Tables In Wonderland question

[JennaDeeDooDah]

I'm not sure if this is the right board for this question. If it isn't, please feel free to move it to the proper board.

My husband and I are currently looking at visiting WDW twice within a year. One trip will be this June and the other will be at the end of January 2014. After doing the math, it is clear that an Annual Pass makes the most sense for us, provided that it is good for a year from the date purchased and not good from January 1, 2013 until December 31, 2013. It is my understanding that an AP is good for one year from the date purchased though, correct?

Now, planning on APs, we decided to check out whether or not TIW is the best deal for us. Provided that we would get a $25 discount on TIW as AP holders, it would only cost us $75. Knowing this, and knowing how often we eat at table service restaurants, what we typically eat, and our drinking habits, TIW looks to be the best deal for us. However, I have a question. On the Disney site, it has all of the benefits of TIW listed as being valid until December 31, 2013. Does that mean that our TIW card would expire on that day and we would have to purchase new ones for our January 2014 trip (meaning another $75 and no longer being worth it), or just that the benefits might change (restaurants offered, etc.)? IS TIW valid for a year from the date purchased or does it expire at the end of the calendar year?

 

[jimmytammy]

The AP would be good one year from your purchase date, so you are correction that. And doing 2 trips in one year merits an AP purchase.

TIW has gone up to $100. But it still is a good deal if you like to eat at WDW, as we do. And it is just like the AP, it is good 1 year from purchase date, though sometimes, it will be good for a few months after. Seems like we have had it good for up to 3 mos. after 1 year purchase date.

 

[JennaDeeDooDah]

The AP would be good one year from your purchase date, so you are correction that. And doing 2 trips in one year merits an AP purchase.

TIW has gone up to $100. But it still is a good deal if you like to eat at WDW, as we do. And it is just like the AP, it is good 1 year from purchase date, though sometimes, it will be good for a few months after. Seems like we have had it good for up to 3 mos. after 1 year purchase date.

Fantastic news. On the Disney site, under the Annual Pass Holder page where it talks about dining discounts and Tables in Wonderland, it says this:

Tables in Wonderland Membership

Save $25 on the regular price of the Tables in Wonderland Membership. Benefits include a 20% discount (excludes applicable tax and gratuity) on all food and beverages at participating Resort hotel and Theme park restaurants and member-only invitations to special Food and Wine events, winemaker dinners and celebrity chef dinners, plus much more.

For more information or to purchase the membership call (407) 566-5858†. Membership benefits are valid for the Passholder and up to 9 Guests. Offer is valid for Passholder only. Certain restrictions may apply.

So, when you say that it is $100, do you mean that it is originally $125, but with the AP discount it is down to $100, or that it is originally $100, but with the $25 discount for being AP holders, it would only cost us $75?

 

[Eighty8Keys]

Your AP will actually expire one year from when its activated rather than one year from purchase. We bought ours online months before our trip. We exchanged our vouchers for the actual passes on January 13 and they expire on January 13 of 2014. We also purchased our Tables in Wonderland on January 13 and it expires on February 28, 2014.

 

[JennaDeeDooDah]

Your AP will actually expire one year from when its activated rather than one year from purchase. We bought ours online months before our trip. We exchanged our vouchers for the actual passes on January 13 and they expire on January 13 of 2014. We also purchased our Tables in Wonderland on January 13 and it expires on February 28, 2014.

Fantastic. Thanks for the reply.

One more question. It seems like it is obvious to me, but I wanted to check. Would both my husband and I need to purchase a TIW card, or are we allowed to only have him purchase it and we both get the discount on our meals if he presents his card?

 

[sissy1]

Fantastic news. On the Disney site, under the Annual Pass Holder page where it talks about dining discounts and Tables in Wonderland, it says this:

So, when you say that it is $100, do you mean that it is originally $125, but with the AP discount it is down to $100, or that it is originally $100, but with the $25 discount for being AP holders, it would only cost us $75?

We puchased our AP's & TIW card last year. AP's are good for one year from purchase date. Our TIW card is valid for 13 months. I believe they are now $100.00 instead of the $75.00 that we paid last year. One thing to keep in mind is that the TIW card is not accepted everywhere, we think its well worth the price!

