Annual Pass and TIW

[edisneydreaming]

Hi - I am planning our first trip home in late August - Early Sept. We are going for 12 days. I made our ADRs and we are not on the dining plan. I think it would be worth it for me to get an annual pass using the DVC discount and then get the TIW card. Is there anything I need to do in advance to get both of these? Has anyone done this? The rest of my party would have MYW tickets. We will not be back within the year. Thanks for any advice.

 

[Rob S.]

You can purchase the Annual Pass and TIW card at the guest relations booth at any of the theme parks or DTD (they can not be purchased at the resorts). You will need your DVC membership card to get the annual pass discount. The whole process only takes a few minutes.

 

[Chuck S]

For a 12 day trip, if you are going into the parks daily, wouldn't it be a money saver if everyone in your party who is eligible bought the DVC discounted APs over the MYW tickets? You would still need only one TIW for the entire party.

 

[allshookup]

For a 12 day trip, if you are going into the parks daily, wouldn't it be a money saver if everyone in your party who is eligible bought the DVC discounted APs over the MYW tickets? You would still need only one TIW for the entire party.

I was thinking the same thing & not only a money saver, but the peace of mind to be able to come & go from all the parks without feeling like you have to get all you can out of day's admission.

 

[iluveeyore]

Hi - I am planning our first trip home in late August - Early Sept. We are going for 12 days. I made our ADRs and we are not on the dining plan. I think it would be worth it for me to get an annual pass using the DVC discount and then get the TIW card. Is there anything I need to do in advance to get both of these? Has anyone done this? The rest of my party would have MYW tickets. We will not be back within the year. Thanks for any advice.

We are going at the same time (Aug. 22-Sept. 4) - where are you staying? I have my AP already that I got with the DVC discount as well. How much is the TIW? We're eating a lot of meals in the villa, but have some ADR's as well. Wondering if it would be worth it for us too.

 

[erionm]

We are going at the same time (Aug. 22-Sept. 4) - where are you staying? I have my AP already that I got with the DVC discount as well. How much is the TIW? We're eating a lot of meals in the villa, but have some ADR's as well. Wondering if it would be worth it for us too.

The TiW card is $75 for passholders.

 

[AuntTink]

What is TiW? What does it get you?

 

[allshookup]

What is TiW? What does it get you?

Tables in Wonderland is a dining discount card offered to Florida Residents & Annual Passholders & it gives you 20% off all food & beverages, including alcoholic beverages. Here's a link to more info & participating restaurants:

http://www.wdwinfo.com/disneydiningexperience.htm

 

[Rob S.]

TIW = Tables in Wonderland (formerly DDE, Disney Dining Experience)

It is a disount card that is good for a 20% discount on food and beverage at almost all resort and theme park table service establishments.

If you plan on spending more than $375, you will come out ahead with TIW.

 

[edisneydreaming]

Thanks for the advice. We are only going to the parks for 10 days and I wasn't going to park hop so only one AP made sense. Now DH wants to be able to park hop so I have to run the numbers again. Also, my mom doesn't live with us so her AP would be more then a regular ticket. The big thing is that I can get the AP and TIW card once I am there - I don't have to preorder. I will run the numbers and see if getting everyone APs makes sense. Thanks again.

 

[iluveeyore]

Is the TIW really worth it? I was reading about it, and it said that 18% gratuity will be added to all TIW transactions regardless of the party size, so in essence you're only saving 2% unless you always leave an 18% gratuity - personally, I don't like being told what to tip as it always depends on the service I received - sometimes we tip more, sometimes less. What's everyone else think?

 

[gkrykewy]

We pretty much always leave the standard 20% tip, so an 18% tip actually saves us money -- plus it's 18% of the pre-tax discounted amount. I mean really, unless you'd commonly tip 5% or something horrible like that, you will definitely save money.

If you have a negative experience, you can have the tip adjusted downward by a manager (adjusting upward can be done on the receipt in the traditional way).

 

[Inkmahm]

Is the TIW really worth it? I was reading about it, and it said that 18% gratuity will be added to all TIW transactions regardless of the party size, so in essence you're only saving 2% unless you always leave an 18% gratuity - personally, I don't like being told what to tip as it always depends on the service I received - sometimes we tip more, sometimes less. What's everyone else think?

I think that you have to compare apples to apples, not apples to oranges. Saying you're only getting a 2% savings makes no sense unless you normally don't tip at all.

I actually save more than 20% with the TIW card because I normally tip 20%, not 18%. The smart Disney servers don't put the18% on automatically and make it easier for me to tip the 20%.

 

[Chuck S]

We actually come out ahead with the 18% included, as we used to simply add the 20% discount back in as a tip. Also remember that at the few counter service location that do accept the TIW, there is no tip added back in. Now...if we could only convince them to give the 20% on the AK Picnic in the Park.

 

[edisneydreaming]

I have no doubt that TIW will save us money (even if it just matches the tip). I think the only places we didn't tip 18% were the buffets where we felt the servers did very little - then we tipped 15%. For us it will pay off and I am looking forward to trying it.

iluveeyore - We are staying at SSR from August 21 - 29. From Aug 29 - September 4 we are at BLT.

Again, thanks for the help everyone.

 

[iluveeyore]

Thanks for the opinions on the TIW - it helps when it's explained more than just reading about what it costs - I think I might go ahead and get one when we get there.

 

[Tara]

Is the TIW really worth it? I was reading about it, and it said that 18% gratuity will be added to all TIW transactions regardless of the party size, so in essence you're only saving 2% unless you always leave an 18% gratuity - personally, I don't like being told what to tip as it always depends on the service I received - sometimes we tip more, sometimes less. What's everyone else think?

I understand wanting to make your own decision, but do you not tip a standard amount for appropriate service? You'd only be saving just 2% if you left NO gratuity in normal, non-TIW circumstances.

I always considered the automatic gratuity a wash since I'd be tipping anyway.

 

[iluveeyore]

I understand wanting to make your own decision, but do you not tip a standard amount for appropriate service? You'd only be saving just 2% if you left NO gratuity in normal, non-TIW circumstances.

I always considered the automatic gratuity a wash since I'd be tipping anyway.

Yes, of course we always tip for appropriate service - I was just saying that I might leave say 10-15% if I felt the server was really lacking or the service was very inappropriate, and therefore didn't like the idea of the automatic tip (some servers don't 'shine' if they know they're getting a tip no matter what). But after running the numbers (I fired off my post without using a calculator ), I see how it would still save some money, so we're considering getting at TIW card when we get there in August.

But thanks for the input - that's why I post on these boards - opinions are priceless and very helpful

Have a Disney day everyone!

 

[Lesia]

I love my TIW card. Gotta buy a new one this trip. I don't tell the servers up front I have the card, unless they ask. That way, they don't know of the auto grat.