Confused by half board plans

[Dead-metal]

We are booked to go in June, and I'm looking to add Half Board Plus onto our booking. I'm not too worried about cost versus value, as I just like to have it all paid for in advance.

It seems the dining plan is changing in March (and going up massively!) but what is confusing me is that previously we've been able to use our vouchers to eat in any of the hotels within the purchased plan. Now it looks to me as if we can only use our voucher to dine in the hotel we are staying in, and it would only be worth face value at the other hotels. Is this correct?

[Elodie]

I thought it was just the breakfast voucher that had to be used in your own hotel, and the other vouchers could be used in the same way as before. I'll have a look and see if I've misread it.

[Dead-metal]

I've read it so many times I'm going round in circles! We haven't been since 2012, and it seems like they've made things way more complicated since then!

This is the bit I'm looking at, and it seems to emphasise "in your Disney hotel" rather than in any hotel.

[sammykitten]

you could just put the money on a prepay card, that way its still paid for in advance, and you can please yourself where you eat and when.

[BevS97]

there are a few levels, we had the standard plan (but it was free), and there were 7 restaurants where you could use it, or you could use them at face value.

[Elodie]

I see what you mean, but I think it's just phrased that way because of the Hotel plan, where you can only eat at your own hotel. It says the same thing on the current dining plan, which was valid on our last trip, but we could still go to other hotel buffets that were on the same plan.

We were on the standard plan, but using that as an example, the old plan said 7 valid restaurants (3 hotels and 4 park restaurants.) The new plan says more than 5 (i.e. at least 6, but could still be 7.) If you could only eat at your own hotel or one of the 4 park restaurants, it wouldn't add up to more than 5 valid restaurants. (Unless they're adding a new standard buffet restaurant to the parks, but I'm sure we'd have heard about that.)

I did wonder why it says more than 5 now, instead of 7. Maybe they are secretly planning to change Plaza Gardens to a higher level, but I think it's more likely that it's just to cover themselves if one is closed. Perhaps they've had complaints that when a restaurant is closed, people aren't able to choose from the promised number of valid restaurants?

[Dead-metal]

Thanks Elodie that's what I figured too. I'm glad you read it the same way.