Beginning in January - 18% Gratuity....

[Pumbaa_]

When using your Disney Dining Experience membership card the assessed gratuity will be added to all table service restaurant locations and lounges

Mary - it sounds like in a round about way the sentence above answers it.

I wish they would get a focus group or something to read this stuff before it is sent out. Would save us a whole bunch of interpreting and wondering.

Thanks for sharing your response

 

[kaytieeldr]

But, and this of course is my opinion, I do not like being told what to tip when it is just my husband and myself..

And as long as you're not invoking the DDE discount, the tip is entirely up to you.

 

[Mackey Mouse]

Yes.. thank you Katie.. I do realize that. But I do usually buy the DDE as I am an AP holder, mine just ran out.. so you see it does concern me as I was about to renew my DDE.

 

[*KeepMovingForward*]

But, and this of course is my opinion, I do not like being told what to tip when it is just my husband and myself.. Call me crazy, but I do think I can handle tipping appropriately for service given.

You took the words right out of my mouth. The whole policy change rubbed me the wrong way for this very reason-are they trying to tell us that those of us that are members of the DDE don't know how to tip?

Now I'm a chronic over tipper if anything, but I can honestly say that the change will probably ensure that I just tip what they tell me to and that's it. I know its not the servers fault that Disney instituted this change, but it irks me nonetheless.

 

[bevypoo63]

I sent an Email to WDWcommunications at the link provided in a previous post, regarding the the 18% gratuity. I just received an answer back from WDW executive offices which stated that the autogratuity would only be applied to groups of 6 or more and people on the DDE, They were very clear that it would not effect anyone else and very apologetic for the confusion regarding the gratuity.
Hopefully this clears things up.

 

[Pumbaa_]

And as long as you're not invoking the DDE discount, the tip is entirely up to you.

That's not a fair comment to make. DDE'ers have not had a forced gratuity unless the party size was over the disney party size. The change for next year (although we had news of it early) annoys me too.

I like to tip appropiately. It takes alot for me to tip less than 20%, whether at Disney or home.

Marsha you can vent away all you like. I am right there with you (although I just renewed my card )

 

[Pumbaa_]

I sent an Email to WDWcommunications at the link provided in a previous post, regarding the the 18% gratuity. I just received an answer back from WDW executive offices which stated that the autogratuity would only be applied to groups of 6 or more and people on the DDE, They were very clear that it would not effect anyone else and very apologetic for the confusion regarding the gratuity.
Hopefully this clears things up.

Thanks Bev, we are seeing this coming back more and more now. Glad that someone at Disney is working weekends and clearing this up for the Internet communities.

While I am not thrilled with it being added, I am very glad it is just to the DDE folks and not every tab.

 

[barndweller]

This still doesn't clarify whether the autogratuity will be only for DDE or a blanket policy.

What difference does it make really? The fact is everyone eating at a resaurant in America is expected to tip at least 18% on top of your bill. If DDE includes it, so be it. I won't buy the DDE card. If DDP includes it, all those who were agast at the omission in the 2008 plan can breathe a sigh of relief. The only complainers should be the people who had planned to skip tipping to optimize the new DDP, otherwise why be so upset?

I plan to skip dining at TS restaurants completely. It is no longer an enjoyable experience. Deciding where & what to eat 6 months ahead of time is ridiculous. The food is no longer interesting & varied. The atmosphere is now ruined by crowded tables and flashing cameras as the Disney characters make the rounds of tables full of over-tired children and stressed parents busy calculating the best use of their dining credits. The constant cutbacks in staffing have resulted in overworked servers who are now guaranteed a minimum 18% tip to provide minimal service. It's all downhill from here.

The magic is gone for me as far as dining on-site. That means that I will be staying off-site as well. No tears here. The cost of my Disney vacation just went down by a significant amount!!

 

[*KeepMovingForward*]

I haven't had an opportunity to read all 500+ posts on this thread, but does anyone know why the DDE members were singled out for the mandatory gratuity? Maybe I'm missing something here, but I would think they should make it mandatory for all table service checks, regardless of DDE, DDP or no discount at all.

 

[Mackey Mouse]

I am not renewing my card until they explain to me why this gratuity is being added to my bill. I do have an AP, I am DVC, and I am a true Disney person. This is about taking my rights away to make an intelligent decision on what I want to leave as a tip for the server who served my meal at whatever restaurant I choose to go to.....Next they will be telling me that parties of two can only eat at certain restaurants....

Personally, I feel like I am being discriminated against and I would like to know why?? Since I have had DDE and got a discount, I should pick up the slack for the Dining plan's lack of gratuity.. Something is very wrong here, and I think this might have been a trade off in negotiations.. this again is my opinion..

I do hope Disney is reading this thread..

 

[wdw4us2]

Let's see what DDE has done to members in the past few years.

First, the first year that they allowed all AP holders to become DDE members, they raised the menu prices by 20%.

Next, they raised the price per year as well as charging for members to have a spouse card.

Now, they are implementing an automatic 20% gratuity at all sit-down locations including buffets.

I wonder if Disney is just trying to eliminate the DDE altogether? This reminds me of what happened to the Magic Kingdom Club. First, they eliminated the free membership through your employer - then they started charging for membership while offering barely any discounts - then when people refused to pay for a service that didn't offer anything substantial, Disney totally eliminated the program.

I wish I'd known this was going to happen before we renewed our membership last month. I guess we will vote with our wallet and start dining off property.

