TIW Worth It?

[E&K's Dad]

I recently read this review/statement about the TIW on another site.

"Great for Locals, not so much for everyone else..."
Reviewed on Feb 11, 2010 by redoctober25
Rating: 4
I decided last year to get the "Tables in Wonderland" card as I was traveling to WDW three times in 2009. I thought it would be a great deal to save 20% on all my dining (provided I dined at a participating restaurant). I found out it is not all that it is cracked up to be. Especially since they charge you an 18% Gratuity regardless of party size. Here's what it breaks down to...

Assume you spend $100 on the meal before taxes and assume a 7% local tax.
$100 - 20% = $80
$80 + 18% gratuity (based on cost before taxes) = $94.40
$80 x 7% tax (taxed before gratuity) = $5.60
So overall cost is $100 after taxes and gratuity.

Okay, so you are really saving the cost of tip and tax, but what if you had poor service and wanted to tip less than the required 18%. Also, what about the restaurants that are self service such as the food courts. You still get charged the 18% even though you are getting your own food, busing your own table, etc...

Where this would be great is for a local that can go to the special "Member's Only" events that get put on every month or so. So, all in all, I will not be renewing my membership in "Tables" as I did not even come close to recouping my cost or getting a great savings.

While I can see the poster's side I wonder what other people's opinions are? When using the TIW card do they charge the 18% gratuity on the eligible counter service locations too (i.e. Flame Tree BBQ.)?

 

[dopeynme]

Hi! I have not used TIW at CS, so can't answer that part.

I think whether it's worth it depends how often you go, where you like to eat, etc. TIW takes the discount on alcoholic beverages which can be a big savings for some folks. In one 6 day trip, DH and I saved enough that it paid for our card.....and we will be there for 7 more nights this year. So we think it was worth it for us this year. We like to eat at nicer TS, have a cocktail or 2 and we generally tip 20%. (I added a little to the 18% tips). Unless the server is downright rude, I usually still tip 20%. I figure, I make mistakes at work but I still get paid.......

Anyway, we figure we came out ahead using TIW this year. That may not be the case every year, so we will have to consider our plans for the year and try to estimate whether we will be at WDW enough to save more than the $75 we pay for TIW. Good luck deciding!

 

[nifferearly]

I thought it was worth it. My favorite thing about it was free valet parking....we usually eat at the Poly, Contemporary, or GF and it was a nice treat to valet since I would never pay for it. As previous poster stated, I usually tip around 20% so the 18% gratuity didn't bother me. I guess I didn't realize you could use the card at counter service locations - I thought it was only sit down dining.
I would do the math - I sit down and figure out how much I'd save in a single meal, figure out how many meals I'd have to eat to break even on the $75 investment and see if it makes sense.

 

[Silver Queen]

It was absolutely worth it for us. Of course it depends on how many times you will visit in a year, but we pretty much paid for our TiW card on our first 4 day visit. If you buy a bottle of wine or a cocktail with dinner you recoup your investment pretty quickly. We usually tip at least 20% so the 18% doesn't bother us at all. thanks to the TiW we've dined at all of the signature restaurants. We've decided that at least one of us will always get an annual pass so that we can get the TiW.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

The item quoted by the OP has several factual errors in it, which shows the person quoted does not know what they are talking about.

One is the automatic gratuity is based on the pre-discount price, not the discounted price. And the other is the Sales Tax in all table service restaurants at WDW is 6.5%, not 7.0%. And the gratuity is not charged at any counter service location where it is accepted.

The basic thing is that, assuming you will normally tip 18%, you save $21.30 per $100 of menu price.

And if a couple goes to V&A regular dining room, and only one takes the Wine Pairing, you have already saved over $67 of the purchase price.

 

[vicki_c]

CF is totally right! No gratuity at CS locations.

The breakeven point for an AP holder TiW card is $375. It's just basic math - if you spend more than that, it's a wash. If you spend more than that (in eligible meals), you are saving $$.

We thought it was great - we just renewed ours last trip and even though we only have 1 trip in 2010, we still saved money. For our family of 4, we broke even on our 5 day trip fairly easily.

You just need to figure out your eating style and how much you might spend. We don't have any interest in the DDP, so TiW works for us. In fact, we're not renewing our APs this year and I'm going to be sad when we can't have our TiW card anymore.

