Chatting with a CM about sharing DDP

[wdwobsessed]

WHY would she be kidding??????

In all honesty when I told my husband about the new "non sharing" gossip going on he said

"You've got to be kidding!"

So who is kidding who here? LOL!!

I think if they change over to making people use a TS credit and not share then you will see more of this. I would not be beyond getting a nice sandwich packed up to go for later and maybe eating my app & dessert.

WDWO

 

[JimMIA]

Why not? I can order to-go at Chili's, Benigan's or Ruby Tuesday... why not a restaurant in Disney World?

No offense, but the TS restaurants at Disney are not Chili's.

 

[nacho1337]

An email

me

We are going to be on the dining plan. We are going to a signature dining. I was wondering if we
could share, meaning using 1 Adult credit for 2 Adult people, at another restaurant

please let me know

stephen

reply

Our Food & Beverage department advises that guests may share an entree at most of our dining
locations. The exceptions to this would be buffets, plated meals and Dinner Shows. Please
understand that the cost of entertainment is included in the price of Character Meals and Dinner
Shows. Please check with your server before ordering.

If you have questions or need further assistance, feel free to contact us. Please include your full
name, E-Mail address, and reservation number if applicable on all correspondence.

Thank you!

so who knows

 

[disney2d2]

No offense, but the TS restaurants at Disney are not Chili's.

Thanks for making that clear.

But they are both "table-service restaurants".

 

[cgbsilver@hotmail.co]

No sharing on the plan makes no sense to me. Consider the following example.

You are on the dinningplan and on your room key it says 2A. Let's say you find a friend that is not on the dinning plan. You go to a TS. Sit down with him. Just two people(the other person in your party is off somewhere else). So you order your drink, your appetizer, dessert and an entree. Your friend who is not on the dinning plan just orders a drink and you share your meal with him. Now the waiter comes and says you have to get two TS credit substracted because you shared. Then which rule applies here: 1) The no sharing rule. or 2) The non transfarable rule. The waiter would be using one TS for someone not on the plan if he applies the no sharing rule, but on the other hand if he applies the Non Transfarable rule, he would have to allow sharing>

 

[cgbsilver@hotmail.co]

No offense, but the TS restaurants at Disney are not Chili's.

Some of them are below Chili's quality (Beaches and Cream, Sci Fi) and some are above (Le Cellier, Ohanas)

 

[Wazzo]

I personally have never had a problem sharing meals NOT on the DDP, and I don't see why it should really be a problem ON the DDP. That said, after reading about the "abuse to the system", I do see how Disney could bring in a no sharing policy... I plan to share, but I would understand if we can't, so my back up is to have one person use a DDP credit (1 TS or 2 TS at Sig.) and order a separate entree for the second person and pay OOP. I don't see how they can refuse to let the second person pay for a entree rather than using DDP credits.


PS - Has anyone come back yet with Free Dining reports about how they could NOT share??

 

[susan4875]

Personally, I think it's a question of logistics. If DH and I share a meal at a TS meal, that frees us an extra TS credit for another meal. SO while DIsney planned for us to have one ADR, we now have two. If everyone does that, then it becomes a nightmare for anyone to be served in the World. Shortage of TS ADRs leads to crowded CS which leads to unhappy guests.

In practice, they may not take a hardline, but I'm sure they'll try and discourage it as much as possible when people ask.

I know a lot of people have a problem wasting food. Especially when it's free dining, why not just limit your ordering to reflect your eating habits?

 

[traviesojmt]

At this point, I would just prefer that Disney just assign the credits to each individual person and not continue to pool them together. We have no intention of cheating Disney. We actually have 14 TS meals planned with only 10 credits available. We are perfectly happy to pay OOP for the extra meals. Due to the fact that the majority of our meals are buffet or family style meals, sharing will not often even be an issue. But, if we are at Rose and Crown with my DD3 (who tends to eat a big breakfast, medium lunch and little to no dinner) why is it wrong to just let her eat off my plate? It seems unnecessary to order food that she will not eat. Since we have extra TS meals planned, why can't I just use her child credit on one of those? I completely agree that it would be wrong to save her credits so that I can use them for an adult later. If the credits were individualized, then sharing would not really be an issue in my opinion. The "saved" credit could then only be used for another child meal.
Now, if they refuse to let us share, it really won't be a huge deal for us. I guess we will order a meal that will barely be touched. Seems like a waste to me, but if that is the rules that must be followed, so be it.

 

[dreamalittledream]

Wouldn't sharing actually increase the overall income for the location? It could possibly increase the amount of "adult beverages" which are not on the plan and an additional entree. This done at 2 different meals would bring more money in than the DDP only used one time. Increasing the revenue from the extra entrees and drinks that were ordered. Markup on the beverages (adult or not) is where alot of the profit is in the business.

Not that I really care b/c I am NOT sharing with DH, he isn't fair when we share! so unless he gives me all the desert, I'll get my own thank you!

 

[Rowlf]

What the "CM" said contradicts what the brochure says. The brochure says that the credits of each type for your party are pooled. It also says adults can't use children's credits, which possibly contradicts the first page, but whatever.

It can't possibly be per-person. How would they ever know? We are planning on snagging some credits from other people in our party for a signature meal - if that doesn't work, we're screwed!

 

[HaleyB]

Wouldn't sharing actually increase the overall income for the location? It could possibly increase the amount of "adult beverages" which are not on the plan and an additional entree. This done at 2 different meals would bring more money in than the DDP only used one time. Increasing the revenue from the extra entrees and drinks that were ordered. Markup on the beverages (adult or not) is where alot of the profit is in the business.

