Dining Plan Question(s)

[Sammy5150]

Friends of ours are going down for 8 nights. Four people will be there the entire time, One will be there for 4 days. They are thinking about getting the deluxe dining plan for four people and "sharing" it with the 5th party member coming later in the week and leaving before all of the rest of them leave.

How closely do the restaurants/Disney monitor the usage of the meals? Can they do this?

 

[CAPTAIN HOOK]

Can they do this?

All people in the party MUST be on the DP. Therefore all your friends will need to purchase it.
If the reservations are made separately (ie 4 together for 8 nights and the 1 is alone) then Disney wait staff won't know who is on the plan until the wrist bands are offered, but I'm very sure that they won't allow one person from the group to use two credits at one meal. One diner will have to pay cash for what they order. Now if the group always dine together then nobody can tell who put the $$ on the table to pay for the fifth meal, that is the only way to share a DP

 

[Tom 55]

DDP is monitored very closely. All members have to be on plan. If there is someone at the table they will have to pay for there meal. No way around it.

 

[yedliW]

Also, everyone on the reservation needs to be on the same dining plan (you can't have some on the regular plan an others on the Deluxe plan). Our last trip, my BIL and his son were joining us later in the week. The options were he either pay for the 2 days he wasn't going to be there, or we would have to do it as a 'split stay' which could possibly lead to a room change mid trip. We opted to go for the first, and he scheduled breakfasts for the 2 of them.

 

[Sammy5150]

DDP is monitored very closely. All members have to be on plan. If there is someone at the table they will have to pay for there meal. No way around it.

Good to know, this is what I thought.
thanks.

 

[Sammy5150]

Also, everyone on the reservation needs to be on the same dining plan (you can't have some on the regular plan an others on the Deluxe plan). Our last trip, my BIL and his son were joining us later in the week. The options were he either pay for the 2 days he wasn't going to be there, or we would have to do it as a 'split stay' which could possibly lead to a room change mid trip. We opted to go for the first, and he scheduled breakfasts for the 2 of them.

I thought the "split" would have to be their best option. I don't think they will be big into splitting the stay.

Thanks.

 

[yedliW]

Another thing to keep in mind if you go the split stay route.. it becomes 2 trips.. all of your entitlements (including snacks) expire at midnight on the last day of your first 'stay'.. so if you go 3 days in, than at midnight on that 3rd day, any unused snack credits expire.

It may not be a big thing, but something to remember.

 

[Sammy5150]

All people in the party MUST be on the DP. Therefore all your friends will need to purchase it.
If the reservations are made separately (ie 4 together for 8 nights and the 1 is alone) then Disney wait staff won't know who is on the plan until the wrist bands are offered, but I'm very sure that they won't allow one person from the group to use two credits at one meal. One diner will have to pay cash for what they order. Now if the group always dine together then nobody can tell who put the $$ on the table to pay for the fifth meal, that is the only way to share a DP

Thanks! This is how I read everything too. On to plan B.