what would you do?

[PEANUT1]

Hi all!! We are doing Treehouse Villas in January. Me, DH, kids, Sil, Bil, Mil. My husband really likes the dining plan and would like to do it on this trip. The problem is that my mil is not coming for the whole trip. Would you.....1) not even add her to the ressie and use the dining plan for the rest of the group or 2) just forget the dining plan all together?

Personally, I don't really care, but I think my husband would like to do the DDP.

 

[karrit2000]

If you purchase the DP for MIL you could use her extra TS credits from the days she isn't there for one of the Signature dining experiences that require 2 credits. How many days out of the entire trip won't she be there?

 

[dianeschlicht]

We don't feel DDP is a good value at all...whether you include an extra person or not. I would skip it this time and do your own test like we did. We found we spent nearly $250 less for the two of us doing the TIW card discount versus the DDP cost for the 10 day trip.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Actually, you must add her to the reservation. So if you want to do the dining plan, you'll have to buy it for her for every night of your trip.

 

[TIGGERmetoo]

We've done the dining plan in the past and we like it. I'd purchase it and use her credits for the signature meals like karrit2000 mentioned.

 

[SunnieRN]

Can you split your reservation in two so as to have her on the dining plan when she is there? I would think member services can link them to allow you not to move.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Can you split your reservation in two so as to have her on the dining plan when she is there? I would think member services can link them to allow you not to move.

Can't do that. If you have the dining plan for one reservation and not to the other, you cannot link them. If they are linked they become identical and you have the dining plan for both parts.

 

[della]

We are going through a similar situation, going for 8 days but 1 member of our party won't be arriving until day 4. Even then we are leaving WDW to go to a graduation for all of day 5. I have to put her on the ressie to get EMH's, ME, etc. We decided to skip DDP this trip and go with the TIW instead.

 

[Hunclemarco]

A little of what the post above said..... You'll have to have all family members on the reservation. Any that aren't will not be able to use Magical Express...that is if you're planning to use it.

For the dining, that is a tough call. We had the same experience in our past trip. We ended up getting the dining plan, and splitting up the other credits that were left over. We also used the TIW card too for drinks and sides...

I'd say...Let your husband decide....especially if he was looking forward to the dining plan. I've learned that sometimes the meal "makes part of the vacation what it is"...despite the cost.
Sorry i can't be more definitive, but hope this helps a little

 

[meriface11]

i was possibly going to be in the same situation for our sept trip and MS told me that i would be able to split the stay so that we could have the dining plan for all of the guest on our reservation for both portions...without having to change rooms. i didn't ask whether this would impact DME use since we are taking a car service.

 

[Disneyhappy]

Since you know she is coming up front, you will need to add her to the DDP for the whole trip. That said, on one trip, my niece from Tampa unexpectedly joined us for the last two nights of our one week trip.(She had been invited but was not able to get off of work until she surprised us at the last minute.) The front desk was very nice and said it would be no problem to get her added to the room for a key and we could pay for her food OOP, even though we were on the DDP. This was after they changed the DDP to make it clear that the number of meals could not exceed the number of guests at any one sitting so there was no concern that we would try to cheat the system. If we had known she could make the trip, we would not have purchased the DDP as I would not have wanted to pay for ful week of credits when she was only going to joinus for 2-3 nights. With the current struture of the DDP, I would skip it and pay out of pocket. I just can't seem to come out ahead, especially now that the tip is not included.

 

[allshookup]

I agree with the concensus here & I wouldn't bother doing the DDP. Especially where you'll be staying at the THVs, I would think you would want some down time & maybe just have breakfast in the room & some sandwiches for lunch if you're hanging around the villa. I think you would save quite a bit by just having one TS meal per day. If you have the TIW card, it's a no brainer. You will save a LOT more with a 20% discount.

 

[Deb & Bill]

i was possibly going to be in the same situation for our sept trip and MS told me that i would be able to split the stay so that we could have the dining plan for all of the guest on our reservation for both portions...without having to change rooms. i didn't ask whether this would impact DME use since we are taking a car service.

You can't link these two reservations. If they can't be linked, there is no guarantee that you will stay in the same room.

 

[Disneymom2266]

What is the TIW card?

 

[Deb & Bill]

What is the TIW card?

Tables in Wonderland. Used to be called the Disney Dining Experience. Available to FL residents and Annual Passholders for a fee. Used to be $65 for AP holders, now might be $75. You get a 20% discount on most TS restaurants and a few counter service places. There are some blackout times.

 

[PEANUT1]

thanks everyone for your great responses!! I appreciate no flames

We are going for 6 nights and my mil is coming for 3 so we would pay for 3 nights she will not be there for. I guess that would be 120$ so my thinking is that we will just do the dining plan and use her extra credits. I will have to speak to my sil and see what she thinks since we are splitting the cost of moms food and tickets.