How much do waiters/waitresses at WDW make?

It's absolutely none of your business how much they make. You tip 20% regardless unless the server was RUDE to you. People dock tips for people forgetting stuff. (Seriously? You don't forget things? They are human, not robots.) And a server would have to be outright mean to me for me to tip less than 15%. And if you are tipping $20 on $140, that's not a good tip in the eyes of any server. That should be $30. $28 at the least.
 
It's absolutely none of your business how much they make. You tip 20% regardless unless the server was RUDE to you. People dock tips for people forgetting stuff. (Seriously? You don't forget things? They are human, not robots.) And a server would have to be outright mean to me for me to tip less than 15%. And if you are tipping $20 on $140, that's not a good tip in the eyes of any server. That should be $30. $28 at the least.
Okay while I agree with you, why are you digging up a thread from 10 years ago? Life is much different now.
 
I worked my way through college as a waitress and can tell you that people tip all over the map. Some tip 20%, most tip 15%, some tip 10% and others don't tip at all. Where I worked we had 4-5 tables. Lunch shift was typically 11-4 (or 5) and dinner was 5-10. On a typical Friday night, Saturday or Sunday (busiest days) I would make $40-$60 on a lunch shift and $75-$100 on a dinner shift. During the week it would be more like $25-$40 on a lunch shift (most were just there for the "lunch hour" and the rest of the time it was slow) and $40-$60 on a dinner shift (again, slow nights on Mon-Wed). Also, we were required to be there an hour before the restaurant opened for lunch to make salads, set up, etc. which is an hour of no tips. Dinner staff were there an hour after for clean up, refill ketchup, etc. which is another hour without tips. You can make good money, but its really hard work.

At Disney? I've worked in food service for 20+ years and am thinking of applying at Disney. There's no way Disney employees make tips that low, right?
 
Okay while I agree with you, why are you digging up a thread from 10 years ago? Life is much different now.

Because I'm interested in how much I could make at Disney. I have worked in food service for 21 years, and am trying to get an idea of how Disney would compare to all the other restaurant jobs I've had. This was also the second link the showed up when I Googled "How much do Disney servers get paid an hour?" I was referring to how much they make before tips. But then I read this and it made me mad. And also it wouldn't make any difference if this post was from 30 years ago, bc it's no one's business how much service workers make. So, tell me now, love. Why are you here in 2020?

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Because I'm interested in how much I could make at Disney. I have worked in food service for 21 years, and am trying to get an idea of how Disney would compare to all the other restaurant jobs I've had. This was also the second link the showed up when I Googled "How much do Disney servers get paid an hour?" I was referring to how much they make before tips. But then I read this and it made me mad. So, tell me now, love. Why are you here in 2020?

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Because when someone comments on the thread it shows up in the “whats new” section of the site.....
 
Because I'm interested in how much I could make at Disney. I have worked in food service for 21 years, and am trying to get an idea of how Disney would compare to all the other restaurant jobs I've had. This was also the second link the showed up when I Googled "How much do Disney servers get paid an hour?" I was referring to how much they make before tips. But then I read this and it made me mad. And also it wouldn't make any difference if this post was from 30 years ago, bc it's no one's business how much service workers make. So, tell me now, love. Why are you here in 2020?

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Wow
I am very glad you signed up under your real name and Disney reads these boards so none of us have to deal with this attitude at a Disney restaurant.yikes
 
I typically tip 20% at normal priced restaurants but less at Disney (about the same amount but lesser percentage) I too for service. The server at a Disney restaurant does the same amount of work and provides the same service as a server at Chili's or Red Robin. I don't feel it's fair or justified to tip Disney servers more just because the price of the meal is there times as much.
 


Old thread, but in 2020 Disney wait staff in Florida have to make $8.56 an hour, but the employer can subtract up to $3.02 an hour of the tips the server gets. So the employer may only actually be paying $5.54 an hour of that wage.
In 2020 Disney wait staff in California have to made at least $13 an hour, all of that from the employer. This is no trip credit allowed in California and any tips would be on top of that.
Our marketing people 4 years ago identified "jobs" as an area of concern for our viewers and we hired an outside company to see what job issues people were concerned about. We had a lot of people in the survey who took part time wait jobs while going to school to get their four year degree. They got their degree and got their full time "career" job and then discovered that even with benefits, they made less than they made working part time in a tipped job waiting tables.
I worked with a woman who worked Friday and Saturday nights, 5 hours a night waiting tables at a sports bar. She made more in 10 hours in tips than she did working 40 hours a week as a Director. But she knew how to work it. She was a flirty redhead, who was always getting turned in to the manager by new wait staff for giving away appetizers. Manager would always laugh and point out that giving away $2 worth of hot wings prompted the guests to order another $40 round of drinks, and that this lady as a rule had bar tabs twice of the other wait staff. And of course, bar tabs are where they make the real money.
 
At Disney? I've worked in food service for 20+ years and am thinking of applying at Disney. There's no way Disney employees make tips that low, right?

No, not at Disney. I worked at a local popular seafood restaurant on the Maine coast. I also worked at a really high end restaurant. Keep in mind that there are many visitors to Disney who come from countries where tipping isn't the norm and they may not tip at all. Also, some people feel at buffet restaurants they don't have to tip as much because they serve themselves. You also have the viewpoint that the character meals are over-priced so people don't tip on the total bill, but maybe tip per person. When people are trying to cut their expenses back an easy way to do it can be in the amount they tip. For example a family of 4 does a buffet character meal and the total bill comes to $140. If they tipped 20% your tip would be $28. In reality they would probably tip less - somewhere between $10 and $15.
 
