Weird Disney Policy-how do I get around it?

[jellyd]

Hi Folks,
Lurker here with my first post. The family and I are heading to WDW for a week in November. I have encountered a strange policy that has me looking for ways to defeat it. I have 2 kids, DS is 19 and DD is 3 (insert joke here, I have heard them all. Lets just say DW and I like to see how things work before we try them again LOL). DS is in college and doing well. We are planning a Fri to Thurs trip with a stay at PORS. We are booking a Magic package with tickets and dining. DS will be down Fri and leave early Mon so he does not miss class. Disney has informed me that their policy is that everyone in the room has to have the same package. Meaning I have to book my son for a 7 day park pass and dining. I called Dreams Unlimited and they confirmed this for me and looked to see if booking him his own room for 3 nights would be cheaper and it was not (100-200 more expensive). Does anyone see a way to beat this? Has anyone encountered this before? Someone at work suggested bringing him to our room and buying him seperate park tickets and just not telling Disney. Will they find out?

Any help appreciated.

Rick

 

[DisneyWisher]

Book for the family a 3 day pass and upgrade at the park whomever is staying longer. You will only pay the difference without having to upgrade his.

 

[brentalex]

You can possibly save on the tickets by only buying a 3 day pass for everyone and then buying the extra days for the rest of the family separately. Although you all need to have the same package, you don't need to buy tickets for the full stay. You can even just buy a 1 day ticket for everyone and get all the other days separately. I don't think you can do anything about the dining plan, except to try to use as many of the table service meals while ds is with you. You get x number of meals and it does not matter how you use them, or even who uses them, so you can use his once he leaves if there are extra ts meals you want.

 

[Brian Noble]

This is generally correct. If you just avoid putting him on the reservation, he will not have a KTTW card, he will not be eligible for EMH, and you can not get ME for him.

One other alternative is to get 1-day MYW tickets, plus dining for your party of 7. This gives you a handful of "extra" TS and CS credits to play with, possibly allowing you the chance for an extra TS meal or two, or to get an extra CS breakfast here or there. If that sounds good to you, book it that way. Then, upgrade most of the tickets to 7-day when you get there, and upgrade his to whataver you need.

 

[plutolovr]

Here is what you do. Go ahead and book the package you want for your family not including your DS. When he arrives, just go down to the front desk and have him added to your room. Because he is over 18 they will charge $15/nt. This is important because this is the only way you can get him a room key. You can then purchase his tickets at the concierge desk. Now he won't have the dining plan, you just have to pay for his meals.

 

[DisneyWisher]

Another point. With those extra meal credits might think about either doing a meal at the Castle or a dinner show. Both are 2 credits per person but since he is leaving early you will have 3 extra TS and 3 extra counter service. If he's driving might think about going to Earl of Sandwich (DTD) for food to go for the trip. Make sure you make any ADRs 180 days before the first day of your trip. I know it seems like a long way out but some things get booked fast. I must do is Chef Mickey's or Park Fair at Grand Floridian (I prefer breakfast to dinner because no overly tired kids). Check out the menus to see where you guys might want to eat. Good Luck and have a wonderful trip. http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/dining/diningmain.cfm#disneydining

 

[mickeystoontown]

Our 19 year old daughter flew to WDW two days after we drove in and I had her on our Magic Your Way With Dining package. Since the cost of a 8 day ticket as opposed to a 6 day ticket was minimal, the ticket situation didn't mean that much to me.

When we checked in, I was able to get her Keys to the World card and all she had to do was get off the Magical Express bus. We went straight to the Hoop Dee Doo Review and when we returned, her luggage was in the room.

We used her meal credits for our breakfast and the extra credits for one of the signature table service meal (did this on one of the days she was not there). Her snack credits were used for extra water and drinks. I know that the cost of the dining plan is a factor but we also figured that the price we would have paid out of pocket for the breakfasts, signature table service meal and snack credits would equal about what we were paying for adding her to our dining plan.

 

[DisneyWisher]

Our 19 year old daughter flew to WDW two days after we drove in and I had her on our Magic Your Way With Dining package. Since the cost of a 8 day ticket as opposed to a 6 day ticket was minimal, the ticket situation didn't mean that much to me.

When we checked in, I was able to get her Keys to the World card and all she had to do was get off the Magical Express bus. We went straight to the Hoop Dee Doo Review and when we returned, her luggage was in the room.

We used her meal credits for our breakfast and the extra credits for one of the signature table service meal (did this on one of the days she was not there). Her snack credits were used for extra water and drinks. I know that the cost of the dining plan is a factor but we also figured that the price we would have paid out of pocket for the breakfasts, signature table service meal and snack credits would equal about what we were paying for adding her to our dining plan.

But they have changed the dining plan. You no longer get an appetizer and the tip is no longer included. You might want to do the math and see if the dining plan is worth it. You will have to get the dining plan for the length of the stay. You are looking at close to $800.00 for the dining plan for the length of stay for the 4 of you. Not to mention the 15-20% tip for TS. You might want to make sure its worth it.

 

[SB in KY]

I second the previous suggestion....I took my daughters to WDW last year for a long weekend....DH did not think he would be able to join us. We had the dining plan as well. We arrived on a Thursday, DH called Friday AM to say he was finishing up his business meeting early in Tampa and would come over for the weekend and fly home Sunday (we were checking out Tuesday AM).... I went to the front desk, told them the situation....and they told me it was not a problem....when he arrived he checked in, got a room key and we just paid for his meals out of pocket (we had extra days on an old ticket for him to use). It worked out well for us.

 

[Deb & Bill]

You may think it is wierd, but it's Disney's policy. All guests staying in the room must be on the same package. If you don't purchase a package, you can get any tickets you like. But you won't be able to get the dining plan either. You have your choice. Do the package as it is or don't do the package as it is.

 

[girli565]

Here is what you do. Go ahead and book the package you want for your family not including your DS. When he arrives, just go down to the front desk and have him added to your room. Because he is over 18 they will charge $15/nt. This is important because this is the only way you can get him a room key. You can then purchase his tickets at the concierge desk. Now he won't have the dining plan, you just have to pay for his meals.

That sounds like the perfect solution where you would not be bypassing WDW's policies.

 

[hansel1]

In your situation the dining plan is the cause of the trouble.

The changes for the DDP in 2008 make savings minimal at best. The best advice is to rebook your vacation as a room only and add tickets as needed. You will still be charged $15 per night extra for the nights your son will be there, but the alternative would be having to pay roughly $200 in DDP fees and ticket days that will not get used.

 

[CoolPool]

If you really want the dining plan, then I'd just go with the flow. There is no problem to use the his dining credits to upgrade the rest of the family's dining choices. If you want to save the $, then drop the package and just buy food as you go and tickets according to your exact need.

 

[kaytieeldr]

As advised above, change your package's park tickets to three-day tickets. But you don't need to get the remaining days somewhere else - just upgrade the necessary tickets to seven-day passes once you arrive. You pay only the difference between the three days and the seven days.

 

[Mitla96]

Be sure to check out Maple Leaf tickets also. I ordered my park hoppers from them for my trip last year and had them delivered to Pop Century. The conceriage at the desk was kind enough to add them to our room keys, and I was able to get an extra day free.

You could order a ticket for your son also, as the tickets don't activate until you start to use them.

J in Michigan

 

[donaldbuzz&minnie]

I'd at least price out the following:

Forget the dining plan, and get the DDE card instead. Buy tickets from the Mousesaver link to Undercover Tourist. Consider buying one annual pass, if it makes a big enough difference on the room rate.