Tables in Wonderland... am I missing something?

[TheDalys]

I see that the card gets you 20% off your meals at participating resaurants. Thats cool but then it adds 18% on your food bill. So really you are saving 2%? Am I missing something? I do not see this as a deal. That 2% will not cover the price I paid for the TIW Card....

 

[syng0]

I see that the card gets you 20% off your meals at participating resaurants. Thats cool but then it adds 18% on your food bill. So really you are saving 2%? Am I missing something? I do not see this as a deal. That 2% will not cover the price I paid for the TIW Card....

Assuming you normally tip the recommended amount of 18% on top of the total for your meal, you save on the tips plus another 2%.

 

[ToddyLu]

we always tip well so we love having the added 18% on the ticket and then we also save on alcohol. I believe if you spend $375 the card pays for itself. We can do that in one sitting in Disney if there are 4 of us (all adults). Last week we dropped that several times...or at least close to it...we ate a Cali Grill, Derby, Bluezoo and Shula's.

 

[disneynutz]

I see that the card gets you 20% off your meals at participating resaurants. Thats cool but then it adds 18% on your food bill. So really you are saving 2%? Am I missing something? I do not see this as a deal. That 2% will not cover the price I paid for the TIW Card....

IMO TIW is another Disney idea that has lowered the dining experience. If the server knows that they are guaranteed the 18% tip, there isn't any incentive to earn the tip. A tip is a reward for providing excellent service, not a automatic payment that allows companies to pay the minimum wage.

Bill

 

[londonderrydisneyfan]

IMO TIW is another Disney idea that has lowered the dining experience. If the server knows that they are guaranteed the 18% tip, there isn't any incentive to earn the tip. A tip is a reward for providing excellent service, not a automatic payment that allows companies to pay the minimum wage.

Bill

Do you have the tell them that you have the card before you order? I have the same concerns as you about servers not treating you the same if they know they're guaranteed a nice tip.

 

[Chuck S]

I've never had poor service using the TiW and I always tell them before I order that I have it. Usually when they ask if I'm on the DDP, I tell them.

 

[js]

IMO TIW is another Disney idea that has lowered the dining experience. If the server knows that they are guaranteed the 18% tip, there isn't any incentive to earn the tip. A tip is a reward for providing excellent service, not a automatic payment that allows companies to pay the minimum wage.

Bill

You know I thought the same thing would happen before my August/September trip but I encounted just the oposite.
The servers seemed thrilled to know that we had the card and I thought maybe they were happy that they knew they would get at least an 18% tip.
Either way, it paid for itself and will be going back in March and using it again.

 

[js]

I've never had poor service using the TiW and I always tell them before I order that I have it. Usually when they ask if I'm on the DDP, I tell them.

Ditto.

 

[bumbershoot]

Do you have the tell them that you have the card before you order? I have the same concerns as you about servers not treating you the same if they know they're guaranteed a nice tip.

No, you don't.

The first times we used ours, I would say "just Tables in Wonderland", but after a bit I realized they did NOT mean that, when they asked if we were on a dining plan. But even when I was telling them up front, at no time did I get bad service that I recall.


Dh generally will tip 20%. TIW automatically adds 18%. So yeah, we're saving money if he doesn't add a bit on.


OP, in case you don't know, it does NOT add that 18% to the Quick Service places that are covered with the TIW card. So if you're thinking it does, rest assured!

And if you are having abysmal service and don't want the tip to be that high, please oh please, speak to a manager *right then*. Not only will you be allowed to change the tip, but you might be able to nip that bad service in the bud!

 

[Lizard Valley]

The way I see it, is you'd be tipping at least 15-20% anyway. At least you should, unless the service was terrible. So once you factor that in, you really are saving the full 20%.

 

[BEASLYBOO]

The way I see it, is you'd be tipping at least 15-20% anyway. At least you should, unless the service was terrible. So once you factor that in, you really are saving the full 20%.

Exactly,and also, as opposed to AP restaurant discounts and DVC restaurant discounts, the 20% TIW discount is the only one that applies to alcohol! We aren't alcoholics but for 6 people, a before dinner drink and a glass of wine with dinner can be steep at Disney and 20% helps!

 

[bobbiwoz]

I've never had poor service using the TiW and I always tell them before I order that I have it. Usually when they ask if I'm on the DDP, I tell them.

This goes for us too!

