What to do for tickets & Dining for part of reservation?

[evsmama]

Looking for advice: we're going for a 10 night stay--3 nights @ AKV & 7 @ BWV. Gramom is coming for the 1st 5 nights. What's the best way to handle her tickets & Dining Plan? (We're not doing Dining for the 1st 3 nights, because any unused meals will expire midnight of the 4th day--right?--& I can't see us using them all during that time, + having Dining kick in again on the 4th day for BWV).

What do you think?

 

[Tine731]

Looking for advice: we're going for a 10 night stay--3 nights @ AKV & 7 @ BWV. Gramom is coming for the 1st 5 nights. What's the best way to handle her tickets & Dining Plan? (We're not doing Dining for the 1st 3 nights, because any unused meals will expire midnight of the 4th day--right?--& I can't see us using them all during that time, + having Dining kick in again on the 4th day for BWV).

What do you think?

Well the ticket part is easy....just purchase the desired length of ticket for Gramom. Now the meal plan is a different story. Does Gramom have her own reservation/villa or are you all on the same reservation/villa? If you are in the same villa the DDP must be purchased for everyone for all nights of the reservation. If Gramom leaves 2 days into the 2nd half of your vacation you still have to purchase it for her for all 7 nights. You would not loose the dining credits. They would still be valid and the rest of the family could use them.

 

[Simba's Mom]

Well the ticket part is easy....just purchase the desired length of ticket for Gramom. Now the meal plan is a different story. Does Gramom have her own reservation/villa or are you all on the same reservation/villa? If you are in the same villa the DDP must be purchased for everyone for all nights of the reservation. If Gramom leaves 2 days into the 2nd half of your vacation you still have to purchase it for her for all 7 nights. You would not loose the dining credits. They would still be valid and the rest of the family could use them.

Let's see if I understand this correctly. Say I'm in BCV for 8 days and want the DDP. DH is planning to come for 4 days of the trip. The only option for me to get the DDP is for both of us to get it for a total of 16 "person-days" (8daysX2) Is this correct, that DH couldn't get it for just 4 days,since the room is reserved for a total of 8 days? Actually, we were hoping that I could get the DDP without him having to get it at all, but that doesn't seem possible. Am I understanding right?

 

[Deb & Bill]

Let's see if I understand this correctly. Say I'm in BCV for 8 days and want the DDP. DH is planning to come for 4 days of the trip. The only option for me to get the DDP is for both of us to get it for a total of 16 "person-days" (8daysX2) Is this correct, that DH couldn't get it for just 4 days,since the room is reserved for a total of 8 days? Actually, we were hoping that I could get the DDP without him having to get it at all, but that doesn't seem possible. Am I understanding right?

You have it. Every guest in the room must have the dining plan for the entire length of stay. Some guests have said that they were able to add other guests for shorter lengths of stay, but not get the dining plan for them.

So if you definitely want the dining plan for both of you, you will have to do it for the entire length of stay. Or make two reservations, and probably having to move for the second one. Then you can add the plan to one or the other reservation.

 

[TDC Nala]

You can purchase the tickets in any configuration you want. But the dining plan must be booked for all persons on your reservation for the full length of the reservation. The only way around this is to split your stay into two separate reservations. Most likely, you would have to change rooms, since I don't think you can link the reservations and still split the dining plan.

Even if they let you add Grandma to the reservation halfway through, you won't be able to get her the dining plan. If she leaves halfway through, she would still have to be on the dining plan for the full reservation.

Actually, we were hoping that I could get the DDP without him having to get it at all, but that doesn't seem possible. Am I understanding right?

Only if you did not have his name on the reservation. But then he would not get a room key, and would not be able to show a room key for extra magic hours or for access to Stormalong Bay.

 

[Dean]

Looking for advice: we're going for a 10 night stay--3 nights @ AKV & 7 @ BWV. Gramom is coming for the 1st 5 nights. What's the best way to handle her tickets & Dining Plan? (We're not doing Dining for the 1st 3 nights, because any unused meals will expire midnight of the 4th day--right?--& I can't see us using them all during that time, + having Dining kick in again on the 4th day for BWV).

What do you think?

