How do you handle splitting the check when dining with others?

[ncbyrne]

I am traveling with my DD and 2 DGDs. We have agreed that I will pay for my own meals and my DD will pay for hers and the girls. How should I handle the bill? I certainly don't want to get a calculator out, and asking for a separate check would seems a bit odd. Usually it winds up that I pay the entire bill when we go out to eat at home, but after the cost of the resort and the tickets I simply cannot afford it at WDW.

 

[ducklite]

Lots of ideas--take turns picking up the check, or have one person pay and hold on the receipts and when you get home figure it out and let the other write a check for what they owe. This is what we did when going to WDW with my sister and her family--actually we did it twice, and it worked out just great!

You can also just rough it out and not worry about a few dollars here and there, it will all work out in the long run.

Anne

 

[Gaiusrex]

Originally posted by ducklite
Lots of ideas--take turns picking up the check, or have one person pay and hold on the receipts and when you get home figure it out and let the other write a check for what they owe. This is what we did when going to WDW with my sister and her family--actually we did it twice, and it worked out just great!

You can also just rough it out and not worry about a few dollars here and there, it will all work out in the long run.

Anne

That's what wee do too. I'll pay for the Hoop-de-doo, and my parents pay for Artist Point. I pay for Crystal Palace; They'll pay for Chef Mickey's. If I don't clarify ahead of time, my mom will try to pay for everything, and my dad will get grumpy because she'll be spendin' all "his" money

 

[Kruuzin]

Ask your server for separate checks. We travel many times with multiple families and servers are always very accomodating when asking for separate checks for each family. It's more the norm than the exception.

 

[mlbretscher]

I wondered about this too before our trip. We (DH, myself, DS 9 & DD's 7 & 3) went to WDW with my dads girlfriend (although my dad did not go) and her son and his wife and their DD 8. Whew, that's a mouthful, anyway, when it was time to get the check, all the servers were great. We just said how many adult meals and how many kids meals to put on each ticket. Everything went real smooth that way, and it was never a problem. Have a great trip!

 

[daisy112878]

When we need to split up the checks we tell the server as soon as they come to the table. It's easier on them if they know ahead of time. This is a great way if both of yall are paying with credit cards. It's easy and most servers are very accomdating with it.

If you have cash or check, just have one person pay and then settle up at the end of the day with each other.

 

[CamColt]

We travelled with my mother a few times now. Sometimes she will pick up a special meal for all of us and other times we will treat her to something.
In general if we are "splitting" it DH will charge the total and she will just give him the cash for her meal. We just estimate her total from the cost of what she had though...a few dollars either way is no biggie.

 

[kbkids]

What we've always done is I pay for the hotels, as I'm the one making all the plans anyway. My parents pay for the meals. I just tuck all the receipts away, and when we get home, we add it up. It almost always comes out just about right, but whatever doesn't, we just settle up when we get home.

 

[PlutoPony]

We found the restaurants at WDW very accommodating in writing seperate checks - much more so than any place else we've been. Would echo the suggestion to tell the server when they take your order, but we never got the idea that this was a pain for them...

 

[Chuck S]

We usually ask for separate checks when traveling with others, even for a single diner, and never had any problems. They are used to it at Disney.

 

[ncbyrne]

My son was a waiter during his school years. He told me that the only problem that might come up with seperate checks is trying to get all the food to the table at the same time. If someone orders something on one check that takes a while longer to prepare, the first order will be up and ready well before the other check.

 

[Chuck S]

Originally posted by ncbyrne
My son was a waiter during his school years. He told me that the only problem that might come up with seperate checks is trying to get all the food to the table at the same time. If someone orders something on one check that takes a while longer to prepare, the first order will be up and ready well before the other check.

We've had this happen, though rarely, at WDW. It sometimes happens even without separate checks. There can be an "accident" in the kitchen or some mishap that causes a "late plate" when others are ready at any restaurant. But generally, all meals have been served together at WDW restaurants, whether or not we had separate checks.

The delay was never anything that had a major impact on our plans, especially if you allow time for a nice meal.

 

[Beachangel]

Whenever I travel with my girlfriends we all put cash into a "kitty". That way, there's no fuss at the table splitting the bill, etc. One person holds the money and we replenish it as needed.

 

[CherylA]

Another fan of the rough estimate. When you order keep in mind how much your meal is that way as you finish up eating you can have the money in hand for your portion of the bill. It is less awkwad if you can just hand your daughter the cash when the bill comes without analyzing the check. When estimating I just add up my meal items, don't forget your beverages and a portion of the appetizers or desserts if you shared then I tack on 25% for tip/tax. Heep a variety of denominations of cash with you so you don't have to ask her for "change". Have fun!

 

[kweaver]

Originally posted by ncbyrne
My son was a waiter during his school years. He told me that the only problem that might come up with seperate checks is trying to get all the food to the table at the same time. If someone orders something on one check that takes a while longer to prepare, the first order will be up and ready well before the other check.

This really shouldn't be an issue anymore. Almost every WDW dining establishment uses Micros (at least I think they are still a customer)...a computerized system. They can easily do a "split check" for a table and your food should come out together.

(I used to work for one of Micros' competitors. )

 

[kilee]

Last year we traveled w/ a large group and we ate a lot of our meals together. It consisted of 5 paying families. We just went ahead and split the bill 5 ways since it mostly buffets anyhow. Since we each had 2 adults and 1 kid- other than my parents it worked out. They insisted on still splitting it this way even thought they had to pay a bit more than normal since they were the only one's w/o a young child. Anyhow, we'll all be traveling together next fall again. It's good info to have that they should easily be able to split the bill w/o a lot of confusion. Does anyone know how this works w/ the mandatory over 8 person tip??

 

[Chuck S]

Originally posted by kilee
Does anyone know how this works w/ the mandatory over 8 person tip??

If the bill is split, they can still override and add the gratuity to the smaller tickets. As to whether they actually will add the gratuity probably depends on the server that is keying it into the computer.