Christmas Trip!

LostPrincessKarleigh

Well-Known Member
Ok, I have a bit of a conundrum. We are planning a trip for a long weekend on December 11-17 and will be taking my future mother and sister-in-law for their first time. (I am also planning on attending the MVMCP for the first time!) My fiance and I just received our Annual Passes so we won't be buying tickets for ourselves.

My question is this: How can we book a package with room, tickets for in laws, and dining plan WITHOUT having to purchase tickets for ourselves? Is this even possible? And in the event we have to buy tickets for ourselves, can we apply them to renewal fees for APs in the future?

Also, would it be more beneficial to just have the Tables in Wonderland card instead of a dining plan? (I am the biggest eater out of all of them and I am only 5'4"!)

Thanks for helping me out!
 

sxeensweet

Love a little Disney every day!! ;)
As an AP holder you can book a package with just room and dining plan. You can buy tickets seperately for the other guests for the parks. They cost the same whether it's with a package or not. Also you can link them to you MDE account for fast passes etc.
Keep in mind you can get the AP discounted rooms when they come out if available then add the dining to make it a package.
TIW vs Dining is a total personal preference! Me and DH do not like TIW and prefer dining plans as we like to have everything pre paid for and we do not always visit enough in one year to make it worth it. So it all depends on what you all want and how much you will be going in that year, and how much everyone eats and types of restaurants you prefer. We do quite a few signatures and that can even more so make TIW worth it. We usually do at least 1 TS ressie per day so we could go either way TIW or dining plan but like I mentioned we personally prefer the dining plans.
The time you are going is our absolute favorite time of year to visit! So much to see and do with all the holiday festivities and decorations at the parks and the resorts. The crowds are a lot lower too. :)
 
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Tuvalu

Premium Member
If you and your husband plan to SHARE the room with your relatives, everyone must have the SAME package (tickets and dining plan) unless you book room only. Room only means you can use your APs and purchase tickets separately for the others, but you CANNOT have the dining plan.

Personally we find TiW much more cost effective than the dining plan.
 
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sxeensweet

Love a little Disney every day!! ;)
If you and your husband plan to SHARE the room with your relatives, everyone must have the SAME package (tickets and dining plan) unless you book room only. Room only means you can use your APs and purchase tickets separately for the others, but you CANNOT have the dining plan.

Personally we find TiW much more cost effective than the dining plan.
Yes you can have the dining plan!! It's called an Annual Passholders Package. (AP Room discount then add plus dining). I have an AP and you can do the room only then add dining to it! Only one AP is needed to book the room AP discount AND add dining for all in the room! We have done this many times before. It is a major misconception that with room only discounts you cannot add dining. AP room only they do not require park tickets and dining can be added. :)
 
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Tuvalu

Premium Member
Yes you can have the dining plan!! It's called an Annual Passholders Package. (Room discount plus dining). I have an AP and you can do the room only then add dining to it! Only one AP is needed to book the room AP discount AND add dining for all in the room! We have done this many times before. It is a major misconception that with room only discounts you cannot add dining. AP room only they do not require park tickets and dining can be added. :)
So there were members in the same room as the AP holder who DID NOT have tickets but were able to get the dining plan anyway?
 
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sxeensweet

Love a little Disney every day!! ;)
So there were members in the same room as the AP holder who DID NOT have tickets but were able to get the dining plan anyway?
Yes! I was the only one with an AP! :) You only need one AP holder to get the room discount AND then add dining for all if wanted. :) Only one AP is required for check in as well. even the cast member will explain this on the phone while booking. :)
 
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sxeensweet

Love a little Disney every day!! ;)
Then this contradicts what I was told by a CM.
There is CMS out there that are totally wrong!! I have dealt with many for many different things! It's sad how the public can know more than some CMs!! It always pays to do your own research!! Most were good though and outright just asked if I wanted to add the dining plan to the AP stay before we got off the phone. :)
Also you can do public room only discounts then add dining and tickets too! The tickets are required with public room only. Most even think with a public room only you cannot add dining and tickets either!!! That is another misconception! We had done this several times as well because room only were always better discounts for us than free dining! :)

Now we are DVC members finally! So I no longer have to worry about any of that anymore!! But before we took the plunge recently I booked AP room discounts + dining fairly often with me being the ONLY Ap holder and the other guests did not. :)
 
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sxeensweet

Love a little Disney every day!! ;)
An older post from on here mentioning what I was talking about stating that only 1 AP holder is required to book and add dining for all party members even without them being an AP holder. It's about halfway down. I know this was from a few years ago but it is still the current policy. :)

The annual pass also provides 10% discounts at some restaurants but there are some restrictions. At many locations they are meal specific (breakfast only, lunch only) and some are day specific such as weekdays only. It is discounts for 4 people.

