Meal plan - 1 person in party different lenth of stay

[MILWDIANA]

Hi All!!

Not sure if this is a DVC question or dining plan question....

We have a group of 9 staying at a BW Grand Villa in November. The entire group plans on purchasing the meal plan. (our length of stay is 6 nights). Just found out 1 person in our group will only be able to be there 2 nights. I know everyone on the reservation must purchase the meal plan. Can she purchase the meal plan for only 2 nights while the rest of us have it for 6??

[ibelieveindisneymagic]

From the dining side, no, everyone has to be on the same plan. The good news is that any of you can use the "extra" credits from the person who can only stay 2 nights. So, there may be an opportunity for some extra or signature meals.

I don't know if the rules are different from the DVC side, and I know a DVC expert will be along shortly.

[VWL Mom]

DVC also requires everyone to be on the same plan.

[tundramom]

We have been in this situation. We did 2 credit meals on 2 of the nights our guest was with us (he stayed 3 nights out of our 8) and used his remaining credits to balance out our meals for length of stay the first time. He felt this was fair trade since he had free accommodations. The second trip we did not use dining plan since he eats so little (gastric bypass) and was not staying entire length of our trip.

[Patti]

Depending on when the 1 person falls during your stay, can you break your reservation into two separate ones? One reservation would include everyone on the dining plan ; the second would include everyone minus the one person who's staying for 2 nights.

[DizneyRox]

Depending on when the 1 person falls during your stay, can you break your reservation into two separate ones? One reservation would include everyone on the dining plan ; the second would include everyone minus the one person who's staying for 2 nights.

Just remember that the dining credits expire when the reservation does, so if anyone is saving credits for some reason or another, they lose them the night the reservation expires.

I would take the short stay person off the reservation and then add them at the front desk when they arrive. Have them pay OOP for meals; it will probably be cheaper anyway.

[O'MalleytheAlleyCat]

Wow! This is EXACTLY the question I logged in to ask! We are a group of only 4, but 2 of us are staying for 4 nights, 1 for 5 nights and 1 for 2 nights. Since I just discovered that you can use a quick service meal credit for 3 snacks (as long as it's done in one transaction), and we'll be there for Food and Wine where every food item at the booths now counts as a snack, I thought this might be the time for us to try the dining plan. Of course we need to take into account the fact that we already have reservations for lunch at Le Cellier one day, no alcohol will be paid for by the dining plan, and we do have a Tables in Wonderland card which gives a 20% discount at many Disney restaurants. I do think I might need to make a spreadsheet to figure this out!

I'd love to hear any opinions. I've always been intrigued by the dining plan, but we've never thought it was a good option for us.

[VWL Mom]

Since I just discovered that you can use a quick service meal credit for 3 snacks (as long as it's done in one transaction), and we'll be there for Food and Wine where every food item at the booths now counts as a snack, I thought this might be the time for us to try the dining plan.

Keep in mind the QS to snack swap does not apply to the Food and Wine booths.

[O'MalleytheAlleyCat]

Keep in mind the QS to snack swap does not apply to the Food and Wine booths.

Hmmm...the Disney Food Blog reported specifically that you COULD use this option at the F&W booths. Can you tell me where it states you cannot do this? I'd certainly like to clarify, as it would make a huge difference on whether the dining plan would be a good deal for us or not. Thanks!!

[VWL Mom]

Hmmm...the Disney Food Blog reported specifically that you COULD use this option at the F&W booths. Can you tell me where it states you cannot do this? I'd certainly like to clarify, as it would make a huge difference on whether the dining plan would be a good deal for us or not. Thanks!!

Wow, I see that they did update that, nice! The info I was given by Disney was/is outdated. I had called MS during the summer when we were in planning stages.

Current from Disney Q&A:

Q: Does the Disney Dining Plan work for Food & Wine Festival booths? Recent changes to the plan seem to let you purchase a single serving of any item for a Snack credit, and exchange a Quick Serve credit for three Snack credits. From this, I extrapolate that I can purchase three servings from a Festival Booth for one Quick Serve credit. Am I on the right track?
A: The Disney Dining Plan can be used during the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival. You are correct, the recent changes to the Disney Dining Plan do apply to the Food & Wine Festival Global Marketplaces.

I'm thinking of trying the Tasting Sampler next week but am trying to find what's excluded. Hopefully news will come out over the weekend.

[O'MalleytheAlleyCat]

Woo hoo! Thanks so much! Time to formulate a spreadsheet to see if this will be worth it for us.

[VWL Mom]

Even though the Disney site says the F&W booths will make the exchange it is being reported that Belgium for one, will not. Not sure if this is because the fest just started and they're not up to speed yet or if they just don't want to participate.

[O'MalleytheAlleyCat]

Even though the Disney site says the F&W booths will make the exchange it is being reported that Belgium for one, will not. Not sure if this is because the fest just started and they're not up to speed yet or if they just don't want to participate.

Good to know! After much consideration, we have decided it will not be in our best interest to use the dining plan. We like to think of ourselves as "foodies" and tend to try lots of different things in lots of different places. We like appetizers and lots of different snacks and plan to consume lots of different foods from the F&W booths. We will be eating in at least 2 or 3 table service restaurants during this trip and because we're annual pass holders at the moment, do have a TIW card which will give a 20% discount on those. I am going to try to keep track as best I can, just to sit down later and see how the numbers play out.

Now that I've seen the menus with prices and pictures of most of the new foods from this year, I'm getting VERY excited for our November trip!