Why can't 1 out of 2 families do the dining plan, HELP!!

[chartle]

OR you don't put them on the reservation at all until they get there. There is a possibility that they will not be able to stay with you in your room if you do that though. I haven't seen it reported lately, but at one point, they weren't allowing "day guests" in a room that already had dining.

But assuming if still allowed to stay they wouldn't get dining?

 

[sharonabe]

But assuming if still allowed to stay they wouldn't get dining?

True. You cannot add dining upon check-in. This would only work if the later arriving guests didn't want dining at all.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

We are 2 families under one resort reservation. I am arriving on Thursday leaving Wednesday, my friends are coming Friday to Sunday, staying in my room. I want to to do the dining plan, but unfortunately my friends can't, unless they pay for all the extra days they are not there.

Is there any way around this? I just find it ridiculous that 2 separate families, especially 2 that don't even arrive at the same dates, can't do the dining plan on the days they are actually there. Am I missing something?

As PP noted, there is only one way around this and that is to not list them on the reservation until you physically check in to the resort. Once you check-in, you can add them, pay any additional adult fees for the nights they are there (if applicable) and then set up Magical Express for their arrival and departure date. The front desk can also give them gray MBs if they'd like them (or other colors if available). As PP noted, there were sporadic reports of people not being able to add day guests to rooms that had dining packages, but that has not been reported in a while. It sounds like you all purchased separate tickets so, as long as you are linked as Friends and Family in MDE, you will still be able to make the other family's FP+ at 60 days even if they aren't currently on the reservation.

What do you mean? Like pretend I'm getting the dining plan buy putting the cost per day on a card? That doesn't apply to us because we would be getting the dining plan to cut down my costs. I can pay out of pocket, everyone can do that. What I'm using the plan for, is to save- it works for us because we still go to Character Meals, which as we all know, are well worth the 1 credit (or even 2), compared to paying cash. If I didn't do Character Meals, the dining plan would be useless, as we eat and spend less per day on regular food.

I hear you on the way Disney sees the reservation, but my late-arriving guests aren't buying park tickets either or spending on anything else, because they aren't physically there, and the room cost is the same whether there are 2 or 4 people in the room. So that way of thinking shouldn't apply. Should they also have to buy park tickets for the length of my reservation as well? Should they only be able to use the Magical Express on the arrival and departure date of my hotel reservation?

I am penalized for someone else who isn't even there. And to be honest, they are as well, because my late arrivals can't get the plan either. There's no reason for this.

Frustrating.

Yes, if you had added tickets to your room reservation, everyone listed on the reservation would have had to have the same length-of-ticket. It's all or nothing with packages and everyone listed on a reservation must have the same components if added on.