Tables in Wonderland ??

[cindyfan]

In simple terms, can someone explain "Tables in Wonderland".
What is it? How does it work? Thanks!

 

[JDUCKY]

Pretty simple, really:

http://www.wdwinfo.com/disneydiningexperience.htm

20% dining where it's accepted.
18% gratuity added to your bill.
Access to special dining events for TIW cardholders only.

 

[cindyfan]

Do you have to be an annual pass-holder?
And who is eligible for the discount? Anyone in your party?
So you are basically paying a fee to get discounts at select restaurants?

Anyone here use it? Worth it?

 

[JDUCKY]

Do you have to be an annual pass-holder?
And who is eligible for the discount? Anyone in your party?
So you are basically paying a fee to get discounts at select restaurants?

Anyone here use it? Worth it?

It's for Florida Residents, Disney Vacation Club (DVC) Members and Annual Passholders.

We have one and some friends of ours, too. The discount is valid for the entire party (and we've had the bill later separated, too).

 

[Jungle Cruiser]

You have to be an annual passholder, I believe DVC members can also buy them now, or will be able to soon.

A TIW card costs $75 for AP holders and is basically only good at TS restaurants. If you eat at TS restaurants a lot the savings add up quickly. It is 20% off the bill as the PP mentioned, however it covers the whole meal, including alcohol, no restrictions on what you order (like the DDP).

The card is issued to one person, and that person MUST be at the meal. They do check to make sure the person holding the card is at the table. Quite often a manager has to sign off on the card. The card is good for either 8 or 10 members of your dining party, I don't remember which.

The card is good for one year and one month from purchase. So a card bought today, 1/31/12 is good through 2/28/13. Whereas a card bought tomorrow 2/1/12 is good through 3/31/13. So don't buy a card on the last day of the month if there is any chance you will use it again in month 13.

We have had it for a couple of years and think it's worth it. We eat at least one meal a day at a TS restaurant, and we usually go to WDW three times a year for at least a week.

 

[purple figment]

Between the wdwinfo link in an earlier post and the info on the allears site you can get a pretty comprehensive overview of TIW. Here's the link to allears:

http://allears.net/din/dde.htm

 

[Hopefully]

Do you have to be an annual pass-holder?
And who is eligible for the discount? Anyone in your party?
So you are basically paying a fee to get discounts at select restaurants?

Anyone here use it? Worth it?

We use it and we love it.

You have to be: 1) A Florida Resident, the cost is $100, 2) A DVC owner, the cost is reported to be (this is new) $100 or 3) An Annual Pass holder, the cost is $ 75
The card is good for a 20% discount on food and beverages, including alcohol, at participating locations. Most TS location participate, only a few - 7, I think, - CS locations are included. An18% gratutity is added to all TS bills.
It is good for a discount for a party including up to 10 people. The card holder must be one of the party. You can not give it to someone else to use, if you are not at that meal.
There are also blackout dates, mainly holidays and holiday eves.
We have always recouped the cost of our card over 2 visits in 1 year.
Our cost is $75. We have to spend $350 in covered costs to break even. Anything over that is a savings.
Good Luck

 

[raidermatt]

Just to add to what others have said....

The breakeven point comes at $375 worth of food and beverage at participating restaurants. (375 * .2 = 75)

It's definitely a good deal as long as you spend at least $375, but the real question is whether you want TIW or the DDP. The only way to know for sure is to plan out your meals (including what specifically you would order) and then do a side by side comparison.

Without going into that much detail, a key difference is flexibility. The DDP gives you a certain number of credits to use and to take full advantage you have to make sure you use all credits. With TIW, you don't have to deal with that. If you have a TS reservation and find you want to cancel, you simply cancel. With the DDP you will need to figure out how you will use those credits elsewhere.

That flexibility can also save you money by not forcing you into eating TS meals when you would otherwise eat CS. Meaning if you would normally have TS 5 nights out of 10, the DDP could actually cost you more money since you will need 10 TS meals (or some that cost 2 credits each). With TIW you simply schedule the 5 TS meals you want.

All of that isn't to say that TIW is necessarily better, it's just a question of your group's plans and how much flexibility you want/need.

I've done an after the fact comparison where I took what we ended up paying with the TIW and compared it to what we would have paid with the DDP and we've always come out ahead. But of course, YMMV.

 

[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.

