Won't give us a dining plan because one family member does not eat

[mrspxyz]

I just booked a vacation in August for our family and that includes our almost 19 year old son with Cerebral Palsy. It will be his birthday while we are down there. As I am making the reservations I inquire about the dining plan. I informed the reservation clerk that my son is fed from a g-tube and eats minimal amount of food for pleasure. I was told all three of us had to purchase the meal plan, not just my husband and I. Since he does eat a minimal amount I inquired if we could purchase a children's plan and that I would bring a current doctor's note to validate his condition. When we go out to eat, I order for him off the children's menu all the time. They said no that it would make too many complications when we got into the park concerning rides and what not. I am being forced to purchase an adult dining plan for him and this is a waste. I asked the girl to call the dining plan people and in fact they told her what she told me. I am very disappointed that Disney does not recognize people that are fed with a g-tube and need modifications in their meal plan. My husband and I are being monetarily penalized because we have a son who has a gtube. Can anyone give me any advice on who I should speak to this at WDW. I can not let this go, not only for our family but for those families in the future that will run into the same problem. TY

 

[livndisney]

I just booked a vacation in August for our family and that includes our almost 19 year old son with Cerebral Palsy. It will be his birthday while we are down there. As I am making the reservations I inquire about the dining plan. I informed the reservation clerk that my son is fed from a g-tube and eats minimal amount of food for pleasure. I was told all three of us had to purchase the meal plan, not just my husband and I. Since he does eat a minimal amount I inquired if we could purchase a children's plan and that I would bring a current doctor's note to validate his condition. When we go out to eat, I order for him off the children's menu all the time. They said no that it would make too many complications when we got into the park concerning rides and what not. I am being forced to purchase an adult dining plan for him and this is a waste. I asked the girl to call the dining plan people and in fact they told her what she told me. I am very disappointed that Disney does not recognize people that are fed with a g-tube and need modifications in their meal plan. My husband and I are being monetarily penalized because we have a son who has a gtube. Can anyone give me any advice on who I should speak to this at WDW. I can not let this go, not only for our family but for those families in the future that will run into the same problem. TY

There isnt anyone to talk to. This is Disney policy. What you can do is buy the plan for him and you can use his credits.

 

[Mary976]

Many other people have posted about this being their experience as well. Sometimes larger families make it work by pooling the credits of the person who will not be eating but it doesn't sound like that would be effective in your case. Sorry to hear this is still an issue.

Mary

 

[ireland_nicole]

Honestly though, there are several options. We've never found the dining plan to work for us, so we choose not to purchase it. Not because of g tube, but because of my kids needs there are many sensitivities and aversions to deal with. The plan is not required, it's just one choice. We choose to use tables in wonderland and order the menu items that suit us.

 

[SueM in MN]

Disney Dining plan is an option that makes sense for some people to purchase and doesn't make sense for other people because they won't eat enough to make the cost worthwhile.

Disney's rule is that everyone in the reservation/group needs to purchase the Dining plan or no one can. As others posted, some people make it work out by having other family members share the dining credits not being used by the person who won't be eating. But, for small groups, that won't work. That's one of the reasons we have never done the dining plan. Our DD, who has CP, does eat, but not huge meals and often off the kids menu.
Between her, me and my DH, we don't eat enough for the dining plan to make sense for us.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

The other possibility is to make the Resort reservation for only two people. When you get there, advise at check-in that you will now have another adult on the reservation. You will have to pay for the third adult in the room, which you would have had to do anyway, and buy his ticket, but he will have his own KTTW and you will not needs to purchase a dining plan for him.

 

[LockShockBarrel]

This may come across harsh but it's true. As Disney sees it, like someone else said, the dining plan is an option, not an obligation. You don't HAVE to use it, therefore they don't HAVE to make any allowances as to its use.

 

[Mom2six]

The other possibility is to make the Resort reservation for only two people. When you get there, advise at check-in that you will now have another adult on the reservation. You will have to pay for the third adult in the room, which you would have had to do anyway, and buy his ticket, but he will have his own KTTW and you will not needs to purchase a dining plan for him.

I didn't know you could do this! That's good information to have.

