GASP! On check in I was advised by a CM to...

[andriade]

I hate buzzing in on this issue because I see both sides but I may feel less guilty since my soon to be 11 year old niece is now charged "adult" prices on everything! I consider myself honest to a fault but am debating how I will use my DP on our trip in Dec. I figure if Disney hasn't changed the manner in which the plan may be used by then, then they must not have a problem with it.

I might feel less guilty when I think of my niece at the Hoop-Dee-Doo paying an adult price to eat like a 11 year old kid.

Still not sure what I will do!

 

[FoodLover]

The problem is that there is no absolute black and white clear cut answer to this. The large amount of evidence points to this being allowed but there is the occasional evidence that points to the contrary. Most of us feel that there is not such thing as a uniform CM response and as such you have to weigh all responses on most issues that are not explicitly defined.... I think outside of specific published example by Disney of using the plan in this manner the only real test is going to be the passage of time. Sammie is correct that making these type of changes do take time and can't be done on an impulse overnight. But as more and more time passes and nothing has changed except for the plan becoming even more generous, i.e. the snack changes, it starts to become evident that Disney doesn't plan to change the plan and this is an allowable use of the plan.

It is true that some Disney CMs claim there are "child" and "adult" credits. I don't know whether they are making assumptions, making things up, just poorly informed or this is actually some sort of "official" response they are supposed to use. The fact remains that it's NOT TRUE.

It's been tested over and over and over again. There is no difference between the credits. People have been taking advantage of this "loophole" for at least 5 years, to my certain knowledge. Before Disney introduced the Magic Your Way Plus Dining package, there were other Disney vacation packages that gave guests "wishes" that worked exactly the same way as the current "credits". There was no difference between adult and child "wishes" and people could use them as they chose. If Disney wanted to stop this, it could have done so years ago.

Clearly the Dining Plan is profitable. I suspect a huge number of credits go unused. I also suspect a lot of people end up using table-service credits for counter-service meals (or not realizing they can do so, and just wasting the excess table-service credits).

More importantly, the Dining Plan insures that guests will spend ALL of their dining budget at Disney (not off-site) and spend it IN ADVANCE (because you have to pay for the package at least 45 days before you check in.)

By the way, Disney's profits are up 12% in the last quarter, mainly due to the theme park division.

Mary
MouseSavers.com

 

[frndofpooh]

I've read a lot of messages that relayed how CMs, themselves, suggested folks exploit Disney programs and offers beyond reasonable boundaries. I've sent a note to WDW Guest Communications to get the official word from the source. I'll post their reply.

Bicker, have you received a reply yet? I think that a lot of us would like to get Disney's official interpretation, if you would be kind enough to share the reply. Thanks in advance.

 

[HayGan]

Back in Jan/Feb '05 there was no brochure & we based our usage on what we were told by WTC CM & rest. waitstaff...adults use adult credits & children use children credits -no pooling allowed, children must order from childrens menu - PERIOD!

While you may not have received a copy of the plan, there was in fact a brochure in Feb 2005 that described the plan and pooling of credits. The brochure stated

Note: Upon check-in, all meals from the package are combined into one central account for maximum flexibility. Any guest in the party may use the meals from this central account at any time during their package stay until all the meals are depleted.

(BTW, I do still have this pdf file if anyone is interested in seeing it.)

I strongly disagree with those who contend that Disney didn't intend it to be used this way as the original wording completely contradicts that argument. While the more recent brochures do not include this, the fundamental plan has become less restrictive versus more restrictive. Just as they have changed the wording, they could have by this point distinguished between credits, if in fact that is what they wanted to do.

Everyone is entitled to their own opinions but I will continue to use the plan in which Disney permits.

 

[melomouse]

Among many other good points, Pedler...

....
The unfortunate thing about this whole debate is that there are people who clearly abuse the plan by making up children / extra guests to get extra TS credits. /QUOTE]

Yah - I eat MORE than enough for myself, let alone my "phantom" children!
And I'm not carrying around a bag of white bread for my kid so we can HDD on our last night. These are the extremes.In general, I think it's doing what you believe Disney is saying and how you interpret what's fair. If a deal seems TOO good to be true, it usually is.OTOH - there's plenty of flexibility in the DDP.

