Is this possible.
I want to book a room for 2 adults and 2 kids for Sept 2018 in hopes that we will get the ‘free dining’ plan
But in actual fact it will only be us 2 adults in the room. I want the free dining plan for my 2 grand kids, which will be at WDW but not staying with us at the resort.
They will just meet up with us everyday.
You will need to buy them parkhopper tickets as part of the package .
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I might be wrong here but I believe resort costs are determined on the number of adults staying. You can include them just like they are staying with you in the package. This way you can get the free meal plan for you and them as well as park tickets. Depending on what level of resort you stay at, your dinning plan will either be the Disney Dinning Plan or the Disney Quick Service plan. Room wise it will make no difference if they stay or not but they should be part of your friends and family list and to get the package for all you should list them as staying with you at the resort. The must be under 16 to not be labeled as a adult.
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Disney “adults” are 10 and over for purposes of dining and tickets.
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I stand corrected.
If they are under 18 then there will not be any extra room charges but to get free dining you will need to have them on the reservation and each person will need to purchase a park hopper ticket. “Free dining” includes a full priced room (no discounts) plus tickets for each person in the room. If they are over 18 there will be additional room charges.
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If I get an annual pass, does it mean I can’t get the free dining offer, because I won’t be getting a ticket.
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Yes, or you’d have to buy the ticket and upgrade it to an AP.
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Or you can “bank” the tickets (maybe?- those free dining tickets and packages have been so weird lately).
I think you’re going to have to bust out a calculator on this one. (or make a spreadsheet).
Since you have AP, you would likely be able to get a room at a discounted rate.
So, you’d only be paying for the room and food OOP.
Are the grandkids’ parents paying for their park tickets?
If you disregard your AP, you’ll have to buy the package (room at full rate + park tickets) for 4 people. True, the kids won’t count as extras in the room, but the full room rate is not a good deal.
The last time we used the dining plan, it was “free” but the package rates were considerably lower (I think it was 2011). We’ve found that paying out of pocket for food was the one thing that was easily controlled from a money standpoint. Meals can be shared, we don’t overeat, or feel like we have to “get out money’s worth” out of a free plan.
The only reason I can see pursuing the free dining is for the perceived convenience. If it’s a question of saving money, it’s a tough call.
@disney1974 makes a good point about the calculator. Labor Day weekend I got a 1 bedroom at Saratoga for 3 adults and when I compared the cost of food/tickets and the space it was $10 more a night than the MVT discount. I booked a bounce back- same length, adults for December but garden view at YC. It is $100 more a night than I paid last year.