 

[Mom2six]

I was told all three of us had to purchase the meal plan, not just my husband and I.

We are getting the dining plan even though our 4 year old won't eat anything at the restaurants because we are going during free dining. He has autism, and only eats a few different things, so we will be bringing him food to eat (basically right now all he eats is cheerios, freeze-dried yogurt drops, blueberries, and almond milk). I understand your frustration though!

When we debated whether or not to go with free dining or the military discount, the difference was slight. If it was not free dining, the dining plan wouldn't necessarily be cost effective for us. You may actually save money just paying out of pocket at restaurants and have more flexibility. If you go to a buffet or family style dining, everyone is charged. A few people have mentioned having luck not being charged at a restaurant for someone on a feeding tube but have reported that that person must not eat anything at all. I don't have any personal experience with that though. I think your best bet would be going places where you can order off the menu and paying out of pocket.

From Disney's perspective, I can imagine that they do not want only some of the people in a room on the dining plan for several reasons - 1) people might just split the plan which would not be cost effective for Disney, 2) only the people who eat a lot in the family or order the expensive items would get the plan and the people who eat cheaper food or small amounts wouldn't - again not cost effective. Some people get more than the cost of the dining plan in food (always ordering steak, eatting a lot at buffets etc) and that gets balanced out by those who eat little amounts or like to have a cheeseburger for dinner. 3) if they let some adults buy the children's plan due to disabilities and things, they would have to open up that possibility for many adults. The children's plan is significantly cheaper. Disney is not allowed to require proof of disability per the law, so there is the possibility that it could be taken advantage of by many people. Lots of children eat like birds and everyone would want not have them on the dining plan, but of course their children who eat a lot would be on it. It's all about the dining plan working to the fiscal advantage of Disney.

I understand your feelings about this and it would be nice to have more flexibility in the dining plans. I do hope that someone at Disney is able to make you feel better about the situation and it sure would be nice if Disney would take these types of conditions into consideration.

 

[Kaspar Houser]

The other possibility is to make the Resort reservation for only two people. When you get there, advise at check-in that you will now have another adult on the reservation. You will have to pay for the third adult in the room, which you would have had to do anyway, and buy his ticket, but he will have his own KTTW and you will not needs to purchase a dining plan for him.

Isn't this advise opening the flood gates to abuse the system?
We will now buy the DLX plan for the four of us. My niece is twelve so in Disney she is an adult and has to but the same plan.

As soon as we arrive at the GF we will ad her to the room. At dinner she will order a cheap appetizer and the rest of the meal we will just split with her. Plain and simple thanks to your advise.

 

[deegack]

Isn't this advise opening the flood gates to abuse the system?
We will now buy the DLX plan for the four of us. My niece is twelve so in Disney she is an adult and has to but the same plan.

As soon as we arrive at the GF we will ad her to the room. At dinner she will order a cheap appetizer and the rest of the meal we will just split with her. Plain and simple thanks to your advise.

Maybe and at some point Disney will probably close the loophole. However, not all restaurants will allow sharing of meals especially with someone on the dining plan and a lot of the restaurants are family style or buffet where you all pay one price.

 

[Kaspar Houser]

Maybe and at some point Disney will probably close the loophole. However, not all restaurants will allow sharing of meals especially with someone on the dining plan and a lot of the restaurants are family style or buffet where you all pay one price.

For buffets maybe but most restaurants will not blink if you do this. I think this is a very bad advise and I'm sure many will use this idea.

 

[livndisney]

Isn't this advise opening the flood gates to abuse the system?
We will now buy the DLX plan for the four of us. My niece is twelve so in Disney she is an adult and has to but the same plan.

As soon as we arrive at the GF we will ad her to the room. At dinner she will order a cheap appetizer and the rest of the meal we will just split with her. Plain and simple thanks to your advise.

Actually since sharing with those not on Dining plan is against the rules, this plan sounds like "abuse".

 

[deegack]

For buffets maybe but most restaurants will not blink if you do this. I think this is a very bad advise and I'm sure many will use this idea.

