Annual passes, one night stay, dining plan....questions, questions

live4christp1

DIS Veteran
Joined
Jan 18, 2005
Hi all! We have visited WDW many times and done the regular dining plan once.

We have decided to purchase the annual pass for our October trip as we have a May 2019 trip planned also.

Thought I had it all figured out.....we are staying offsite and I could only get our condo for Sunday check in (I wanted Saturday to Saturday). So I started thinking, maybe we will go ahead and book Saturday night in property. Give us a chance to get in early, relax at the pool, have dinner etc (plus adding a day is always good right)?!?!?!

Well, of course that led to thinking of doing the deluxe dining plan for that one night. If I understand it correctly you each get three meals and two snacks on the deluxe. Then we have until midnight the day of check out to use them.

My thoughts are use a credit for a nice dinner at our resort that evening. Use a snack credit for a pastry or something for breakfast. Spend some time hanging at the pool for a bit. Check out. We could do lunch at downtown Disney and then go check into the condo. Then dinner at a resort or in park and catch one of the fireworks/night time shows that day.

My questions are - on the deluxe dining plan - can all three meals be table service?

To do the package I have to add two day base tickets - can I purchase the package and then call and change them to annual passes before my trip or would I have to wait and do that there? Or if I change to annual passes will it drop the package with dining?

Is there any other way to make that work?
 
Last edited:
I don't know much about dining plans, but something to consider is the dining plan's value if you are an AP since you can get an AP discount at many TS restaurants
 
I don't know much about dining plans, but something to consider is the dining plan's value if you are an AP since you can get an AP discount at many TS restaurants
Great reminder! I wasn't even thinking of that. I had ran the numbers and the deluxe plan is roughly $116 per person so the only way I could see it being feasible is if all three were table service and we each ordered and app, specialty drink, dessert and entree at all three meals (or character meals).

Do you know if there is a list breaking down the AP dining discount by location? I thought it varies from 10-20%
 


can all three meals be table service?
You have TS credits that can be all used at TS resaurancts or can be used at QS, which of course is a poor value.


To do the package I have to add two database tickets
Why wouldn't you be able to book a room only and then add on the dining plan -- you should have to book a package to get the dining plan -- anyone can add it, even DVC members.

If you have 2 trips planned and are planning on doing a number of TS meals between the 2 trips then you have the AP discounts - 10% at many restaurants up to the AP holder and 3 guests. If you have a larger party (over 4 people) then another option is to buy the tables in wonderland card that is good for 20% off food and alcohol and it is good up to 10 guests. Price it out it might make more sense than being tied to the dining plan which forces you to use all those credits in those 2 days -- you may not want to have 2-3 TS credits in those 2 days.

I ended up buying it for my upcoming trip -- we will be a party of 7 with only a small amount of alcohol but pretty much a TS meal each day. Which when i priced it out would roughly be over $2000, so the TiW card will save us $400 on this trip and then it will cover us for a November trip.

If having the condo you plan on more meals at the condo and not doing TS meals then the TiW card won't make sense, but even with the 10% discount from your AP - getting the dining plan sometimes doesn't make sense as it usually is not for saving money but is for convenience.

Price it all out and see what makes sense.
 
Just confirming that you can add the dining plan to a room reservation, you just have to call in to do so. Tickets are not required.
 
Hi all! We have visited WDW many times and done the regular dining plan once.

We have decided to purchase the annual pass for our October trip as we have a May 2019 trip planned also.

Thought I had it all figured out.....we are staying offsite and I could only get our condo for Sunday check in (I wanted Saturday to Saturday). So I started thinking, maybe we will go ahead and book Saturday night in property. Give us a chance to get in early, relax at the pool, have dinner etc (plus adding a day is always good right)?!?!?!

Well, of course that led to thinking of doing the deluxe dining plan for that one night. If I understand it correctly you each get three meals and two snacks on the deluxe. Then we have until midnight the day of check out to use them.

My thoughts are use a credit for a nice dinner at our resort that evening. Use a snack credit for a pastry or something for breakfast. Spend some time hanging at the pool for a bit. Check out. We could do lunch at downtown Disney and then go check into the condo. Then dinner at a resort or in park and catch one of the fireworks/night time shows that day.

My questions are - on the deluxe dining plan - can all three meals be table service?

To do the package I have to add two day base tickets - can I purchase the package and then call and change them to annual passes before my trip or would I have to wait and do that there? Or if I change to annual passes will it drop the package with dining?

Is there any other way to make that work?

Just for clarity sake, you do not get three meals, you get three meal credits. You can use those three credits for three 1 credit TS meals, or you could use them for 1 two credit TS meal (signature restaurant or dinner show) and 1 one credit TS meal, you can also use them for QS meals instead (all are 1 credit) but as someone else pointed out it is a poor value.

If you call you can get a ticketless package so that you do not need to purchase additional tickets.
 
Last edited:


To do the package I have to add two day base tickets - can I purchase the package and then call and change them to annual passes before my trip or would I have to wait and do that there? Or if I change to annual passes will it drop the package with dining?

Is there any other way to make that work?

Just to keep making things clear, you do NOT have to purchase tickets to pay for a dining plan. You do have to call to purchase it with a room only; it cannot be done online.

However, since you are doing the onsite stay at the beginning of your trip, buying tickets in advance will give you the 60-day window for FP+, so you may want to consider purchasing them in conjunction with that one night stay and then converting them to APs once you get there.
 
The last time I checked (Fall 2017) you could only add the DDP to a 1-night reservation if it was DVC or DVC point rental. All others required 2+ nights. That might have changed, though.
 

GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE

Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.

Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!





Top