Turning off the ability to charge to our room, & a couple other questions..

[bcbmommy]

I'm planning a trip for mid-May & will be paying for 3 rooms. Will my adult children be able to add their own credit card for incidentals so my card won't be charged for everything?

Also, thinking about dining options.... I'm considering either purchasing a dining plan for all of us or just giving my kids & their spouses a set amount for food. Is there any way to just load a certain amount onto their reservation, instead of giving them cash?

This last question is about Lightning Lane. My head is about to explode trying to figure it out. The last time we went was almost 6 years ago when they were still doing Fast Pass. With the amount of money we're spending on this vacation, it kills me to think of paying extra to ride rides. Do you think with early entry and the 2 evenings that we get extra evening hours that we'll be able to ride everything? Or is it necessary to get LL?

Okay, that wasn't actually the last question. I need to get our hotel rooms booked before they're not available. If I book our rooms today, and we need to make changes (either to another resort or whatever), is that easy to do? Will I be charged a penalty?

Thank you!!

 

[Paulaparm]

I am not positive, but I think if you go to the front desk you might be able to get separate cards attached to different rooms for charging.
I don’t think you can add an amount of money to a room to spend (but again, unsure). But what about gift cards? You can purchase them in advance and give them to your kids to be used for food.
It killed me to hand over more money for LL too, but I did it a few days. It worked out for us and I pretended it was worth it . That is just something you have to decide on your own.
I think it’s pretty easy to make changes to your room reservation, depending on what they are. We have done upgrades in the past and it was very easy. Make sure you know what the cancellation/change policy is when you book.

 

[NYCgrrl]

Okay, that wasn't actually the last question. I need to get our hotel rooms booked before they're not available. If I book our rooms today, and we need to make changes (either to another resort or whatever), is that easy to do?

Yes it is. If there are any penalties you’ll be informed before u book

 

[bcbmommy]

I am not positive, but I think if you go to the front desk you might be able to get separate cards attached to different rooms for charging.
I don’t think you can add an amount of money to a room to spend (but again, unsure). But what about gift cards? You can purchase them in advance and give them to your kids to be used for food.
It killed me to hand over more money for LL too, but I did it a few days. It worked out for us and I pretended it was worth it . That is just something you have to decide on your own.
I think it’s pretty easy to make changes to your room reservation, depending on what they are. We have done upgrades in the past and it was very easy. Make sure you know what the cancellation/change policy is when you book.

Oh yes, a gift card is a good idea! Thank you!
Okay, maybe I'll break down and purchase a couple LL too. We'll see!

 

[focusondisney]

I'm planning a trip for mid-May & will be paying for 3 rooms. Will my adult children be able to add their own credit card for incidentals so my card won't be charged for everything?

Also, thinking about dining options.... I'm considering either purchasing a dining plan for all of us or just giving my kids & their spouses a set amount for food. Is there any way to just load a certain amount onto their reservation, instead of giving them cash?

This last question is about Lightning Lane. My head is about to explode trying to figure it out. The last time we went was almost 6 years ago when they were still doing Fast Pass. With the amount of money we're spending on this vacation, it kills me to think of paying extra to ride rides. Do you think with early entry and the 2 evenings that we get extra evening hours that we'll be able to ride everything? Or is it necessary to get LL?

Okay, that wasn't actually the last question. I need to get our hotel rooms booked before they're not available. If I book our rooms today, and we need to make changes (either to another resort or whatever), is that easy to do? Will I be charged a penalty?

Thank you!!

No, you can’t add any money to their reservations. Yes they can link individual credit cards to each room. If not ahead of time, you can do it at check in. You could also give each room a gift card with whatever amount you choose if you want to provide some money for meals.

Everyone’s thoughts on LL are different. You can get top attractions done in the morning. But, you need to be at the park at least 30 minutes before the early entry starts to get the biggest rides done. Will your family get up & out that early? The evening hours won’t be empty but you can get several attractions done. No one needs to pay for LL & many people don’t. It’s really a personal preference on how much you want to spend vs how much you want to avoid lines.

If you’re booking a room only, not a package, you can cancel or make changes up to 8 days before your stay without penalty. However, even with in 8 days, any change fee is usually waived, especially if you are moving to an equal or more expensive resort/ date.
If you’re booking 3 rooms under 1 reservation, you’ll have to call. You can book them separately online of course. But you’ll need to call to get them linked together if you want to be close together or in the same building etc. And if you want to change them all once they’re linked, you probably need to call for that.

 

[gottalovepluto]

You cannot load money to their hotel accounts. You can pay off $X by visiting the front desk before check-out day and saying charge $X for room X on my credit card (the kid that has the room may need to be with you for that?). It doesn't make it the card on file.

 

[Kooks and Bay Bay]

Do you all have your own My Disney Experience accounts?
That will make this easier.

-they should be able to change which card is on file for incidentals via online check in.
If its going to all be under your credit card then all they have to do is go to the front desk and ask that their card is on file for their room for purchases.

-no you can't "pre load" money onto their reservation.
I would give them cash and they can then pay however they want either with the cash or on their credit card.

-whether lightning lane is necessary or worth it is very individual.
I recommend you talk it over as a group and decide. Maybe some people buy it and others don't.
Or only buy it for a couple of the park days etc.

