What Disney rule did you discover during your planning that is totally ridiculous!

[damo]

I will add this as my nit to pick of choice: ticket upgrade rules. Enough to drive you insane.

-Kevin

This!

 

[peachygreen]

Flyers/Devils game in Newark, NJ = $30 to park. $15 for all day is a bargain in comparison, and who needs to bring a car if you stay on property?

I've seen several people make a point about using the transportation provided instead of parking. But correct me if I'm wrong, but if you stay onsite isn't parking included with your room stay and you can park at the parks for free?

Parking is also included with an Annual Pass.

 

[JetsetJAK]

They also limit the number of each room type in each resort so they may have sold out the FD suites before you found out..

That's what we thought at first, but they actually specifically told us on the phone that the dining plan just isn't offered to those who are booked in the suites. (my sis is a travel agent who literally had to take special "Disney vacation" training, so she was on the phone getting us the dining plan literally first thing in the morning when it was announced, lol)

Like I said, it's not like it's gonna ruin our trip or anything. The dining plan was ultimately more important to us than the suite was, so we adjusted our plans accordingly. And I think this way with the two rooms we actually get one more bed than we would have in the suite, so I guess it all works out!

 

[DRDISNEYMD]

~I've been receiving pin codes since I was 19, no joke. I always thought they were general advertisements available to anyone, not specifically for me. I would take these "pin" offers and toss them right in the trash. I just learned how "valuable" pin codes are a few years ago after reading about it here on Disboards. This year, I received three pins --2 Game On pins for 30% and just recently I got a Drop in and Save pin for 30% or Free Dining! The pins are all in my maiden name (which cannot be changed), luckily I use both names, lol. I'm not complaining, I just find it a bit odd. :

 

[RMulieri]

I've seen several people make a point about using the transportation provided instead of parking. But correct me if I'm wrong, but if you stay onsite isn't parking included with your room stay and you can park at the parks for free?

Parking is also included with an Annual Pass.

It is "free"for onsite guests, but not really.Disney simply builds the cost of transportation and parking into the resort rates.They say it is free and call it a perk,evveryone pays whether they use disney transportation or bring a car...

 

[chartle]

That's what we thought at first, but they actually specifically told us on the phone that the dining plan just isn't offered to those who are booked in the suites. (my sis is a travel agent who literally had to take special "Disney vacation" training, so she was on the phone getting us the dining plan literally first thing in the morning when it was announced, lol)

Like I said, it's not like it's gonna ruin our trip or anything. The dining plan was ultimately more important to us than the suite was, so we adjusted our plans accordingly. And I think this way with the two rooms we actually get one more bed than we would have in the suite, so I guess it all works out!

Again just to be clear we are still talking about Free Dining, correct?

So if yes, it was the situation that they didn't include the suites in the Free Dining promo. The marketing department has their own way of doing things and they felt they didn't need to offer the promo for the suites.

Just like they may have not offered it for something like Savannah view rooms at AKL.

 

[LilyWDW]

That's what we thought at first, but they actually specifically told us on the phone that the dining plan just isn't offered to those who are booked in the suites. (my sis is a travel agent who literally had to take special "Disney vacation" training, so she was on the phone getting us the dining plan literally first thing in the morning when it was announced, lol)

Like I said, it's not like it's gonna ruin our trip or anything. The dining plan was ultimately more important to us than the suite was, so we adjusted our plans accordingly. And I think this way with the two rooms we actually get one more bed than we would have in the suite, so I guess it all works out!

The dining plan is not "offered". It is simply an option you can add on to your package and is available to anyone staying a Disney owned and operated resort.

Free dining is a promotion that is offered at specific times of the year. They may or may not offer it for any specific resort or room type depending on how occupancy looks. As such, you could have rooms that are not available under that specific promotion. Why discount something if you can get people to pay full price for it?

 

[chartle]

Just recently learned that in Disney's eyes there's no such thing as a split stay, which led to learning that the dining plan isn't available with room only packages. I wanted to do a split stay by keeping our mod resort and trying the deluxe for a couple of days and keep my tickets & dining the same. Who knew Disney wouldn't want my extra money for those additional nights? Oh, no...you have to book a separate reservation and start all over again with at least purchasing one ticket per person again to get dining plan at second resort on split stay which offsets your savings of buying multiple park day tickets from first resort. ARG!

There maybe issues that are not easily seen.

First split stays cost Disney more money. When you leave a room in costs more to clean it for the next guest.

But maybe in a larger sense I have read that Disney treats each hotel as a separate business unit. Such as each resort "pays" for their transportation service. It could be that when you do a split stay the system can't, for accounting reasons, share certain costs over two reservations.

Accountants do strange things with numbers.

 

[fadingjamie]

I don't mind having the "adult" ticket price for 10+ but I do think being charged as an adult on the DDP starting at age 10 is ridiculous. I think there should be a "junior" age group for DDP, maybe ages 10-13?

