Tipping....

[mickeyfan1226]

We give $5/day for Mousekeeping. There are 3 of us. Tips at the restaurants are only 18% added in if you are a party of 6 or more. If you have less than 6 people, you will chose your own tip. We tip 20% at sit down restaurants and a little less at the buffets.

thanks for the info.
michelle

 

[anne0866]

So - in regards to tipping Mousekeeping. Do you just leave the money on the table in the room with a note? Or how do you do it?

My son loves to leave the tip as if one of his stuffed animals is folding the cash!!! The mousekeepers seems to like it. On several occassions we come back to our room and find the stuffed animals playing cards and watching tv!

 

[sskem96]

We have always tipped mousekeeping $5/day. I just leave it on the nightstand with a post-it note that says "for mousekeeping". They are not allowed to take any money that's lying out unless it's specifically addressed to them.

We tip the ME driver $10 each way. There is a sign on the ME bus that says something like "gratuities appreciated", so we figured it was expected. We have also gotten drivers who did a good job of entertaining us on the ride. I figure if we hired a Mears shuttle on our own, we would be expected to tip, so why would it be ok to not tip just because the shuttle ride is free?

We also tip the people at the airport who help us get our bags from ME to the gate, $2/bag.

For dining, we double the tax, then round up. There was an episode of Friends where Monica was a waitress and she said you are supposed to double the tax, so that's what we started doing. Tax rates vary from place to place, but it generally comes out to about 18% and it's a quick and easy way to figure it.

 

[terbethk]

We have always tipped mousekeeping $5/day. I just leave it on the nightstand with a post-it note that says "for mousekeeping". They are not allowed to take any money that's lying out unless it's specifically addressed to them.

We tip the ME driver $10 each way. There is a sign on the ME bus that says something like "gratuities appreciated", so we figured it was expected. We have also gotten drivers who did a good job of entertaining us on the ride. I figure if we hired a Mears shuttle on our own, we would be expected to tip, so why would it be ok to not tip just because the shuttle ride is free?

We also tip the people at the airport who help us get our bags from ME to the gate, $2/bag.

For dining, we double the tax, then round up. There was an episode of Friends where Monica was a waitress and she said you are supposed to double the tax, so that's what we started doing. Tax rates vary from place to place, but it generally comes out to about 18% and it's a quick and easy way to figure it.

Thanks for the info very helpful

haha, love FRIENDS.
"I said double the tax, not double the tax of romania!"

 

[disneyplanningdad]

My approach to tipping is to show some appreciation for personal service. I try to stay aware of the fact that people are doing things for me and my family. I don't go down to WDW with a definite plan of who I will tip but instead I go down with lots of singles so that any time someone adds some magic to my day , I can express my apreciation with more than just a "Thank You." Wait staff and mousekeepers are obvious because they are serving me while I enjoy myself. Same thing for skycaps and bell service. A tip is a recognition that someone is doing something for you that you could have done yourself. Tourguides similarly give some personal service. Baby sitters and staff at kids clubs are candidates. Bus drivers (ME and regular Disney Transportation) are often very entertaining and or informative and therefore deserving of some gesture on my part. I try to be ready for all possibilities like the maitre'd at Rose & Crown who seats us at a lagoonfront table jsut before illuminations starts, or the monorail driver who gets my kids a spotin the front of the car. All these people are part of what makes Disney so magical and deserve "a little something extra."

 

[ADAMANDLISA]

How does doubling a 6.5% tip and then rounding up equal out to be an 18% tip? Not flaming, just asking.

 

[disneyplanningdad]

An alternative for easy math is to divide the total by 6. This equal 16.66% and you can round up or down from there.

 

[lyzziesmom]

Saw a quote in Reader's Digest this morning and thought of this thread. It went something like this:

"As an alternative to vacationing, just walk around and tip every third person you see."

 

[Tnkrbelle565]

Doubling the tax only works in certain states! Seriously, I can't do math so I automatically give 20% because it's really easy to figure that out

 

[ADAMANDLISA]

Doubling the tax only works in certain states! Seriously, I can't do math so I automatically give 20% because it's really easy to figure that out

I always tip 20% too. It is easy to figure out, and it's what most people tip.

