Dining plan and Ticket question

[Tweedle Adie]

We are planning to go to WDW for New Years next year (I know that's a long time from now, but I do love to plan) We plan to stay though 1-6-08. If during our stay the season switches from Holiday to value we were thinking of checking out and checking back in... here is my question if we do this can we still use the dining plan? I know you must have a ticket and it is easier to just have the 9 day myw ticket, rather than a 3 day and a 6 day, however that means when we check back in or switch hotels we will no longer need a ticket. I thought someone here may have done this and know the answer.
Thank You :xmas:

 

[New2WDW]

In order to get the Dining Plan you have to purchase at least one ticket per person in the room to get the package. So you would have to purchase at least one more ticket even if you already purchased the multiday ticket from the previous room. You could do this but it would probably not save you much from switching the rooms for the discount because everyone in the room must be on the same package thus costing you one more ticket per person.

 

[Master Yoda]

I am pretty sure you can check out and back in again. You will need to make 2 separate reservations and there is no guarantee that you will be able to stay in the same resort or even the same room. You resort rate is based on the rate at your first day you check in.

I am not 100% positive about your dinning plan. Your dinning plan is linked to your room not your ticket but if I am not mistaken you are required to purchase at least a 1 day ticket to get the dinning plan for your length of stay. You might wind up having to buy 1 day tickets for the last part of your stay to get the dinning plan. I would buy the 9 day pass and a 1 day pass as it is considerably less expensive than a 6 and a 3. Hold onto your 1 day passes and do not use them. As long as you don't use them their purchase price can be applied to your next ticket or AP purchase.

 

[New2WDW]

After looking at the 2006 and 2007 seasons, it appears that Holiday season ends on 12/31 and Value starts on 1/1 and this would probably be the same for 2008, so how many days were you planning on staying before New Year's?

If it is only a day or two then I would definitely look at checking back in on 1/1 for the Value Rate! You would save about $50/night at a Value Resort but you would still have to purchase tickets separate to get the Dining Plan Package.

 

[Mystic]

You resort rate is based on the rate at your first day you check in.

So does this mean that if I was to book an 8 night trip for next Christmas that starts out with the first 5 nights in Value season and the last 3 in Holiday Season that I would get those last three nights at the Value rate?

 

[Master Yoda]

So does this mean that if I was to book an 8 night trip for next Christmas that starts out with the first 5 nights in Value season and the last 3 in Holiday Season that I would get those last three nights at the Value rate?

That is correct. It even works for AP and FR rates.

 

[JPVonDrake]

We are planning to go to WDW for New Years next year (I know that's a long time from now, but I do love to plan) We plan to stay though 1-6-08. If during our stay the season switches from Holiday to value we were thinking of checking out and checking back in... here is my question if we do this can we still use the dining plan? I know you must have a ticket and it is easier to just have the 9 day myw ticket, rather than a 3 day and a 6 day, however that means when we check back in or switch hotels we will no longer need a ticket. I thought someone here may have done this and know the answer.
Thank You :xmas:

If you wish to split your reservation to take advantage of the rate switch, you would have to book 2 separate Magic Your Way Plus Dine packages, each with a separate ticket and separate dine plans. I would not advise this as package rates do change on January 1st each year. The cost difference between purchasing 2 separate tickets (even if you did an 8 day + a 1 day) plus the increase in package rates would most likely negate most of the savings in your resort rate.

There is also the convenience factor. With the Dine Plan, all unused entitlements expire at midnight on the date you are scheduled to check-out of your first package, you will NOT be able to transfer them to your second package. Also if you use your entitlements too quickly, you will not have access to your second reservation entitlements until your scheduled check in date for your second package.

Lastly, when checking out / checking in, you would receive new room keys and possibly need to move rooms. Although moving rooms is rare (the resort avoids it whenever possible) it is more common on season changes due to the influx of new Guests arriving on the first day of a lower rate season. As Master Yoda stated, due to this influx of new arrivals, it may not even be possible to book the same resort / room type for both stays. You would also need to keep track of which key had the ticket you wanted to use for admission, use the admission on the second key and you will NOT be able to correct it later, negating the savings Master Yoda mentioned by holding on to your ticket to upgrade at a later date.

All in all, in my opinion, when you are on a vacation package it is not worth it.

 

[Tweedle Adie]

Thank you all!!!
Happy Holidays :xmas: