Tipping Overview: Who and How Much?

[cantwait4disney]

Apparently, this can be a pretty hot topic, but I'd like to keep things calm and matter of fact as possible. Our trip is quickly approaching and I'd like a list of people to tip and how much. This is our first family trip so I'm not wise to the tipping etiquette. I'll start with what I've read on these boards but please feel free to add to the list. The following are just guidelines:

1) Car service/Limo driver: 15% - 20%
2) Hotel Bell hop: $1-2 per bag?
3) Mousekeeping: $1 per person/per day
4) Wait Staff: 20% more or less depending on service
5) Buffet staff: 20% more or less depnding on service

This is our first trip to Disney and don't want to unknowningly leave out someone. I'm trying to budget the cash and make sure I have plenty of small bills available.

Thanks!

 

[MommyBuzz909]

Do we tip the DME driver??

 

[aubriee]

Do we tip the DME driver??

I believe most people do ($1.00-$2.00 per bag he puts under the bus).

 

[Gomez Gang]

the DME driver usually only handles your carry on bags. The other checked luggage arrives on a different bus.
We usually give him a $5 (we are a family of 5) and he/she usually does not touch any of our bags since we carry on backpacks and keep them on our bodies!
You do not have to tip DME drivers since they are not really handling you luggage....HOWEVER....if they are nice and entertaining, why not? After all, the service is free and it is always nice to make someone smile!

 

[Matt'sMom]

Here is a tipping question for you all...

How much is appropriate to tip the wait staff on the Amtrak Auto-train when meals are brought to you in your roomette (as oppossed to taking your meals in the dining car)? We are traveling with a family member in a w/c, who can not access the dining car.

Also, how much do you tip for turn down service on the train? We've always traveled coach previously.

 

[Mocharilla]

I also have a tipping question.

This will be my first Disney trip and stay in a hotel since I stayed with my parents. I don't remember tipping the housekeeping/mousekeeping ever. Is this just a Disney thing? I mean, I have no problem tipping. I was just wondering. And, hey, maybe my parents did and I just never noticed.

 

[5onadime]

Here's another one that quite frankly I have NO idea about. How much do you tip for valet parking. (not including the fee ) Do you tip both when you drop the car off AND when you pick it up or just one or the other

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

I usually tip the valet a few dollars when I get my car back. I think the only time you would tip when you leave the car is if you are just popping inside for a second and don't want them to go park the car - you want them to leave it at the curb for you. At least that's how I do it at home. We've never had a car at WDW.

The 2 that always confuse me are these:

If the bell services or valet guy at the hotel phones for a cab for you, do you tip him? What if he just waves a cab over from the queue?

AND...

When you check your bags through to the airport from the hotel, do you tip the person at the airline check-in desk? I tip the skycap at the airport when we do curbside baggage check-in, but I haven't ever tipped the people at the resort when they tag the bags to go back to the airport as part of Magical Express.

 

[katybugsmom]

Apparently, this can be a pretty hot topic, but I'd like to keep things calm and matter of fact as possible. Our trip is quickly approaching and I'd like a list of people to tip and how much. This is our first family trip so I'm not wise to the tipping etiquette. I'll start with what I've read on these boards but please feel free to add to the list. The following are just guidelines:

1) Car service/Limo driver: 15% - 20%
2) Hotel Bell hop: $1-2 per bag?
3) Mousekeeping: $1 per person/per day
4) Wait Staff: 20% more or less depending on service
5) Buffet staff: 20% more or less depnding on service

This is our first trip to Disney and don't want to unknowningly leave out someone. I'm trying to budget the cash and make sure I have plenty of small bills available.

Thanks!

Terri,
I think the guidelines you listed will more than adequate.
We usually give the bell hop $1 per bag and mousekeeping $1 per person per day.
I posted a question recently about tipping when the meal is buffet-most answers I received were 10%-15% for buffet and 15%-20% for table service. It really depends on where you are eating and the service you receive.
We drive down so I can't help you with the car service, but I hope this helps!
Have a great trip! I am sending you some pixie dust your way!!!

