Dining Plan changes 2020 - continuous updates being reported

Since your son has a special diet, it may be possible for them to make an exception. If he can’t eat the high carb meals on the children’s menu, they will have to put something together for him.

That is what I am thinking. I am just going to deal with it when we get there. We are also staying club level so I hope the concierge will work it out, I am sure, its annoying because we paid for the convenience and not having to deal with this junk.

I am a big fan of all inclusive, just let me pay for it up front so I can just relax on vaca even it costs a little more. I tend to over manage thing (#trueliner) so it allows me to relax more. This new change adds a new layer of stuff to deal with. I really think it will work out ok and as I said we will still come out with saving about 20% so its really just a way to get the TIW discount without an AP or DVC.

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Agreed. I will be the first to admit that I’ve used the dxddp loophole - as recently as 2019. But I know it was a “gift” so to speak so I can’t be mad that it’s gone.
My frustration and anger is mostly towards the way this was all rolled out - half assed, on the fly leaving lower wage workers to sort it out and do leadership’s job for them. The other part of my anger is that I understand that converting meal credits to snacks is not an official perk, but if they were going to modify it, do it unilaterally. Either no converting period, or let kids credits be converted - but for less. Like one child credit=1 or 2 snacks.

There’s a part of me that wonders if it isn’t actually intentional to see how far they can push the envelope before guests revolt.

So no reports of issues sharing credits as long as they are the appropriate adult or child credit?

When I look up the deluxe plan it states that everyone over the age of three gets an app, entree, and dessert plus drink. What does that look like for a child? Does the $10 entree include an app and dessert? Or is the app and dessert cost an additional cost?

I am also editing to link the latest snack prices. I have been generally allowing $6 after the last increase although many items are now $7

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Any reference to converting snacks not being “official” drives me crazy. That information was released by Disney- they just didn’t report it on their own. They do this so that they can change the rules whenever they want and not be held accountable for it. I posted multiple examples here:

All the blogs posted the exact same info/words but Disney states it “didn’t come from them”. That is not honest.

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I agree 100% and that’s why I think the way they roll things out is on purpose to gauge how much guests will tolerate before voting with their dollars. Then they walk it back slightly if needed.
The whole “not sharing with people not on your reservation” last year was a test run for changing how credits were allotted.

But neither the Mom’s Panel, nor the DFB are officially endorsed. The Mom’s Panel even says that answers are not vetted, and we know that they often conflict with each other in the answers given. So those answers, as well as the DFB, are based on experience.

There is nothing that I can see in the Dining Plan pages that states that QS credits can be exchanged. And we know that some places have never allowed it, therefore it has to be a manager’s discretion surely?

I’m surprised it’s not been allowed at all, I would have thought one snack would have been reasonable.

I think you have that the wrong way round. Sharing credits was something that was allowed officially as of 2019 IIRC. In fact I’m pretty sure the FAQs now say that you are welcome to share your credits with your guests.

There was a thing December 2018/January 2019 where people at certain restaurants were being told they couldn’t. 50s prime time, h&v, and Cali grill were the most commonly reported. Then everybody started calling and waiting and they abruptly stopped doing it. I feel like they’re trying to come up with ways to stop using child credits for adults (in room or not) and that option backfired so they just decided to officially allocate them differently.

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Yes, the DFB, TP, wdwnt, Tom Bricker, easywdw…non of them are official. BUT- when the changes to the dining plans were announced by all of them, using the exact same language - it is obvious they are used as a feed. Sometimes the Disney Blog will announce the same info as all those blogs- other times when Disney wants to be able to pull back these changes without notice the Disney Blog does not join the others. It is a game they play. My personal opinion (and only my opinion) is that the other blogs cannot say anything about it since they would need to admit that some of their “authors” copy and paste Disney releases.

If people think I am crazy, download the Theme Park News app (it is free) and read it for a week.

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Here is the link to the pdf where the new “kid combo” language is added, this is brand spanking new, 2019 did not have it. The kid combo’s generally have an entree and 2 sides but adults would view that as what comes with the meal, steak, broccoli and mashed potatoes at coral reef = no dessert no app, now you can sub a side for a gel cup, ice creme sandwich or fruit cup but then you give up what used to be part of your meal. In reality its probably all most kids need, but the point is its more than just a rule enforcement its a major change in value. It also specifically states that shakes and mocktails are now for 10 and older, another huge value change!

2020

2019

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Guys, I didnt think I could get my dxdp refunded because I booked a confirmed reservation through dvc rental and you’re not allowed to buy insurance for those… but their mgr looked into it and said though there is no official word from Disney they would be happy to refund!!! This ends up being a big savings for us.

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So let me double check this with you… my daughter will be 9 when we travel. We have pop booked with free dining. Obviously we are paying a child’s price in ticket for her. Are you saying if I call and upgrade her ticket to an adult and pay the difference in price then she would get the adult QS credits instead of the child?

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Yes! You need to upgrade her to adult tickets but since she is under 18 you don’t have to pay extra for the room and the ticket price is reasonable.

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That is ridiculous. I can see it could still be a value for an adult but I would never buy this for a child. I don’t understand- didn’t they add speciality drinks to the child dining plan when they added alcohol?

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That’s a big help actually. The price increase from child to adult isn’t that much and she’s a foodie who loves the adult meals, but never eats enough to justify me paying full price for one. Do we have any confirmation this would work yet?

Yes we do, up near the top of this thread.

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Agreed… Can you imagine eating your onion rings appetizer or your candy bar dessert at sci fi with your giant milkshake while your kids gets some carrot sticks, fruit cup and soda?!?
That’s REALLY crappy.
I can’t think of any restaurant where the cost of a child ts credit would actually get you anywhere near that much food value wise.

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I saw that which is what prompted my question, but noticed it stated they did it in 2017. I guess the bigger question here is the categorization of the QS credits (adult or child) is linked to the people listed on the hotel reservation (and the associated age), or rather an adult versus child park ticket. I find it odd it would be park ticket since you don’t have to have the same amount of park tickets as you do nights of stay if that makes sense.