Disney On to Possible Cheaters

[bicker]

so, once again, bottom line, it depends!

And that's a real shame, because clearly this guest wasn't intending to do anything for which this rule was intended to curtail, but is still adversely affected by the rule made necessary by actions of previous guests.

 

[kcashner]

We were told that the resort manager on duty can make an exception to the policy, but it was suggested that we have "proof" of separate arrival times "just in case." The suggested document was a copy of the other guest's plane ticket or confirmation.

 

[Demon Llama]

Hey guys - I just called the Disney 1-800 number and regarding free dining and check in, the person said that not everyone has to be there at check in, and that you can in fact still treat someone to a meal using your dining credits. I emailed the Disney website too and they said the same thing. I also checked with Mary from the Mousesavers.com website and she confirmed that nothing has changed.

I'm relieved!

 

[Lewisc]

Disney bases the number of credits we get on the number of nights we book. Guests who fly in early in the morning and leave early evening are missing one day. That's more of an issue for guests who fly down for a long weekend. Signature restaurants and dinner shows require two credits. Again that's more an issue for guests staying for a long weekend. Some guests like to eat 2 or even 3 TS meals a day. A character breakfast and a nice dinner.

Disney wants to keep the plan simple but I wouldn't mind a price to buy extra credits. I would like the option of paying an extra $20-$25 for a signature meal as an alternative to using 2 credits.

I can see having to use more for character/buffet meals, but I keep looking at the dining plan and thinking, "there is NO way we could eat all that food!"

BTW: Is there any character dining that is TS? We just hate buffets as none of us can eat enough to warrant paying the price! (seriously, we usually get 1 adult meal and 1 kids meal at places like Applebees and it is plenty for us!)

Dawn

 

[Brygida]

We could use more credits on the plan. In our situation we have myself, DH, DD who will be 5 when we go, and our two year old twins. Now DH, DD and me are the only ones on the DDP. However, our twins still eat, and they will need their own meals. One of the twins *might* share with me or DH but the other one is definitely a kids meal kind of kid. I'd love to make the twins share meals but unfortunately there are some times that that just would not work, and it's not the kind of thing you want to realize halfway through the meal when you run out of chicken nuggets. So for our family, although we have the meal plan, we will still pay for quite a few meals out of pocket, which to us stinks because one of the reasons we love the DDP so much is the convenience of having everything prepaid.
... I love that we don't have to buy the twins park admission for another year, please don't get me wrong there, but I wish we could buy them the dining plan anyhow.

You can!! I just did this last week. I asked the nice CM on the phone and she made my 2 year old into a 3 year old! All it costs is the price for 1 child ticket ($56) for the dining plan. And more good news.... you can *save* the child ticket (do not use it!) until they actually do turn 3 and you need it! (Until first use, the 14 day expiration does not start counting!)

The way my 2 year old eats I would have bought the dining plan for him if I needed to!

 

[gigi1313]

You can!! I just did this last week. I asked the nice CM on the phone and she made my 2 year old into a 3 year old! All it costs is the price for 1 child ticket ($56) for the dining plan. And more good news.... you can *save* the child ticket (do not use it!) until they actually do turn 3 and you need it! (Until first use, the 14 day expiration does not start counting!)

The way my 2 year old eats I would have bought the dining plan for him if I needed to!

when he turns 9yo will you start paying for him as though he were ten (a wdw adult!) since you pre-dated his birthday?

 

[bicker]

Hey guys - I just called the Disney 1-800 number and regarding free dining and check in, the person said that not everyone has to be there at check in, and that you can in fact still treat someone to a meal using your dining credits. I emailed the Disney website too and they said the same thing. I also checked with Mary from the Mousesavers.com website and she confirmed that nothing has changed.

I'm relieved!

It is very dangerous to rely on this infoomation so heavily. Just because two people said something doesn't mean (1) that it is true for everyone in every case today, and (2) that it won't change. Folks, don't set yourself up for disappointment. There are reports that in some cases folks will have to present their entire party at check-in. It could happen to you. It probably won't, but it could. Be prepared just in case, and don't be disappointed when it does. Similarly, be prepared in case you're not permitted to use dining credits for anyone other than those for whom the credits were purchased. Don't be disappointed if you cannot use them in the most "creative" ways. It could happen to you. It probably won't, but it could.

The email is different -- THAT you can rely on. Make sure it says exactly what you think it says, and BRING IT WITH YOU. Don't rely on everyone agreeing with it, but rather understand that you may need to present it to help people understand why you thought you could do something that perhaps they're not permitting. That way you can expect a bit more consideration with regard to letting you do as you have been led to believe is possible.

