The Disney Tipping Info Thread *Updated 9.1.09*

[Whistlewhileyouwork]

I just came back from WDW. We stayed at SSR 4/23-5/2. We used the Deluxe DDP. I felt like majority of the servers were pretty aggressive at the conclusion of the meal and when they brought the check. I got speeches about how gratuities were not included. I even had someone ask me how I planned on paying for tip b/c my KTTW card didn't have charging privileges. It got so out of hand that I had to bring it to a few managers attentions. I think the only place that they never said anything about tip was Le Cellier and the Coral Reef. My husband and I made sure we had enough cash at the start of the trip to leave a proper tip. I just want to know if other people have shared this same experience and how they have handled this?

 

[edk35]

I just came back from WDW. We stayed at SSR 4/23-5/2. We used the Deluxe DDP. I felt like majority of the servers were pretty aggressive at the conclusion of the meal and when they brought the check. I got speeches about how gratuities were not included. I even had someone ask me how I planned on paying for tip b/c my KTTW card didn't have charging privileges. It got so out of hand that I had to bring it to a few managers attentions. I think the only place that they never said anything about tip was Le Cellier and the Coral Reef. My husband and I made sure we had enough cash at the start of the trip to leave a proper tip. I just want to know if other people have shared this same experience and how they have handled this?

WOW That is horrible. I am sorry this happened to you. I hope this was an isolated case and not the norm.

 

[bicker]

It was definitely not what we experienced back in February.

 

[jenseib]

We only had one exeprience like that, and I was in the bathroom, so DH told me about it. He said our waitress who was MIA most of the meal told him he had to check 1 of the tip options. He told her no because he was paying cash, and she kept insisting and he told her no. He left her $3 for doing that, but I felt a little bad and added a 5, but I'm still not sure if that was even 15% of our bill. I think it was (can't remember the totla now), but it wasn't 18% for sure. After we left, I kind of wish I hadn't added the extra 5 because the more I thought about it the madder it made me.
It was a buffet, and she never once offered to refill our drinks. I had to ask for more once and she only filled mine and didn't ask DH. About 2 minutes before she brought the check she did offer DH a half a glass of juice.

 

[disneynuts777]

I just came back from WDW. We stayed at SSR 4/23-5/2. We used the Deluxe DDP. I felt like majority of the servers were pretty aggressive at the conclusion of the meal and when they brought the check. I got speeches about how gratuities were not included. I even had someone ask me how I planned on paying for tip b/c my KTTW card didn't have charging privileges. It got so out of hand that I had to bring it to a few managers attentions. I think the only place that they never said anything about tip was Le Cellier and the Coral Reef. My husband and I made sure we had enough cash at the start of the trip to leave a proper tip. I just want to know if other people have shared this same experience and how they have handled this?

I do not plan on putting charging priviledges on our card this time because of issues we had on our last trip. Double gratuities at five of the TS we ate at.
There had better not be this issue when we go this August.

 

[wezee]

I just came back from WDW. We stayed at SSR 4/23-5/2. We used the Deluxe DDP. I felt like majority of the servers were pretty aggressive at the conclusion of the meal and when they brought the check. I got speeches about how gratuities were not included. I even had someone ask me how I planned on paying for tip b/c my KTTW card didn't have charging privileges. It got so out of hand that I had to bring it to a few managers attentions. I think the only place that they never said anything about tip was Le Cellier and the Coral Reef. My husband and I made sure we had enough cash at the start of the trip to leave a proper tip. I just want to know if other people have shared this same experience and how they have handled this?

Sorry you had problems, I read about this all the time on the Dis.
I am always amazed when I hear about the aggresiveness of some of the servers. Last Sept., we upgraded to DxDDP, for 9 days..and I do not remember a single server mention to us about our tip. Maybe because we ate at Signature every night? Who knows. We actually like putting all our tips on our KTTW card and then everyday or so have the front desk give us a printout of our charges. With 9 days of DxDDP it's amazing that we did not have one single error the whole time.

