Questions about how Tables in Wonderland works

[Cheshire Figment]

The TiW holder does not have to be the person who pays the check. But the TiW holder must be present at the table.

 

[bangzoom6877]

The TiW holder does not have to be the person who pays the check. But the TiW holder must be present at the table.

Do you think they would allow us to pay the bill on more than one credit card? I'm assuming they won't allow us to pay on more than one KTTW card. Or, could we split the bill between cash and credit card? When we dine out together regularly, we usually either split the bill between credit cards or some pay cash and one person puts the remainder on their credit card. So if they will do this (split between 2 or 3 credit cards) we are used to doing things that way. If not we will all plan to just pay cash.

 

[Luv2Roam]

They will not separate parties on the restaurant bill.
However I have read threads where multiple people on one check paid a portion. But appears it is for the cardholder to sort out who is paying what. There will not be any separate checks.

 

[bangzoom6877]

They will not separate parties on the restaurant bill.
However I have read threads where multiple people on one check paid a portion. But appears it is for the cardholder to sort out who is paying what. There will not be any separate checks.

We never ask for separate checks at restaurants. We all just figure out who owes what (we usually split the bill equally among the adults), and then each pay our share. There are 6 adults. Usually my parents pay a third, my sister and her fiance pay a third, and DH and I pay a third. My sister and I always both offer to pay more since we each have 2 kids, but my parents never let us.

What we usually do is either pay cash at a restaurant, or a combo of credit cards and cash. For example, let's say the bill is $450 total, including tax and tip. DH and I will pay $150 in cash, my parents will be $150 in cash, and my sister's fiance will put $150 of the bill onto his credit card. Of course, this is at restaurants here, we have never all gone to Disney together (last time my parents were there was with my sister and me in 1989 after MGM opened!).

I would never ask for separate checks at a restaurant. I was just wondering if we could pay the one bill with different credit cards, or even better, different KTTW cards, if we are using the TIW card for the 20% discount for a party of 10.

 

[bangzoom6877]

I had called Disney Dining last night, knowing they probably couldn't answer my question, but hoping they could point me to the person who can. Sure enough, although they were aware that you cannot get separate checks when paying with the TIW card at a restaurant, they had no idea whether you could split the bill between 2 credit cards or pay a portion in cash and a portion by credit card or room charge. They gave me the number to Tables in Wonderland, which is only open until 5PM.

I called the number just now. I was told that the bill either has to be paid in cash, or by credit card or room charge of the TIW cardholder ONLY. So, they gave me the example that while I can use 2 different credit cards that are both in my name to pay the bill (splitting between 2 of my own cards), we can't pay the bill with the credit card of someone else at the table.

So it looks like our best option is to either pay in cash and split it, or for me to put it on my credit card and my parents and sister will give me the money. We could technically do this before our trip since we are only doing character meals together, so we will know the cost going in. We just have to add tax and gratuity so we know exactly how much it will come to. I'd rather put it on my card than carry cash for 4 character meals (we're a family of 4, so it's a lot when adding it up).

 

[Indychick]

So is tables in wonderland better than the dining plan for savings? What does everyone think?

 

[jennylyn_b]

I would like to know this too. We have 4 ADRs that are for 10 people (the first few days my parents, sister, her fiance and my nieces are joining us). The remainder of our ADRs are only for the 4 of us. At the restaurants where we will be a party of 10, will they allow us to pay with different KTTW cards, or different credit cards? Or should we just plan to pay cash in order to get the discount for the entire table?

Yes, at most restaurants you can split the bill. The only restaurant that wouldn't do it was California Grill. All others gladly split the bill between myself and husband and my parents for two bills but they both got the TIW discount! We found everyone quite accomodating. Even at California Grill they were quite apologetic.

 

[LilGMom]

So is tables in wonderland better than the dining plan for savings? What does everyone think?

I think it depends on your dining preferences. With my family we aren't big dessert people (well, DS4 & I am but DH and DS8 aren't) and we usually like to get an appetizer. So on the DDP we are paying OOP for the appetizer and basically throwing money away on the desserts. And we feel restricted when on the DDP, feel like we have to make sure we eat all of the meals that we have credits for.