Ok but there are reports on the restaurant boards of people not being permitted to split meals especially when some are on dining plan and some are not. And this is not the first time this idea of adding someone to a reservation last minute has been floated on the boards. If Disney thinks it is a problem or they are losing money because of it they will put an end to it like they did with dvc members being able to have the dining plan for only part of their stay. People abused it, it went away.

 

[crashbb]

The other possibility is to make the Resort reservation for only two people. When you get there, advise at check-in that you will now have another adult on the reservation. You will have to pay for the third adult in the room, which you would have had to do anyway, and buy his ticket, but he will have his own KTTW and you will not needs to purchase a dining plan for him.

Just realize that you cannot do this is you plan on using DME from the airport to WDW, since DME is only for people with WDW reservations and the 'extra' person won't yet have one.

 

[Kaspar Houser]

Ok but there are reports on the restaurant boards of people not being permitted to split meals especially when some are on dining plan and some are not. And this is not the first time this idea of adding someone to a reservation last minute has been floated on the boards. If Disney thinks it is a problem or they are losing money because of it they will put an end to it like they did with dvc members being able to have the dining plan for only part of their stay. People abused it, it went away.

As long as the tip is accordingly to five person on the dining plan the waiters will turn a blind eye.
No worries we will buy the plan for all of us. Stealing or abusing is not on our textbook but I still wonder why a CM gives advise likes this.

 

[lanejudy]

mrspxyz, I understand your frustration as there are enough challenges with a tube-fed family member that you'd prefer to make life simple whenever possible. As others have mentioned, the Dining Plan is optional and therefore you do not have to purchase it. I suggest you crunch some numbers and see how it works out for you. If you want to so some specialty dining, you could use your son's credits as the 2nd credit you and your husband would each need; and depending on the length of your visit you may be able to add a few extra TS and CS meals since the DDP only includes 1 of each per night. Extra snack credits can be used to purchase treats to bring home. Or maybe paying out-of-pocket for meals would be a better option for you; however keep in mind that some restaurants may charge a nominal fee even for a non-eating guest. Our family only uses the Dining Plan if it's free, otherwise we budget money for meals and it ends up better for us than purchasing the DDP.

You mention your trip is in August - dining reservations are strongly recommended and have been open for quite a while now for August trips - if you wish to do a full slate of table service restaurants, I suggest you make your reservations immediately as your first choices may not be availabe.

Restaurants will allow anyone in the party to use the credits, they are all lumped together for the group not each individual person. A guest who is not on the DDP cannot use someone's credits. And as someone pointed out, they may not allow plate-sharing between a DDP guest and a non-DDP guest.

Kaspar Houser, I don't think this is truly "cheating the system" - it's an available option, just not one that Disney "advertises." However, as others pointed out, there may be reasons this wouldn't work. As with pretty much anything regarding planning a trip, you would need to review your options, crunch your numbers, and see what works best for your family's situation. It may work to add the person to the room at the last minute and save some money, but it may not work for various reasons.

 

[Selket]

It seems like Cheshire's advice would work. I took it to mean that the family would pay OOP for their son's meals (which would admittedly be expensive if you are doing buffets perhaps but possible).

I think using the extra credits to do the 2 TS meals at nicer places or for the shows would be fun - and perhaps use some for lunches and the QS for the son's meals and for breakfast. It is nice if the trip is in the summer to have a relaxing meal waiting for you at lunch - in the a/c.

I can see how developing a policy that would allow some guests not to take the dining plan would be problematic. It is a tough issue on both sides.

 

[Kaspar Houser]

Actually since sharing with those not on Dining plan is against the rules, this plan sounds like "abuse".

Why?
How do we know if the sons OP is tube fed? Some people try to avoid paying for everything. So why not use the "good advise" a cm tells you?
Buy a plan for an x amount of guests and than just pay for an salad and just let them eat for free.
Kind of sneaking in kids as underage. Disney has rules and NO cm has to advocate rules to get around this. I always thought it was forbidden to post things like this.

 

[sharadoc]

FYI - if you add him to the reservation less than 3 days before check-in, you can use ME from the airport and it will be too late to add him to the dining plan, so you'll be fine doing it that way.

Good luck and have a great vacation!