 

[mom2of2]

Fantastic. Thanks for the reply.

One more question. It seems like it is obvious to me, but I wanted to check. Would both my husband and I need to purchase a TIW card, or are we allowed to only have him purchase it and we both get the discount on our meals if he presents his card?

You only need 1 card

 

[JennaDeeDooDah]

We puchased our AP's & TIW card last year. AP's are good for one year from purchase date. Our TIW card is valid for 13 months. I believe they are now $100.00 instead of the $75.00 that we paid last year. One thing to keep in mind is that the TIW card is not accepted everywhere, we think its well worth the price!

Great news about it being good for 13 months! We looked up the restaurants where it is accepted and saw that only one restaurant we are planning on (Teppan Edo) does not accept Tables In Wonderland. Luckily, they offer a 10% discount to AP holders, so we will use that. We loved seeing that the food court at the two hotels were are planning on accept TIW, too. I thought it was only table service restaurants. Will my husband and I each have to purchase a card or will it be okay to only have one card for the two of us?

 

[purple figment]

Fantastic. Thanks for the reply.

One more question. It seems like it is obvious to me, but I wanted to check. Would both my husband and I need to purchase a TIW card, or are we allowed to only have him purchase it and we both get the discount on our meals if he presents his card?

The TIW card is good for 10 people so you would only need one card. If you're planning to split up and eat separately or with more than 10 people, then you could purchase an additional card for $50.

Fantastic news. On the Disney site, under the Annual Pass Holder page where it talks about dining discounts and Tables in Wonderland, it says this:

So, when you say that it is $100, do you mean that it is originally $125, but with the AP discount it is down to $100, or that it is originally $100, but with the $25 discount for being AP holders, it would only cost us $75?

The TIW is currently $100 for AP holders. It is $125 for FL residents so $25 less for AP holders. It used to be $75AP/$100FL res, but the prices went up a month or two ago.

 

[jwfla422]

Fantastic. Thanks for the reply.

One more question. It seems like it is obvious to me, but I wanted to check. Would both my husband and I need to purchase a TIW card, or are we allowed to only have him purchase it and we both get the discount on our meals if he presents his card?

You can use the same card and both get the discount (I believe its up to 6 people at a sitting that can qualify for one card's 20% off benefit), it is an additional cost for a 2nd card.

Also don't forget free valet parking with the card (a nice perk especially when you're running late for an ADR at a resort LOL).

And, to confirm, it is NOW $100 for AP holders and $125 for FL residents. (I can't believe it went up a "whole" $25). I was sad to see this as I need to purchase one next visit and I don't have an AP although a FL resident, but that means $625 in food purchases before the break even point... (we were original DDE card holders back in the day when it cost $25 for a year!!...those were the days LOL!)

But if you go to WDW a few times a year or for several days at a time or have a large family/party and don't want to do the DDP it is a good value.

 

[JennaDeeDooDah]

You only need 1 card

Well this is awesome news!

 

[JennaDeeDooDah]

You can use the same card and both get the discount (I believe its up to 6 people at a sitting that can qualify for one card's 20% off benefit), it is an additional cost for a 2nd card.

Also don't forget free valet parking with the card (a nice perk especially when you're running late for an ADR at a resort LOL).

And, to confirm, it is NOW $100 for AP holders and $125 for FL residents. (I can't believe it went up a "whole" $25). I was sad to see this as I need to purchase one next visit and I don't have an AP although a FL resident, but that means $625 in food purchases before the break even point... (we were original DDE card holders back in the day when it cost $25 for a year!!...those were the days LOL!)

But if you go to WDW a few times a year or for several days at a time or have a large family/party and don't want to do the DDP it is a good value.

Thank you for this valuable information. I hadn't thought about the valet parking!




Thank you all for your responses! This is a great day, indeed, as we discovered that the 20% discount will save us a minimum (as in, if we order only an entree at each restaurant and make sure it is the cheapest entree) of $155.70. Seems to me that a $100 card is a no-brainer. I am now doing my happy dance. Well, mentally doing my happy dance as my highly coordinated and graceful self fell down the stairs yesterday and broke my tailbone.