I'm a spreadsheet geek and ran some guesstimates for our upcoming trip based on what we'd like to order at the restaurants regardless of how we'd be paying. For our family of four, two adults & two children, DDP would actually cost the most out of DDP, OOP or TIW and TIW will be the cheapest. With the DDP I figured in gratuity and any OOP items (plus tax)that we'd be buying.

 

[PlutoLuvr]

I had called Disney Dining last night, knowing they probably couldn't answer my question, but hoping they could point me to the person who can. Sure enough, although they were aware that you cannot get separate checks when paying with the TIW card at a restaurant, they had no idea whether you could split the bill between 2 credit cards or pay a portion in cash and a portion by credit card or room charge. They gave me the number to Tables in Wonderland, which is only open until 5PM.

I called the number just now. I was told that the bill either has to be paid in cash, or by credit card or room charge of the TIW cardholder ONLY. So, they gave me the example that while I can use 2 different credit cards that are both in my name to pay the bill (splitting between 2 of my own cards), we can't pay the bill with the credit card of someone else at the table.

So it looks like our best option is to either pay in cash and split it, or for me to put it on my credit card and my parents and sister will give me the money. We could technically do this before our trip since we are only doing character meals together, so we will know the cost going in. We just have to add tax and gratuity so we know exactly how much it will come to. I'd rather put it on my card than carry cash for 4 character meals (we're a family of 4, so it's a lot when adding it up).

That's probably the response they have to give over the phone. I can tell you my experience of having the TIW right now and having DDE for years, as long as you're present, you've got your TIW card, your ID, they don't care who pays for the meal.

We just returned from a trip a couple weeks ago, and I'm the official TIW card holder. My party consisted of my hubby, my mother and I. My mother paid for half of the breakfasts at the food court at Pop, dinner at the Rose & Crown, dinner at Biergarten and lunch at the Plaza. Sometimes she'd pay with her room key; sometimes she'd pay with her CC. Other times my hubby would take care of signing for the check. As long as I was there, included my driver's license with the TIW card and just explained "we're using hubby's check card" or "our mom is treating for this one, but here's my TIW card and ID so you know I'm the card holder," we've never, ever had a problem.

Now, I know they won't separate out checks and stuff, so I don't even ask about that. But we certainly did not carry around hundreds of dollars in cash or make one person/couple pay for all the dining and be forced to figure it out later. Just be sure the card holder is present and you have an ID that obviously matches your name to the card.

 

[PlutoLuvr]

So is tables in wonderland better than the dining plan for savings? What does everyone think?

Like LilGMom said, it really depends on how you like to dine and whether you're wanting to have to get a room/ticket package associated with the DDP.

We don't always stay onsite. We're only two hours away, so we make day trips, and we also have an offsite timeshare. TIW enables us to 20 percent off our dining at TS, and we're not tied to a room onsite or tickets. I also like it's good for a year. We take a lot of small trips throughout the year.

Even for longer trips and those times we do stay onsite, we don't care for the restrictive nature of the DDP. I don't want to have to worry about credits and paying for things I'm not going to enjoy or use (i.e., dessert with a CS lunch). We'd rather focus those energies and calories on, say, wine with dinners or appetizers with dinner.

So if you enjoy alcohol with your meal(s), prefer more TS over CS, don't always stay onsite and/or make several trips a year, the TIW might be a better fit for you.

 

[iloveeeyore]

We did the math too and TIW definitely works out as a better savings for us than DDP, and it gives us more flexibility. We are dining at several signature restaurants during our trip and we certainly don't order 2 desserts per day per person, plus we like to have cocktails and appetizers.

 

[maxiesmom]

Can someone tell me if the week after Easter is blacked out for TIW?

 

[bangzoom6877]

We did the math too and TIW definitely works out as a better savings for us than DDP, and it gives us more flexibility. We are dining at several signature restaurants during our trip and we certainly don't order 2 desserts per day per person, plus we like to have cocktails and appetizers.

