can I use DD (10) DP?

[G. Fite]

weird question here!

I currently have 2 rooms booked. Me and DD (10) are not on the DP because I don't think we all 5 need to be on the plan and we honestly did not want to pay for DD 10 to eat as an adult. DH and 2 DD (7, 5) are on the plan. We are planning to pay out of pocket for me and DD 10 to eat at the buffets and share the remaining meals/credits. If we do this we should spend around 200.00-300.00 for the 2 of us to eat which saves us 300.00-400.00 on food by not all being on the DP.

So, I just thought what if I add DD 10 to the other reservation and add her to the DP and we share her adult credit? Does this make sense? It would cost $304.00 to add her but then her ticket would be less due to the special deal going on.

I would get to keep the AAA discount on the second room-the room I would have booked. Plus this is a room only reservation and I don't have to have insurance or a package.

any thoughts? Does this sound like cheating? I would pay for an adult and use the credit for an adult. But then pay OOP for her to eat a kids meal at table service restaurants which is what we planned to do from the get go.

Thanks!

 

[Shagley]

Since Disney does not differentiate between adult and child meal credits, all of your meal credits will be lumped together. Why not use the meal credits for you all at the buffet meals and the more expensive meals, and pay out of pocket for the cheaper meals. You could also use your DD's meal credits to pay for your adult meals, and then pay out of pocket for the kids meals (instead of paying for your adult meal out of pocket).

I am not saying whether this is morally or ethically right or wrong, so don't bother flaming me. I am just stating that this is an option.

 

[gigi1313]

i'm sure it is do-able, but it sounds very confusing... also, having used the dining plan on two separate trips, i don't see how you will have enough meals for five if you only have three or four people on the plan... and if you are planning to visit buffets, how you would save money by going w/out the ddp, as you will still have to pay for her as an adult, and one buffet dinner is almost the cost of the entire day's plan... i suggest re-doing the math... we were able to get all of us on the ddp and get the AAA rate for room only on our second room...

but yes, if you add dd to dh's room/plan, that will give you more credits to share...

 

[G. Fite]

I think I may be trying too hard to save a few hundred dollars! I am afraid we will have way too much food if we all 5 do the DP. We never spend that much money on food! We usually eat lots of snacks from home and sandwiches and cereal. I thought it would be fun to splurge a little but then I started trying to figure out how to do the plan without all of us having to spend all that money!

Is it really really worth it? Before we ever thought of the DP we had 2 charatcter reservations and planned to take a microwave and food from home. I will admit DH is quite excited about all the eating because he really loves to eat! LOL!

I thought we would eat a few counter service meals and the 2 character dinner. Now we have 3 character, BOMA and 4 other restaurants booked.

I am afraid we will get to DW and not be able to share any credits or get weird looks from servers and I hate feeling like I am trying to take advantage on the system!

I do enjoy planning this trip but I really wish I could make a decision and stick with it and quit second guessing myself along the way.

For those of you with 3 kids (One 10) has it been worth it?

THANKS!!!

 

[gigi1313]

i've only got two kids (one's 11) and it was TOTALLY worth it!

just as some examples... we ate at chef mickey's and used 4 TS credits, and the bill was over $100 and included tax and tip... our family's cost for the ENTIRE dining plan for that day was $115... so basically we felt as though our CS and snacks for that day were FREE!

the night we ate at LeCellier our bill was closer to (or possibly over?) $200 (they allowed ds 8yo to get an adult appy) and our dining plan cost for the day was $115, so basically they paid US to eat counter service and snacks that day... and that was w/out "maximizing" the plan by ordering the most expensive items... we ordered what we wanted (yummmmm... cheese soup!)

i cannot see how the dining plan would end up costing anyone money *if* they plan to eat all their meals at wdw... if you are off-site diners or bring your own sandwiches, then it's different... but if you were going to pay for the meals, the dining plan is the way to go!

(oh, and not wanting to flame you, but microwaves are not permitted to be used in the rooms... there is, however, a free one available at every food court)

 

[angel's momma]

G. Fite: I only have one child (under 10), so haven't actually done what you are asking about, but what you asked about doing makes sense to me.

Don't worry about sharing, or weird looks. You are not taking advantage of the system - you would be using an adult credit for an adult. All of the controversy comes up when an adult uses a child credit (which I am not saying is right or wrong - I don't want to be mixed up in that argument, and it doesn't apply here).

It is a lot of food. Our family of 3 easily shared a CS for breakfast & one for lunch, and we are not "light eaters". For our next trip, we booked the last night as room only so that we can spread the credits out a little.

Good luck on your decision.

 

[jjohnson]

The problem with doing a package on one room & room-only on the other are your reservations are not linked. You will have a hard time getting connecting rooms as it can not be noted on your reservations.

