I have been incredibly indecisive and am afraid I now have myself in a bind. Going to Pop for 5 nights and sister in law is joining us for nights 3-5. Grandma no longer coming. I was planning on getting DxDP for my daughter (child age) and myself, than adding SIL on after we arrived and sharing meals with her. But, I got to thinking it would be too much food and we could spend less not doing DP. So I went ahead and added SIL on to our reservation, ordered MB, added her ticket and booked FPP for the trip. We are now 6 weeks out. Adding up expected costs for meals I want to do and filling in the rest with QS, we really will spend as much as getting the DxDP would have cost. So my question is, if I drop SIL from the resort reservation now, so I can add DxDP for two of us, will I lose her FPP? Her ticket will still be linked to my account. And will they notice/care when I add her back on later, and will her MB still work for room after she is added back on? She is arriving late at night and coming straight to the room. Getting regular DP for all including SIL will cost $95 more with less benefits but maybe that would be worth it to avoid problems?
If it really is “as much” (or at least, similar) then I’d leave it alone, personally. What advantage would there be in changing?
With DxDP we could do more TS and have the snacks and mugs in addition, so we would get more benefit for the money. But I do see your point.
So my next question is…if you DON’T get to do more TS and have the mugs, would you be unhappy with your trip?
I don’t know. If it were me, I’d just leave it alone and not have to think about it. But that’s me. We aren’t TS type people so it is no big deal.
Yes and no. We will have a great time regardless. But, being there alone with my DD’s 2 and 6 for 2 days, TS would be easier. Not loving the idea of trying to carry food and drinks for the 3 of us and push the stroller while trying to find somewhere to sit. And they love character meals. We would probably end up spending more than the DxDP would cost in the end.
My experience with the all the dining plans is that they rarely save you money. I’ve often just broken even or I’ve had to eat something I only halfheartedly wanted because it gave my the best savings. They are for the convenience of not having to pull out your wallet or “think about” dining expenses. I’ve broken out the math on paper, used Disney Dinning Calculators and personal experience…
Disney knows that you won’t get full value and that’s why they market it as a “deal”.
As of Feb 4, 2019 removing her from the hotel reservation will cancel her FPP. People used to book on-site hotels get the 60 day out FPP window then cancel the hotel within a couple weeks of the travel date. They’d get a cheaper hotel elsewhere and keep the advanced FPPs they booked. Disney closed that loophole this year.
I agree. Go to the restaurants you want. Order the food you want. Don’t worry about what is included with the plan or not, or what’s a snack credit and what’s not. You can really end up spending more if you add little things here and there that are not included (and you have not budgeted).
That’s really the crux of the question, will it cancel her FPP? I know it would if we cancelled the reservation entirely, but that’s not the case. I think that if she was not on the reservation, I could have still booked FPP for her if her ticket was linked. So does the umbrella still work in reverse? Just wondered if anyone had ever done this. Maybe not! I see new tips and tricks on the forum all the time so I thought someone more experienced might know, or know that its a terrible idea. Ultimately I won’t take the risk unless someone can tell me it worked out for them. Not worth messing up multiple other aspects.
By the way I totally get all of the sentiment about DP not a good value, etc. Thats why I wrote it off to begin with. And it would help if Disney published actual set in stone prices. But guesstimating the best I can, from ranges on Allears, it does look like it would work out in our favor this time, sharing the DxDP. Taking off $20/day for snack, it gets us 6 TS meals per day at 23.33 each. Or 26.67 each if you ignore the value of the snacks.
The loophole isn’t really closed. Sometimes Disney sends an email that you will lose your FPP, but in reality they aren’t actually cancelling them. It only appears to be closed, and that probably keeps some people from trying it, but it isn’t actually closed. Nor is booking a long trip that starts 5 or so days before your real trip (and including the dates of your real trip), booking FPP 5 days out, then cancelling the long stay once you are inside the FPP booking window of your first trip. FPP stays in both these cases.
Good to know! I’m only going by Disney’s “official” policy. I’ve never had to split a group or such myself.
Is it possible to just get the DP for your family less SIL, but still keep her on the res?
Also, if it’s ‘only’ $95 more to add SIL for DP AND your price comparison was on QS, but you really want the more expensive TS, why not just get the DP for all. Yes, you’ll likely have credits left over, but if you’ll at least eat as much as it would cost you, had you paid out of pocket, then you’re ahead. All other credits are a bonus.
So the key is really how you added up the comparison.
How do people end up with left overs? Arent drinks snack credits?
Everyone on the reservation has to have the same plan. Unless you add someone on after checkin. The $95 more was to get regular DP for 2 adults, 1 child (15 TS, 15 QS) vs Deluxe DP for 1 adult, 1 child (30 TS). But, I will eat a little crow here and say that after using my estimation of $25 per TS credit, comparing to my expected amount for each meal, I do come out comparable or ahead paying cash assuming we aren’t ordering drinks and dessert most of the time. This has a lot to do with the fact we would be ordering two child meals or get the 2 year old in free. Exceptions include CRT, H&V, AP, Tusker, 1900 PF. Just depends on where and how much we want to eat. Thanks for the food for thought everyone!