Because I'm interested in how much I could make at Disney. I have worked in food service for 21 years, and am trying to get an idea of how Disney would compare to all the other restaurant jobs I've had. This was also the second link the showed up when I Googled "How much do Disney servers get paid an hour?" I was referring to how much they make before tips. But then I read this and it made me mad. And also it wouldn't make any difference if this post was from 30 years ago, bc it's no one's business how much service workers make. So, tell me now, love. Why are you here in 2020?

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You say it’s no one’s business how much service workers make, yet you Googled it. Seems pretty hypocritical to me.
 
Being a server is hard work... Working as a server in a tourist city has is own set of problems...

You not only have to work hard, you have to deal with a lot of other stuff as well, grumpy customers, language barriers, people that don't tip or tipping doesn't exist in their home countries, dealing with drunk vacationers is not fun, over tired and over stimulated kids and adults alike, then adding in all the other things that the job of being a servers entails, and encounters just with serving...

Make no mistake that they earn every dollar that they make...
 
As a server I have a huge pet peeve with Disney and tipping.
I have a family of 7 . Automatic gratuity. Which I am totally fine with if the prices were reasonable. But I am not tipping on an incredibly over inflated price especially With character meals. The server offers nothing extra, the characters are doing the work so why am I tipping on a $60 buffet where the food comprised only half that price.
I will say I am 90 percent sure the servers at Disney are killing it even with tipping out support staff. I would totally love to work there
 
As a server I have a huge pet peeve with Disney and tipping.
I have a family of 7 . Automatic gratuity. Which I am totally fine with if the prices were reasonable. But I am not tipping on an incredibly over inflated price especially With character meals. The server offers nothing extra, the characters are doing the work so why am I tipping on a $60 buffet where the food comprised only half that price.
I will say I am 90 percent sure the servers at Disney are killing it even with tipping out support staff. I would totally love to work there

simply don’t go to character meals then
 
Lol. I have grandkids. It’s not just the character meals that are over priced. I am a server. I make my living off of tips. I will gladly tip for the work of the server based on the value of the meal.
I realize it’s disney so you will pay more , but i do believe the prices for buffets are out of hand, especially character ones, and therefore the tip is out of hand.
As I said it’s just my personal pet peeve.
 
As a server I have a huge pet peeve with Disney and tipping.
I have a family of 7 . Automatic gratuity. Which I am totally fine with if the prices were reasonable. But I am not tipping on an incredibly over inflated price especially With character meals. The server offers nothing extra, the characters are doing the work so why am I tipping on a $60 buffet where the food comprised only half that price.
I will say I am 90 percent sure the servers at Disney are killing it even with tipping out support staff. I would totally love to work there
I think that people often underestimate how much work a server does at a buffet. I think they actually do *more* work than someone working in a transitional restaurant as they clear the table again and again and again. People get mad and don't tip at all if their dirty plate sits there too long. As for the price of the meal, I always assume that the more experienced servers get the plum positions at the more expensive restaurants. You wouldn't tip someone 20% at The Wave but tip less than 20% at the California Grill or other signature restaurants just because the price is higher. Both servers do essentially the same job, but the California Grill server is getting paid more.
 
We have talked to Cast Members before in table service. Once when our oldest was working at mid-range place at home living on tips I asked our server if she minded answering a question telling her she did not have to by any means. I asked about sharing the tips. She said she only shared a portion with her assistant. Many servers at WDW are some of the longest working WDW employees. I’ve noticed many well past 50. I believe this is the reason. Tough job to get. We talked with our server at Mama Melrose - after the hostess told us how lucky we were to get -. He had to be 70-75. Said he owned a home in Orlando and worked 3 days straight each week and spent the other 4 at his house in Savannah! Or he’d work 3 rest 1 work 3 and spend a week in Savannah. He’d worked at WDW 40 years.
 
I imagine too that most of the tips now are placed on a card, or room charge. Gone are the days when most tips were in cash, I would think. I'm sure they will get cash from time to time, but I know I never have cash on me. So the ability to report less than what you actually earn is gone. And I remember when I was a teen I was told to never report the full amount of tips we got. Believe me, that wasn't much way back in the day at the local Pizza Hut, but I bet it was at Disney.
 
If a server at Chef Mickeys turned over say six tables an hour and got a 20% tip for four Disney adults that would come to around $240 in tips per hour. Close? Not? But if so, a shift of say four hours would be around $960, right? Now they have to pay out some of that to others, right? Am I close in my numbers or way off base, I really have no idea. But this is very interesting.
 
I imagine too that most of the tips now are placed on a card, or room charge. Gone are the days when most tips were in cash, I would think. I'm sure they will get cash from time to time, but I know I never have cash on me. So the ability to report less than what you actually earn is gone. And I remember when I was a teen I was told to never report the full amount of tips we got. Believe me, that wasn't much way back in the day at the local Pizza Hut, but I bet it was at Disney.
Now at days even some cash is declared but definetly credit tips! My daughter bar tends and they have to share 7% with wait staff on all tips ! Wait staff make out way better as they only share 2% with runners! Her place told them they would receive tips as salary to not have people not declare tips so life has changed a lot in the business
 

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