Cellier, Coral Reef and Le Chef de France for table service and Wolfgang Puck for quick service. We were so satisfied with our experience in May that we are going back for 14 days in Sept and have segmented dining every other day again (more than enough food for us when we spread a days credits over 2 days, and we love our food ). In Sept we're staying at BWV 5 days, AKV 3 days, BLT 2 days and SSR 4 days. Can't wait Hope you have a great time.

Ps - I suggest you use the bell service to move your bags between hotels to save lugging them yourself

 

[Nanapapa3]

IMO, yes.

All I see are headaches associated with this. You are basically just asking for problems. Or maybe you like spending quite a bit of time at each resort's front desk?

You stated that food isn't even a big deal to you, so why bother? I hope you have a great vacation, but I honestly think you're going to have trouble with this. If you want to try out the DDP so badly, I recommend just trying it at ONE resort...you can get a great taste of it that way.

I second the poster that said to get a TIW card...and just be done with it.

Sorry, daisyduck123...What I meant by food not being such a big deal must have come across all wrong.
I just meant that we don't have to have 3 meals a day...we usually eat a very small breakfast and then a large late lunch/early dinner.
It seems that by getting the DDP every other day, we can maximize the credits over a 2 day period, while seeing how the plan actually works.
Do you happen to know if the resorts have a separate guest services desk as they do at VGC? It was easy to utilize this desk instead of going to the front desk there.

Hi Nanapapa. I understand people's reservations, but based on our experience in May I'd say go for it! We stayed at 4 DVC hotels over 2 weeks and had the DDP every other day as you are proposing. Having read negative comments on the Disboard we feared the worst, but it worked like a charm, with absolutely no issues You do have to change keys every day, but it takes no more than a few minutes, so really isn't any trouble. I can strongly recommend Le Cellier, Coral Reef and Le Chef de France for table service and Wolfgang Puck for quick service. We were so satisfied with our experience in May that we are going back for 14 days in Sept and have segmented dining every other day again (more than enough food for us when we spread a days credits over 2 days, and we love our food ). In Sept we're staying at BWV 5 days, AKV 3 days, BLT 2 days and SSR 4 days. Can't wait Hope you have a great time.

Ps - I suggest you use the bell service to move your bags between hotels to save lugging them yourself

Hi Kerchak...so nice to know we are not the only crazy ones
Glad that it all worked out for you and that you are doing it all over again!
Did you have your own transportation or did you use Disney? What were your favorite resorts?
We also want to spread our DDP credits over 2 days each...I will research the restaurants you suggested!
Thanks again for your reply

 

[Kerchak]

Hi Kerchak...so nice to know we are not the only crazy ones
Glad that it all worked out for you and that you are doing it all over again!
Did you have your own transportation or did you use Disney? What were your favorite resorts?
We also want to spread our DDP credits over 2 days each...I will research the restaurants you suggested!
Thanks again for your reply[/QUOTE]

Hi again ... Whilst we've used the Disney buses, we prefer the flexibility of having a car. Mrs T likes her shopping (a lot) so the car makes it easier to get to the outlet malls and to transport all of her goodies. We also do lots of walking though, especially at BWV and SSR. We love to stroll round Crescent Lake with a delicious Sundae before going into Epcot. We also enjoy walking to DTD from SSR - it's only 2 miles all the way round. We really relish splitting our stay between different hotels as each has something different to offer. I know many would regard moving hotels as their idea of he'll, but each to their own hey The biggest surprise for us in May was AK Kidani Savannah view. It was wonderful watching the animals from the balcony. I lost count of how many pictures Mrs T took. It took all my negotiation skills to get her to leave the balcony. I found 2 words did the trick "shopping" or "food" regarding the restaurants, Le Cellier only costs 1 credit for lunch, but is 2 credits for the same menu in the evening. The fillet steak and mousse desert are awesome. The food is equally good at Coral Reef, especially the strip steak and pork tenderloin. You will love being able to watch the fish, shark, rays etc swimming in the aquarium from your table. Le Chef De France is our absolute favourite 1 credit restaurant with some amazing food choices. I hope this helps. Have a wonderful time. Mr T.

 

[TDC Nala]

You have every single night you are staying as a separate segment?

Sounds like a lot of time to be spending at the front desk. They're going to get to know you pretty well.