 

[bumbershoot]

Also don't forget free valet parking with the card (a nice perk especially when you're running late for an ADR at a resort LOL).

Just to clarify, you can use valet parking (assuming you have a car) with no fee at a resort when you are dining at that resort. You will have to show your receipt, showing the TIW discount on it, at the valet desk when you pick up your car. Of course, valet parking is usually something that also involves a tip, so don't forget about that.



We just get the one card. We don't really split up during our Disney vacations, though if we did we would just try to have the other person eat somewhere where it's not accepted, LOL. My cousins, aunt, and I had tea at the Gardenview last trip, and the guys in our group opted to go to the Lego store instead; they didn't eat at all. So we just buy the one TIW card.

tablesinwonderland.com is a great, official, website for the card. Gives you a nice list of restaurants. You'll see that the food courts at all the values are included, as you noticed, as well as Sassagoula float works at POFQ, Artist's Palette at Saratoga Springs Resort, and even the counter service at AK, like Pizzafari! Pretty cool, huh?


The 13 month thing is not totally accurate, in my opinion. They usually make the expiration date something like the end of the month a year from when you purchased it; some people get it through the next month. But on another thread just from yesterday, someone got a card that expires exactly a year from their purchase date. So it's a bit more amorphous than absolute, when it comes to expiration dates.


If you would like to do due diligence, make sure you have looked at the list of restaurants that take the AP discount, and when they take it (for what meals). It's always possible that you are dining at times and locations where the AP discount will give you just as much off of your meals, total, when you include the initial outlay of the card, as you would get buying the card.

That math doesn't work for me, not at all (because we don't dine at those restaurants and/or at those times), but at least I've done the math and *know*. I also like the discount on booze, and the AP does not give you that.

 

[bumbershoot]

Well, mentally doing my happy dance as my highly coordinated and graceful self fell down the stairs yesterday and broke my tailbone.

Oh OUCH! Just a tailbone bruise is painful enough, let alone a break. Ow ow ow. Hope you heal as quickly as is healthily possible.

 

[JennaDeeDooDah]

Just to clarify, you can use valet parking (assuming you have a car) with no fee at a resort when you are dining at that resort. You will have to show your receipt, showing the TIW discount on it, at the valet desk when you pick up your car. Of course, valet parking is usually something that also involves a tip, so don't forget about that.



We just get the one card. We don't really split up during our Disney vacations, though if we did we would just try to have the other person eat somewhere where it's not accepted, LOL. My cousins, aunt, and I had tea at the Gardenview last trip, and the guys in our group opted to go to the Lego store instead; they didn't eat at all. So we just buy the one TIW card.

tablesinwonderland.com is a great, official, website for the card. Gives you a nice list of restaurants. You'll see that the food courts at all the values are included, as you noticed, as well as Sassagoula float works at POFQ, Artist's Palette at Saratoga Springs Resort, and even the counter service at AK, like Pizzafari! Pretty cool, huh?


The 13 month thing is not totally accurate, in my opinion. They usually make the expiration date something like the end of the month a year from when you purchased it; some people get it through the next month. But on another thread just from yesterday, someone got a card that expires exactly a year from their purchase date. So it's a bit more amorphous than absolute, when it comes to expiration dates.


If you would like to do due diligence, make sure you have looked at the list of restaurants that take the AP discount, and when they take it (for what meals). It's always possible that you are dining at times and locations where the AP discount will give you just as much off of your meals, total, when you include the initial outlay of the card, as you would get buying the card.

That math doesn't work for me, not at all (because we don't dine at those restaurants and/or at those times), but at least I've done the math and *know*. I also like the discount on booze, and the AP does not give you that.

Oh OUCH! Just a tailbone bruise is painful enough, let alone a break. Ow ow ow. Hope you heal as quickly as is healthily possible.