 

[ZPT1022]

when he turns 9yo will you start paying for him as though he were ten (a wdw adult!) since you pre-dated his birthday?

that was what we were told, and why we didn't do it. Also for us, since we have twins, to add both of them we wouldn't be able to stay at Pop Century anymore either, so we decided that the price difference for switching to POR was more than just paying OOP for their meals. Plus, I think my DD 5 would have had a heart attack if we took her away from Pop- she LOVES it there! LOL!

 

[Dopey's twin Dippy]

if you have 4 adults in one room, it will cost more than having 1 - 2 . unless they are kids. if you have 4 adults you would have to buy passes to get the free dining , right???? .

 

[4mcbjCtr]

Doesn't everyones ticket in your party have to match? I thought you couldn't buy a 1-day for 1 person and 5 day for someone else.

 

[PureTcrazy]

Doesn't everyones ticket in your party have to match? I thought you couldn't buy a 1-day for 1 person and 5 day for someone else.

Yes, you all have to have the same ticket. We have some of our party with AP's, so we are all getting 1 day tickets. Those that need to will upgrade to AP's the rest of us will save the 1 day ticket to use when it is time to upgrade our pass.

 

[mjmcca]

Doesn't everyones ticket in your party have to match? I thought you couldn't buy a 1-day for 1 person and 5 day for someone else.

Yes but you can increase the number of days on the ticket once you arrive.

 

[ks12066]

Go Disney

 

[bertalander]

Ugh, I understand the WHY of it, but it'll be a big pain for us as well. Oh well... we'll make it work.

 

[SueEllen]

We were told that the resort manager on duty can make an exception to the policy, but it was suggested that we have "proof" of separate arrival times "just in case." The suggested document was a copy of the other guest's plane ticket or confirmation.

This was exactly what I was told as well. It *should* not be an issue, but if a CM suspects that someone is "cheating" the system on the free dining they will ask to see everyone on the package. If you cannot produce everyone then they *can* (being the key word here) modify your package to remove anyone that is not present.

My husband is arriving AFTER we are during the free dining promotion. I wanted to make sure we would not have a problem with this as I was aware of the new stipulation being added to reservations (asking that everyone be present at check in) I was assured we would not have an issue, but to have his separate arrival information handy if possible just in case we were asked about it.

So technically WDW is covering themselves by adding that stipulation to the free dining reservations, so if they are concerned that someone is being dishonest they are within their rights to modify that person's package.

I doubt we will see much of this happening, but it CAN happen at the resort managers discretion.
Sue Ellen

 

[ZPT1022]

My husband is arriving AFTER we are during the free dining promotion. I wanted to make sure we would not have a problem with this as I was aware of the new stipulation being added to reservations (asking that everyone be present at check in) I was assured we would not have an issue, but to have his separate arrival information handy if possible just in case we were asked about it.

This is the position we're in too- we all arrive the same day but the kids and I are already in FL and DH will be flying in from CT. We're hoping that they'll be able to see that he's using ME (This is linked to your reservation, right??) and we will be okay

 

[Delaware Mike]

This is the position we're in too- we all arrive the same day but the kids and I are already in FL and DH will be flying in from CT. We're hoping that they'll be able to see that he's using ME (This is linked to your reservation, right??) and we will be okay

I don't really know any CMs (unofficial) stance on the issue (hey, ask 10 CMs and you'll probably get 10 interpertations of the rules, right?) so I'm simply offering information, hoping it might help...

If DH is flying to MCO on an eTicket, is it possible to obtain a copy of his eReceipt? The eReceipt would show his flight itinerary, including departure/arrival airports, dates and times. Possibly this might serve as evidence you're not trying to defraud the system (and I'm not trying to say that you might be either) and allow you to get all the check-in "stuff" done all at once?

It's just a thought...

 

[Demon Llama]

Yeah, you guys are right - I will be prepared with the rest of my party's information just in case, but I'm DEFINITELY printing out and bringing the email response Disney sent me too. It wouldn't be fair if I was told by my travel agent, by Disney through email AND by their 1-800 number that everything was cool, only to get there and and be told it wasn't. It's a good thing those emails have tracking codes so they can verify that the email is legit.

 

[mickeyfan2]

I think this will only be an issue during the free dining. I can't imagine anyone making up a phantom person and PAYING an extra $38 a day throughout someone's stay.

They would make it a kid and no additional cost (1 day park ticket only) since the dining is free and the kid is free too. I believe they are betting on the pooling of the kids credits to get more TS and treat others not on the plan or do 2 TS meals.

 

[punkin]

I solved the problem of DH flying down later (he said he was swamped at work) by making him drive down with us or threatening not to go at all.