I sat down and did the math too. While TIW gives us more flexibility (more TS and less CS), we're still not sure we will want to do all those TS lunches. This is one of the reasons we didn't want the deluxe dining plan...we didn't want 2 or 3 TS meals every day. I don't know...it may be better for us to just stick with the DDP on this trip...I have to add in the additional cost of an AP (vs. my current 7-day base ticket), the cost of the TIW card, and the added cost of extra gratuities since we would go to more TS meals (which was a concern as well when thinking about the deluxe dining plan a while back).

I don't know...I'm a very indecisive person when it comes to this stuff. Part of me is thinking that I will watch every single penny spent on food at every meal on this vacation if we are paying OOP for every meal and not on the DDP, whereas I know that with the DDP we will get more than our money's worth even if we order the cheapest items on the menu. Therefore, I would never worry about what my meal costs, I would just get whatever I feel like and not pay attention to prices (I've been crunching numbers for months so I know how this works out...yes, I'm a nerd!). So I think we will stick to our original plan and stay with the DDP. Of course, knowing me, I will change my mind at least 25 times before July!

 

[Cheshire Figment]

The following is the official notice about blockout dates:

Blockout dates include major holidays (Easter, Mother's Day, 4th of July, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve/Day and New Year's Eve/Day) and special events. Please check with the restaurant when you make your reservations.

 

[bangzoom6877]

OK my friends, as I said in my above post...I am such an indecisive person! DH and I sat down last night and spoke about the TIW card vs. the DDP. He made a lot of really great points and convinced me that the TIW card is definitely the way to go. Here was his point of view:

1. If anything happens (let's say someone gets sick or the weather really is that bad), we won't be stuck with leftover DDP credits and feeling like we threw money out.

2. We have more TS restaurants planned than the DDP allows us, and we're stuck with a few extra CS meals...yes, we could use them on breakfast but don't know if we would otherwise have done that without the plan.

3. On a 10-night trip we get 40 snack credits among the 4 of us. On our last trip we had 15 snack credits for a 5-night trip (my little one was 14 months old and not on the DDP) and we still had 2 leftover at the end of the trip (we got 2 snacks for the road). And we felt we snacked plenty. We would probably have many snack credits left that we either wouldn't use or would have to figure out how to use. We bring cases of water on vacation (cheap at BJ's) so we weren't planning to use snack credits on those anyway.

4. At CS lunches, there is no need for dessert. We'd order dessert at TS dinners, but not as likely at CS lunches.

5. Even though we will have more ADRs, we have the flexibility of going to more TS and trying more places we would like to try with the boys. And we still have the option of canceling an ADR if we think CS would be better, opening that ADR up for someone else.

6. The prices at Disney restaurants are comparable to what we pay when we go out to eat at home. For us, spending $25 for an entree is not unheard of. DH said he wouldn't worry about the cost because of this.

7. We're staying at BWV, which is limited in CS that accepts the DDP. We have a couple of days we are not going to the parks, and just hanging out at the resort to go in the pool, have fun with the kids at Community Hall, etc. If we want, we could grab a quick lunch at Leaping Horse Libations, which has some sandwiches and things like that, but wouldn't have accepted the dining plan. Then we wouldn't have to leave the pool area. There is also Beaches and Cream at the Beach Club across the lake, and we could go there when they open for lunch and ice cream.

8. We can eat wherever we want and not have to worry whether or not it accepts the dining plan! (HELLO, Cava de Tequila for tostadas and margaritas!).

9. Even though there would be some places we would go to that do not accept the TIW card (for example, CS places at the parks), we would still save a significant amount of money by purchasing the card.

So, after all my crazy crunching of numbers and planning, we decided that I will upgrade my 7-day base ticket to an AP (we get $100 off for being DVC members), and I will purchase the TIW card. Factoring in those costs as well as costs of meals and extras (like snacks and alcohol), using this plan of action would cost us about the same exact amount as the DDP would have cost plus our additional TS meals. We discussed it and would rather have the flexibility of what we want, when we want...of doing things like sharing dessert at TS if we are too full to each have one and not feel like we wasted part of the TS credit.

So my friends, I am finally convinced, after many people on these boards have stated why they don't purchase the dining plan, that an AP and the TIW card is better and I don't think we will be using a Disney Dining Plan again! Of course, as I said, I'm a very indecisive person (thankfully DH keeps me somewhat sane!), and will probably change my mind many times when we plan each and every trip, but hey, it's a start!