 

[gigi1313]

The problem with doing a package on one room & room-only on the other are your reservations are not linked. You will have a hard time getting connecting rooms as it can not be noted on your reservations.

i disagree! we have done package in one room and room-only under a separate ressie at least three (if not four) times now and have *always* had our ressies linked and received connecting rooms... even on sold-out MLK weekend

 

[FionaLovesShrek]

I understand what you are saying and there is nothing wrong with what you want to do. You have reserved two rooms, one for your DH and kids with the dining plan and one room only. Basically you are adding your DD to your husband's room with the package. You have to purchase the adult DP because of her age. There is nothing wrong in using her credits for yourself while paying OOP for her. Hope your family has an awesome vacation

 

[jjohnson]

i disagree! we have done package in one room and room-only under a separate ressie at least three (if not four) times now and have *always* had our ressies linked and received connecting rooms... even on sold-out MLK weekend

Then I have been given wrong information

I had posted this question last year on doing a package on 1 room & room-only on the other & was told the reservations couldn't be linked.

Glad to hear it can be done.

 

[spaceacewannabe]

You're definitely not abusing the system, but I have to agree that it does sound confusing!

No kiddos in our party, so I can't address that, but here's how we rationalized the cost of the DP (and I know others have as well): We will certainly pay at least close to the amount of the DP on food we'd buy anyway. If we don't come out at least having "spent" the money we put in to the dining plan (and really, we expect we'll be getting more food for our money this way), there's a lot of value in having it all pre-paid and not having to think about who's ordering what...just order what you want and know it's taken care of.

Does that make sense? Your way looks like it will work fine...it'll just require a little more planning and thought...and of course no one around here likes to plan

 

[G. Fite]

Thanks for the replies! I still can't decide what to do. To add me and DD to the DP package would be an extra $600.00. I need to figure out if it is worth it. I do appreciate all the help I have gotton from this group!

 

[kizmac]

weird question here!

I currently have 2 rooms booked. Me and DD (10) are not on the DP because I don't think we all 5 need to be on the plan and we honestly did not want to pay for DD 10 to eat as an adult. DH and 2 DD (7, 5) are on the plan. We are planning to pay out of pocket for me and DD 10 to eat at the buffets and share the remaining meals/credits. If we do this we should spend around 200.00-300.00 for the 2 of us to eat which saves us 300.00-400.00 on food by not all being on the DP.

So, I just thought what if I add DD 10 to the other reservation and add her to the DP and we share her adult credit? Does this make sense? It would cost $304.00 to add her but then her ticket would be less due to the special deal going on.

I would get to keep the AAA discount on the second room-the room I would have booked. Plus this is a room only reservation and I don't have to have insurance or a package.

any thoughts? Does this sound like cheating? I would pay for an adult and use the credit for an adult. But then pay OOP for her to eat a kids meal at table service restaurants which is what we planned to do from the get go.

Thanks!

I just read your post and I just had a thought on another alternative you may think about. I see you have two rooms for the 5 of you...your kids are pretty young.....what if you got one room with the trundle at POR and did a AAA MYW with dining for all of you? You wouldn't be spending more and it would make it much less confusing than trying to share credits...etc. I don't know where you were planning on staying or when but.....POR AAA rate is a pretty good price. Just be sure to price the package through AAA or you won't get the room discount.

The dining plan is great!

 

[Lewisc]

You have 3A and 2C. You want to pay for 1A and 2C but use the credits for your entire party. Children are required to order off the children's menu. I wouldn't count on being allowed to order more than one adult meal at a time.

I'd put 2A and 2C on the plan, I think that's what you're thinking of doing. That is a more honest way of doing it and it will work better. You can get a AAA room discount and add MYW Dining if you book through a AAA TA. You don't have to use your local AAA office. Check, some offices add extra fees and cancellation terms and others don't.

Disney requires everyone be on the plan and technically you're not allowed to transfer your credits to guests not on the plan.

weird question here!

I currently have 2 rooms booked. Me and DD (10) are not on the DP because I don't think we all 5 need to be on the plan and we honestly did not want to pay for DD 10 to eat as an adult. DH and 2 DD (7, 5) are on the plan. We are planning to pay out of pocket for me and DD 10 to eat at the buffets and share the remaining meals/credits. If we do this we should spend around 200.00-300.00 for the 2 of us to eat which saves us 300.00-400.00 on food by not all being on the DP.

So, I just thought what if I add DD 10 to the other reservation and add her to the DP and we share her adult credit? Does this make sense? It would cost $304.00 to add her but then her ticket would be less due to the special deal going on.

I would get to keep the AAA discount on the second room-the room I would have booked. Plus this is a room only reservation and I don't have to have insurance or a package.

any thoughts? Does this sound like cheating? I would pay for an adult and use the credit for an adult. But then pay OOP for her to eat a kids meal at table service restaurants which is what we planned to do from the get go.

Thanks!

 

[Tinker*Shell*Bell]

It doesn't sound like cheating to me, you are using the credits you paid for to get meals for the people they were intended for. Not buying more meals than you need sounds good to me.

We are sharing our dining plan with my parents who are staying somewhere else. We have more days of plan than we needed so they are joining us for meals, we may add a few entrees out of pocket and share the appies and desserts. I don't feel bad at all. I paid for 28 adult meals and 7 child meals and they will be used that way. No problems in my mind.

 

[jjohnson]

OP - We're you able to link your package with the room-only reservation? I'm considering doing this myself but I want to make sure I can still get guaranteed connecting rooms. Thanks.