This is one of the easier situations for this type of DDP problem I've seen. You have a family with a 7 night reservation where one person will be there 5 of the 7 nights. IF the DDP makes sense, simply buy it for that extra person for the entire 7 nights, it'll only give you 2 or 3 extra credits to use over an 8 day period, that shouldn't be a big deal in this situation. I'd run over to BWV the change over day and "check in" early. That way you'll have the room keys and credits starting at breakfast that day and have almost a full day extra to use the credits than most people who are arriving that same day. That and a single signature meal should be able to make full use of all the credits even with the two extra person days and depending on your family makeup, just using it for the first and last day of your BWV stay may be enough to take full advantage of the DDP credits. Now whether DDP makes sense for you in general is another discussion with a lot of variables. Enjoy.

 

[disneynutz]

Looking for advice: we're going for a 10 night stay--3 nights @ AKV & 7 @ BWV. Gramom is coming for the 1st 5 nights. What's the best way to handle her tickets & Dining Plan? (We're not doing Dining for the 1st 3 nights, because any unused meals will expire midnight of the 4th day--right?--& I can't see us using them all during that time, + having Dining kick in again on the 4th day for BWV).

What do you think?

We would buy the DDP for the first three nights and use the DDE for the rest of the trip. For us the DDP is too much food and we only use it on the most expensive restaurants. We would also skip day two or three and DDP on day four.

 

[evsmama]

This is one of the easier situations for this type of DDP problem I've seen. You have a family with a 7 night reservation where one person will be there 5 of the 7 nights. IF the DDP makes sense, simply buy it for that extra person for the entire 7 nights, it'll only give you 2 or 3 extra credits to use over an 8 day period, that shouldn't be a big deal in this situation. I'd run over to BWV the change over day and "check in" early. That way you'll have the room keys and credits starting at breakfast that day and have almost a full day extra to use the credits than most people who are arriving that same day. That and a single signature meal should be able to make full use of all the credits even with the two extra person days and depending on your family makeup, just using it for the first and last day of your BWV stay may be enough to take full advantage of the DDP credits. Now whether DDP makes sense for you in general is another discussion with a lot of variables. Enjoy.

Checking in early--excellent suggestion!

 

[evsmama]

We would buy the DDP for the first three nights and use the DDE for the rest of the trip. For us the DDP is too much food and we only use it on the most expensive restaurants. We would also skip day two or three and DDP on day four.

True, the DDP is a bit much food, though not so much now that appetizers aren't included. However, G-Mom doesn't eat much so I'm not sure it would be worth it. My inclination is to leave her off of the reservation. She won't really need her own key & I doubt we will do extra magic hours for those 2 days after the room switch.

Thanks for all the advice!!

 

[Dean]

True, the DDP is a bit much food, though not so much now that appetizers aren't included. However, G-Mom doesn't eat much so I'm not sure it would be worth it. My inclination is to leave her off of the reservation. She won't really need her own key & I doubt we will do extra magic hours for those 2 days after the room switch.

Thanks for all the advice!!

I don't think being dishonest is the best option.

 

[evsmama]

I don't think being dishonest is the best option.

By being dishonest do you mean leaving her off the reservation?

 

[dianeschlicht]

By being dishonest do you mean leaving her off the reservation?

And you DON'T think that's dishonest???

 

[Dean]

By being dishonest do you mean leaving her off the reservation?

That's correct. In effect it would be stating you have X occupants instead of X+1.

 

[evsmama]

And you DON'T think that's dishonest???

I didn't say that. I simply didn't realize that every person had to be named for the entire period of time. In other words, what if someone was coming for 1 night? Would you put that person on the reservation for the whole week? That seems a bit absurd.

We are talking about 2 nights in this case, which would leave 5 nights worth of DDP extra. A waste for us. I think we'll wind up opting out of the DDP this time.

 

[Dean]

I didn't say that. I simply didn't realize that every person had to be named for the entire period of time. In other words, what if someone was coming for 1 night? Would you put that person on the reservation for the whole week? That seems a bit absurd.

We are talking about 2 nights in this case, which would leave 5 nights worth of DDP extra. A waste for us. I think we'll wind up opting out of the DDP this time.

