Warning - NOT allowed to use available dining credits at Yachtman Steakhouse

[Tink10]

But what if the adults didn't use their credits earlier in the week? They would still be listed as available, regardless of the number in the party. The receipt lists only TS credits available and if the number matches what you are claiming, there shouldn't be a discussion.

The credits are non-transferrable......So, technically, they can only be used for the guests who are listed on that reservation.....

Why should anyone be able to use the plan for more than the number of people booked on the package?.

In my opinion, they shouldn't.....From the way I read the OP, it sounds like this is what the Manager was trying to enforce.

 

[5DisneyNuts]

So if you had 3 adults booked and was trying to use the plan to feed 4 adults, you would have a problem with the manager saying no?

Why should anyone be able to use the plan for more than the number of people booked on the package?

The plan was made to be flexable. How would they know if you hadn't used all the credits so far during your stay based on the current calculations? Or if , for example, you hadn't used any the day before and those credits were available? The only information is based on what is listed on the receipts. Are you saying that credits should be calculated per day per adult vs. child??

 

[pigletforever]

I guess I am too honest. I have booked all our ADR's and discovered I miscounted. WE will use "9"TS while we are there. But we only have 8. So I told DH we would have to pay for one out of pocket. We "could" pay OOP for youngest son and have the credits we need but that is not what we paid for and I want to teach my kids even at the "happiest Place on earth" honesty is the best policy. Think about it kids mimic parents behaviors and if you think it is ok to cheat the system so will they. I am not trying to preach or be on a high horse. I just think it is wrong when you are on an honor system not to be honorable.

 

[5DisneyNuts]

The credits are non-transferrable......So, technically, they can only be used for the guests who are listed on that reservation......

Agreed. The plan is non-transferable. This does not play into the adult vs. child credit discussion in MHO. I do not believe in scamming Disney..

 

[disneyjunkie]

The plan was made to be flexable. How would they know if you hadn't used all the credits so far during your stay based on the current calculations? Or if , for example, you hadn't used any the day before and those credits were available? The only information is based on what is listed on the receipts. Are you saying that credits should be calculated per day per adult vs. child??

I'm saying the credits should be used for the people booked on the plan.

If you only paid for 4 people to use the plan, you shouldn't be able to use your credits to feed 6 people. If doesn't matter how many credits you have left. You only booked the package for 4 people.

 

[Tink10]

The plan was made to be flexable. How would they know if you hadn't used all the credits so far during your stay based on the current calculations? Or if , for example, you hadn't used any the day before and those credits were available? The only information is based on what is listed on the receipts. Are you saying that credits should be calculated per day per adult vs. child??

The plan was made to be flexible for the guests who are listed on the reservation.......When they swipe your Key to the World, they know how many credits are left...It's in real time, just like a credit card authorization.....

But I think Disney Junkie was trying to ask why somebody would be upset if the manager was only enforcing a written policy.....

(correct me if I'm wrong here Disney Junkie)

 

[Tink10]

I'm saying the credits should be used for the people booked on the plan.

If you only paid for 4 people to use the plan, you shouldn't be able to use your credits to feed 6 people. If doesn't matter how many credits you have left. You only booked the package for 4 people.

You said that so much better than I could have......Getting a brain cramp!

 

[disneyjunkie]

But I think Disney Junkie was trying to ask why somebody would be upset if the manager was only enforcing a written policy.....

(correct me if I'm wrong here Disney Junkie)

 

[5DisneyNuts]

Sorry to add to the confusion, but is seems pretty clear you should be able to use the DDP to pay for a meal as long as you have enough credits available (aside from being non-transferrable).
If the wait staff or the manager told me anything different, I would speak to the front desk at the resort.

 

[Lewisc]

There are two sides to most stories and none of us overheard the conversation. That said many customers interpert a manager as being rude when he insists on following the rules or policy and won't make an exception.

Just my opinion but I think a customer is being rude if he keeps asking and debating the point after being told no more than 2 or 3 times. I can understand a customer rephrasing the question and asking a second time.

Is a manager being rude if he walks away after saying no three or four times?

 

[dawnball]

I'm saying the credits should be used for the people booked on the plan.