My future sister in law is 29 and eats like a bird. Does that mean she can get in on the junior plan too? It's just as much a waste for her to get an adult rate on DDP as it is for your tween.

I wouldn't call a buck tool a weapon - that's just a leatherman, right? So like a pocket knife set? Straws = hard to animals. Pocket knife - no harm to animals..

Not sure if you're being thick.. Pocket knife = harm to humans. Who knows what someone with a pocket knife might do after being knocked over by stroller for the thousandth time that day?

 

[pbrim]

And I don't buy the excuse that the computer system "has" to handle it that way.....This is the 21st century people!!....adjust the computer system!
.

Oh yes! Speaking as someone who has been a professional programmer for
35 years, almost always when someone says "The computer can't do that" the answer is "The computer is certainly capable of doing that, it's just that some person, management not IT, has made the decision to not permit the computer to do that."

That sort of thing always bugs me. Take responsiblity for your own decisions, people, don't go blaming it on the poor computer. They could do split stays if they wanted, they just don't want to, for whatever reason.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Please .. that is just semantics .. Disney thinks of kids 3-9 and adults as 10+. Disney has kids meals for kids 3-9 and adult meals for 10 and over. ...

Not so. If you are an adult, you can stay in a hotel room by yourself. Of if you are the third adult in the room, you pay extra. So adult is 18 or older.

Some kids, aged 7 and up, can ride an attraction by themselves. But a kid under the age of 7 needs an adult to ride with them (someone who is 18 or older).

 

[JetsetJAK]

The dining plan is not "offered". It is simply an option you can add on to your package and is available to anyone staying a Disney owned and operated resort.

Free dining is a promotion that is offered at specific times of the year. They may or may not offer it for any specific resort or room type depending on how occupancy looks. As such, you could have rooms that are not available under that specific promotion. Why discount something if you can get people to pay full price for it?

I guess I should have worded myself better. Their exact words were indeed "the family suites are not participating in the free dining plan at this time". I never felt that they owed me anything, I just wasn't expecting for that to be the case. Like I said, we switched to two adjoining rooms, got on the dining plan, and with today being our 180-day mark, have already reserved our first nights dinner at the Coral Reef!

My sis was telling me that apparently the entire Art of Animation resort is not participating either, and her office has actually gotten one or two calls from people wanting to change their reservations because they have rooms booked at AoA for later this year and were assuming they'd be able to get the dining plan.

 

[chartle]

Not sure if you're being thick.. Pocket knife = harm to humans. Who knows what someone with a pocket knife might do after being knocked over by stroller for the thousandth time that day?

No they are just saying in this particular situation Disney is worried about the straws, not the knife of a length that either Disney doesn't care about or the guards may have not seen.

PP was trying to make the situation look absurd by using something they felt was more dangerous because they didn't know the reason why the straws where not allowed.

 

[fadingjamie]

No they are just saying in this particular situation Disney is worried about the straws, not the knife of a length that either Disney doesn't care about or the guards may have not seen.

PP was trying to make the situation look absurd by using something they felt was more dangerous because they didn't know the reason why the straws where not allowed.

Gotcha Thanks for clarifying.

 

[jmangum100]

Where to begin? To name a few:

1. The DDP is only available with packages. Why not "Room-Only" too?
2. Although most places do it now a days, charging $15 to park your car for the day is ridiculous
3. In order to eat at decent restaurants, you must book an ADR 180 days in advance
4. Everyone in a MYW package has to buy the same amount of days for their tickets

I've got my flame suit on, because I know it's coming.

I also agree that the DDP for packages is kind of annoying at times. We are staying offsite, but it would be nice to have dining plan options available when someone is not staying on property. That way we would not have to cut down on how many character meals we can do.

 

[chartle]

1. I guess I should have worded myself better. Their exact words were indeed "the family suites are not participating in the free dining plan at this time". I never felt that they owed me anything, I just wasn't expecting for that to be the case. Like I said, we switched to two adjoining rooms, got on the dining plan, and with today being our 180-day mark, have already reserved our first nights dinner at the Coral Reef!

2. My sis was telling me that apparently the entire Art of Animation resort is not participating either, and her office has actually gotten one or two calls from people wanting to change their reservations because they have rooms booked at AoA for later this year and were assuming they'd be able to get the dining plan.

1. The confusion came in because this is the first post that you used the term free dining though we all assumed that you were talking about FD but you know when you assume.......

2. Yes that was posted somewhere around here and you can see why. Its going to be the hot new value resort. In fact they may have to come up with new better deals to try to get you to book the other values instead.

 

[Deb & Bill]

I also agree that the DDP for packages is kind of annoying at times. We are staying offsite, but it would be nice to have dining plan options available when someone is not staying on property. That way we would not have to cut down on how many character meals we can do.

