Annual Pass & Tables in Wonderland

[happy2012]

Does anyone feel you save a good bit of $ w/ the AP & TIW card? I am calculating our savings but I wanted to know how everyone feels about TIW that have actually used it. I have never purchased an AP so this would be our 1st year. I know that if we use it for 3 trips we will save a lot of $$$. So I'm sold on that part but my DH wants to know that he'll still get to eat well. He is used to the DDP. TIA.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

Here is the TIW website with the list of restaurants that accept it.

The good news is that it's 20% off the entire bill. Including alcohol if you buy it.

I don't know what he means by "eat well." He can buy anything on the menu and still get 20% off of it. In the long run, over 3 trips, that will be much better than DDP.

www.tablesinwonderland.com

Notable restaruants that don't accept it are Teppan Edo, La Hacienda de San Angel, and the Landry's restaurants (Rainforest Cafe, T-Rex, Yak & Yeti). It's also only accepted at 10 counter service so it's really worth it if you prefer table service.

AND...the Swan/Dolphin restaurants take it. Which is great, because they are usually better than any restaurant that takes the dining plan.

Don't count out using it at lounges and places like Tutto Gusto either.

Make sure you read the new stuff on blackout dates. But the new dates only apply to six restaurants...so avoid those restaurants if you're traveling on the new dates.

 

[AlohaAnnie]

I really feel you have to decide if it is worth it or a money saver on your own.


My husband was worried about the same thing but we found we enjoyed the tiw better than the dining plan. I also budget our tiw budget by the price of what the dining plan would be with tips.

I then calculate the most expensive meal at each place we could eat and so on.

Then I use
6.5% tax
18% tip
20% tiw discount

I have found we always end up with a couple of extra tiw meals, then what the dining plan would offer but we usually eat our desserts in the parks and not at TS or CS restaurants. We like this.

We also prefer to share apps instead of having dessert with our meals. We also like that if we do not want a CS meal we can just snack on whatever we want, instead of lunch or dinner. But we are not the type to have to have a meal.


good luck, we really enjoy tiw.


.

 

[mjmcca]

Looking at this list I am reminded of a discount Disney used to give to Vacation Club members (I think). You would get a discount at every resort but only counter service at resorts that had no table service.

 

[JennyDrake]

I had TiW for 6+ years but did not renew last year. Here are my pithy thoughts (and I don't "do" math): IF you eat at least one TS meal every other day, and IF you consume alcohol with a meal or from a lounge and IF you are at WDW 7 days/year or more, TiW will provide meaningful savings. IF there are more than 2 adults (by WDW standards) in your party, the savings multiply.

I'm sure others can provide spreadsheets and algebraic formulas but generally speaking, break even is around $525 spent.

 

[TDC Nala]

Well that was the deal with TIW. It was supposed to be for table service, not counter. But anywhere that had no table service, they made it good for counter.

However, if table service restaurants were added later (like at SSR or AK) then they never took the counter service off the list. And you can still use your TIW at AK or SSR counter service, even though there are now table service restaurants there.

 

[DelrayDave]

My wife and I just went last weekend (Friday - Sunday). I just renewed my TiW and decided to start a tally on how much we save. In that one trip, we already saved $63. One more trip, and the $100 price has paid for itself, so I definitely think it is worth it.

 

[ElizabethB]

It's worth it for us. But, there are two of us and we eat at least two and often three table service meals per day. And, we always order a bottle of wine with dinner as well as after dinner drinks. Also, if you dine at V&A in the main dining room before they end that discount, the card pretty much pays for itself with that meal.

For us, it works much better than the DDP as is provides a discount with complete flexibility -- and it provides the discount on alcohol.

From our perspective, we think of it as paying the tip for us. Given our dining habits, that is worth it.

 

[Tramp68]

Basically, you need to spend $500 of (non-discounted meals + 1/2 of discounted meals) to break even.

Keep in mind:

Many restaurants already discount 10% for AP holders only
You can get the discount for up to 10 people on your TiW
The card holder must be present and paying (usually) for the meal

keep in mind any black out dates and places that do not accept TiW

Make a list add it up and see what you get. I would say that you are looking at about 25 discounted table service meals (no alcohol) in total to break even. So 2 people eating would be 13 meals, a family of 4 adults (non-child meals) would only take 6-7 meals..

 

[Axel]

We've used TiW for years (going back to when it was the Disney Dining Experience) and have always broken at least even...

But then we're usually 2/3 adults who like to eat well at TS restaurants who took about 3 week-long trips a year.

 

[EasternShoreGal]

We have been using TiW for years (although it was much easier to break even when the cost was $50). We are dining at less and less table service restaurants-perhaps 5 or 6 on a 10 day trip. I think the popularity of the dining plan and the many free dining plan offers has hurt quality and driven up prices. Many folks on the dining plan automatically order the most expensive thing on the menu and it has driven pricing up across entire menus as Disney tries to recoup those costs from OOP diners. That being said, since we have the good fortune of visiting at least 2-3 times a year it still works for us.

If asked to choose between the dining plan and TiW, I would opt for TiW as a result of the flexibility it allows-not a dessert fan but love my appetizers and wine with dinner. If asked to choose fully OOP or TiW, I would estimate the number of meals you plan times number of people times $20. If that number is over $500, then get the TiW card-you will save money. If you drink alcohol, you can up the $20 to $30. This math should cover any table service restaurant. If you focus on signature restaurants, up,the amount to more like $50.

Hope this helps

 

[EasternShoreGal]

Forgot to mention, and this is a pet peeve of mine with TiW, an 18% gratuity is added automatically at all TS restaurants, which makes tipping less discretionary. What really bothers me is that when the bill is run with either your magic band or a credit card, the line for a gratuity still shows on the bill even though the gratuity has already been added. I have seen newbies add an additional 20% not realizing this. We handle this by writing "Included" on the tip line and bringing the total down unless we decide to give the server an additional amount. In that case we identify it as an additional gratuity.

 

[sunkissed4]

It's been a huge savings for us especially when we were a party of 8 a few months ago for a 10 day trip. We broke even after a couple of meals that trip and now the rest is all savings.

We tend to skip QS (unless they're included in TiW) and eat at some cheaper TS meals like The Plaza, 50's, Sci-Fi, Grand Floridian Café, Kona Café, Sanaa, Beaches n Cream, etc. After the discount it may just be a few more dollars than eating at a full price QS.

With small kids we thrive on a sit-down lunch to relax for a bit!

 

[mommyrosa2]

We upgraded our tickets last August when we had our FD BB package as we were planning to pay for a few extra TS meals OOP and had two more trips planned within the 1 year timeframe. Just between the 3 OOP TS back in August along with our TS meals we had in October, we more than surpassed the break even mark and have already saved quite a bit. We plan to use TIW again for our upcoming August trip and the only TS we have planned that doesn't accept the card is Yak & Yeti but they do offer a 10% discount for AP holders so that's better than nothing. The card has been well worth it for us.