If you only paid for 4 people to use the plan, you shouldn't be able to use your credits to feed 6 people. If doesn't matter how many credits you have left. You only booked the package for 4 people.

My problem with this sort of enforcement is that my party books 2 rooms. Each room has 2 adults. We tend to split meals, because we're all trying to lose weight. Then we use the leftover credit for signature meals. It's a pain in the rear trying to keep track of which meals need to be charged to which room. I don't want to use a spreadsheet to keep track, and last time we didn't. Someoner whipped out a card and we put the meal on it. When we ran out on one room, the other room paid.

Now I know that the reservations were linked, because when I locked myself out they had to reissue keys to both rooms (leaving everyone else at the parks with nonfunctional keys, no room charge priviledges and no dining plan - bleh). The dining plan isn't linked or pooled across rooms though. It's just obnoxious and was a deciding factor in out decision to stay off property during free dining, even though it will be be mor expensive overall.

 

[luv2nascar]

I don't feel they should be able to withhold your credits from you. If they do not distingish between adult/child that is disney's problem. My dh is a big eater and can sometimes eat two counter service meals. I remember specifically at CHH he ordered a salad & a tuna sandwich. My youngest was only two at the time so she shared with him. We were party of 4 (well only 3 for dining plan). And we purchased 3 adult cs meals and 1 child meal there. They are our meals to use I don't see why disney cares if I eat all my meals the first day or not.

 

[calie_j]

As a disclaimer I haven't used the dining plan yet but I have been reading about it since it came out and especially the past few months after booking it. There have been scattered reports from both TS & CS about limiting adult meals purchased based on what is on your card; and I think we'll see alot more of this. I really don't think this is a non-transfer issue since there haven't been reports about being denied paying for friends/family/strangers (that I have seen). My personal thoughts are if the OP with 3A1C had tried to use the credits for 4A1C she would not have had a problem. By trying to use it for 4A it "appears" she's trying to use the child credit for an adult and right now this is the only way WDW has of auditing that child credits are not used for adult meals. This is one instance where the loophole can hurt the diner since there really is no way for the restaurant to know she had paid for 2A TS earlier to use this night, all they have to go on is what your card says and how many people are at your table. Just my thoughts on this situation without any right or wrong involved.

I'm sorry you had a bad experience and hope the rest of your vacation was magical.

calie

 

[FayeW]

The credits are non-transferrable......So, technically, they can only be used for the guests who are listed on that reservation.....

I think part of the problem here is the confusion over the interpretation of the term "non-transferable". I take it to mean that I cannot transfer the PLAN in it entirety to someone else. I DON'T take it to mean that I can't use one of my remaining credits to pay for someone else's meal! So, if I'm checking out and have 3 remaining TS and 4 CS, I can't assign those credits to someone else, but I should be able to buy another family their lunch if I want to!
Think about it people... if I have that many credits left over it's because I was paying cash for some meals along the way. Nobody is scamming anybody, it will all work out in the wash.

 

[FayeW]

I guess I am too honest. I have booked all our ADR's and discovered I miscounted. WE will use "9"TS while we are there. But we only have 8. So I told DH we would have to pay for one out of pocket. We "could" pay OOP for youngest son and have the credits we need but that is not what we paid for and I want to teach my kids even at the "happiest Place on earth" honesty is the best policy. Think about it kids mimic parents behaviors and if you think it is ok to cheat the system so will they. I am not trying to preach or be on a high horse. I just think it is wrong when you are on an honor system not to be honorable.

First of all, I think you are over thinking this, just a tad. Are you seriously going to notify your children of how many TS credits you are using everytime you hand over your room key? Also, you are assigning an "honour system" where there is none. In it's current incarnation, you would be completely honest and honourable to pay for a child's meal OOP, and use the dining credits you have for your remaining meals. Why do people persist in believing that it is dishonest to do this, when the CM's and waitstaff TELL you to do it???

 

[Lizzybee]

I don't see anything wrong with using your credits "any way you like" as stated in Disney's very own brochure, although I can see Disney taking exception to using the credits for someone who isn't on the DDP with you, ie a guest. If I want to pay out of pockey for myself because I only want an appetizer or for my daughter at a character breakfast where she won't eat anyway, I don't see anything wrong with that. Nothing in the literature distiguishes between child and adult credit. The last page of the Disney Dining Plan brochure says "Disney Dining Plan may not be sold separately, transferred, refunded, or redeemed for cash in whole or in part" To me that says you shouldn't use the plan credits for people who aren't part of your plan. It doesn't dictate how within your party you must use your credits.

