Honest Opinions: Tables in Wonderland

[zobow02]

We are getting annual passes in October. However, I had just stumbled upon Tables in Wonderland and since we enjoy staying on Disney property and getting some of our meals at the food court I thought this would be something to look into... To anyone who has Tables in Wonderland, has it saved you money? And more importantly, is it worth the $175?

 

[addiln]

One year for us it was more then worth it I thought. The second time around I just used my DVC discount and it was a better deal. For us since we were able to save enough with the dvc discount I am not sure if I would go back to TIW. I think it really depends on how many times you will be able to use the card in the year time period and also if it is accepted at all your dining reservations.

 

[DisBuckMan]

TiW is only $150 for annual passholders and DVC members. It's $175 for Florida residents.

You simply have to do the math to figure out if it's worth it for you. Keep in mind that AP holders get 10% discounts at many restaurants, so the value is diluted a bit there...meaning it will take a bit more than $750 to make it worth what you pay for it.

AP discounts do not apply on alcohol purchases, while TiW discounts do, so keep that in mind.

 

[JKMastalski]

I think its a personal decision as it depends on how much fine/expensive dining you do and how much drinking you do. We had 2 trips planned within a year and by halfway through the first trip, it had already paid its self off. It was a no-brainer for us!

 

[TinkerBelle_325]

We travel to WDW about 2-3 times per year. We really enjoy Signature Dining experiences and find that Tables in Wonderland will pay for itself and give us pretty significant savings within 1 trip. You can also use it to get free valet parking when dining at a Tables in Wonderland participating restaurant or bar at WDW Resort Hotels and Disney Springs! That saves $20-$25 each time you take advantage of that benefit. Within 1 trip our card typically pays for itself and saves us an additional $300 or so. On our upcoming 2 week October vacation (our third trip with this card) I've estimated our Tables in Wonderland savings as approximately $500.

EDIT: I just wanted to add that there aren't many quick service restaurants that are eligible with Tables in Wonderland. The savings comes predominately from table service, in particular signature dining.

Here's an example. The California Grill Brunch at the top is $80 per guest. We are a party of 3 adults. That means our pre-tax & tip subtotal is $240. Tables in Wonderland automatically adds an 18% gratuity that is calculated from this subtotal, so $43.20. The savings with Tables in Wonderland is 20%. So you take that $240, multiply it by 0.8 and get a new subtotal of $192. Then you add the tax and the previously mentioned gratuity to get a total of $247.68.

If you were to pay the non-discounted rate for the brunch and assume you would still tip 18% that would make the non-discounted total $298.80. So essentially, Tables in Wonderland "saves" you $51.12. Make sense?

 

[twinme]

As an annual pass holder, not DVC, the Tables in Wonderland card is a must have. One thing not mentioned here is it will cover parties up to 10 or 12, as long as someone at the table holds the card. You can also combine your tables card with the dining plan...tables includes alcohol,and also an automatic 18 percent tip. So, we like to tip well, and we drink good wine. Tables is great....don't talk about it much or it wil probably get lost in a archived Disney cloud!!!

 

[smcabee]

Also keep in mind if you use a personal or rental vehicle and use TIW you get Free Valet Parking as well.

 

[DisBuckMan]

We travel to WDW about 2-3 times per year. We really enjoy Signature Dining experiences and find that Tables in Wonderland will pay for itself and give us pretty significant savings within 1 trip. You can also use it to get free valet parking when dining at a Tables in Wonderland participating restaurant or bar at WDW Resort Hotels and Disney Springs! That saves $20-$25 each time you take advantage of that benefit. Within 1 trip our card typically pays for itself and saves us an additional $300 or so. On our upcoming 2 week October vacation (our third trip with this card) I've estimated our Tables in Wonderland savings as approximately $500.

EDIT: I just wanted to add that there aren't many quick service restaurants that are eligible with Tables in Wonderland. The savings comes predominately from table service, in particular signature dining.

Here's an example. The California Grill Brunch at the top is $80 per guest. We are a party of 3 adults. That means our pre-tax & tip subtotal is $240. Tables in Wonderland automatically adds an 18% gratuity that is calculated from this subtotal, so $43.20. The savings with Tables in Wonderland is 20%. So you take that $240, multiply it by 0.8 and get a new subtotal of $192. Then you add the tax and the previously mentioned gratuity to get a total of $247.68.

If you were to pay the non-discounted rate for the brunch and assume you would still tip 18% that would make the non-discounted total $298.80. So essentially, Tables in Wonderland "saves" you $51.12. Make sense?

Except in your example, the OP's actual TiW "savings" would be half that amount ($25.56), since their AP's would have given them a 10% discount.

 

[bumbershoot]

EDIT: I just wanted to add that there aren't many quick service restaurants that are eligible with Tables in Wonderland. The savings comes predominately from table service, in particular signature dining.

Whether you think there are many or few depends on how you dine.

World Premier Food Court at ASMo
Intermission Food Court at ASMu
End Zone Food Court AS Sports
Landscape of Flavors at AOA
Everything POP shopping and dining at Pop
Sassagoula at POFQ
(I thought the food court at POR but it's not listed)
Artist's Palette at SSR
Flame Tree,
Restaurantosaurus, and
Pizzafari at AK park.


Because we always have a car and like to check out other areas of the resorts, we tend to utilize those places. And because they have traditionally had some nice vegetarian food.

 

[twinme]

Valet is now 35$....if that helps!

 

[TinkerBelle_325]

Except in your example, the OP's actual TiW "savings" would be half that amount ($25.56), since their AP's would have given them a 10% discount.

True, but using almost any other signature dining experience the discount would also apply to alcoholic beverages, and thus would increase the savings over the 10% annual pass discount.

Even if you “half” the savings amounts listed in my original post, our TIW card would still save us approx $250 per trip. With 3 trips per year and deducting the $150 cost, that’s $600 which is substantial.

 

[gillep]

We enjoy getting a bottle of wine at some dinners, and some sort of alcoholic beverage at pretty much every table service meal that we have, and we are also able to get 3-4 trips out of each card, so it has been worth it for us at least this year, and likely next year as well as long as our travel habits stay the same.

 

[Hopefully]

As an annual pass holder, not DVC, the Tables in Wonderland card is a must have. One thing not mentioned here is it will cover parties up to 10 or 12, as long as someone at the table holds the card. You can also combine your tables card with the dining plan...tables includes alcohol,and also an automatic 18 percent tip. So, we like to tip well, and we drink good wine. Tables is great....don't talk about it much or it wil probably get lost in a archived Disney cloud!!!

One TIW Card covers 10 guests, not 12. The card holder must pay the full check for all 10 diners-no splitting checks

 

[gharter]

As others said, it all comes down to the math to see if it is worth it.
If you have an AP, you have a 10% discount at many stores and restaurants. The AP discount does not include alcohol, TIW does, including lounges.
A rough rule, with no other discounts, you need to spend $750 to break even, if you have a DVC, AP discount, the breakeven point is closer to $1500.
If you have a larger group, that can be an easy target to hit. Depending on where you eat (mainly TS), that also may not be a difficult target to hit.
We plan our purchase of our AP and TIW cards and our trips, so we get 3 trips out of them and easily save money.