Jumping in again to say that if you are spending more than a few hours/weeks/months finagling and over-maximizing the DDP, it's likely there's more going on than just getting the most out of your pooled credits.If it were ME doing this, I would say that I either:


A) have let my anxiety disorder take over

OR

B) I am consumed by total greed

 

[Amyg]

Some of you have insanely good morals. I would use the credits for adult meals. And I wouldn't think twice about doing it. Guess I'm going to hell in a handbag!

Yep, I'm with you too!

 

[vermonter]

I just read that Disney's stock was up. I Don't think anyone is hurting Disney using the Dining Plan to their advantage.

 

[Disney Debbie]

I think it's very CLEAR that Disney doesn't give a hoot about how people use these pooled credits. The fact that the GIVE IT AWAY FOR FREE during certain periods shows that IMO. It is a marketing tool used to fill rooms and get you to stay completely on WDW property the entire time. They got me and my family to come in Sept. with the free dining - we would not have gone w/o it - so they've made more then they would have w/o it.

And it's fine to agree or disagree on this - but I'm really sick of making this a moral vs. immoral choice.

I don't even have a child that would qualify - but if my niece went w/me I wouldn't hesitate to use the credits for the adults if it worked out better for us.

 

[RachelEllen]

I didn't want to bring this up in the threads specifically about 2 year olds getting toddlers, because no one was asking right vs wrong....but since this thread seems to be devoted to that aspect of the dining plan....

Why are so many people upset about credit pooling, but no one seems to be complaining about people asking how to buy the dining plan for their two year old? There are several threads about the best way to buy park tickets so that you can get your two year old on the plan. Is that really so far removed from creating a phantom child to get more credits? If you wouldn't go that far, is it really different than buying your small 'adult-aged' child a child's park pass? In both cases you are misrepresenting your child's age to save money.

I'm just curious why this seems to be ok with people while most of the former aren't. And especially when the using of pooled credits for additional adult meals, which doesn't even involve lying or breaking an explicit rule, is so hotly debated.

 

[Goobergal99]

I must say that paying for DD out of pocket is starting to become very appealing. "Hey Satan! Here I come"

 

[Plutofan1]

So if I wanted to pay for the kids for a dinner at Cinderella's Royal Table, when I make the Priority Seating would I tell them to charge the credit card for the children and not for the adults? Can you do this with CRT?

 

[Pedler]

So if I wanted to pay for the kids for a dinner at Cinderella's Royal Table, when I make the Priority Seating would I tell them to charge the credit card for the children and not for the adults? Can you do this with CRT?

You would tell them when you get the CRT. When you make the ADR tell them you are on the dinning plan. Though, as LewisC has pointed out they may require everyone to use the dinning plan to pay for the meal. I doubt they would and I would request verification from a manager if that happened but it could.

We paid OOP for the kids last year at CRT before it became what it is now. It was great because the kids meals were only $4.95 for dinner.

 

[Goobergal99]

You would tell them when you get the CRT. When you make the ADR tell them you are on the dinning plan. Though, as LewisC has pointed out they may require everyone to use the dinning plan to pay for the meal. I doubt they would and I would request verification from a manager if that happened but it could.

We paid OOP for the kids last year at CRT before it became what it is now. It was great because the kids meals were only $4.95 for dinner.

See here in lie's the issue for me, It just seems like to much work to utilize this particular loophole. It really isn't worth the effort for us, maybe if I had 2 kids but being as though I only have one child and I am not in the buisness of making up kids, I think we will just stick to the normal plan.

 

[Pedler]

See here in lie's the issue for me, It just seems like to much work to utilize this particular loophole. It really isn't worth the effort for us, maybe if I had 2 kids but being as though I only have one child and I am not in the buisness of making up kids, I think we will just stick to the normal plan.

It really isn't that much work or effort. You just tell the server that you want to pay for some meals OOP. No heavy lifting involved.