My husband and I have been doing math all day and looking at restaurants where we are planning on dining. I'm such a dork. I made a spreadsheet with each of our restaurants listed, the maximum price at that restaurant, the minimum price, the median, the mode, and what the price is of each entree my husband and I are most likely to order. Then, I calculated in the price of alcohol if it is a restaurant where we are most likely to order alcohol (hello, Biergarten!). From there, I calculated what kind of discount TIW would likely give us, as well as what kind of discount we would get if we ordered only the minimum or only the maximum. It is clearly the better deal for us. The AP discount doesn't work as well for us as it is only available for lunch on M-F at Epcot and that is where we eat the majority of our meals, but not always for lunch and not always on weekdays. It also has no discounts at Magic Kingdom. Not a good deal for us. TiW, though, is a great deal for us. My husband loves his beer and I am quite the fan of wine around the world


And thanks for the well wishes. Nothing like a broken tailbone from falling down the stairs to remind you that you are about as graceful as a hippo on roller skates.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

Here is a working example, using $100.00 as the original bill to make the math show up easily. Note this is for Table Service. At Counter Service there is no gratuity added.

100.00 - Original Menu Amount
*20.00 - Discount
*80.00 - Subtotal
*18.00 - Gratuity Added based on $100
**5.20 - Sales Tax on $80
103.20 - Final amount charged, takes into consideration discount, gratuity and tax.

Without TiW Discount (and still figuring 18% Gratuity)

100.00 - Original Menu Amount
*18.00 - Gratuity
**6.50 - Sales Tax on $100
124.50 - Total

$21.30 - Savings using TiW Card.

(Note - At Victoria and Albert's the added gratuity is 20% instead of 18%.)
* Ignore the asterisks; they are there only so the columns/numbers line up properly.

For the complete list of locations and the rules, go to www.tablesinwonderland.com which is the Official Disney site.

Based on the new pricing, the following is the break-even point for menu pricing (assuming you will routinely give an 18% tip:
AP Holder ($100) is $469.48
Resident or DVC Member (not AP holder) ($125) is $586.85
Both of the above take into consideration that the Sales Tax is also discounted.

 

[mlittig]

I prefer the Tables in Wonderland card to the dining plan

 

[bumbershoot]

My husband and I have been doing math all day and looking at restaurants where we are planning on dining. I'm such a dork. I made a spreadsheet with each of our restaurants listed, the maximum price at that restaurant, the minimum price, the median, the mode, and what the price is of each entree my husband and I are most likely to order. Then, I calculated in the price of alcohol if it is a restaurant where we are most likely to order alcohol (hello, Biergarten!). From there, I calculated what kind of discount TIW would likely give us, as well as what kind of discount we would get if we ordered only the minimum or only the maximum. It is clearly the better deal for us. The AP discount doesn't work as well for us as it is only available for lunch on M-F at Epcot and that is where we eat the majority of our meals, but not always for lunch and not always on weekdays. It also has no discounts at Magic Kingdom. Not a good deal for us. TiW, though, is a great deal for us. My husband loves his beer and I am quite the fan of wine around the world


And thanks for the well wishes. Nothing like a broken tailbone from falling down the stairs to remind you that you are about as graceful as a hippo on roller skates.

In case it came out wrong, I didn't mean my "but at least I did the math" comment to mean "neener neener you haven't done it". It was a jab at *myself*, and I am sorry that it might have come out wrong. I really do have the best intentions; I just don't know how to say things sometimes.

I once fell down the stairs, hardwood stairs, onto a wood floor. While alone. So not fun. I blame those flowy pants in the 90s and the chunky heels, since they got all caught up in each other. Or I could blame my refusal to have things hemmed to my shrimpy legs.

 

[BriarRosie]

There is one final caveat. There are blackout dates, and they are usually the major holidays and major "dining out" holidays. So besides the usual Christmas Eve and Day, NYE and NY Day, there's also Mother's Day and Independence Day. You can't use the discount on those days.

The Tables in Wonderland website spells that out, as well.

If you plan to buy your annual pass and TiW card at the same time, it's really best to find the Guest Relations window at the parks, and not the regular ticket windows. Ticket windows are not set up to sell TiW. But all Guest Relation windows CAN sell the AP, and then sell you TiW.

Unless things changed in 2013, I've always had a 13th month expiration on the card. The last time I bought a card was in December 2011. My TiW card expiration date was not in December 2012, but January 31st, 2013.

So it is possible TiW policy changed. But if that's the case, both your annual pass and TiW card will expire on the same day, "worst case scenario".