 

[Dannielle_1]

I appreciate the information provided by the OP. Whether I agree or disagree if a restaurant should accept the Dining Plan for additional patrons, it is good to know that they may not.

I will be traveling this fall on the dining plan. My husband and I will be on one reservation (2A). Then a few days later we will be joining up with my mom, sister and her daughter - they will also be on the dining plan (2A 1C). We will be eating most of our meals together. I will make sure when we eat meals that we get seperate checks and have our credits deducted from the appropriate accounts.

Last year we traveled with friends and we were all on the dining plan then. We ate all our meals together and we would just rotate back and forth on who would have the credits deducted from their room. I just figured we would do something similar this fall with my family. But with this info, I would hate to run into a restaurant that didn't allow this and then have a credit surplus on one of the accounts.

What is kind of funny about this is that last year we were just going to each pay for our meals, but our first dinner was at Yatchman's Steakhouse and they were the ones who just wanted to take one card . Now there was no adult/child issue here, plus I suppose a lot has happened/come to dining's attention in the past 6-9 months and I'm sure loopholes are being worked out of the system.

 

[JLS]

I am the OP. I appreciate everyone's interesting and thoughtful responses on this subject. I am always very grateful to everyone who posts on this Board as a source of info, and my sole purpose in posting my story is to let people know that at least some restaurants are looking at the number of people on your card and enforcing dining plan utilization based on that. Based on my own experiences, this definitely is not being enforced across the board. One a couple of occasions during our trip, our group used a CS credit for a meal to be eaten at that time and ordered additional CS meals (sandwiches) to eat later in the room. So on one tab we were using maybe 6 CS credits at a time for our party of 4, and there was no restriction placed on that. I also "paid" for another meal for a friend at Chefs de France and the appropriate number of TS credits were simply deducted, with no reference made to party size.

It was never my intention to "scam" - I had understood that you could use your credits "as you wished." I did not understand non-transferrable as referring to an individual meal eaten by someone dining with you, but rather to the whole plan. If I misinterpreted that, it was my mistake and that's fine. But even if that is the policy, I don't really understand how paying for a friend with your credits could be a "scam" - if I didn't use a that credit to pay for a friend's meal, I could have used it at that or another restaurant the next day for a meal. In terms of cost to Disney, its the cost of a meal - what's the difference who actually eats the meal? It is a violation fo the policy if I buy two sandwiches using CS credits and then give one to my friend who meets us in the park? Is that a scam? We didn't get something for free.

My issue with the manager at Yachtsman was twofold: (1) he displayed a very poor attitude and was rude. Regardless of how he feels about dining plan utilization, it was very inappropriate for him to insult me with his analogy about a repeat traffic offender. Just an insulting and completely inappropriate analogy. That is not how custumers should be treated anywhere. He tried to backpeddle and apologize after I called him on it, but his meaning was clear. (2) his explanation was inconsistent as to why we couldn't use the remaining two credits. He claimed that it was about the party size on our room key, but he kept fixating on the idea that we were trying to use a "child's credit" to pay for an adult meal. He said something like "you know that there is a big difference in cost between chicken fingers and filet mignon." Well, duh! That seemed to be his real issue. I personally believe that if we did not have child on our dining plan, but had simply had 3 adults listed on the card, and then tried to buy 4 adult meals with our remaining 8 "adult" credits, this manager would not have had a problem with that. I can't prove that, of course, but his real issue seemed to be his accusation that we were trying to use my son's credit to pay for a filet mignon at his restaurant. (of course, he admitted that he had no idea and no way of knowing or tracking how we had used the child/adult breakdown of credits during the 8 days we had been at WDW, but that's another story).

I agree with the poster who said that we probably could have asked for 2 checks and the other adult in our party could have presented her card to pay for 2 of the meals and we would have been fine. I'm not saying I would have done that, but that example and the one I gave above just shows how arbitratry the enforcement of these supposed rules is.