You can also add The Tables in Wonderland. That gives you 20% off of food and beverages at over 70 Disney Resort hotel and Theme Park restaurants. (Discount is good for up to 10 guests.) It cost $60 US.

Annual pass reservation can now add Disney Dining plans to the reservation. You pay the regular rate of the plan but you get discounts from 10 to 20% off select restaurants

Now everyone does not require an annual pass in the party. One person can get the annual pass and that will get the room discount when released as well as dining for the rest of the party. However if you plan to make two trips within a years time then it will pay to get an AP for the whole family

As you knowthere are two types of annual pass. The regular annual pass runs for adults $499 US and allows hopping between the 4 theme parks only. The premium annual pass for adults $629 US also includes, water parks, DisneyQuest and ESPN World of Sports complex. Unless you plan to visit all water parks, DisneyQuest and ESPN World of Sports complex it may be best to do the regular one.

As far as room discounts from what I've been reading and from what my Disney rep has said it Disney is going to try to ween the general public off discounts. The first measure they did was the park admission increase that was less than a year from the last increase.

But I can't see that happening as each resort has an occupancy level they need to hit. So there will be discounts, more during the times Disney needs help with like value season. So if you can plan trips then you should have the most success and the largest discount.

Plus Disney does discounts in phases. Usually it's a general public discount for a specific time of year. Normally they start with a free dining offer since they loose the least with that. They see where occupancy levels are at. Next they offer a room discounts. As an example this summer the room discounts were for deluxe and villas only. There were no value or moderates on the discounts because they hit occupancy levels. The last promo Disney throws out is the AP discounts which is usually the largest discount.

So in planning try to go off season. Be flexible with your resort choices. If say you have to go "on" season it might be tough to get a resort for 7 nights on an AP discount. You can do as many discounts nights as you can and make another regular rate res for the nights not discounted. Or do what we always do; stay at 2 resorts with discounts at each. Disney will move your stuff for free so it's not a problem

Also here on mousesavers currently look at AP discount section.
http://www.mousesavers.com/walt-dis...disney-world-resort-hotel-discounts-codes/#ap
 
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sxeensweet

Love a little Disney every day!! ;)
@sxeensweet I think you read @Tuvalu's question wrong. While only person had an AP in your room, all had the dining plan, correct? Tuvalu was referring to people in a room where some have a plan and some do not.

That cast member was correct. You cannot book a room where some members have a dining plan and some do not. It is all or nothing. So in the OP's case, she would need a Room only for her and her spouse, plus a room (that can be booked using an AP for discounts) with a dining plan.
I know you cannot have some on dining and some not! Lol.
No we were talking about adding dining to the WHOLE PARTY even if they do not have an ap with booking with an AP discounted room. I said they can have the dining plan added to all In the room to the AP room only discount if staying in the same room as AP holder even if all do not have an ap or tickets. Then they can buy seperately the park tickets for the extra guests without an AP later. :) Was not talking about 2 seperate rooms! I was talking if all are staying in one room then they can have dining added as long as one AP holder resides in that same room without them having to buy park tickets like a normal package. :)

Oh well I give up! Lol I thought I was clear in what I meant. You obviously cannot book 2 rooms seperately with AP discounts without there being at least 1 AP HOLDER IN EACH ROOM. I was talking if all were in ONE room and all have dining plan added to AP room only discount. Lol :)
 
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LAKid53

Official Member of the Girly Girl Fan Club
Premium Member
If you book a room as a Passholder, you can add dining for the guests staying in the same room. HOWEVER, you cannot add tickets since the system knows you are a passholder; the in-laws will have to purchase their tickets separately. If you book a room without the passholder discount, then you can add dining and tickets - however, you will be purchasing tickets for everyone in the party. And tickets are non-refundable. The system is smart enough to recognize that you are a passholder - I just tested and it showed 5 rates based upon my profile: room only, package (room and tickets), fall discount (room), Florida resident discount (room) and Passholder discount (room). All of the options, other than passholder, allow the purchase of tickets. And all allow purchase of the dining plan. I don't know what your budget is, but have you considered staying at one of the Values that offer suites? We stayed in a Family Suite at All Star Music. I would compare the price of those rooms with the suites at Art of Animation. The kitchenette in the family suite at All Star Music is bigger - suites at both resorts have two bathrooms - which can be handy for 4 adults.
 