Not that I really care b/c I am NOT sharing with DH, he isn't fair when we share! so unless he gives me all the desert, I'll get my own thank you!

That is a really good point.

When I first started looking at our ADR's I assumed we would be able to share (as we were last time on the plan) and booked 7 one credit and 2 two credit ADRS (11 total) for a 9 night stay.

Then I did the math. We would order a drink and either an entree or dessert oop at each meal so as to have enough credits to go that far (my DH is not good at spliting meals either)... yikes. We already buy those darn light up cubes every where we go, lol, this was going to drive our food budget way up.

Add to that the fact that we had tons of left over CS credits last year (25%)... so I am planning on useing our 9 TS credits (each) on 8 meals (one signature) and useing all our CS credits this year! It will save me a bundle. Sometimes less really is more No spliting meals needed, and we will spend less money in the end! True we will have fewer TS meals, but I think 8 is really enough of a good thing.

Of course I fall into the 'no intention of trying to squeeze extra value' out of the plan camp. I have looked at the numbers many times and even if half of us skip dessert and drink water we come out way ahead on the plan. Just an entree is often close to $25 with tax and tip (I figure $3 for the snack and $10 for the CS).

Smile people, the DDP is a fantastic deal even with the new limitations (even better when it is free). Focus on the new snack choices and be happy!

 

[DaisyD]

Makes perfect sense to me. I'm surprised it wasn't brought on earlier due to all the wrangling of food credits! LOL!

 

[bertalander]

Yes, that's true. I think what it is is that a lot of people are trying to bend themselves out of shape just to squeeze even more value from the Dining Plan than it has already.

Look...

People often, gasp, split meals to save money when NOT on the dining plan. A table service is a LOT of food. If I feel like allowing my child to eat my salad and split a dessert with me so she can save her credit for CRT I'm a BAD person? No.

GEEEEEEESH!

There, I had my say...

back to my popcorn...

 

[dreamalittledream]

That is a really good point.

When I first started looking at our ADR's I assumed we would be able to share (as we were last time on the plan) and booked 7 one credit and 2 two credit ADRS (11 total) for a 9 night stay.

Then I did the math. We would order a drink and either an entree or dessert oop at each meal so as to have enough credits to go that far (my DH is not good at spliting meals either)... yikes. We already buy those darn light up cubes every where we go, lol, this was going to drive our food budget way up.

Add to that the fact that we had tons of left over CS credits last year (25%)... so I am planning on useing our 9 TS credits (each) on 8 meals (one signature) and useing all our CS credits this year! It will save me a bundle. Sometimes less really is more No spliting meals needed, and we will spend less money in the end! True we will have fewer TS meals, but I think 8 is really enough of a good thing.

Of course I fall into the 'no intention of trying to squeeze extra value' out of the plan camp. I have looked at the numbers many times and even if half of us skip dessert and drink water we come out way ahead on the plan. Just an entree is often close to $25 with tax and tip (I figure $3 for the snack and $10 for the CS).

Smile people, the DDP is a fantastic deal even with the new limitations (even better when it is free). Focus on the new snack choices and be happy!

very nicely said.

I am really thrilled about the DDP, we like to go to TS and character meals so it is a nice savings and having the meals paid for makes it more relaxing. That said, I have a few uneven situations, kids w/ DGP and such so I am glued to these threads with all the possibilities! and I know I should just go with the flow but it is like being a rubber necker on the highway. I gotta see what is going on!

 

[Sammie]

Look...

People often, gasp, split meals to save money when NOT on the dining plan. A table service is a LOT of food. If I feel like allowing my child to eat my salad and split a dessert with me so she can save her credit for CRT I'm a BAD person? No.

GEEEEEEESH!

There, I had my say...

back to my popcorn...

You are right, people do split meals to save money when NOT on the dining plan. And therefore if the requirements set forth by Disney to use the Dining Plan does not fit, they can go back to NOT having the dining plan.

It truly is very simple. Disney gets to make the rules and they also get to change them at anytime they wish as they need to. It is not about being a bad person really it is about them making the guidelines and the customer deciding if they want to participate.

The Dining plan brochure is a guideline and it states subject to change at anytime.

If the plan does not fit someone's eating habits, I would recommend not getting it and simply go back to what they were doing prior to the plan.

 

[Wazzo]

I just read another post from a DISer who just got back, was on the DDP, and had NO problem sharing... even at signature restaurants!!

 

[DizGeek]

At first, I thought this thread was a joke....now I know it is. Why would anyone waste their time with silly hypothetical questions to Disney?

To the original poster....I think you and your 3 guests should go into 4 different restaurants everynight and order one meal. This way, each of you gets to eat wherever they want!

 

[Sammie]

At first, I thought this thread was a joke....now I know it is. Why would anyone waste their time with silly hypothetical questions to Disney?

To the original poster....I think you and your 3 guests should go into 4 different restaurants everynight and order one meal. This way, each of you gets to eat wherever they want!

Thank you, wouldn't you love to have the job of answering the silly hypothetical questions.

 

[LisaDKG]

What I don't get is why people seem to think that "sharing" a TS meal is screwing over Disney. They are not eating 2 meals worth of food and may be adding on alcohol. Then because they have more credits they would go and do the same thing at another restaurant - and don't forget the light up ice cubes or an extra dessert oop when 2 people can't decide on one! And if they are saving up the credits to go to a signature meal it is my understanding that it's not a very cost effective way of using the credits anyway - Disney would be in the black again and who doesn't order wine at a signature??? Am I way off??? Please enlighten me if I have missed some major point??? (whoa that's a lot of punctuation...)