SO, again, the only point of my post was to let people know that there may be a "crackdown" in place, or whatever you want to call it. I do not believe that I was trying to do anything wrong, and was merely trying to use credits that I had saved in good faith by paying OOP for other (cheaper) adult meals we ate in previous days. But if WDW is trying to take away flexibility by monitoring who eats the food you purchase with your credits, I accept that - just good for everyone to know and plan accordingly.

 

[bicker]

I would be upset if someone told me I could not use credits I saved.

Please note that the brochure makes it very clear that non-utilization of credits is part of the deal. There are many reasons that would prevent guests from utilizing all their credits, yet they still expire, and no refund or renumeration is warranted in such cases. Folks should be prepared, based on the OP's experience, to always expend credits for regular and child meals limited by what they paid for. While often Disney is more lenient than that, the program materials doesn't promise anything more.

 

[Tink10]

I am the OP. I appreciate everyone's interesting and thoughtful responses on this subject. I am always very grateful to everyone who posts on this Board as a source of info, and my sole purpose in posting my story is to let people know that at least some restaurants are looking at the number of people on your card and enforcing dining plan utilization based on that. Based on my own experiences, this definitely is not being enforced across the board. One a couple of occasions during our trip, our group used a CS credit for a meal to be eaten at that time and ordered additional CS meals (sandwiches) to eat later in the room. So on one tab we were using maybe 6 CS credits at a time for our party of 4, and there was no restriction placed on that. I also "paid" for another meal for a friend at Chefs de France and the appropriate number of TS credits were simply deducted, with no reference made to party size.

It was never my intention to "scam" - I had understood that you could use your credits "as you wished." I did not understand non-transferrable as referring to an individual meal eaten by someone dining with you, but rather to the whole plan. If I misinterpreted that, it was my mistake and that's fine. But even if that is the policy, I don't really understand how paying for a friend with your credits could be a "scam" - if I didn't use a that credit to pay for a friend's meal, I could have used it at that or another restaurant the next day for a meal. In terms of cost to Disney, its the cost of a meal - what's the difference who actually eats the meal? It is a violation fo the policy if I buy two sandwiches using CS credits and then give one to my friend who meets us in the park? Is that a scam? We didn't get something for free.

My issue with the manager at Yachtsman was twofold: (1) he displayed a very poor attitude and was rude. Regardless of how he feels about dining plan utilization, it was very inappropriate for him to insult me with his analogy about a repeat traffic offender. Just an insulting and completely inappropriate analogy. That is not how custumers should be treated anywhere. He tried to backpeddle and apologize after I called him on it, but his meaning was clear. (2) his explanation was inconsistent as to why we couldn't use the remaining two credits. He claimed that it was about the party size on our room key, but he kept fixating on the idea that we were trying to use a "child's credit" to pay for an adult meal. He said something like "you know that there is a big difference in cost between chicken fingers and filet mignon." Well, duh! That seemed to be his real issue. I personally believe that if we did not have child on our dining plan, but had simply had 3 adults listed on the card, and then tried to buy 4 adult meals with our remaining 8 "adult" credits, this manager would not have had a problem with that. I can't prove that, of course, but his real issue seemed to be his accusation that we were trying to use my son's credit to pay for a filet mignon at his restaurant. (of course, he admitted that he had no idea and no way of knowing or tracking how we had used the child/adult breakdown of credits during the 8 days we had been at WDW, but that's another story).

I agree with the poster who said that we probably could have asked for 2 checks and the other adult in our party could have presented her card to pay for 2 of the meals and we would have been fine. I'm not saying I would have done that, but that example and the one I gave above just shows how arbitratry the enforcement of these supposed rules is.

SO, again, the only point of my post was to let people know that there may be a "crackdown" in place, or whatever you want to call it. I do not believe that I was trying to do anything wrong, and was merely trying to use credits that I had saved in good faith by paying OOP for other (cheaper) adult meals we ate in previous days. But if WDW is trying to take away flexibility by monitoring who eats the food you purchase with your credits, I accept that - just good for everyone to know and plan accordingly.

Jenn, thanks so much for posting your unfortunate, yet enlightening experience.......I really am sorry that the manager gave you such a hard time.