-if you book online its very easy to modify your reservation to a different resort or different dates and there's only a change penalty if you are changing it within a certain amount of time prior to the trip and even then its only if what you switch it to end up costing less than what is currently booked.
If you book via phone it may require you to actually call to change the reservation vs modifying online.

 

[Kooks and Bay Bay]

Oh yes, a gift card is a good idea! Thank you!

Keep in mind if you give gift cards then they either need to physically pay with the gift card or they can charge the price to the room reservation but then they would need to go to the front desk before the credit card is actually changed in order to pay with the gift card.
To me I think you have to make it clear to them that they should be paying with the gift card at the time of purchase.
Otherwise I'd just give them cash and tell them they can decide whether to pay with the cash or charge it to their room reservation but the money you give them is the money they get.
Personally I would not trust anyone to have a gift card but charge to their room reservation and then remember to go to the front desk to pay it off with the gift card before the credit card is charged.

 

[bcbmommy]

No, you can’t add any money to their reservations. Yes they can link individual credit cards to each room. If not ahead of time, you can do it at check in. You could also give each room a gift card with whatever amount you choose if you want to provide some money for meals.

Everyone’s thoughts on LL are different. You can get top attractions done in the morning. But, you need to be at the park at least 30 minutes before the early entry starts to get the biggest rides done. Will your family get up & out that early? The evening hours won’t be empty but you can get several attractions done. No one needs to pay for LL & many people don’t. It’s really a personal preference on how much you want to spend vs how much you want to avoid lines.

If you’re booking a room only, not a package, you can cancel or make changes up to 8 days before your stay without penalty. However, even with in 8 days, any change fee is usually waived, especially if you are moving to an equal or more expensive resort/ date.
If you’re booking 3 rooms under 1 reservation, you’ll have to call. You can book them separately online of course. But you’ll need to call to get them linked together if you want to be close together or in the same building etc. And if you want to change them all once they’re linked, you probably need to call for that.

Thank you! So if I book them online separately & then call to have them linked, will I need to call in the future if there are changes? I'm probably making this harder than it has to be, lol.

 

[bcbmommy]

Do you all have your own My Disney Experience accounts?
That will make this easier.

-they should be able to change which card is on file for incidentals via online check in.
If its going to all be under your credit card then all they have to do is go to the front desk and ask that their card is on file for their room for purchases.

-no you can't "pre load" money onto their reservation.
I would give them cash and they can then pay however they want either with the cash or on their credit card.

-whether lightning lane is necessary or worth it is very individual.
I recommend you talk it over as a group and decide. Maybe some people buy it and others don't.
Or only buy it for a couple of the park days etc.

-if you book online its very easy to modify your reservation to a different resort or different dates and there's only a change penalty if you are changing it within a certain amount of time prior to the trip and even then its only if what you switch it to end up costing less than what is currently booked.
If you book via phone it may require you to actually call to change the reservation vs modifying online.

Thank you! I really appreciate all the advice! I think a couple of my kids have their own MDE accounts, but I need to make sure they all do!

 

[focusondisney]

Thank you! So if I book them online separately & then call to have them linked, will I need to call in the future if there are changes? I'm probably making this harder than it has to be, lol.

If you book them online yourself, each reservation will be separate & have its own reservation number. I think you could still change them your self online. The only problem will be making sure 3 rooms are available for the same resort, room category & dates before you change the first room. The website shows you rooms available, but not how many in each category. So you could change 2 & find there isn’t a 3rd room available. I think if you call to make changes, the CM can tell you if all 3 are available.

 

[kwdw]

I'm planning a trip for mid-May & will be paying for 3 rooms. Will my adult children be able to add their own credit card for incidentals so my card won't be charged for everything?

Also, thinking about dining options.... I'm considering either purchasing a dining plan for all of us or just giving my kids & their spouses a set amount for food. Is there any way to just load a certain amount onto their reservation, instead of giving them cash?

This last question is about Lightning Lane. My head is about to explode trying to figure it out. The last time we went was almost 6 years ago when they were still doing Fast Pass. With the amount of money we're spending on this vacation, it kills me to think of paying extra to ride rides. Do you think with early entry and the 2 evenings that we get extra evening hours that we'll be able to ride everything? Or is it necessary to get LL?

Okay, that wasn't actually the last question. I need to get our hotel rooms booked before they're not available. If I book our rooms today, and we need to make changes (either to another resort or whatever), is that easy to do? Will I be charged a penalty?

Thank you!!

Yes, they will be able to add a card to their at check in. If they don’t, magic band charges would end up on your card.

I recommend against the dining plan, but I’d give them a gift card to help offset expenses if you want.

IF your family really intends to use early entry and you have at least four park days, you can live without LL’s, especially if you have two nights of extra hours, too. Watch a video to learn the system and make sure your kids and you are all each others friends in MDE. Your crowd sounds a bit large, so I think you need to chat about if LL’s make sense. If it brings you all together, great. If it means you fight over touring plans, bad. Last time I traveled with family, we did this all very spur of the moment.

With three rooms, while you can do some research online, I would call to actually make a change to ensure there is really space for you to stay at the same resort. As long as there is availability, it’s easy, you just pay the any rate increase that it might mean.