TIW or no?

[Joe_B]

We will be staying at Kidani May 28- June 5. There will be 9 of us 6 adults 3 kids (one kiddo will be 18 months). We usually do breakfast in the room and we tend to have 1 dinner in the room. We'll have maybe 1 character breakfast. We usually take all of our meals together except 1 date night for DW and I, and . Our previous trips we have been on the Dinning plan but with the kids ages 6 (dd) and 4 (ds) not being big eaters we are skipping it for this trip. Do you think TIW would be worth it for us? I've checked and most of our favorite restaurants currently accept TIW: Sanaa, Cali Grill, 'Ohana, Le cellier, Sci Fi Dine In. Do you think we will break even on the $150 cost? I think all of these places give the 10% DVC discount.

 

[erionm]

Does anyone in the group enjoy beer, wine or a cocktail with their meal? The TiW discount also covers alcohol which no other discount does.

 

[BillPA]

You get 13 months use with TIW, so if you have another trip planned you will also get a break. Also if any of you have adult drinks that get 20% off also. So if you assume you only net 10% that would be $1500 on food to cover the cost of TIW, with the 5 meals you listed with 6 adults that's 30 of those $35-$50 meals, plus the kids and a drink or 2 and your covered. Any additional trips are a bonus. Also DVC is supposed to be for member + 3 guests, but that has never been a problem when we have had more that 4 people. TIW is good for 10, so if they get picky on the number of people your break even is faster. Have a great trip.

 

[Dean Marino]

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[Deb & Bill]

You might only get exactly 12 months, too. That's what we had and it worked out for us okay (didn't have anything planned for a thirteenth month). You'll need to spend at a minimum $750 to get your money's worth. But if you were eligible for a 10% discount with your DVC card, that number goes up.

 

[drusba]

I do not know what happens when you call because we have always bought the TIW when a new one was needed when we have arrived at WDW. Doing that, one always gets at least 13 months because its end date is always the end of the month after the month in which you purchase it. Thus, buy on November 30, 2018 and it will be good until December 31, 2019, a total of 13 months after date of purchase. The issue of timing is simply whether you can get more than 13 months, e.g., buy on Nov 1, 2018 and it is good for 14 months because the end date is still Dec 31, 2019.

As to whether the TIW card is worth it just depends. Using it enough in that 13 to 14 month period with its 20% discount to make up for the $150 purchase price is only half of the evaluation. The DVC member card gives you a 10% discount (excluding drinks) at a lot of WDW restaurants (and even 20% at some). Thus, it may be better for some to just use the DVC member discount, and thus not pay the $150 for the card, particularly if none are going to be consuming alcoholic beverages.

And as to having the paper-type card when you buy at the parks, we have never had any issue with it.

 

[supersnoop]

Must be the 15th time I've posted this data.... .
"You get 13 months use with TIW"....

Yes, you DO - but only if you BUY it correctly. The Golden Time is fairly simple.... the TIW STAFF (phone) will HELP you with this:

call (407) 566-5858 (Monday – Friday, 9:00 am – 6:00 pm ET) for more information

Buy your TIW on the THIRD of the month prior to the month of your last anticipated trip. NEVER buy a TIW card near the END of any month.
Example: Ralph and Alice want a TIW card. They will go TWICE in 2018, and TWICE in 2019. In 2019, their FIRST vacation is on May 10th. BUY a TIW card by PHONE on APR 3. 2018. It will expire on MAY 31, 2019. Ralph and Alice get THREE trips, off one TIW card.

Other advantages to CALLING - you will get a PLASTIC card, that the CMs love, because it actually SCANS. 13 years, 26 trips.... and Sandy & I have had about 50 CMs ask us HOW we got the Plastic TIW card . They HATE those Paper Cards bought at GS, because they FAIL all the time.

Can't over emphasize.... CALL TIW. These people are STUNNING. They will ADVISE you on "when to buy" to maximize your use. They can EXPEDITE a mailing, if you are going to WDW in under 14 days. We've done this - and these great folks have NEVER charged us .

Now - "Will I win with TIW"? Not getting into that one: it depends on how many times one goes to WDW during the life of the card, WHERE your family dines, and HOW MANY people are involved. Every family is different. WE are two 66 year old's, going twice per year, 16 nights per year at a SIG. We save a good $500 per year after cost. But that is just US, and OUR dining habits....

You continue to misinterpret how the expiration works. No matter when you purchase the card, you will get 13 months. When you purchase near the beginning of the month, you get close to 14 months to use it.

 

[bumbershoot]

They HATE those Paper Cards bought at GS, because they FAIL all the time.

I’ve never had mine fail.

And the reason for 13 months is based on when you had to order them. They mailed them live and waited to make are you had a year to use them. So they made it 13 to account for mail and then your travel tome to Wdw.

But they do it at the parks, too.

Doing that, one always gets at least 13 months because its end date is always the end of the month after the month in which you purchase it.

Some CMs mess up and only do 12 months. Easy enough to remedy, though!

 

[bumbershoot]

As for value...we last bought one before the most recent price increase.

With 3 vegetarians who did one TS per day, were not ordering expensive tens, maybe had one character meal, and alcohol was almost never ordered, we would break even inside our first week. Even though the price has gone up, so have food costs.

I do study the discount page on allears.net to see what restaurants we have planned and if tiw covers it and if Dvc has a discount, to decide if tiw is worth it for those plans.

 

[Deb & Bill]

You continue to misinterpret how the expiration works. No matter when you purchase the card, you will get 13 months. When you purchase near the beginning of the month, you get close to 14 months to use it.