Would you buy a dining plan that was twice as expensive as the one the onsite guests pay? Disney wants you to stay onsite. If you don't stay onsite, they are not going to give you a cheap dining plan.

 

[bumbershoot]

Where to begin? To name a few:

1. The DDP is only available with packages. Why not "Room-Only" too?
   ...
   
2. Everyone in a MYW package has to buy the same amount of days for their tickets

If you add something to the room, it IS a package deal. So it's not room only anymore.

Everyone only has to *start* with the same amount of days. So get the amount needed of base tickets for the initial reservation, then each person can add the number of days they need, add hopping, add waterparks and more...do what they want!

Disney has kids meals for kids 3-9 and adult meals for 10 and over. Which makes the Buffett restaurants CRAZY priced once your kids reach 10 - 40 dollars for a 10 year old - ugh!

My son can easily eat more than DH and I while we are at DLR/WDW. DH and I get hot and tired and just not hungry (we always lose weight while on a Disney vacation), while DS chows down BIG time. He's 7 and has been like this since he was 5 or maybe 4. I know he's not the only younger kid who eats like this.

Not to mention, my son is the one who enjoys and wants the character meals in the first place! Our disney trips are for the whole family, but the character meals...those are for my son. If I could send him alone, I would, LOL. (not into the characters, never have been) Actually, maybe I should start just sending hubby and son to these meals, b/c I just don't enjoy them enough, nor do I eat enough, to make them a value for me. The enjoyment and food make DS's cost a value for him...hubby is borderline...so if I left myself out of the equation I could be happier! Yay!

We have, since we've had children, Skipped Universal, because the kids price is so close to the adult price, yet there are SO FEW attractions that don't have a height restriction. My DS4 and DD2 continue to be shorties, so even when they hit that magic adult age, they likely still won't be able to ride everything. The cost/attraction value isn't there.

Why not think about the adult prices are close to the kid's price, and be happy with the value adults get?

Have you ever taken the littles to the parks there? Sat for HOURS as they played in the Curious George area, in Fievel's Playland, etc etc?

Or what about the much more family friendly (as long as you don't have a child that gets freaked while in the lines) kid-swap where the family gets to be in line *together* instead of splitting up outside?

When I noticed how close the prices are to each other, I rejoiced that DH and I were getting such a bargain since it's so close to DS's ticket price. (then we upgraded to APs anyway, LOL)

I will add this as my nit to pick of choice: ticket upgrade rules. Enough to drive you insane.

-Kevin

I've always thought that the Disney ticket upgrades rules were barely rules, but were, rather, really really EASY. What rules are causing you problems?

I've seen several people make a point about using the transportation provided instead of parking. But correct me if I'm wrong, but if you stay onsite isn't parking included with your room stay and you can park at the parks for free?

Parking is also included with an Annual Pass.

Ayep.

But then I don't even have a problem with a place like Universal charging hotel parking for their onsite guests. I just work it into the budget. I'd rather pay specifically when I have a car, rather than help pay for everyone else's car (and bus transportation etc) when I'm staying at WDW.




Glad that the suite/dining issue was explained, because I was getting confused. They aren't offering free dining for suites this time, but you certainly can book non-free dining (and maybe even get a room discount if any are available) while in a suite!

 

[chartle]

I also agree that the DDP for packages is kind of annoying at times. We are staying offsite, but it would be nice to have dining plan options available when someone is not staying on property. That way we would not have to cut down on how many character meals we can do.

Its all marketing the Dining Plan is one more way to get you to book an on site room and to make so you have no reason to leave.

There just isn't a good reason to offer you a perk that's for on site guests. Disney is a business they do things to make money, if it works out that you also save money that's good to. But they don't do things just to be nice.

Next you are going to want to use the transportation system.

 

[brymolmom]

I'll add a new one.

It's not a Disney policy as much as a choice not to do something that would make things more straightforward.

I hate that Disney chooses not to put roped lines for buses at the Mod's or Deluxe resorts (at least the ones I've stayed). Instead of being first come, first served, it occassionaly becomes 'whoever has the sharpest elbows or is best at budging to the front is first, and everyone else is after'. Now, about 75% of the time it is no big deal as everyone still gets on the bus and they come frequently enough that it's usually only 20 or so max people waiting for that particular bus. However, the rest of the time it is stressful (to me at least) and very annoying. I have had groups of teenagers jump on the bus after just walking up because a 2nd bus stops behind another one and not up to the 'loading' area where everyone who has been waiting is standing. Then they proceed to take all the seats and allow all the young kids and women and older people stand. I've also had people shout at me for moving my way in front of them if a bus stops in a spot other than where I've been waiting (only if I've been waiting for longer than they have been).

It just seems like such an easy fix...put some ropes up and this is fixed. And for the people who want to wait on the benches - they still can opt to do that instead of waiting in line.