 

[Dismom55]

I have stated this before, but I will again, I put all tips in a decorated envelope and leave that on the table for the server.

Luckily for our next trip nearly all our ADR's are set price meals so I will be able to fill the envelopes even before leaving Ohio. But I will not hesitate to either not leave the tip or open the envelope and take out a portion of the tip if the server is not serving!

I have found in past visits that the service was satisfactory and a tip well deserved.

 

[tjmw2727]

August will be our first time using the DDP.

I am wondering how will we know the cost of the meal in order to figure the tip. Does the waiter bring a check with the amount you would have paid? I am assuming you can charge the tip to your room key.

If we decide to have beer or wine with dinner or get dd one of the specialty drinks with a light up ice cube etc will that be billed separate or can we pay for the extras and the tip all in one?

I know its a silly question but thanks anyway !!

TJ

 

[WeLuvTink!]

On our last trip, the waits always brought out a bill, like any restaurant. Then when you put it on your dining plan, they credit the check to either 0 or the amount of the "extras" you bought (alcohol, appetizers, etc.). You then pay that amount with a room key, credit card, cash, etc. I usually gave them my dining plan card (KTTW) and a separate credit card for extras and a tip.

 

[Jade+3]

Newbie here. Apologies if these question has been answered, but there are too many pages to search through, plus being Australian, we are not familiar with tipping etiquette.

I have few questions regarding dining at buffets:
1) How much is the tax?
2) What % should I tip, or is it a set amount per person?
3) Is the tip calculated on the pre or post tax amount?
4) Do I tip for an infant? Baby will not be eating from the buffet.
5) If we tip using cash, do I hand the cash to the server or leave it on the table?

We are not on the DDP.

Thanks

 

[mom2taylorandemily]

Can anyone explain to me how the 10% gratutity thing works at CSR's Pepper Market? What if you are on the DDP? How does Free DDP affect it? Are we responsible for paying it OOP or is a non-issue? I'm so confused. This 10% thing and the thought that we could get a room in the Ranchos section feeling so far removed from everything is keeping me from booking there. We are currently at CBR but I would so love to stay at CSR just once. I think my kids would like the pool and I know I would like the Queen beds. So, if you can help I'd appreciate it.

 

[jennipooh]

mom2taylorandemily:

I do not know first hand about the dining plan and CSR, but I would imagine that it is handled just like ts credits are. You are responsible for the tip.

CBR and CSR are both great. We have stayed at both. At CBR we stayed in Martinique -a corner room with a water view. It was the best room we have ever had at Disney! You could see the water from our beds. You could see the pool and food court from our doorway. I don't think we could ever top it.

We also have stayed at Rancheros at CSR. Other than the fact that we carried (uhh dragged) our own luggage because ds (then 8) did not want to seperate from his things (especially swim things), the walk was not too bad.

The food is better at CSR. You take the chance of a far away or closer building at either resort, but the walking is manageable and Rancheros (the farthest out at CSR) is nice and quiet and pretty close to the dig site (the main pool).

DS and I really enjoyed both resorts and I don't think you could go wrong.

Based on food choices....At CSR, the food is more expensive than other Disney food courts + the 10% tip, but the atmosphere and quality of food in the food court/quick service at CSR compared to CBR would be worth it IMO. CBR is actually our least favorite food court. The food courts at Polynesian and even All-Star Sports definitely spoil you so if you have stayed at either of those and then plan on staying at CBR then you will feel limited in your choices at CBR. (But, CBR serves kid's meals in a bucket with a shovel! - so that's fun for the kids.)

Let me say again, with the two resorts you are considering, I just don't think you could go wrong.

 

[disneynuts777]

Newbie here. Apologies if these question has been answered, but there are too many pages to search through, plus being Australian, we are not familiar with tipping etiquette.

I have few questions regarding dining at buffets:
1) How much is the tax?
2) What % should I tip, or is it a set amount per person?
3) Is the tip calculated on the pre or post tax amount?
4) Do I tip for an infant? Baby will not be eating from the buffet.
5) If we tip using cash, do I hand the cash to the server or leave it on the table?

