Check In 1 Day Prior to "Play Stay and Dine"

[was5]

Planning on going to WDW in January 2018. Can't decide if we want to fly down on 12/31/17 or wait until 1/1/18 (or possibly even wait until mid-January).

I was looking at historical deals for early January and Play, Stay and Dine seems to be it over the past couple of years. I realize there is no telling what if any discounts will be available for 2018, so my question is theoretical.

If there is a Play, Stay and Dine package that starts 1/1/18 and we check in on 12/31/17, do we get the deal for all the days that start 1/1/18 and go forward. Will checking in on 12/31 complicate things to the point that a split stay would make more sense? I had thoughts of a split stay with a few days at a DVC rental, but since my dad and step-mom like to keep things simple, I think we will probably just book a moderate on Disney property. Oh, and not sure if this makes a difference, but I would not plan on going to the parks 12/31. We would fly down, check into our room and maybe go to Chef Mickey for dinner. My research shows that MK is not very crowded early on 1/1 so we would want to be up for rope drop (maybe PPO breakfast) on 1/1. It will be H, 3 kids (age 4-10) and me in our room so one night at a value isn't possible unless we got a suite. Dad and step mom will be in a separate room, possibly a separate hotel if they want to keep things less expensive for themselves. (Leaning toward POR for my family but think dad and step mom might want to stay at Pop).

Thanks for your input.

[beantrees]

I was in this exact situation last year. All the reading I did said that you needed to book two reservations.

We ended up not using the PSD, so it didn't matter anyways.

[bex]

I think the date of your check in is the controlling date for specials and promotions. So if you check in on the last day of free dining, you get it for the rest of your stay. If you check in a day before, you don't get it at all. I think. lol.

[Wines Not Whines]

Based on my experience with booking a promotional package this year, I think you'd need to make two separate reservations. We had a discount that applied to part of our stay, but not all of it, so we had to book our trip as two separate reservations. Both were at the same hotel, and thankfully we didn't need to change rooms.

[was5]

Thanks ladies. Looks like 12/31 would have to be booked separately. I hadn't even thought of that before. Now to wait until 2018 rates get published and I can actually book.

[curbsideprophet]

Jan 5, 2017 12:43:40 GMT -5 bex said:

I think the date of your check in is the controlling date for specials and promotions. So if you check in on the last day of free dining, you get it for the rest of your stay. If you check in a day before, you don't get it at all. I think. lol.

This is my understanding of how it works.