Bobbi

 

[erionm]

I've never had poor service using the TiW and I always tell them before I order that I have it. Usually when they ask if I'm on the DDP, I tell them.

Same with us.

 

[PrincessV]

Echoing previous posters - I've been using the card and its predecessors for years and have never received bad service as a result of using the discount. I provide the card with my credit card when it comes time to pay, so the server wouldn't know I have it, anyway, until the end of the meal.

As for the discount, I've certainly never had a WDW meal bad enough to not leave a tip, so yes, I'm absolutely receiving the full 20% discount, since I'd tip between 15-20% anyway.

 

[TheDalys]

Thanks, I will just have to factor in how many times we will be eating out. The discounts will have to be enough to cover the cost of the TIW.

 

[WILDERNESS FAN 55]

we always tip well so we love having the added 18% on the ticket and then we also save on alcohol. I believe if you spend $375 the card pays for itself. We can do that in one sitting in Disney if there are 4 of us (all adults). Last week we dropped that several times...or at least close to it...we ate a Cali Grill, Derby, Bluezoo and Shula's.

Correct me if I'm wrong but TIW is 75.00 if purchased with an AP and 100.00 if just a DVC discount.If that's correct then either spending 375.00 or 400.00 lets you break even.

 

[LisaS]

I see that the card gets you 20% off your meals at participating resaurants. Thats cool but then it adds 18% on your food bill. So really you are saving 2%? Am I missing something? I do not see this as a deal. That 2% will not cover the price I paid for the TIW Card....

Here's an example. Let's say the pre-tax, pre-tip total for your meal is $100.

Without TIW, your final bill would be $124.50 ($100 + $6.50 tax + $18 tip).

With TIW, your total would be $103.20 ($80 +$5.20 tax + $18 tip)

You save $21.30 with TIW, $20 off the menu prices and another $1.30 on the tax. You don't save anything on the tip because that is calculated on the cost of the food before the discount. Overall (factoring in tax and tip) you save 17.11% with TIW. If you normally would tip 20% and just go with TIW's 18% then you save a little more (18.42%).

If you have an AP you can get the TIW card for $75. You would have to spend $438.34 including tax and the 18% tip ($352.11 in menu prices) to break even. If you travel with more than just two people or if you like to dine at signature restaurants or you buy a bottle of wine with dinner instead of just a glass, you'll get to the break-even point much faster than we do. It's good for up to 10 people dining together so if you have even one big group dinner you'll be well on your way to breaking even.

The TIW card is good for 12 months from date of purchase so it works for DH and I since we go to WDW twice a year but would not work for us if we went only once a year. I wish they had a "TIW for TWO" that was less expensive but restricted to just two people at the table.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

1. My normal answer to "are you on a dining plan?" is No. When the bill comes I then bring out my TiW card.

The only time I will let the server know in advance is if some of the gorup I am with are on the dining plan, and I will tell the server to put all non-plan food and all alcoholic beverages on my bill.

2. Here is a working example, using $100.00 as the original bill to make the math show up easily. Note this is for Table Service. At Counter Service there is no gratuity added.

100.00 - Original Menu Amount
*20.00 - Discount
*80.00 - Subtotal
*18.00 - Gratuity Added based on $100
**5.20 - Sales Tax on $80
103.20 - Final amount charged, takes into consideration discount, gratuity and tax.

Without TiW Discount (and still figuring 18% Gratuity)

100.00 - Original Menu Amount
*18.00 - Gratuity
**6.50 - Sales Tax on $100
124.50 - Total

$21.30 - Savings using TiW Card.

(Note - At Victoria and Albert's the added gratuity is 20% instead of 18%.)
* Ignore the asterisks; they are there only so the columns/numbers line up properly.

For the complete list of locations and the rules, go to www.tablesinwonderland.com which is the Official Disney site.

 

[TheDalys]

So to pay the TIW card back for a DVC member. You would need to eat out 5 times at $100 a meal. $21 (in savings a meal) x 5 = $105

 

[erionm]

So to pay the TIW card back for a DVC member. You would need to eat out 5 times at $100 a meal. $21 (in savings a meal) x 5 = $105

Basically, yes. You would need to spend about $500 on pre-discounted dining to break even on the cost. The discount is valid for the card holder and up to nine additional guests on a single check. Once purchased, the TiW card is usually valid for about 13 months.