Tipping question

[time4Mickey]

When we travel, we will be a family of 6 but our youngest will be 2 and only eating off our plates. Our other children will be 7,6,4. Will we be charged the automatic 18% for a party of 6 on the DDP? I don't mind tipping well for good service but last trip we had 2 experiences where the food was good but the service was so poor. And frankly the servers were downright rude! I just have a hard time tipping that much in that situation.

Thanks,
Karen

 

[mom2my3kids]

Yes you will, go in with a open mind and if you get horrible service speak to the manager otherwise have a great time.

 

[time4Mickey]

So they will count her even if she is not ordering a meal or eligable yet for the DDP? Somehow that doesn't seem right. If you are planning on leaving cash for the tip how does that work?

Thanks

 

[mom2my3kids]

From what I have read that is true, you can charge your tips,leave cash or charge back to your room account if you have it set up that way. Depending if you are on the dining plan it will be different, if you are on the plan they will give you a slip with the amount of tip on it for you and you choose the way you pay for it. If not then I am sure you can add it all together with your bill and pay with a credit card etc. We will not be on the dining plan and plan to use one credit card for our food.

 

[Tricia1972]

So they will count her even if she is not ordering a meal or eligable yet for the DDP? Somehow that doesn't seem right. If you are planning on leaving cash for the tip how does that work?

Thanks

Answering only the cash question. You will, on the dining plan, receive a bill that shows how many credits you used for your meal and how much you owe for tip.

Because you are a party of 6 or more you will receive a bill for 18% of the total food cost (you will not be charged on your taxed amount)

You will give the bill, and your cash to cover your tip to the server who will take it to the cash drawer. The server will contact a manager to access the cash drawer and they will get you any change (if necessary). If no change is necessary, you can give your server the cash and leave.

 

[Tnkrbelle565]

It's a weird issue. Yes, I think you would be a party of 6 because presumably, you will be still ordering your youngest SOMETHING to eat. If she doesn't eat at all, you could argue that you aren't technically a party of 6. Don't know if that will work at all. Also, don't know how big your 2 year old is but I would make sure that you mention that you have a 2 year old with you when you make your ADRs. Only DD's first trip, she was 6 weeks away from her 3rd birthday...and she's very tall for her age. I mentioned when making my ADRs that she was 2 and there was no problem. However, at the last minute, I added an ADR for BOMA and they charged me for her because I forgot to note on the ADR that she was 2. They didn't ask, they just assumed she was older. They did fix the bill but to save you the hassle, definately mention it when you call to book.

 

[Tricia1972]

It's a weird issue. Yes, I think you would be a party of 6 because presumably, you will be still ordering your youngest SOMETHING to eat. If she doesn't eat at all, you could argue that you aren't technically a party of 6. Don't know if that will work at all...

It's a great idea, but quite a few Dis'ers have had this issue and have argued the point. Even an infant is counting towards the whole party size now at Disney. Not that I agree with an infant, but that's how they're doing it.

 

[time4Mickey]

She is actually quite small, only 20pds at 18 months. When we took our other daughter at the same age, we found we were able to just feed her off of our plates without ordering her anything.(It states on the DDP that this is acceptable) We would have a sippy cup so wouldn't even order her a drink.

Thanks for the info on the ADR. I might have forgotten that. Our last trip we really didn't make any ahead of time but definately plan on it this time.

 

[Colleen27]

It's a weird issue. Yes, I think you would be a party of 6 because presumably, you will be still ordering your youngest SOMETHING to eat. If she doesn't eat at all, you could argue that you aren't technically a party of 6. Don't know if that will work at all.

It won't, at least not according to Disney Dining. Our 6th person for our December trip will be 4 months old and obviously not ordering, but I've been told repeatedly that if we have 6 people at the table, regardless of age, we're a party of 6 and will incur the automatic gratuity.

 

[time4Mickey]

I suppose technically they are taking up space that a person that would actually order/eat would. Again I have no problem tipping because I know that servers work very hard! But if they look at us knowing that they are guaranteed a tip and then treat us poorly thats another thing.