Tipping Info Thread for Disney Dining

[Wakey]

Hi I am here now. We are in a party of 6 and each time they have brought 2 receipts. 1 generally says £0 and credits taken. The other says the extras and the suggested tip- even though we are in a party of 6 I've never seen 18% added on, just the suggested 18% and 20% figure with a spot to then write it in. So I've been writing in the 18% and signing it. Now I'm worried I've been tipping twice. Don't think I have and if I have its been really misleading. But no auto 18% has been added at Raglan Road, T Rex or Ohana as far as I could see.

 

[magic458]

I think the forced group tipping gets confusing and you double sometimes (one of the reason Ohio outlawed it).

Thought I get that some may see a bill of $500 for a group and hold back. I am interested to hear what others say is happening here.

 

[ConnecticutNonna]

Hi I am here now. We are in a party of 6 and each time they have brought 2 receipts. 1 generally says £0 and credits taken. The other says the extras and the suggested tip- even though we are in a party of 6 I've never seen 18% added on, just the suggested 18% and 20% figure with a spot to then write it in. So I've been writing in the 18% and signing it. Now I'm worried I've been tipping twice. Don't think I have and if I have its been really misleading. But no auto 18% has been added at Raglan Road, T Rex or Ohana as far as I could see.

I wonder if Raglan Road and T Rex don't automatically add the 18% as they are actually not Disney restaurants... (While on Disney property, they are owned by another corporation.)
I can't even begin to guess about 'Ohana...
Let us know please and thank you!

 

[Wakey]

I wonder if Raglan Road and T Rex don't automatically add the 18% as they are actually not Disney restaurants... (While on Disney property, they are owned by another corporation.)
I can't even begin to guess about 'Ohana...
Let us know please and thank you!

Yes we were never double charged. The Disney Springs restaurants do not apply an auto 18% on 6. So you can tip what you want. The Disney Restaurants do add it on (I didn't get it added on in Ohana because they mistakenly only took 5 credits looking at the receipt!). The others all added it on automatically. However the receipts are different. In some places there is nowhere to write a tip, in others there is. You can just sign the bill and hope they don't write anything else on. Personally where it said tip I wrote 'as above' and the total as the total so no dodgy person couldn't later add more tip on.

 

[Papa Smurf]

When I asked a CM over the phone about how the tip was handled with a party of 6 (3 separate couples in 3 separate rooms with DDP) concerning the automatic 18% gratuity, she said that there wasn't a way to split the tip amounts between the 3 groups so that we would only each be covering our own meals. We each planned on paying for gratuity differently (Disney GC, Credit Card, Cash) so now I'm at a loss on how to handle this. Anyone have a solution they have used before?

 

[HarleenQ]

When I asked a CM over the phone about how the tip was handled with a party of 6 (3 separate couples in 3 separate rooms with DDP) concerning the automatic 18% gratuity, she said that there wasn't a way to split the tip amounts between the 3 groups so that we would only each be covering our own meals. We each planned on paying for gratuity differently (Disney GC, Credit Card, Cash) so now I'm at a loss on how to handle this. Anyone have a solution they have used before?

Don't call. They're always wrong lmao.

You can ask for split checks the 3 different ways - I'd tell them at the beginning when ordering for ease. When your check comes it will only have your meals on it and the auto 18% gratuity will be only on your items. Same for everyone else.

 

[Papa Smurf]

Good to know. I've had some frustrating experiences on the phone with CMs that don't know half of the loopholes about payments (GC), reservations (splitting parties) and even the magic wristband options (having purchases sent directly to your room, etc.). But they are always extremely nice and I've had some that have told me some tricks as well.

 

[ConnecticutNonna]

Don't call. They're always wrong

Come to the Disboards for most questions! There is a plethora of accurate information here, and if by chance someone is inaccurate (maybe out of date info) another member will come along and ever so politely correct it...

 

[Shughart]

We'll be there in 2 weeks and I had planned on bringing cash, and tipping $10 for each meal for my family of 4. But all our reservations are with family, a group of 10. I see above that if you ask them to split the check before, they will treat it like any other meal and bring you a separate check with how much of a tip we have to pay, can I then leave that in cash, or just HAND them my card? I don't want anything charged on our magic bands, letting it pile up during our trip and paying at the end makes me uneasy, as we'll be paying cash/cc for all souvenirs and the trip is already paid. Any thoughts or advice is appreciated. We just dealt with a debit card being compromised so I'm very skittish, despite the fact that we have checked in with a cc.