 

[disneychrista]

This will be my first Disney trip and stay in a hotel since I stayed with my parents. I don't remember tipping the housekeeping/mousekeeping ever. Is this just a Disney thing? I mean, I have no problem tipping..

I had never heard of tipping the maids until I started coming here. For what it is worth Disney does not consider the "mousekeeping" staff to be a tipped position.

 

[Mocharilla]

I had never heard of tipping the maids until I started coming here. For what it is worth Disney does not consider the "mousekeeping" staff to be a tipped position.

Same here. It was the first I'd ever heard of doing that.

Alright. I was wondering.

I mean, I still will, whatever. I was just wondering, since I'd never heard of it before.

 

[YesYourMajesty]

Apparently, this can be a pretty hot topic, but I'd like to keep things calm and matter of fact as possible. Our trip is quickly approaching and I'd like a list of people to tip and how much. This is our first family trip so I'm not wise to the tipping etiquette. I'll start with what I've read on these boards but please feel free to add to the list. The following are just guidelines:

1) Car service/Limo driver: 15% - 20%
2) Hotel Bell hop: $1-2 per bag?
3) Mousekeeping: $1 per person/per day
4) Wait Staff: 20% more or less depending on service
5) Buffet staff: 20% more or less depnding on service

This is our first trip to Disney and don't want to unknowningly leave out someone. I'm trying to budget the cash and make sure I have plenty of small bills available.

Thanks!

This is pretty much how we tip with the exception of two things. We tip a standard 5 dollars per day for mousekeeping. I make envelopes stuffed with tip money before we go, put them in my carry on and then get them out on the days they are coming.

The other thing is, because we stay in the villas we often have groceries. If we have the town car stop at the market on our way to the resort we often have 5 or 6 bags of groceries. We tip roughly one dollar for every two grocery bags to bell services. We do this because they refrigerate our items, etc. In addition to that we also tip the standard 1-2 dollars per suitcase, depending on the size of the bag.

 

[YesYourMajesty]

I also have a tipping question.

This will be my first Disney trip and stay in a hotel since I stayed with my parents. I don't remember tipping the housekeeping/mousekeeping ever. Is this just a Disney thing? I mean, I have no problem tipping. I was just wondering. And, hey, maybe my parents did and I just never noticed.

We have always tipped at every resort we have ever stayed at, Disney or not. I believe this is a standard thing. I guess my opinion is that if they are going to pick up after myself and my husband, they deserve a tip. I realize they get paid an hourly wage. They're doing me a favor, making my room clean and fresh -- that's a huge deal to me. That's my school of thought.

 

[cantwait4disney]

Terri,
I think the guidelines you listed will more than adequate.
We usually give the bell hop $1 per bag and mousekeeping $1 per person per day.
I posted a question recently about tipping when the meal is buffet-most answers I received were 10%-15% for buffet and 15%-20% for table service. It really depends on where you are eating and the service you receive.
We drive down so I can't help you with the car service, but I hope this helps!
Have a great trip! I am sending you some pixie dust your way!!!

Thanks for the pixie dust...I can feel it already!! Less than 3 weeks to go...!!

 

[wendy3]

We have always tipped at every resort we have ever stayed at, Disney or not. I believe this is a standard thing. I guess my opinion is that if they are going to pick up after myself and my husband, they deserve a tip. I realize they get paid an hourly wage. They're doing me a favor, making my room clean and fresh -- that's a huge deal to me. That's my school of thought.

I agree - we always tip housekeeping at every hotel we stay at. My daughter has friends who do housekeeping and they really do appreciate the tips.

FYI - I read a post where Mousekeeping pools all their tips and uses them for special occasions (ie parties, gifts for co-workers, etc). That made me alittle sad to think that our mousekeeper doesn't keep the specific tips we set out for her. But it kinda made sense when you think that some people only tip on their last day for the entire stay, etc. Whatever - we still tip our mousekeepers and obviously it's up to them what they do with it.

 

[DebbieTN]

We never tipped before at hotels until we started staying at Disney hotels and read about it on here. We always tip now. My daughter was a desk clerk at two different Holiday Inn's in Nashville. She asked some of the housekeeping staff if people tipped them and they all said no, they have never heard of doing that.