Not always as I already said. We got exactly one year and bought it at Guest Services at the MK.

 

[hakepb]

I’m also one of the unlucky that had (2) 12 month TIW’s (but I think they were end of the 12th month?)
They didn’t impact our plans, so I never bothered to fight for more.
Then I got a 1.5mo TIW (that finally got me a full 13mo TIW after they corrected it.

Overall, it seems TIW dates are as accurate as AP’s (I’ve had a few wrong AP’s, too..but it was easier to point out an incorrect AP date.)

But, now, since I’m not a big alcohol consumer, the high TIW price doesn’t make much sense for us vs using AP and DVC discounts.

 

[marikujawa]

I’ve never had mine fail.

And the reason for 13 months is based on when you had to order them. They mailed them live and waited to make are you had a year to use them. So they made it 13 to account for mail and then your travel tome to Wdw.

But they do it at the parks, too.



Some CMs mess up and only do 12 months. Easy enough to remedy, though!

We’ve had problems with the paper card. On our second from last trip, the server couldn’t get it to scan at TOTWL and there was no manager around to override the system so we didn’t get the discount. We used it at STK and the server said his manager had to put it through- he advised us to get the plastic version. We called after the trip and got a plastic card mailed to us. When we used it at Pizzafari in AK, the CM said she was glad to see the plastic card because they often have problems with the paper ones.

 

[bumbershoot]

Not always as I already said. We got exactly one year and bought it at Guest Services at the MK.

You could have gotten it fixed. An error doesn’t mean it’s pikicy.

We’ve had problems with the paper card. On our second from last trip, the server couldn’t get it to scan at TOTWL and there was no manager around to override the system so we didn’t get the discount.

I don’t deny that problems can happen. I reject the concept that problems always happen.

There is zero chance I would have accepted no discount because their systems failed.

That said, I don’t see totwl on the list of participating places. https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/faq/restaurants/tables-in-wonderland-restaurants/

 

[marikujawa]

You could have gotten it fixed. An error doesn’t mean it’s pikicy.



I don’t deny that problems can happen. I reject the concept that problems always happen.

There is zero chance I would have accepted no discount because their systems failed.

That said, I don’t see totwl on the list of participating places. https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/faq/restaurants/tables-in-wonderland-restaurants/

TOTWL does accept the TIW discount, and we did use it there during our subsequent trip. Maybe it's not listed because the lounge is restricted to DVC members. Normally, we would not have left without getting the discount. However, we arrived fairly late - 11:30 and they had already stopped food service. It was after midnight when we got the check, and two servers tried unsuccessfully to swipe the paper card. The second one offered to call a manager to come to the lounge and do whatever needed to be done to manually put in the discount. Given the lateness of the hour, we declined the offer. For two drinks, it just wasn't worth it.

I don't think anyone meant to suggest that problems always happen with the paper card.

I checked around and one of the moderators posted in another thread that TOTWL is officially part of the Wave - that's why it's not listed separately. I don't know for certain whether that's the reason, but I do know that we've used TIW there several times over the past few years.

 

[supersnoop]

It’s not paper; it’s tyvek. I had one start having trouble after a year in my wallet, but it would still swipe ~90% of the time.

 

[gharter]

Is it worth it for you?
Lots of variables. Do you have any other discounts? AP, Disney Visa, DVC?
If not, you need about $750 in charges to break even. Remember, they will take 20% off and add an 18% gratuity. However, your group seems large that they would probably add the gratuity automatically. With TIW, you also get a 20% discount on alcohol at most restaurants and many lounges. That may have an impact as well.
If you have another discount as above, then the breakeven is closer to $1500.
With the TIW card, the card holder must pay the bill for everyone to get the discount. You can settle up the bill among yourselves later.

 

[D-Trick]

I have a paper/tyvek TIW card but in all honesty it wasn’t until I used it at Artists Palette that I realized that CMs swipe it. Somehow I assumed they just scan the barcode. I’ve only ever used it for table service and so never knew if my card couldn’t swipe. Turns out it didn’t... at least at Artists Palette anyway.

I did learn about the plastic cards you can get online or over the phone but by that time I was already 3/4 through my validity.

Throwing in my two cents for validity time... I bought my TIW card from GS on 11/01/17 (tiny print below barcode), but my card says it expires 12/31/2018. That gives me 14 months of usage.

 

[marikujawa]

I have a paper/tyvek TIW card but in all honesty it wasn’t until I used it at Artists Palette that I realized that CMs swipe it. Somehow I assumed they just scan the barcode. I’ve only ever used it for table service and so never knew if my card couldn’t swipe. Turns out it didn’t... at least at Artists Palette anyway.

I did learn about the plastic cards you can get online or over the phone but by that time I was already 3/4 through my validity.

Throwing in my two cents for validity time... I bought my TIW card from GS on 11/01/17 (tiny print below barcode), but my card says it expires 12/31/2018. That gives me 14 months of usage.

We really didn't have any problems with the Tyvek card at table service locations, although one server did mention that he needed a manager to get the discount to work. The main problems we've had over the years have been at counter service locations such as Flame Tree and Pizzafari in AK. The CM at Pizzafari told DH that they consistently have problems with the Tyvek cards.

 

[Joe_B]

Thanks for the advice, I think we will get TIW and maybe I can talk my wife into an extra visit before it expires.

 

[drusba]

It’s not paper; it’s tyvek. I had one start having trouble after a year in my wallet, but it would still swipe ~90% of the time.

I have called it "paper-like," "cloth-like," "different but similar to paper," "fiber of some kind," and numerous others, because I never knew what in tarnation it actually was. Thank you for actually providing its name.