Questions on New Disney Dining Plan 2008

[TLSnell1981]

Just a couple of questions on changes in '08. First, is tax included in the $38? If so, what is the rate? How is the gratuity added? Is it a percentage added to the dining plan or do you leave your gratuity at each place of service? I have used the DDP in the past. The value and convience made it well worth the money. Just not sure anymore until I have all the "new" facts!



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[Telcogirl]

I just added DDP to my February reservation. The CM told me that tax is still included. I am not sure what the rate is. Gratuity is now out of pocket, you pay that seperate.

I also asked if an appetizer can be substituted for a dessert and was told that is at the discretion of each indvidual restaurant.

I still like the idea of the DDP. We will jsut see how it all works this time around with these recent changes.

 

[pilferk]

Just a couple of questions on changes in '08. First, is tax included in the $38? If so, what is the rate? How is the gratuity added? Is it a percentage added to the dining plan or do you leave your gratuity at each place of service? I have used the DDP in the past. The value and convience made it well worth the money. Just not sure anymore until I have all the "new" facts!



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Prices are 37.99 (adult) and 9.99 (children) per day, and that INCLUDES the tax. Tax rates at Disney are around 6%....but you won't need to worry about it.

Gratuity is at your discretion and will be done at each restaurant. It will NOT be auto added to the bill.

 

[JimMIA]

I also asked if an appetizer can be substituted for a dessert and was told that is at the discretion of each indvidual restaurant.

I don't doubt that you were told that, but I'd bet the farm the answer will be NO! across the board. They're not just trying to cut costs, they're also trying to increase turnover by cutting out an entire course of the meal. Another aspect of this change is they are also trying to stop people from sharing items.

Prices are 37.99 (adult) and 9.99 (children) per day, and that INCLUDES the tax. Tax rates at Disney are around 6%....but you won't need to worry about it.

Gratuity is at your discretion and will be done at each restaurant. It will NOT be auto added to the bill.

The gratuity WILL be added to your bill in a couple of situations.

One is if you have six or more people in your party, no matter how the various people are paying for their meal. That's an automatic 18% service charge that is a part of your bill.

The other situation is if you order anything not covered by DDP -- like an appetizer, alcoholic beverage, etc. They will add 18% to that check as well.

There is nothing really new about either of these automatic service charges. They've always been in effect. The only difference is that, in 2008, the threshhold for automatically adding dropped from parties of 8 to parties of 6 or more.

 

[pilferk]

I don't doubt that you were told that, but I'd bet the farm the answer will be NO! across the board. They're not just trying to cut costs, they're also trying to increase turnover by cutting out an entire course of the meal. Another aspect of this change is they are also trying to stop people from sharing items.The gratuity WILL be added to your bill in a couple of situations.

One is if you have six or more people in your party, no matter how the various people are paying for their meal. That's an automatic 18% service charge that is a part of your bill.

The other situation is if you order anything not covered by DDP -- like an appetizer, alcoholic beverage, etc. They will add 18% to that check as well.

There is nothing really new about either of these automatic service charges. They've always been in effect. The only difference is that, in 2008, the threshhold for automatically adding dropped from parties of 8 to parties of 6 or more.

I know that was the case when tip was included with the DDP....I'm not so sure now. Are you SURE that will continue to be the case? Seems weird to not include tip with the DDP, but then auto charge a tip on anything you order outside the DDP.

 

[JimMIA]

I know that was the case when tip was included with the DDP....I'm not so sure now. Are you SURE that will continue to be the case? Seems weird to not include tip with the DDP, but then auto charge a tip on anything you order outside the DDP.

Yes, I'm sure.

The change in party size does not apply only to DDP. It applies to ALL parties.

Previously, 18% was added to all checks for parties of 8 or more, regardless of how they were paying. Lowering that threshhold to 6 or more, and adding 18% to ALL DDE checks was the concession Disney made to the union when they stopped including the gratuity in the price of DDP.

