Disney Dining plan credits

Question

Hi all,

I've been trying to find out if this is a thing we can do but there's so many conflicting answers that don't seem to reflect the exact situation.

Myself and my SO and the wee man are going to orlando this summer, We are staying on property and have the full dining plan(incl table service) Several members of my SO's family are also going to be in Orlando on a separate trip (they're arriving before us, leaving after us and staying off property at a villa.

We will be meeting up in the parks and having some meals together etc, the wee man will go for a couple of sleepovers with the rest of the fam at the villa. One thing we wanted to do was treat everyone to a meal on property.

Is it possible for the 2 of us that have the full dining plan with table service credits to pay for the other 5 using our credits? or would we have to use our credits for ourselves and cover the rest of the bill out of pocket?

TIA

Answer

Disney Dining Plans can be a great convenience for guests staying on property, but there are some strict rules about how the credits can be used. Each plan is tied to a specific guest’s MagicBand or account, and the credits cannot be transferred to guests who are not on the same reservation.

In your scenario, since you and your partner are on a dining plan and the other 5 family members are staying off property at a separate villa, you unfortunately cannot use your dining plan credits to pay for their meals. Your credits will only be applied to your own party’s meals, and any additional guests outside your reservation must pay out of pocket.

Here’s a breakdown of how it works:

Table service credits can only be used by the guests on the same reservation as the plan.
Sharing or pooling credits between separate reservations is not allowed.
Children on your reservation can use your credits for their meals, but your son going to sleepovers at the villa would be considered part of a separate group.

What you can do instead:

Use your dining plan credits for your family’s meals, and simply pay for the other family members’ meals with cash, credit card, or gift card.
Consider splitting the check with the restaurant if you want to treat your extended family; just note that your credits cannot be applied to their portion.
If your extended family were to book a stay on property, they could purchase their own dining plan to make using credits easier and more cost-effective.

In short, your dining plan credits are non-transferable and cannot cover off-property guests. You’ll need to plan to pay for any extra guests separately while still enjoying the benefits of your own plan.