To answer your question, yes I would include them if they were there only one night and I knew they were coming. Disney (not DVC) has set the rules and the rules are that everyone who is in the room must be on the plan. There is no allowance for someone only being there a portion of the time just like there is no allowance for someone arriving late day one and/or leaving early the last day. And no flexibility for having a 4 year old that eats almost nothing or a 10 y/o that only eats kid meal food. The way Disney comes out in this equation is by setting it up so that a large portion of people waste some credits/options just like any All Inclusive plan. Think of it like a cruise, would you think a cruise line would let you bring a 4 y/o for free just because they won't eat anything anyway? We had the discussion recently about a special needs child and the DDP with the poster feeling they shouldn't be charged for that situation. Are there ways to cheat the system in this situation, sure there are are number of them if one is dishonest about it, I will and do equate purposefully circumventing the rules as cheating and dishonest but I don't really get that's what you intend to do. My take is that you're just trying to figure out what the rules are and then how to make it work for your family while working through some of the inequities in the system.

To be clear, while I will say there is no currently flexibility, I feel there should be some for a number of situations, many of which I've hinted at above. DVC tends to be used a little differently than a hotel stay and it's far more likely you'll get guests for part of the stay but not all of it. But unless or until there are favorable changes, the rules in place are what they are. My experience with Disney and these type of dining plans over the years is that almost all changes are negative, not favorable.

Given your situation being there for 10 days, the extra person will be there 3 days of the 8 DDP days (7 nights) depending on their departure time including all day long for the first day of the DDP if you check in early at BWV. It should not be difficult with planning to account for those credits Two signature meals for the group will more than do it for the TS credits and a CS meal (breakfast or lunch) check in AND check out day will essentially do the same for those credits. You could use extra credits for a character breakfast as well.

 

[dianeschlicht]

Dean is correct and that is exactly why we are NOT getting the dining plan next January. We have 3 of us for 4 days and then 6 for one day followed by 5 for 3 days all in the same 2 bedroom. We'll just wing it with our DDE card on that trip.

 

[evsmama]

Dean, agreed on all points. As you said, I'm just trying to figure this out. Whether we want to spend the extra $$ for more than we need this trip, etc.
And WOW, I hadn't heard we wouldn't be getting the DDP in January. Has that been confirmed? Of course alot can change in 6 months & it will be interesting to see what kind of feedback DVC gets when this change gets a little more publicity! Thanks for your help.

 

[TDC Nala]

And WOW, I hadn't heard we wouldn't be getting the DDP in January. Has that been confirmed? Of course alot can change in 6 months & it will be interesting to see what kind of feedback DVC gets when this change gets a little more publicity! Thanks for your help.

I think the PP means that her party won't be signing up for the dining plan on their January trip.

 

[evsmama]

Ohh, I hope so! Didn't think of it that way. Thanks.

 

[DeeCee735]

Looking for advice: we're going for a 10 night stay--3 nights @ AKV & 7 @ BWV. Gramom is coming for the 1st 5 nights. What's the best way to handle her tickets & Dining Plan? (We're not doing Dining for the 1st 3 nights, because any unused meals will expire midnight of the 4th day--right?--& I can't see us using them all during that time, + having Dining kick in again on the 4th day for BWV).

What do you think?

Regarding the dining plan...

My DH and I spent 4 nights in WDW, one night in HH and one night in Charleston this past April.
We've never done the dining plan and I wanted to try it. Being that we had two separate ressies for our WDW stay - one night in AKV and 3 nights in BWV, (btw, bought a small add on at AKV after that one night ) I decided we'd do the Deluxe Dining Plan for the one night and the basic for the three nights. It worked out perfect because it expired at midnight on day of check out (checking into BW). On the deluxe plan it was two snacks each and 3 table service meals each - that's alot of food, so we worked out that we'd have sort of an "extra TS meal" being that the two plans overlapped, so we used 2 TS credits for Yachtsman Steakhouse and it was well worth it.

If you do consider the two dining plans for the two separate ressies, go by how many credits you have, and when you'll use those sit down meals and see if overlapping actually works out for you. Remember that the 2nd room ressie at the BW will also not expire til midnight of day of check out, so you can "push up" the BW DDP credits, using the AKV credits on check out day. Hope I'm making sense, it just worked out really good for us.
I do wish there was an in between kind of meal plan....I think the deluxe offers too much food and the basic not enough (I'm not a fan of counter service) I'd kind of like to see two sit downs (with CHOICE of app or dessert), one counter and one snack a day kind of plan, although I have no idea how'd that price out. JMHO

Good luck with your planning and enjoy your trip and WELCOME HOME (we'll be there in January too )