 

[HarleenQ]

We'll be there in 2 weeks and I had planned on bringing cash, and tipping $10 for each meal for my family of 4. But all our reservations are with family, a group of 10. I see above that if you ask them to split the check before, they will treat it like any other meal and bring you a separate check with how much of a tip we have to pay, can I then leave that in cash, or just HAND them my card? I don't want anything charged on our magic bands, letting it pile up during our trip and paying at the end makes me uneasy, as we'll be paying cash/cc for all souvenirs and the trip is already paid. Any thoughts or advice is appreciated. We just dealt with a debit card being compromised so I'm very skittish, despite the fact that we have checked in with a cc.

You can give them cash or card instead of charging back to the room.

Just as an aside, with a party of 10 your check will still have an automatic 18% gratuity added to it. I'm not sure where you're eating, but $10 flat would be a very low tip.

 

[Shughart]

$10 for each meal? A lot of our Disney meals were running $40+ per head, and with our auto 18% tip applied (party of 6) we were often tipping $40+ a time for 6- it's crazy money.

I'm starting to see that. We've never spent more than $60 a meal for the 4 of us, and we tip 15% every time. I didn't anticipate paying $40 a dinner for my kids. They don't eat that much. Or is it that insanely inflated?

Just as an aside, with a party of 10 your check will still have an automatic 18% gratuity added to it. I'm not sure where you're eating, but $10 flat would be a very low tip.

Sci fi, Akershus, Yak and Yeti, Trex, Whispering canyon cafe and Ohana. I'm starting to understand how inflated everything is at Disney. I'm going to have no way of estimate to use cash at this point. I'm fine with the automatic 18-20% gratuity, but I would like to be able to choose my payment method when the bills comes. Like handing them my cc after a meal like normal, but just for the tip. It helps me keep track better than letting things pile up and paying them at the end.

 

[Shughart]

We're on the DDP, if that info changes anything. So we'd scan our magic bands for credits and then I would get a bill for the tip? And then I could use my cc to pay it right then and there?

ETA: Thanks for being patient with this newbie, I just want to know what to expect and how to do these things

 

[HarleenQ]

I'm starting to see that. We've never spent more than $60 a meal for the 4 of us, and we tip 15% every time. I didn't anticipate paying $40 a dinner for my kids. They don't eat that much. Or is it that insanely inflated?



Sci fi, Akershus, Yak and Yeti, Trex, Whispering canyon cafe and Ohana. I'm starting to understand how inflated everything is at Disney. I'm going to have no way of estimate to use cash at this point. I'm fine with the automatic 18-20% gratuity, but I would like to be able to choose my payment method when the bills comes. Like handing them my cc after a meal like normal, but just for the tip. It helps me keep track better than letting things pile up and paying them at the end.

We're on the DDP, if that info changes anything. So we'd scan our magic bands for credits and then I would get a bill for the tip? And then I could use my cc to pay it right then and there?

ETA: Thanks for being patient with this newbie, I just want to know what to expect and how to do these things

Head to allears.net and check out the menus there to get an estimate for tips. Ohana and Akershus are easier since they're fixed price. I would say our tips were between $20-25 for a family of four each meal.

You can definitely pay your tip in person. If it's. Ensues your leery about your info being handled, when you charge back to the room it doesn't charge your card right away. It just adds up in your folio until you reach your limit and the charges one time to your card. You could charge it all back to the room without each server having access to your card info and then pay your room at the front desk in person every few days.

You could also get gift cards to completely keep your info out of it.

 

[ConnecticutNonna]

We'll be there in 2 weeks and I had planned on bringing cash, and tipping $10 for each meal for my family of 4. But all our reservations are with family, a group of 10. I see above that if you ask them to split the check before, they will treat it like any other meal and bring you a separate check with how much of a tip we have to pay, can I then leave that in cash, or just HAND them my card? I don't want anything charged on our magic bands, letting it pile up during our trip and paying at the end makes me uneasy, as we'll be paying cash/cc for all souvenirs and the trip is already paid. Any thoughts or advice is appreciated. We just dealt with a debit card being compromised so I'm very skittish, despite the fact that we have checked in with a cc.