The automatic 18% to checks for purchases outside DDP has always been there. I probably didn't word that very clearly, though. What I mean is, if you are on DDP and you order something not covered by DDP, they add 18% automatically.

However, the important thing for people considering DDP to remember is NOT the circumstances were a gratuity will automatically be added. The important thing to remember is that YOU are paying the gratuity in 2008, not Disney as they have in previous years.

 

[pilferk]

Yes, I'm sure.

The change in party size does not apply only to DDP. It applies to ALL parties.

Previously, 18% was added to all checks for parties of 8 or more, regardless of how they were paying. Lowering that threshhold to 6 or more, and adding 18% to ALL DDE checks was the concession Disney made to the union when they stopped including the gratuity in the price of DDP.


The automatic 18% to checks for purchases outside DDP has always been there. I probably didn't word that very clearly, though. What I mean is, if you are on DDP and you order something not covered by DDP, they add 18% automatically.

However, the important thing for people considering DDP to remember is NOT the circumstances were a gratuity will automatically be added. The important thing to remember is that YOU are paying the gratuity in 2008, not Disney as they have in previous years.

No, no....not the auto gratuity for party sizes. I KNOW that's true for everyone.

This part:

"The other situation is if you order anything not covered by DDP -- like an appetizer, alcoholic beverage, etc. They will add 18% to that check as well. "

I know that, when tip was included on the DDP, if you ordered ANYTHING "extra" (like an adult beverage, an add-on item, additional app or meal) they'd charge you the same 18% tip on that item that they charged on the DDP for the rest of the dinner.

My question is are you SURE that 2nd "situation" is still going to be in place...because my thought is that if there is no longer an 18% included with the DDP, there won't be an "auto tip" included on the "extra" items. That make more sense?

As you mention, I know that's the way they've done it in the past...it just doesn't make much sense to continue to do it, going forward, with the new rules. Maybe they will, but I've just not seen confirmation that they will. It's an interesting question.....

 

[Telcogirl]

I don't doubt that you were told that, but I'd bet the farm the answer will be NO! across the board. They're not just trying to cut costs, they're also trying to increase turnover by cutting out an entire course of the meal.

If the individual restaurant allows me to have an appetizer instead of dessert, how is that cutting out an entire course? It's seems to be just substituting one for another.

 

[JimMIA]

I see what you mean. I think the 18% will still be added, but your question makes perfect sense -- more sense than auto-adding the tip, actually. I'll go post that on the DDP board and see if anyone knows.

 

[CarolAnnC]

Here is the LINK to the Official 2008 Disney Dining Plan Brochure.

In it is stated the following:

"An 18% gratuity will be added automatically for parties of 6 or more. A gratuity may also be added automatically for ordered items that are not included in the Disney Dining Plan (e.g. alcoholic beverages)."

 

[salmoneous]

If the individual restaurant allows me to have an appetizer instead of dessert, how is that cutting out an entire course? It's seems to be just substituting one for another.

Appetizers and desserts are often shared. If allowed a choice, a couple might get one appetizer, two entrees and a desserts for instance.

 

[JimMIA]

Yep...and maybe next time I'll remember to read the manual first!

Naw, not much chance of me doing that!

 

[JimMIA]

Appetizers and desserts are often shared. If allowed a choice, a couple might get one appetizer, two entrees and a desserts for instance.

Or...one appetizer, one entree, and buy a dessert OOP. Or just one appetizer and one entree and split both for 1 TS. That's the sharing part of the equation.

 

[TLSnell1981]

According to another website, 6.5% is added to the $37.99 for adults and to $9.99 for children. So, that is $40.46 for adults and $10.64 for children.

 

[christianweecare]

According to another website, 6.5% is added to the $37.99 for adults and to $9.99 for children. So, that is $40.46 for adults and $10.64 for children.