I agree that with less kids it becomes less of a savings. It also depends on how many TS meals you are going to use. We had one more TS meal planned than nights we were staying so we were going to pay OOP for something. It just made sense to choose to pay OOP for the least expensive meals as we went along rather than one entire meal. In our case it was the 2 kids meals at CRT and Alfredo's. The total OOP was less than $30 and we then had 4 extra TS credits. We could have just payed OOP for an entire meal but that would have been somewhere in the $90 range. It didn't take any serious planning or math to figure out that we were 4 TS credits short of what we were planning to do and just pay OOP as we went along for the TS meals that were lowest cost. We used the menus at AllEarsNet.com to help plan where we wanted to go so we knew what places cost more and what cost less.

 

[Goobergal99]

It really isn't that much work or effort. You just tell the server that you want to pay for some meals OOP. No heavy lifting involved.

I agree that with less kids it becomes less of a savings. It also depends on how many TS meals you are going to use. We had one more TS meal planned than nights we were staying so we were going to pay OOP for something. It just made sense to choose to pay OOP for the least expensive meals as we went along rather than one entire meal. In our case it was the 2 kids meals at CRT and Alfredo's. The total OOP was less than $30 and we then had 4 extra TS credits. We could have just payed OOP for an entire meal but that would have been somewhere in the $90 range. It didn't take any serious planning or math to figure out that we were 4 TS credits short of what we were planning to do and just pay OOP as we went along for the TS meals that were lowest cost. We used the menus at AllEarsNet.com to help plan where we wanted to go so we knew what places cost more and what cost less.

Se this makes sense, having two kids and two adults but for us it really doesn't.

This reminded me of something though, last year we ate at Ohana and my DD did not touch the food, so the server told us he wasn't deducting a table service credit for her because she barely ate. He then told us that ANY of us could use it later in the trip for a meal if needed. Or possibly to pay for a special two service meal for one adult and then just pay the other two out of pocket. So yes, Disney is aware of the loophole and I personally don't see anything immoral about it, especially since both times I am using the plan it is FREE. So how can you steal something that they clearly can afford to give away for nothing

 

[disney1990]

It may be bizarre but it is true.

Along the lines of bizarre we are going to Busch Gardens Williamsburg this year and they consider 3 and up adults as far as ticket pricing goes. It makes the Disney cut off age look generous.

I think you need to check that again. I checked and for a single day ticket there is an adult price and a child's price. Although the child age is younger that Disney's -- age 3-6.

Busch Gardens Williamsburg Single Day Ticket
One-day admission to Busch Gardens Williamsburg during the 2006 Operating Season. Visit our web site for a complete operating schedule.

Adult $51.95
Child (Ages 3-6) $44.95

 

[Pedler]

I think you need to check that again. I checked and for a single day ticket there is an adult price and a child's price. Although the child age is younger that Disney's -- age 3-6.

Busch Gardens Williamsburg Single Day Ticket
One-day admission to Busch Gardens Williamsburg during the 2006 Operating Season. Visit our web site for a complete operating schedule.

Adult $51.95
Child (Ages 3-6) $44.95

You are correct, the single day ticket does have a childrens rate. I was looking at the 7 day ticket for Busch Gardens and Water Country USA. That is a 3 and up ticket. It still it a good deal. 7 days admission to both for $79.95.

 

[MissMagnolia]

let it go! If you choose to follow the plan in the strictest sense, fine. If you choose to pay OOP for children and use TS for adults, fine. Why do you care how others use the plan? If a CM tells you to pool child and adult TSs to get a better use of the plan - AS THE PROGRAM CURRENTLY WORKS - why on earth would you try and get them in trouble? CLEARLY it is the way you can use the plan.

 

[PrincessJen09]

I have a question. If kid's meals are allowed to be used for adult meals, then can an adult purchase the child's plan if they eat less?

 

[PrincessJen09]

I guess my major problem with all of this has to do with the question that I posted above. What about the families who have "adult" children that do not eat that much? They cannot save money while others can. That doesn't seem far. If it can go one way, then it should go the other way. It is already bad enough that the cut off is at 9, but they should allow you to buy a smaller adult meal plan for less money. Otherwise, I think that it is cheating and unfair to those of us that follow the rules and spend the money.