All Tables in Wonderland Restaurants as of August 2011

Disney's All-Star Movies Resort – World Premiere Food Court
Disney's All-Star Music Resort – Intermission Food Court
Disney's All-Star Sports Resort – End Zone Food Court
Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge – Boma, Jiko, Sanaa, Victoria Falls
Disney's Beach Club Resort - Beaches & Cream Soda Shop (excludes take-out shop), Cape May Cafe, Martha's Vineyard Lounge
Disney's BoardWalk – Belle Vue Lounge (excludes breakfast), Big River Grille & Brewing Works, ESPN Club, Flying Fish Cafe, Kouzzina by Cat Cora
Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort – Shutters at Old Port Royale
Disney's Contemporary Resort – California Grill, Chef Mickey's, Outer Rim, The Wave
Disney's Coronado Springs Resort – Maya Grill
Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground – Crockett's Tavern, Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue (9:30 p.m. show only), Trail's End Restaurant (Excludes take out shop)
Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa – 1900 Park Fare, Citricos, Garden View Tea Room, Grand Floridian Cafe, Mizner's Lounge, Narcoossee's, Victoria & Albert's (excludes Chef's Table and Queen Victoria Room)
Disney's Old Key West Resort – Olivia's Cafe
Disney's Osprey Ridge Golf Course - Sand Trap Bar & Grill
Disney's Polynesian Resort – 'Ohana, Kona Cafe, Disney's Spirit of Aloha Dinner Show (Late show only), Tambu Lounge
Disney's Pop Century Resort – Everything Pop Shopping and Dining (excludes merchandise from shop)
Disney's Port Orleans Resort - French Quarter - Sassagoula Floatworks & Food Factory, Scat Cat's Club
Disney's Port Orleans Resort – Riverside - Boatwright's Dining Hall, River Roost
Disney's Saratoga Springs Resort – The Artist's Palette, The Turf Club Bar & Grill, Turf Club Lounge
Disney's Vero Beach Resort – The Green Cabin Room, Shutter's, Sonya's (Excludes Sunday Brunch)
Disney's Wilderness Lodge – Artist Point, Territory Lounge, Whispering Canyon Cafe
Disney's Yacht Club Resort – Ale and Compass Lounge, Captain's Grille, Crews Cup Lounge, Yachtsman Steakhouse
Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort – Garden Grove, Il Mulino New York Trattoria, Kimonos, Shula's Steak House, Todd English's bluezoo

Magic Kingdom Park – Cinderella's Royal Table, Liberty Tree Tavern, The Crystal Palace, The Plaza Restaurant, Tony's Town Square Restaurant
Epcot – Akershus Royal Banquet Hall, Biergarten Restaurant, Bistro de Paris, Chefs de France, Coral Reef Restaurant, Le Cellier Steakhouse, Nine Dragons Restaurant, Restaurant Marrakesh, Rose & Crown Pub & Dining Room, San Angel Inn Restaurante, The Garden Grill Restaurant, Tokyo Dining, Tutto Italia Ristorante, Via Napoli
Disney's Hollywood Studios – 50's Prime Time Cafe, Hollywood & Vine, Mama Melrose's Ristorante Italiano, Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater Restaurant, The Hollywood Brown Derby, Tune-In Lounge
Disney's Animal Kingdom Theme Park – Flame Tree Barbecue, Pizzafari, Restaurantosaurus, Tusker House Restaurant

DOWNTOWN DISNEY – Marketplace - Cap'n Jack's Restaurant, Fulton's Crab House
DOWNTOWN DISNEY – Pleasure Island – Paradiso 37, Portobello, Raglan Road Irish Pub and Restaurant
DOWNTOWN DISNEY – West Side – Bongo's Cuban Cafe, House Of Blues (Excludes Sunday Brunch), Planet Hollywood, Wolfgang Puck Cafe

ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex - ESPN Wide World of Sports Grill

 

[princesspooh323]

We are doing the dining plan for our trip in August, but we are still going to buy TiW. We figure with all the extras we buy during 2 trips it will easily pay for itself.

 

[SUSIEQ]

The card is good for one year and one month from purchase. So a card bought today, 1/31/12 is good through 2/28/13. Whereas a card bought tomorrow 2/1/12 is good through 3/31/13. So don't buy a card on the last day of the month if there is any chance you will use it again in month 13.

Thanks for the info. I did not realize that it was possible to get 13 to 14 months use out of a TIW card.