 

[mandysmom]

What if there are 12 people in your party. Do 10 people get the discount and 2 pay full price?

I have a question about this also. We are a group of 15. I'm hoping they will allow us to use it for 10 and then pay separately for the remaining five. I figured we could get the discount on the adult meals and just pay full price for the kids. Has anyone done this before?

 

[Tiger926]

OK my friends, as I said in my above post...I am such an indecisive person! DH and I sat down last night and spoke about the TIW card vs. the DDP. He made a lot of really great points and convinced me that the TIW card is definitely the way to go. Here was his point of view:

1. If anything happens (let's say someone gets sick or the weather really is that bad), we won't be stuck with leftover DDP credits and feeling like we threw money out.

2. We have more TS restaurants planned than the DDP allows us, and we're stuck with a few extra CS meals...yes, we could use them on breakfast but don't know if we would otherwise have done that without the plan.

3. On a 10-night trip we get 40 snack credits among the 4 of us. On our last trip we had 15 snack credits for a 5-night trip (my little one was 14 months old and not on the DDP) and we still had 2 leftover at the end of the trip (we got 2 snacks for the road). And we felt we snacked plenty. We would probably have many snack credits left that we either wouldn't use or would have to figure out how to use. We bring cases of water on vacation (cheap at BJ's) so we weren't planning to use snack credits on those anyway.

4. At CS lunches, there is no need for dessert. We'd order dessert at TS dinners, but not as likely at CS lunches.

5. Even though we will have more ADRs, we have the flexibility of going to more TS and trying more places we would like to try with the boys. And we still have the option of canceling an ADR if we think CS would be better, opening that ADR up for someone else.

6. The prices at Disney restaurants are comparable to what we pay when we go out to eat at home. For us, spending $25 for an entree is not unheard of. DH said he wouldn't worry about the cost because of this.

7. We're staying at BWV, which is limited in CS that accepts the DDP. We have a couple of days we are not going to the parks, and just hanging out at the resort to go in the pool, have fun with the kids at Community Hall, etc. If we want, we could grab a quick lunch at Leaping Horse Libations, which has some sandwiches and things like that, but wouldn't have accepted the dining plan. Then we wouldn't have to leave the pool area. There is also Beaches and Cream at the Beach Club across the lake, and we could go there when they open for lunch and ice cream.

8. We can eat wherever we want and not have to worry whether or not it accepts the dining plan! (HELLO, Cava de Tequila for tostadas and margaritas!).

9. Even though there would be some places we would go to that do not accept the TIW card (for example, CS places at the parks), we would still save a significant amount of money by purchasing the card.

So, after all my crazy crunching of numbers and planning, we decided that I will upgrade my 7-day base ticket to an AP (we get $100 off for being DVC members), and I will purchase the TIW card. Factoring in those costs as well as costs of meals and extras (like snacks and alcohol), using this plan of action would cost us about the same exact amount as the DDP would have cost plus our additional TS meals. We discussed it and would rather have the flexibility of what we want, when we want...of doing things like sharing dessert at TS if we are too full to each have one and not feel like we wasted part of the TS credit.

So my friends, I am finally convinced, after many people on these boards have stated why they don't purchase the dining plan, that an AP and the TIW card is better and I don't think we will be using a Disney Dining Plan again! Of course, as I said, I'm a very indecisive person (thankfully DH keeps me somewhat sane!), and will probably change my mind many times when we plan each and every trip, but hey, it's a start!

All excellent points! This is why we too have gone back to TIW! We've done it all: DP, DDE/TIW and DxDP. I have been trying to convince DH for the last 3 years, and I finally succeeded so our trip in March and July we'll be back to TIW!

Just something else to consider - we find that with cheaper TS places like the Plaza and ESPN club, we can eat TS meals for the same cost or even cheaper than CS meals. We hate CS meals, so the regular DP was hard for us to utilize, but I did it for DH. When we were on DxDP, it was no worry at all, as we didn't eat CS, but DxDP is too expensive as we are there for 2 weeks at a time in July. I've been following all of your posts, so I know you've been studying menus, but just wanted to throw this out there for you to consider as well.