I don't believe that to be correct. $37.99 & $9.99 include the tax. Someone correct me if I am wrong.

 

[javamom]

Ok, so here's my dumb question... and there may be no way to know the answer.

When the tip used to be included, was the tip calculated based upon the regular menu prices for the items ordered?



I guess my point is that I assume that is what we will have to pay now.

For example:

The menu price is 2.50 for a soda.
The price that I paid for the dining plan that day, really makes that soda less than 2.50.
But, I will be tipping for the soda as if I really paid 2.50 for it.

Am I making any sense?? Someone hit me with a hockey puck, maybe it'll help?

 

[JimMIA]

According to another website, 6.5% is added to the $37.99 for adults and to $9.99 for children. So, that is $40.46 for adults and $10.64 for children.

The other site is wrong. The tax is already included in the DDP. If you click on the link in Post 10 above, you'll see the official Disney brochure and that will answer most of your questions.

 

[MomofKatie]

Ok, so here's my dumb question... and there may be no way to know the answer.

When the tip used to be included, was the tip calculated based upon the regular menu prices for the items ordered?



I guess my point is that I assume that is what we will have to pay now.

For example:

The menu price is 2.50 for a soda.
The price that I paid for the dining plan that day, really makes that soda less than 2.50.
But, I will be tipping for the soda as if I really paid 2.50 for it.

Am I making any sense?? Someone hit me with a hockey puck, maybe it'll help?

The amount you tip is now totally up to you. I'm sure the servers would like you to tip based on the actual total of the menu amts- they will give you a bill with the amount of the total on it, so you can tip (they hope) based on that.

BUT, if you want to tip based on the amount you are paying on the DDP (I guess you'd figure that it is around 75% of the daily total- around $28 or so- so the tip would be around $6), you can. It is at your discretion.

Personally, I would tip based on the total price of the menu items if I was paying OOP, but that is just me. You do what you feel is right for you.

 

[JimMIA]

When the tip used to be included, was the tip calculated based upon the regular menu prices for the items ordered?

That's not a dumb question, but it's not a simple answer either. Here's how they used to compute the tip, from what we've heard from folks who should know.

Disney Dining assigned a value for the TS portion of DDP of approximately $25, and they paid the restaurants 18% of that -- or about $4.50. The Disney restaurants calculated the menu price of each meal, and made up the difference to the staff. So if a meal's price was $50, the server would get the full $9.00 -- $4.50 paid by Disney Dining and $4.50 paid by the restaurant. You can see from that math that the elimination of the gratuity from DDP gave the Disney family an extra $9.00 in bottom line, for every adult TS, for each day someone was on DDP. (Obviously, if the meals were a little less, they save a little less; or, if the meals are more, Disney's bottom line is improved more.)

The non-Disney restaurants did not necessarily make up the difference in tips, which led to some awkward and unbecoming exchanges between servers and guests. Some of the servers let the guests know they felt they were being cheated...and that it was the guest's responsibility to fix it. That's despite the fact that the guest PAID for the tip -- the server just didn't get it from their employer.

The basic question, though, is what price we should use to compute the tip, now that we have to pay it. My opinion is that we should use the menu price of what we order, just as we would in any other restaurant.

 

[blackmonmama]

The other site is wrong. The tax is already included in the DDP. If you click on the link in Post 10 above, you'll see the official Disney brochure and that will answer most of your questions.

I interpreted the Disney brochure to mean you don't have to pay for tax at the restaurant, not tax on the price of the plan. I think the OP was asking if the package price is taxed. If it is, then we're not getting any financial benefit from not paying tax at the restaurant; we're just paying the tax in advance. (if anything we'd be losing $ b/c some of us are paying interest on that package price before our trip ).

ETA:
from Passporter's site: "The 2008 add-on price for the basic dining plan is $37.99 (plus 6.5% tax) for guests ages 10 and up, $9.99 plus tax for ages 3-9.
Either pp or passporter is right it seems.