Tipping Info Thread for Disney Dining

[Pumbaa_]

the suggested amounts are on the pretax amount

 

[APB513]

We will be dining at Coral Reef using the Candle Light Processional meal package. Is the tip included in this package?

 

[TDC Nala]

We will be dining at Coral Reef using the Candle Light Processional meal package. Is the tip included in this package?

No, tip is extra.

 

[Cinderella1122]

No, tip is extra.

along these same lines, do I tip off the CP package price, or the total bill?

 

[pinkxray]

What do you do when purchasing a drink at a stand, such as the Grey Goose slushie in EPCOT or a margarita at the poolside stand? Is it basically the same as going to a bar when you get a drink give them an extra few dollars depending on the drink? (Never really go to bar, usually only have drinks with dinner but bringing a 5 year old on her first Disney trip I feel I will needing some margaritas!)
-Thanks in advance

 

[kaytieeldr]

Let's say I'm dining at Biergarten for dinner. I plan on using my table service credits for that meal and I would like to charge the tip back to my room. When finished eating, what exactly is the course of actions I should take with my server to ensure that everything goes well?
I have heard rumors of servers double tipping and that I should cross off the tip amount?

If your party consists of five or fewer people, there IS no tip to 'cross off'. Six or more, no, you should NOT cross off the automatic 18% service charge because it IS part of your bill.
You hear about double-tipping because it's so rare, and yes costly. All you need to do is check what you're signing and make sure you're being charged what you agreed (actively or tacitly) to pay - including tip, alcohol, extras. And keep your receipts in case there's a problem.

 

[Northern Disney Girl]

I am trying to set aside some cash for tips when we are in the world next month. I have been looking at AllEars to try to get an idea of how much. I know that with the DDP at a TS it will include a drink (non alcoholic), main course and dessert. My questions are - Will the pretax total of the bill include each of those items listed as separate costs? Kids meals - are the parts of a kids meal (appy, drink, main dessert) listed as separate costs or as one "kids meal"?

If it helps we have 2 adults and 2 children (ages 8&6) I did have a bill from our last years trip but I have lost it! Thanks so much for your help!

 

[APB513]

along these same lines, do I tip off the CP package price, or the total bill?

I just got back from WDW last night. We did the Candlelight Processional package at Coral Reef.

When I received the bill, it did not list the items that we ordered. It listed the CP package price for each person in our party.

The suggested tip amounts of 18% and 20% were based on the CP package price and not on the items ordered.

 

[yellownovawife]

It is our first time on the dining plan with a family of four, all considered adults on the DDP. How much should we set aside for the following meals tips?
1900 Park Fare Dinner Buffet
le Cellier Dinner
Liberty Tree Tavern Breakfast Buffet (we are going during CP Refurbish)
Rainforest Cafe Dinner
Whispering Canyon Dinner
50's Prime Time Cafe Dinner
Chef Mickey's breakfast buffet
we want to set cash aside in advance and not great at math!

 

[Tricia1972]

It is our first time on the dining plan with a family of four, all considered adults on the DDP. How much should we set aside for the following meals tips?
1900 Park Fare Dinner Buffet
le Cellier Dinner
Liberty Tree Tavern Breakfast Buffet (we are going during CP Refurbish)
Rainforest Cafe Dinner
Whispering Canyon Dinner
50's Prime Time Cafe Dinner
Chef Mickey's breakfast buffet
we want to set cash aside in advance and not great at math!

Per the first post in this thread, what you tip is entirely up to you. To calculate the tip amounts, you can check the online menus on the Disney World site, here or on allears.

Hopefully this tip calculator helps you out with the math end of it once you have approximate dinner totals http://www.webmath.com/tip.html

 

[kaytieeldr]

I can't tell you how much you should set aside for tips, but I can tell you what I'd do (right, Tricia? if not, please delete).

If I were eating those meals, I would plan to tip x%+change of the per-adult buffet cost of the buffets - very easy to calculate since you can find the actual costs in the menus online.

For the a la carte meals, I would plan to tip x%+change of the menu price of whatever we predetermined we were going to order. Alternatively, I'd find the most expensive item on each menu and calculate my planned tip based on those items; then, when we all ordered less expensive menu items, I'd know I have a comfortable cushion and wouldn't have to be scrounging for cash.

x% = whatever percentage YOU think is reasonable.

 

[Tricia1972]

I can't tell you how much you should set aside for tips, but I can tell you what I'd do (right, Tricia? if not, please delete).