 

[patsal]

Along with the change in the tip policy another policy has changed. Effective
tomorrow 11/11 while DDE is closed you will no longer be able to use your
annual passholder voucher to purchase the DDE card. Because I have days
left on a ten day pass we were not going to exchange the voucher for
passes until April. I purchased the vouchers ahead of time to get the DDE
card for Dec trip. I made 6 reservations at the higher end restaurants with
the expectations of getting the 20% discount. It would be a waste of the
10 day tickets to activate the annual pass now. So we are going to wait
until April for the annual pass and then get the DDE card at same time. We
will be cancelling all 6 of the ADR's we made and eat elseware. We are
extremely disappointed in this change.

John & Christy

So, you're saying that you feel like you've been somehow punished because you will no longer be permitted to take advantage of a loop hole.
Sorry, but that sounds fair to me, you are not a pass holder--you're a voucher holder and that should not get you the amenities. One thing that needs to be cleaned up is abuse of the system. So far that fixes the DDE without an AP, no more booking rooms when buying just one child's AP has been addressed, using child credits on DDP for adult TS meals has been cleared up, only a few other things left. Maybe if the abuses stop the price increases won't be necessary.

 

[Sammie]

It is only DDE, it is only table service not counter service, it is only parties of 6 or more regardless of payment, it is due to contract negotiations from this summer.

And yes they are very much aware of the confusion.

 

[Pumbaa_]

I plan to skip dining at TS restaurants completely. It is no longer an enjoyable experience. Deciding where & what to eat 6 months ahead of time is ridiculous. The food is no longer interesting & varied. The atmosphere is now ruined by crowded tables...

I don't think you are alone there barndweller. We have a trip planned for January and I haven't made any ADR's. I have never eaten offsite, but plan to this trip.

I want a laid back vacation. I don't want to obsess over the details. I want to take it day by day and see where we feel like going like we used to years ago.

I am ok with this. I know where we can probably get a table last minute, I know which CS places have a nice variety and am willing to wing it. And we will more than likely be venturing offsite to eat.

 

[Mackey Mouse]

I remember the Magic Kingdom Club too......and how we got it through husband's work, then we paid for it, and then it was gone..

Interesting thought you have here, maybe that is their intention..

And like Puumba, I am going in December with no ADR's and I could care less.. They will not be getting much money from me for food.....Maybe I will just eat at the Swan and Dolphin, they have a nice variety over there.. I also will have a car and will venture out to eat......there are some very fine restaurants in Orlando..

 

[Sammie]

I am not renewing my card until they explain to me why this gratuity is being added to my bill. I do have an AP, I am DVC, and I am a true Disney person. This is about taking my rights away to make an intelligent decision on what I want to leave as a tip for the server who served my meal at whatever restaurant I choose to go to.....Next they will be telling me that parties of two can only eat at certain restaurants....

Personally, I feel like I am being discriminated against and I would like to know why?? Since I have had DDE and got a discount, I should pick up the slack for the Dining plan's lack of gratuity.. Something is very wrong here, and I think this might have been a trade off in negotiations.. this again is my opinion..

I do hope Disney is reading this thread..

Mackie, this is from a CM that works food and beverage with a light hearted attempt to explain how this came about per union negoitations.

Once apon a time there was a girl named Alice, and Alice owned a restaurant.

She had lots of cards working for her, the Ace of hearts, the Two of diamonds, etc.

Alice offered a package plan to her customers where they could pay a certain price and eat for free in her restaurant, and the gratuity was included. Well one day Alice's accountant told Alice that she could save a ton of cash if she stopped paying the cards the gratuity, and make the customers tip the cards based on what they ate.

Well the cards all got very angry and told Alice that they felt this wasn't fair, so Alice went back to her accountant and asked what should she do?

The accountant thought about it and said "Hey Alice, don't you have another program where you give people 20% off of their meal?"

Alice replied "Yes, I call it the ADE, Alice's Dining Experience!"

At which point the accountant told Alice to tell the cards that because they were loosing the gratuity on the free dining plan, she would make it up by demanding the ADE customers pay a gratuity.

The cards accepted this agreement, and now Alice doesn't have to pay out any gratuity at all, saving herself a ton of cash!

The only problem is, Alice forgot to tell the girl who answers the phone about the change!

 

[Paul in CT]

That's not a fair comment to make. DDE'ers have not had a forced gratuity unless the party size was over the disney party size. The change for next year (although we had news of it early) annoys me too.

I like to tip appropiately. It takes alot for me to tip less than 20%, whether at Disney or home.

Marsha you can vent away all you like. I am right there with you (although I just renewed my card )

I just renewed my DDE, too. The savings for us is too good for this policy change to keep me from doing so. In fact, we always tipped the amount of the discount unless the service was really bad (only once and then it was 15%) so this change may actually save us money.

The downside that I see is if the servers become complacent since they are now guaranteed 18% regardless of service. Only time will tell.......???

 

[Pumbaa_]

That's what I think too Paul (about the tips) but since we generally don't mention the DDE until the bill comes, it may not be too big a hit. Especially since the servers will not have a guaranteed 18% from the DDP'ers anymore.

Jody (in CT )

 

[fires_grumpy]

DW and I are DDE card users and we usually tip 20 % and some times more. What is the tipping in the USA normlly. I`m thinking it is 15 % I`m I right. We are waiting to see if this is just on the DDE card holder or everyone.
Not sure if we will now renew our card or not. Yes we would still be getting a 2 % discount. But it would take 4 or 5 trips to break even on cost. I hope this all gets ironed out before our next trip in May. We will still eat in our favorite restaurants. I guess we have been lucky in the last 5 year we have only gotten 1 bad server.

 

[Sammie]

I don't think you will see a decline in service. We never experienced with the automatic tip on the DDP. If anything I think the servers will be glad to have the DDE business and will show that. If not soon, many will not renew the card. Considering how many do not tip at all or way less than 18%, I think you will find greatful servers for your business.