Park Hopper Pass/Dining Plan Question

[Elonwy]

I am planning a 7 day trip to Disney staying on site and will be getting the dining plan.

My question is...does the amount of meals included on the dining plan depend on the number of nights you are staying or the number of days your pass is for.

I will be staying 7 nights but will only be getting a 5 day park hopper pass because there are a couple days we won't be spending in the park. So how many meals will this include?

Thanks
El

 

[Monty]

DDP is based on the number of nights you're staying, the only ticket requirement is that you have MYW tickets - they can be a one-day MYW base ticket or anything in the MYW ticket choices.

 

[CAPTAIN HOOK]

If you're missing a couple of days at WDW then you're going to struggle getting value for money by purchasing the Dining Plan

 

[Disneykidder]

I wish it were days and not nights but it is nights. You can eat at hotels on those other nights that you are not in the parks, thus still getting all ytou are entitled to.

 

[natalia1681]

I don't want to suggest how you should spend your own hard earned $, but the cost difference between the 5 day pass and the 7 day pass isn't too bad. You may consider upgrading to the 7 day pass, even if it is just to eat in the parks--that will give you more options on places to use the dining plan:wave:

I hope that you have a a great trip!

 

[Rob562]

I don't want to suggest how you should spend your own hard earned $, but the cost difference between the 5 day pass and the 7 day pass isn't too bad. You may consider upgrading to the 7 day pass, even if it is just to eat in the parks--that will give you more options on places to use the dining plan:wave:

I hope that you have a a great trip!

That's exactly what my friends and I are doing while on the Free Dining in September. My friends want a relaxing vacation, so we plan on taking a day-trip to the ocean, a day at (gasp!) Universal and at least a day off from the parks.
While I'll be upgrading my ticket to an AP, they're getting 8-day tickets despite only planning to go into the parks for 4 or 5 of the days. It'll allow us to go into a park just for dinner, fireworks or to hit a favorite attraction or two without feeling like we wasted a lot of money to do so. The difference between a 4-day ticket and an 8-day ticket is less than $10.

-Rob

 

[Elonwy]

thanks so much for the advice. To be honest I didn't realize the minimal difference of just getting a 7-day pass and it might be nice to know we can do an evening in the parks just for dinner if needed.

I was planning to have a full day of shopping in DD and figured I wouldn't waste a day of a park hopper pass for my "shopping" day but for the minimal cost...who knows...I might decide to visit Epcot that night for Illuminations.

I am also doing some visiting for one day with some friends who live nearby, but, maybe we'll want to also visit the parks on that day so I guess I'll "splurge" the extra $10 or so and get the 7 day passes because it would be such a shame to WANT to go to the parks and not have the passes...a real tragedy for sure :animwink:

 

[Rob562]

I am also doing some visiting for one day with some friends who live nearby, but, maybe we'll want to also visit the parks on that day so I guess I'll "splurge" the extra $10 or so and get the 7 day passes because it would be such a shame to WANT to go to the parks and not have the passes...a real tragedy for sure :animwink:

You can also upgrade your ticket by adding days to it at any time within 14 days from first use. So if you need to add on that extra day, it'll only take a couple minutes at Guest Relations at the park or at the front desk of your Disney resort. They'll charge you the price difference between what you have and what you want to upgrade to. (about $2 a day once you're beyond a 4-day ticket).

The only time that the extra days are expensive is if you have the No Expiration option on your ticket, because the No Expiration charges you according to how many days are on the ticket, not a flat-fee like Park Hopper and Water Parks & More options.

-Rob

 

[dnalorg]

You can also upgrade your ticket by adding days to it at any time within 14 days from first use. So if you need to add on that extra day, it'll only take a couple minutes at Guest Relations at the park or at the front desk of your Disney resort. They'll charge you the price difference between what you have and what you want to upgrade to. (about $2 a day once you're beyond a 4-day ticket).

-Rob

Can you also add on the park hopper option if you decide at the last minute that it is needed?

 

[TinkerbellTara]

Double Up

You can also double up your "points". Some of the more expensive restaurants take two table service points for each meal. For instance, you can eat at the California Grill or Narcoosee's, which are two pricey and delicious places for the price of two days of table service meals. The musical dining experiences also "cost" two table service meals, i.e. Hoop-Dee-Doo, Mickey's Luau. Say you're doing the regular dining plan, you get 1 counter service, 1 table service, and 1 snack per day. So for a total of 7 days you will have 7 of each. So if you did Hoop-Dee-Doo on you first night you would have only 5 table service meals left on your tab, not 6. If you're planning to go to the beach one day and you're afraid of wasting a day of meals, don't worry. You're not required to use your meals everyday. They are lumped together and you can use them however you wish. If you wanted to eat all 7 snacks in one day you can! So feel free to eat at the more expensive places (beware though, tip is no longer included) or try a musical dinner show, and really do some research because you can really get your money worth


another tip-- Grab a case of bottled water to keep in your hotel room and take a few to the park with you so you don't have to use your snack points on plain ole' water. Then you can get some ice cream instead :slurp:


HAVE FUN!!!

 

[Rob562]

Can you also add on the park hopper option if you decide at the last minute that it is needed?

Yes. The Park Hopper (as well as the Water Parks & More) option can be added onto a MYW ticket any time within 14 days of first use. So if you don't know if you'll need it or not, buy a ticket without it. Then while on the trip you find you'd like to be able to park-hop, just stop by Guest Relations and add it.

-Rob

 

[redfive13]

Yes. The Park Hopper (as well as the Water Parks & More) option can be added onto a MYW ticket any time within 14 days of first use. So if you don't know if you'll need it or not, buy a ticket without it. Then while on the trip you find you'd like to be able to park-hop, just stop by Guest Relations and add it.

-Rob

The park hopper is a nice addition to have. Especially if you like to take breaks mid-day. You can then go to whatever park has EMH...