If I were eating those meals, I would plan to tip x%+change of the per-adult buffet cost of the buffets - very easy to calculate since you can find the actual costs in the menus online.

For the a la carte meals, I would plan to tip x%+change of the menu price of whatever we predetermined we were going to order. Alternatively, I'd find the most expensive item on each menu and calculate my planned tip based on those items; then, when we all ordered less expensive menu items, I'd know I have a comfortable cushion and wouldn't have to be scrounging for cash.

x% = whatever percentage YOU think is reasonable.

 

[sdckb]

Wondering about the pros and cons of using credit card vs. room key card to charge tips to. I don't ever carry cash and won't for this trip either. After reading other threads about tipping, I am wondering which way to go. I would normally charge tip to my CC. Is one way better than the other? We are doing the regular dining plan in May.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Aw, thanks! To be completely honest, I had "my" percentage (actual number) in there at first. I realized I could replace it with "x" and avoid any discussion of actual amounts, while still providing advice.

 

[2Tiggies]

Wondering about the pros and cons of using credit card vs. room key card to charge tips to. I don't ever carry cash and won't for this trip either. After reading other threads about tipping, I am wondering which way to go. I would normally charge tip to my CC. Is one way better than the other? We are doing the regular dining plan in May.

There are pros and cons to both. Personally, I prefer to do neither and rather carry cash for tips at Disney even though I rarely carry cash around with me in day to day life.

I think most people make their decision based on security and what would happen if you lost the card. Usually credit cards have safety measures in place and you should be covered for this provided you report it within the requirements set out in your credit agreement. From that point of view, I would feel better with a credit card. ALthough anyone can lose anything, you don't normally just lose a credit card. Also, you won't be whipping it out several times a day for access to parks, your room, charging meals/purchases, DDP ..... so a cc is in my opinion less likely to be lost/misplaced.

KTTW card: the advantage with charging to your card is that you can set a charging limit on it. Also, if you are worried about being charged incorrectly (like confusion with tipping going onto the room key/cash, etc - which is the other main reason for the debate on this topic) you CAN check at your resort front desk at any time and clear up any questions immediately if necessary. There is no way to tell with your c/card as it takes a couple of days for transations to be posted to your statement. Also, if you lose it, you can replace it.

The reason I carry cash for tips has nothing to do with the above and is simply because I have a set budget for tips and like to hand the cash to my server (DD loves doing that actually) and I know they got it ok. I just like to have it separate because i am a planner and it suits me at Disney. Don't know if this helps and i a sure others could add loads more to help you.

 

[pinkxray]

If you are on the dining plan(will be on deluxe) and order room service is the tip included? I thought I say that they add on 18%. Is that included under the 2TS credits you use per meal?

 

[2Tiggies]

Yes, gratuities included

In-Room Dining -- TWO table service credits (gratuities included) will be deducted from your Dining Plan for a single serving meal. A meal will include the following items:

--Juice (at breakfast)
--Entree
--Dessert (at lunch and dinner)
--Non-alcoholic beverage
--Appetizer (for children 3-9)

This is for single serving portions only, and does not include hospitality platters, amenities, or merchandise.

Pizza Delivery -- TWO ADULT table service credits (gratuities included) will be deducted from your Dining Plan for a pizza delivery meal:

--two non-alcoholic beverages
--one pizza entree item
--two desserts

(from Allears Dining Plan page) It is on the Disboards Dining page as well, but having some trouble on the site for some reason this evening. I actually prefer the Disboards one as you can see the ACTUAL official Disney dining plan brochures which give all the details.

 

[MLCLovesDisney]

Do you know how they go about determining who tips what in a party of 8 or more?

I am going with a party of 8 (2 Adults in one room, 1AD/1C in another, 2AD/2C in another) to a lot of restaurants. We are all on the DDP. I would think when we go to Hollywood & Vine it'll be easy for the server to charge the required 18% appropriately to each separate room.

When we go to Coral Reef, however, how are they going to break up the tip on a la carte items for 8 people at the same table? Should we ask for separate checks right from the start of the meal?

I would like to avoid the situation where my sister (the 1AD/1C room) winds up with 1/3 of the tip or something when we go an a la carte TS meal.

Do you know how this is handled? What do we tell the server when we sit down?

Thanks!

Michelle

 

[jenseib]

Ask for seperate checks

 

[angelmom]

If we are on the quick service dining plan and are eating at Pepper Market, are tips included?