 

[Leota]

We had the DDE (before it was TIW) and we have TIW now. It has been totally worth it for us. It works well for us with the way we like to do WDW. We've been enough that we are far from commando Park goers these days. For us, we like to have a couple nice, sit down meals everyday, usually one of them is a Signature. We like to have wine or cocktails with lunch or dinner. We paid for our TIW card partway thru our last trip. We still have a 9 day trip coming this Oct. that will be all savings for us.

We usually tip at least 20%. Service has to be really poor or a buffet for us to tip less than 20, so 18% is not a big deal to us at all.

I think you just have to see how you do WDW & how you like to eat/drink to decide if it's worth it for you.

 

[DiznyDi]

DH and I prefer this to any dining plan.

 

[madalex]

I went to WDW in Feb 2010 for a 4 day solo trip. I bought the TIW card at the start of the trip and over those four days saved $60. Next month, I am going back with my kids for a week and I also have a five day trip scheduled for October 2010. I am pretty confident that my savings from using the TIW card over all those trips will far exceed the $75 cost of the card.

 

[TDC Nala]

If you are going to spend more than $375 in a year on food and beverages (and valet parking) covered by TIW, it is worth it.

Cheshire Figment is right, there are some inaccuracies in the quoted item. You are NOT charged the 18% gratuity at counter service locations, only at table service restaurants and bars/lounges where gratuities are generally expected.

TIW covers alcoholic beverages, for some there are savings in that.

 

[tortoni]

I agree with other poster that it is basically a math question, although it can be more complicated if you are eligible for other discounts. For example, annual passes get you 10% at some restaurants and DVC gets you 10-20%. We have both of those and still get the TIW so we are pretty much assured of 20% off in most TS and some CS venues. Can't beat the valet parking too.

 

[Disneymama5816]

We bought our TIW card last spring break knowing we would be able to use it 3x this year. Because we are a party of 5 or more, it paid for itself by day 4 of the first trip, as we eat at least 1 or 2 TS per day. It was definately a great discount for us this year.

 

[dr&momto2boys]

I've analyzed and overanalyzed every possible scenario for our upcoming three trips and the TIW card wins compared to DDP and DxDDP for all of our trips. It even saves me money on the tips since we usually tip 20%! To tell you the truth, I probably won't add an extra 2% on unless the service is fabulous.

I am curious though, at which quick service places is the TIW card valid? I thought it was just for TS so please let me know!

 

[tink713]

I've done the math and the DxDP saves us much more money than the TIW card. To us it just doesn't seem like that great of a deal.

 

[sabrecmc]

We love the TIW card. It works much better for us than the DDP. Mainly due to the savings on alcohol! Another thing I like about it is that you can use it at the food court in resorts that don't have a table service restaurant (like POFQ). Since we often share entrees, like appetizers and not so much dessert...it is much more our speed than the DDP. We are FL residents and annual passholders, so we go plenty of times and it is definitely worth it for us!

 

[TDC Nala]

TIW is valid only at the following nine quick service locations: the three value resort food courts, the POFQ food court, Artists Palette at SSR, and Flame Tree, Pizzafari and Restaurantosaurus, all at Animal Kingdom park.

 

[E&K's Dad]

I am curious though, at which quick service places is the TIW card valid? I thought it was just for TS so please let me know!

There aren't really many but they appear to be where limit or no table service is available. For my family, I was happy to see the AK locations.

I think this is the list of quick service locations where TIW is accepted:

Flame Tree BBQ
Pizzafari
Restaurantosaurus
Pop Century and all three All-Star Food Courts
Shutters at Old Point Royale

 

[TDC Nala]

Shutters at Old Point Royale

Shutters is a table service restaurant and I don't believe the food court at CBR accepts TIW.

 

[EastonCat]

I'm not sure the last time I got out of a signature restaurant for $100 before discount.

It is very worth it if you like table service, drink alcohol, and travel in groups larger than two. We had a party of seven at Yachtsman's Steakhouse that paid for it on one meal.

We only plan two or three meals max ahead of our trip. The TIW freedom (a discount pretty much everywhere) makes our impulsive style of planning way more effective than other dining plan options.

 

[E&K's Dad]

Thanks for all the opinions and clarification. I was confused when I read the review because I thought it was pretty basic math as well. Thought I might have missed something obvious. We generally tip at 20% or more so except in the case of exceptional service we'll probably save the extra 2% as well by having only 18% added. We are traveling with a party of 6 adults and 2 kids this coming September for 8 days and then planning for eight more days with a party of 2 adults and 2 kids the following August. Even excluding meals we would plan on eating in our villa, I am thinking I can make up the $75 in three days.