You are allowed to split checks, however the 18% gratuity is added onto each individual check.
For example: Party of 10 split 3 ways. Each meal costs $20.00
Party of 2 gets check for $40.00 ( Maybe covered by DDP), the added gratuity will be $7.20. So you are responsible for either $47.20 OR $7.20 plus 2 Dining credits.
Same goes to party of 4. Check for $80.00 plus tip of $14.40
You can pay your bill with dining credits or cc, cash, etc, but the tip cannot be paid with credits and still works out to 18% no matter how you divide it up.

 

[ConnecticutNonna]

We're on the DDP, if that info changes anything. So we'd scan our magic bands for credits and then I would get a bill for the tip? And then I could use my cc to pay it right then and there?

ETA: Thanks for being patient with this newbie, I just want to know what to expect and how to do these things

It can be an overwhelming amount of info!!! That's why the Disboards is so huge! lol
As PP have said, go to Allears.net and look at the menus, gathering a fair idea of what you maybe might spend, then add 18% to those totals for each meal.
You have a variety of ways to pay; cash, cc, debit card, gift card, etc. Chose a dedicated card on one of your magic bands to charge it to that, or plan to bring cash with you. We (I) used to keep envelopes with cash in my bedroom putting away money for tips so as not to feel stressed on vacation. it was like found money, I'd slip some away every week.or 2 and have tip and souvinir cash at the ready. I don't do that anymore, but it certainly helped with budgeting my tips.
Don't stress, just take it a bit at a time and have a wonderful holiday!

 

[Pumbaa_]

Personal tipping habits is not up for discussion nor what a server theoretically makes. Mechanics of tipping only please

 

[jenseib]

I'm fine with the automatic 18-20% gratuity, but I would like to be able to choose my payment method when the bills comes.

Yes you can choose what type of payment you want to use.

 

[Indee96]

Tipping in Disney has me a little confused. We're going to be on the Disney Dining Plan and have character meals planned, along with ts, cs and snacks. Is the tip automatically included with any of these or do I just assume that I am tipping a minimum of 18% at each place we eat? I just don't want to double tip.

 

[ConnecticutNonna]

Tipping in Disney has me a little confused. We're going to be on the Disney Dining Plan and have character meals planned, along with ts, cs and snacks. Is the tip automatically included with any of these or do I just assume that I am tipping a minimum of 18% at each place we eat? I just don't want to double tip.

Hi,
If you are eating at CRT, HDDR, Aloha Dinner at Poly, and Mickey's BYBBQ your tip is included even when on the dining plan. (you do not need to add a tip)
If there are 6 or more in your dining party, your bill at any TS restaurant (including buffets) will have an 18% gratuity added. While the dining plan covers the cost of your meal, it does not cover your tip. You may pay for this 18% additional charge in any way you desire. (cash, cc, debit card, Disney gift card, etc)
If there are less than 6 dining, you may tip any amount at your discretion. The bill will be presented to you with the amount of your meal. You are not responsible to pay for your meal (DDP covers this) but your tip is not included. You may again add in the tip with the payment type of your choice. This is not an automatic gratuity charge if you have 5 or fewer people in your party. (BTW infants count)
Double check your bill, very few places at WDW include the tip.
Hope this clarifies it!

 

[Indee96]

Hi,
If you are eating at CRT, HDDR, Aloha Dinner at Poly, and Mickey's BYBBQ your tip is included even when on the dining plan. (you do not need to add a tip)
If there are 6 or more in your dining party, your bill at any TS restaurant (including buffets) will have an 18% gratuity added. While the dining plan covers the cost of your meal, it does not cover your tip. You may pay for this 18% additional charge in any way you desire. (cash, cc, debit card, Disney gift card, etc)
If there are less than 6 dining, you may tip any amount at your discretion. The bill will be presented to you with the amount of your meal. You are not responsible to pay for your meal (DDP covers this) but your tip is not included. You may again add in the tip with the payment type of your choice. This is not an automatic gratuity charge if you have 5 or fewer people in your party. (BTW infants count)
Double check your bill, very few places at WDW include the tip.
Hope this clarifies it!

Yes! Perfect! Thank you so much!