I've always considered myself pretty good at math and just couldn't figure out where they were getting double the tax from.

 

[Tnkrbelle565]

I always tip 20% too. It is easy to figure out, and it's what most people tip.

I've always considered myself pretty good at math and just couldn't figure out where they were getting double the tax from.

Well, I think the person who posted that said they got that from Friends...Friends was set in NYC where the meal tax is almost 9% so doubling that would give almost 18%. BUT, again meal tax is different in every state.

 

[ADAMANDLISA]

Well, I think the person who posted that said they got that from Friends...Friends was set in NYC where the meal tax is almost 9% so doubling that would give almost 18%. BUT, again meal tax is different in every state.

I feel like a light bulb when on over my head! Man, these pregnancy hormones render me incapable of thinking! That makes sense! I forgot that every state is different. I really hope those using that method remember that it's only 6.5% in Disney!

 

[fey_spirit]

Not true. I tipped 5 dollars a day for our last ten day trip (for just the two of us) and never got a single towel animal other then the one waiting for us when we "moved in" - which of course was before we had a chance to tip anything.

I think the rule of thumb for Mousekeeping is $1-$2per day/per person in your party. There are 3 of us. I tip $5/day. BTW, it has to be said that the more you tip...the better towel animals you receive!!!

 

[Tnkrbelle565]

Not true. I tipped 5 dollars a day for our last ten day trip (for just the two of us) and never got a single towel animal other then the one waiting for us when we "moved in" - which of course was before we had a chance to tip anything.

Where were you staying? Sadly at Disney...it seems like the more you pay for the resort, the more towel animals you receive. Also, when DH and I went by ourselves we NEVER got towel animals. When we started bringing DD, suddenly we got them. I think if they know there is a young child in the room, they are more apt to do them too

See what I mean, here is a cool towel "doll" they made DD last year...We didn't get anything like that at POP!

 

[lyzziesmom]

I've gotten tons of towel animals and even a towel toothbrush holder staying at the values, and this was back before I knew tips were expected. Got nada at POFQ or SSR. I think it's just random.

 

[captainj]

I just wanted to say that I read somewhere (sorry, can't remember where) that the bellhops who deliver your bags from ME to your rooms have their tips included in their salaries by Disney because 75% of the time, guests are NOT in their rooms when their luggage arrives. This way they aren't jipped out of their tips. I wish I could find the source again, but it does make a lot of sense. Just as an aside though, if I WAS in my room, I think I would still feel like I needed to tip them, habit I guess!

 

[Tnkrbelle565]

I just wanted to say that I read somewhere (sorry, can't remember where) that the bellhops who deliver your bags from ME to your rooms have their tips included in their salaries by Disney because 75% of the time, guests are NOT in their rooms when their luggage arrives. This way they aren't jipped out of their tips. I wish I could find the source again, but it does make a lot of sense. Just as an aside though, if I WAS in my room, I think I would still feel like I needed to tip them, habit I guess!

This is true. Actually a lot of CM positions are not allowed to accept tips.

 

[ptcbass]

OK, not to beat a dead horse but from reading here I now know that you are supposed to tip the ME drivers and you wait till you get off the bus at the resort. Ok well what about on your return to the airport. Is the bus driver the one that handles all the luggage again or does the resort cm's load it up? Who do you tip then and are you supposed to tip on the return trip??

 

[ptcbass]

Bump

 

[Tnkrbelle565]

OK, not to beat a dead horse but from reading here I now know that you are supposed to tip the ME drivers and you wait till you get off the bus at the resort. Ok well what about on your return to the airport. Is the bus driver the one that handles all the luggage again or does the resort cm's load it up? Who do you tip then and are you supposed to tip on the return trip??

The bus drivers load your stuff in and out of the bus at the airport (carryon bags, strollers, etc). Again we tip them as we are leaving the bus.