We are not on the DDP.

Thanks

1. Tax is 6.5%

2.Tipping is a personnal issue. If your party is six or more there will be an automatic 18% added to your bill total before tax. If you are a party of less than 6 tipping is at your discrection. There will be suggested tip amounts printed at the bottom of your receipt. They are for 18% & 20%.

3.Tip is calculated on pre tax amount

4. Since the babies bill total will be 0 then the tip would be 0. If the server had to get something for you for the baby I would take this into consieration.

5. We always tip cash and just leave it in the bill fold on the table when we leave. You do not have to hand it to your server.

 

[TJA]

We just did the DDP for the first time last month and had the same types of questions. You'll be surprised how easy it is! It's exactly as the above poster described. You give the server your room key card and they will bring back a receipt showing 0 balance and how many TS credits you have left. As far as tipping, be careful about charging to your room using your room key. That is what we did and we ended up with a lot of erroneous amounts being charged that did not match the receipts that we kept (good thing we kept them...). Next time we will bring cash for tips.

 

[KHuntress]

I understand that DDP does not include gratuity -- and the last thing I want to do is short-change a server who makes our experience more magical! So, I have a couple of tipping questions.

Several posters have suggested problems when they used charging priveleges on their KTTW card and charged dining plan. I thought I had that one fixed -- we'd put charging priveleges on my card and DH, and then no charging priveleges on DS and DD. THen, when paying for DDP meals, we'd use the KIDS cards.

Then, I realized that it doesn't include tipping issues. We've always liked our KTTW pass -- because it KEPT us from bringing a lot of cash or credit cards into the parks.

How do you handle tips when using the DDP? Do you use your KTTW pass? Separate credit card for tip only? Cash?

Thanks for your experiences and information!

 

[Dismom55]

For me cash is easier, I do not have to worry that I will end up with a bill I did not intend. I only have to make sure I was charged the right amount of TS credits for DDP.

 

[jenseib]

August will be our first time using the DDP.

I am wondering how will we know the cost of the meal in order to figure the tip. Does the waiter bring a check with the amount you would have paid? I am assuming you can charge the tip to your room key.

If we decide to have beer or wine with dinner or get dd one of the specialty drinks with a light up ice cube etc will that be billed separate or can we pay for the extras and the tip all in one?

I know its a silly question but thanks anyway !!

TJ

I posted some reciepts a few pages back that show what it looks like.

Newbie here. Apologies if these question has been answered, but there are too many pages to search through, plus being Australian, we are not familiar with tipping etiquette.

I have few questions regarding dining at buffets:
1) How much is the tax?
2) What % should I tip, or is it a set amount per person?
3) Is the tip calculated on the pre or post tax amount?
4) Do I tip for an infant? Baby will not be eating from the buffet.
5) If we tip using cash, do I hand the cash to the server or leave it on the table?

We are not on the DDP.

Thanks

Tipping for food in the states is usually 15-20%. Disney suggests 18-20%. We always leave the cash on the table or in the little bill folder thing.

 

[jenseib]

Here is a TS reciept with the prices. We also had a cake with this, so we had to pay out of pocket for that.

And here is the one they gave us after we paid. At the bottom it has all the TS credits left for our whole family.

Here is a snack one. It is a bit wrinkled, but at the bottom you can see it says we still have 15 snck credits left.

And a CS service one. Again with the remaining credits listed on the bottom for CS.

It was on page 76.

 

[3princesshome]

A friend of mine just booked at Coral Reef for a total party of 9 - her family of four plus our family of five who will be meeting up with them for this meal. Both families will be on the DDP. The CM told her that because we are booked as a party of 9, they will be adding 18% to our bill. Is this the automatic gratuity being added, or we will we be expected to pay an additional 18% OOP PLUS a tip?

 

[Christine9125]

It is automatic when you have a larger party. They will add 18% tip on to your bill, you will not need to add in a tip yourself