Best of luck and happy eating - be happy with your decision! Even if it costs a bit more, it's worth it as you are in charge of your dining, and not Disney!

Tiger

 

[LilGMom]

So, after all my crazy crunching of numbers and planning, we decided that I will upgrade my 7-day base ticket to an AP (we get $100 off for being DVC members), and I will purchase the TIW card. Factoring in those costs as well as costs of meals and extras (like snacks and alcohol), using this plan of action would cost us about the same exact amount as the DDP would have cost plus our additional TS meals. We discussed it and would rather have the flexibility of what we want, when we want...of doing things like sharing dessert at TS if we are too full to each have one and not feel like we wasted part of the TS credit.

You made some really good points and the money that you save on the AP, purchasing as a DVC member, pays for the TIW card and you are $25 in the good (how I look at it). I had to convince my DH, do a spreadsheet and walk him through it to get him to realize that the TIW was the best choice for us.

 

[bangzoom6877]

All excellent points! This is why we too have gone back to TIW! We've done it all: DP, DDE/TIW and DxDP. I have been trying to convince DH for the last 3 years, and I finally succeeded so our trip in March and July we'll be back to TIW!

Just something else to consider - we find that with cheaper TS places like the Plaza and ESPN club, we can eat TS meals for the same cost or even cheaper than CS meals. We hate CS meals, so the regular DP was hard for us to utilize, but I did it for DH. When we were on DxDP, it was no worry at all, as we didn't eat CS, but DxDP is too expensive as we are there for 2 weeks at a time in July. I've been following all of your posts, so I know you've been studying menus, but just wanted to throw this out there for you to consider as well.

Best of luck and happy eating - be happy with your decision! Even if it costs a bit more, it's worth it as you are in charge of your dining, and not Disney!

Tiger

Thanks! If you've been following my posts, you already know hot nutty I am about dining on vacation! DH and I were thinking the same things like you said...that it is good to go to places like Plaza, ESPN, and we want to try Beaches and Cream for lunch one day. We have lunches booked at 50s Prime Time and Sci-Fi also for the 2 days we are at DHS. The lunch menus are very reasonable, and with the discount it will be more than worth it. Also don't have to worry about looking for a place to sit, going up to the counter while DH waits with the kids and trying to carry everyone's food back to the table by myself! Of course, we will probably still end up doing some CS, but we aren't forced to. Plus, we go to WDW every other year so there are plenty of future trips ahead of us, and that means we are no longer doing the parks "commando" style! We have 2 days at MK, 2 at DHS, and 3 at Epcot, so we can take it at a slower pace, which makes the vacation more relaxing. Plus, anything we don't get to do, we will do on another trip!

You made some really good points and the money that you save on the AP, purchasing as a DVC member, pays for the TIW card and you are $25 in the good (how I look at it). I had to convince my DH, do a spreadsheet and walk him through it to get him to realize that the TIW was the best choice for us.

I never looked at it the way you describe, being $25 ahead because of the AP discount for DVC members. Good point though! I also had to walk my DH through it, but he understood why it makes sense and he was actually the one to tell me that he would rather do things this way. We would have been paying for the DDP when we check in anyway, so paying for the food as we eat is really the same thing, we're paying while we are on vacation, not 6 weeks before.

I told my mom and sister about it too and they were so excited! They offered to pay for part of the TIW card, but I told them it's not necessary since they are only with us for 4 meals. But they were thrilled and have no problem giving us the money after we get back from vacation, since the member has to pay the bill. I will still ask servers at each restaurant if we could put it on more than one credit card. Doesn't hurt to ask, worst thing is they say no and I put it on my card.

 

[can]

I just happened to come across all these posts on TIW by accident and feel like I have just stumbled on a gold-mine! There are four of us and we don't do the DDP as to do a snack, CS, and TS daily isn't worth it for us. But, this would be more beneficial for us. Have a question or two though. Myself and DD (18 yo) each have APs. Would we be okay with just myself getting a TIW card for the four of us? The way I am understanding this is you can use the card for up to 10 people in your party, AP holders or not?

Thanks for the valuable and very helpful information here!