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sxeensweet

Love a little Disney every day!! ;)
If you book a room as a Passholder, you can add dining for the guests staying in the same room. HOWEVER, you cannot add tickets since the system knows you are a passholder; the in-laws will have to purchase their tickets separately. If you book a room without the passholder discount, then you can add dining and tickets - however, you will be purchasing tickets for everyone in the party. And tickets are non-refundable. The system is smart enough to recognize that you are a passholder - I just tested and it showed 5 rates based upon my profile: room only, package (room and tickets), fall discount (room), Florida resident discount (room) and Passholder discount (room). All of the options, other than passholder, allow the purchase of tickets. And all allow purchase of the dining plan. I don't know what your budget is, but have you considered staying at one of the Values that offer suites? We stayed in a Family Suite at All Star Music. I would compare the price of those rooms with the suites at Art of Animation. The kitchenette in the family suite at All Star Music is bigger - suites at both resorts have two bathrooms - which can be handy for 4 adults.
Thank you for saying it clearer than I was able to! lol. That was what I was trying to explain. :)
 
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LAKid53

Official Member of the Girly Girl Fan Club
Premium Member
@sxeensweet I think you read @Tuvalu's question wrong. While only person had an AP in your room, all had the dining plan, correct? Tuvalu was referring to people in a room where some have a plan and some do not.

That cast member was correct. You cannot book a room where some members have a dining plan and some do not. It is all or nothing. So in the OP's case, she would need a Room only for her and her spouse, plus a room (that can be booked using an AP for discounts) with a dining plan.

Why would she do that? I just walked through booking a reservation with 2 real passholders and 2 made up guests with dining and got to the "please pay" page. Yes, she can book TWO completely separate rooms but for the inlaws to have both dining and tickets, that room cannot be a passholder discounted room. My recommendation - get a suite with the passholder discount, add dining and tell the in-laws to purchase their tickets separately and then link them.
 
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LAKid53

Official Member of the Girly Girl Fan Club
Premium Member
Because I read it as only the in-laws wanting dining not only the in-laws need tickets.

She said she wanted "a package with room, tickets for in laws, and dining plan WITHOUT having to purchase tickets for ourselves". And since she mentioned the cost/benefit of DDP vs. TiW (even mentioned she was the biggest eater of all four of them), I believed she was interested in DDP for all four of them. If members of her party don't mind sleeping on a sleeper sofa, then a family style suite may be the best option - she can get a passholder room discount and dining for all four guests - and in-laws can get their tickets separately. And there's not much of a difference in price for multi-day tickets if you purchase them separately or as part of a room package, if any.
 
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LostPrincessKarleigh

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
So many great replies! Thank you all! :)
I just got off the phone with Disney and I think we are going to book the AP package with dining and then buy the in-laws tickets separately. :) Gonna try to book a family suite at a value.
Now, who wants to offer up some fun stuff for Christmas? We are definitely doing MVMCP and the Osborne Dancing lights. Anything else?
 
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sxeensweet

Love a little Disney every day!! ;)
So many great replies! Thank you all! :)
I just got off the phone with Disney and I think we are going to book the AP package with dining and then buy the in-laws tickets separately. :) Gonna try to book a family suite at a value.
Now, who wants to offer up some fun stuff for Christmas? We are definitely doing MVMCP and the Osborne Dancing lights. Anything else?
Those 2 of course, and also Holidays around the World at Epcot, Candlelight Processional at Epcot(do not miss this!).
Visit the deluxe resorts for their decorations and Gingebread displays. Especially Grand Floridian that has the big Gingerbread House another must do. The others like Contemporary, Boardwalk, Yacht Club, Beach Club, etc etc have wonderful displays too. We always do at least Grand Floridian and Contemporary, and also Boardwalk if we have time. Those 3 sell goodies at the displays too which are delish and great to take home for little gifts or stocking stuffers.
You can pay to take Sleigh rides at Ft. Wilderness as well in the evenings. Hoop Dee Doo does a special holiday segment in the regular show.
There is so much to do and see I am sure I'm forgetting something! lol
Love Love love this time to visit WDW! :)
 
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