Does changing to split stays endanger dinner reservations

[DarthVader]

As noted in my other thread, I lost out on enjoying some discounts for stay at the Poly this coming April. I've done all my planning up to this point specifically dinner reservations.

One thought I had was splitting my stay between two resorts. Stay at the Pop for a couple of nights and then the rest for the Poly. I could conceivably save close to a 1,000 on a move like this.

We've split our stays before and I have a decent understanding, but we did this from the get go, now that we're locked and loaded with everything (but the fast passes) set, would changing the Poly reservation from a Thursday to a Saturday remove any reservations I had during that time?

 

[Weather_Lady]

No worries! So long as a change to your room reservations doesn't push your check-in date(s) back outside of your 180-day ADR window (which it obviously wouldn't here, since your entire stay is way less than 180 days away), your ADRs won't change.

 

[Master Yoda]

You are good. Your dining and resort reservations are separate. The only link between between the two is your initial check in date for making your reservations. Once that is done, you can cancel your resort reservations outright and your dining reservations will remain.

 

[DarthVader]

I talked it over with bridezilla and she's not comfortable about splitting up the stay. I do see her point, as we're adding a complexity into the plans and when I last looked at the the POP, the room I would have reserved has long disappeared so the savings delta is not as much, as we'd have to switch gears to a moderate.

I'm also thinking given the itinerary we have planned out, it was with the Poly in mind, in that we're taking advantage of the location and services.

All I can think however is WDW is going to be one packed place, so many of the resorts are filled to the brim, I was hoping for something a little bit low-key given that Massachusett's april vacation tends to be at the end of the month. Not much I can do, other then condition my kids to be prepared for long lines and don't get worked up about it - just enjoy your stay

 

[Weather_Lady]

All I can think however is WDW is going to be one packed place, so many of the resorts are filled to the brim, I was hoping for something a little bit low-key given that Massachusett's april vacation tends to be at the end of the month. Not much I can do, other then condition my kids to be prepared for long lines and don't get worked up about it - just enjoy your stay

When in April are you visiting? Crowd levels in the resorts don't necessarily reflect what your park experience will be like. Most crowd calendars predict a return to "moderate" crowds (e.g., touringplans predicts overall crowd levels of 5-7 out of 10 for the rest of the month) after the first, super-busy week following Easter (which falls on April 1 this year). If you use your Fastpasses well (and especially if you can arrive at rope drop in the morning and get some major headliners out of the way while the lines are manageable), your kids shouldn't have to endure a lot of long lines (and for my impatient family, we define a "long" line as "anything over 10 minutes").

 

[DarthVader]

When in April are you visiting?

We're flying in on Thursday the 12th (I'm pulling my kids out a bit early) Their school vacation is the 16th to the 20th. A couple of years ago when we did this before, it was the last week of April, this time its the second to last week. As for Easter, I saw that it was early this year and that helped with my decision to go on April vacation.

 

[NHMouse]

That week is always steady but like Weather_Lady said taking advantage of FP, extra magic hours and some planning you should be fine

 

[DarthVader]

That week is always steady but like Weather_Lady said taking advantage of FP, extra magic hours and some planning you should be fine

Yeah, I think trying to level-set expectations will go a long way. I want this to be a vacation that we don't feel we need to rush to each location but just take our time, because with big crowds there will be no rushing anyways

 

[DarthVader]

Here's a twist, that I'm thinking.

Change my reservation from 04/12 -> 04/21 to:
Poly to 04/12 -> 04/19
POR 04/19 -> 04/21

Will shortening the Poly cause any problems with my existing reservations that are book on the 19th and 20th?
Would reserving the POR first and then shortening the Poly ensure I don't mess up the reservations?

 

[Master Yoda]

Here's a twist, that I'm thinking.

Change my reservation from 04/12 -> 04/21 to:
Poly to 04/12 -> 04/19
POR 04/19 -> 04/21

Will shortening the Poly cause any problems with my existing reservations that are book on the 19th and 20th?
Would reserving the POR first and then shortening the Poly ensure I don't mess up the reservations?

When doing something like this the easiest thing to do is call the reservation center and let them know what you are doing. The CM can then do tings in a way that won't mess things up.

 

[LAKid53]

@maflynn, you're not doing the split stay, correct? Because you will be changing resorts during the Star Wars Half Marathon weekend. Which explains why you were having problems finding an acceptable resort to switch to. The attendance at the parks will be up over that weekend due to runners and their families. Also note there will be road closures/delays first thing in the AM until the races are complete.

BTW, the 180 window for making ADRs has nothing to do with your resort reservation check in date. The 180 day window refers to the date you want to dine. I've made an ADR at a restaurant at 180 days just to get a spot without any resort reservation.

 

[DarthVader]

I was waffling on doing something slightly different. When I started this thread, I was going to split my stay with a value/moderate in the beginning for a couple of days then the Poly. This morning, I thought if I stay at the Poly, and shorten the stay there and stay at a value/moderate at the end.

In the end, I didn't find any value/moderate that my kids would have liked, and so we decided to just sit and wait. Maybe I'll spot some availability on a given day and I'll be able to take advantage. As of now however it seems we're better off on not changing

 

[Indiana Stone]

I am wondering about something similar. Can you book say a 5 day stay directly through Disney (ex Boardwalk) and then a subsequent 5 days through a DVC rental (ex Poly)? Would this mess with your dining, tickets, etc?

 

[Karyathena]

As noted in my other thread, I lost out on enjoying some discounts for stay at the Poly this coming April. I've done all my planning up to this point specifically dinner reservations.

One thought I had was splitting my stay between two resorts. Stay at the Pop for a couple of nights and then the rest for the Poly. I could conceivably save close to a 1,000 on a move like this.

We've split our stays before and I have a decent understanding, but we did this from the get go, now that we're locked and loaded with everything (but the fast passes) set, would changing the Poly reservation from a Thursday to a Saturday remove any reservations I had during that time?

Hi Darth, were you able to keep your ADRs? We want to extend our stay by one day (arriving a day earlier so that impacts ADR day) but our resort was fully booked! So I booked a second resort but of course they didn't have that single night so I have to book three nights (so Now Im overlapping). I di this booking over the phone and the CM said I could not book one day earlier (+10) because it counted a separate reservation and there was no way to override it. I just want to get some information before I call back to fix my resort double booking. Any input from anyone who has experienced this would be appreciated! (I see some replies that say "no you're fine, dining is not connected to resorts" But I'm sure Disney doesn't let people cancel and keep their ADRs (since many would just stay cheaper off site --I probably would, but we need our 180 +10 and 60 day fast pass, thats the main reason we stay on property) Thank you!

 

[nickys]

I am wondering about something similar. Can you book say a 5 day stay directly through Disney (ex Boardwalk) and then a subsequent 5 days through a DVC rental (ex Poly)? Would this mess with your dining, tickets, etc?

Make sure you link both eservation s to MDE.

With a split stay, dining has two 180 day windows. The ADR system doesn't recognise back to back reservations.

FPs aren't affected, you will be able to book FPs for the whole stay at 60 days out.

Tickets are fine. Even if BW is a package, that's OK because it comes first, tickets are valid for 14 days. However if you book a package, be aware that any changes can be tricky. I would book room only unless the savings are too good to be true.

If you're bookimg DME, then just phone and explain you'll be going to BW and leaving from the Poly. You can do it online, if it works, but it might be easier to explain it in person. Note: a broker will tell you the member needs to book DME, but if you call anyone can.

 

[DarthVader]

Hi Darth, were you able to keep your ADRs? We want to extend our stay by one day (arriving a day earlier so that impacts ADR day) but our resort was fully booked! So I booked a second resort but of course they didn't have that single night so I have to book three nights (so Now Im overlapping).

Yes, though for this vacation we opted not to split our stay.

 

[Tuvalu]

I see some replies that say "no you're fine, dining is not connected to resorts" But I'm sure Disney doesn't let people cancel and keep their ADRs (since many would just stay cheaper off site --I probably would, but we need our 180 +10 and 60 day fast pass, thats the main reason we stay on property) Thank you!

Resort reservations and dining reservations are two separate booking systems. Canceling a room does not cancel dining, even if you cancel your stay online. The only way dining reservations are canceled is when the guest calls and tells a cast member to cancel the ADR or the guest cancels online. And if a guests cancels a resort stay or package but forgets to cancel dining, every meal will incur the $10 per person fee.

 

[Karyathena]

Resort reservations and dining reservations are two separate booking systems. Canceling a room does not cancel dining, even if you cancel your stay online. The only way dining reservations are canceled is when the guest calls and tells a cast member to cancel the ADR or the guest cancels online. And if a guests cancels a resort stay or package but forgets to cancel dining, every meal will incur the $10 per person fee.

Hi Tuvalu, thanks for the reply; wouldn't many people just cancel their Disney resort and book a cheaper non Disney one? (I really want to stay at Wyndham Bonnet creek: right by CRB gorgeous pools, beautiful large rooms with bunk beds! At a fraction of the cost, But it's not officially Disney) Thanks for any input..I'm worried about this.

 

[Tuvalu]

Hi Tuvalu, thanks for the reply; wouldn't many people just cancel their Disney resort and book a cheaper non Disney one? (I really want to stay at Wyndham Bonnet creek: right by CRB gorgeous pools, beautiful large rooms with bunk beds! At a fraction of the cost, But it's not officially Disney) Thanks for any input..I'm worried about this.

Yes, there are unethical people who do what you said in order to obtain benefits they are not entitled to. Disney is aware of this but has chosen not to fix the loophole.

Should you cancel a resort reservation (I think I read you have two overlapping ones?) you will not lose any dining you have booked. You would not lose any fastpasses you have booked either. Don’t worry.

 

[Master Yoda]

Hi Tuvalu, thanks for the reply; wouldn't many people just cancel their Disney resort and book a cheaper non Disney one? (I really want to stay at Wyndham Bonnet creek: right by CRB gorgeous pools, beautiful large rooms with bunk beds! At a fraction of the cost, But it's not officially Disney) Thanks for any input..I'm worried about this.

It happens more time than you can count.

People book a week long room only stay at a value, book their dining 180 days out, and then cancel their reservation and get a full refund shortly after.