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lauras5boys
03-13-2009, 12:17 PM
If you have the dining plan how do you know how much to tip? I'll need to know an approximation beforehand since we'll need cash for that part. Last time we went it was all included and so much easier. I'm not overly thrilled that they changed that part.

oregontraveler
03-13-2009, 12:28 PM
The receipt will give you a 18% or 20% tip option. And if you happen to order more off the menu or drinks, the waiters are pretty good about getting
everything sqaured up on 2 receipts.

Drince88
03-13-2009, 12:28 PM
You will get a bill that states what the total 'would have been' to base your tip on.

You CAN place your tip on your room charge (if you had them do that with a credit card when you checked in), and then even pay it off with cash before your last night, if you want.

If you want to know an approximation of what the meal would cost, you can look at your restaurants and take the average (or max) entree cost, dessert cost, and included beverage cost and multiply by the number of people.

Also, don't forget to include 'cash' for non-included beverages, or appetizers if you want to get a couple of them for the family to share before the entrees arrive!

lauras5boys
03-13-2009, 01:23 PM
So you can put just the tip on the room card? That would be perfect!

GusMan
03-15-2009, 06:44 PM
So you can put just the tip on the room card? That would be perfect!
Yes, you can. With the tip suggestions printed out, its simple!

WdwGurl4life
03-18-2009, 11:37 AM
Question......I am not one to under tip* I am usually an 18-20% tipper myself buttt I feel that in buffet restaurants.. like Crystal Palace or Hollywood and Vine ( just some examples) I think 18-20% is too much* They just bring me my drinks and take away a plate or two.. Am I being bratty by saying that? I just feel that (being a waitress in the past) I can define my own logic. I wouldn't expect 18-20% tip for handing out a drink?

GusMan
03-19-2009, 05:24 AM
Question......I am not one to under tip* I am usually an 18-20% tipper myself buttt I feel that in buffet restaurants.. like Crystal Palace or Hollywood and Vine ( just some examples) I think 18-20% is too much*
Normally, I would agree with this logic. However, from my own personal experience, the service at the buffet's is still excellent. When my drink is always full and the plates are cleared off quickly, and the servers are cheerful, to me - they earned it.

If your party is 5 people or fewer, you can put in your own tip amount. For parties of 6 or more, its auto-added. You can get it dropped down if you talk to a manager if you really feel like the service was not deserving of the pre-added amount.

Edward
03-21-2009, 07:13 PM
We did the dinning plan over a year ago when it included the tip and this year when it didn't. I must say it did get hard to keep leaving nearly $20 tips at buffet places for 4 people every day. It is for this reason that I'm not sure I would do the Dinning plan again. As we all know food at amusement parks is usually over priced but at WDW it is really over priced, but what are you going to do you have to eat. The dinning plan used to be a deal at $100 a day for 2 adults and 2 children but it really is nearly $120 a day with the tips with this new dinning plan. Do you think Disney was paying these employees the tip amounts in their wages before the change to not include the tips in the dinning plan? :( I very much doubt they were!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I guess it is like the whole new economy... paying more and getting less:mad:

Ed

danyoung
03-23-2009, 01:06 PM
Edward, I have to say this, only because you misspelled it 4 times in the above post - it's DINING, not DINNING.




I'm just sayin' . . . . . ;)

dsnyredhead
03-24-2009, 02:54 AM
There's a local Wendy's here that spells it "dinning" makes us laugh every time we visit. :)

scoobydooby
03-25-2009, 04:08 PM
We were lucky to receive the free table service DDP last year but the tipping part was easy. I just looked up the menu for our anticipated most expensive meal before we left and made sure I took enough cash out each day (having saved it) to cover this. We put our key to the world card in the plastic wallet thing with a 20% tip in cash when they delivered the bill, it was easy! There was only one place the service was such that I took the mathematical bother to work out 18% instead and frankly even this galled me... The English in me wanted to revert back to tipping type, but I remembered I was in a different culture and gritted my teeth :rolleyes:

danyoung
03-25-2009, 04:23 PM
Don't feel the need to tip even 18% in the future if you have bad service. Bad service should get NOTHING!

petesimac
03-25-2009, 07:15 PM
Edward, I have to say this, only because you misspelled it 4 times in the above post - it's DINING, not DINNING.




I'm just sayin' . . . . . ;)


Oh noz, it's the spelling police.

danyoung
03-26-2009, 07:23 AM
Some stuff you just gotta stand up for . . .

WdwGurl4life
03-26-2009, 04:06 PM
Especially those * marks : ) jk jk : )

danyoung
03-26-2009, 06:00 PM
Now I've gone and made you paranoid, Gurl - not my intent! ;)

TinaMouse
03-27-2009, 05:47 PM
We were lucky to receive the free table service DDP last year but the tipping part was easy. I just looked up the menu for our anticipated most expensive meal before we left and made sure I took enough cash out each day (having saved it) to cover this. We put our key to the world card in the plastic wallet thing with a 20% tip in cash when they delivered the bill, it was easy!

Hey, Scooby, that's a good idea! I was going to put it all on my KTTW card, but that might be even smarter (at least more budget-conscious!).

WdwGurl4life
03-28-2009, 10:37 AM
The past few times that I have been using the dining plan ( because the tips are no longer included) I have been saving up about 100$ per person..prior to the trip.... for tips sake.. So that when we go... That part is taken care of.. So if I have to throw in 50$ out of my pocket while down there.. It's not as bad because I have most of it saved. I actually do this for all my OTHER expenses. I have an envelope for Universal and Seaworld.. with the cost of admission,, transportation and food set aside so that it's all done b4 I go. I have an envelope for *drinks* :fez: and other ones like.. room tip and magical express tips* so it is ALLLLL taken care of. I like to be prepared..Yes I take my Disney planning serious! All my friends say I should be a travel planner but ONLY for WDW lol

scoobydooby
03-28-2009, 12:19 PM
Hey, Scooby, that's a good idea! I was going to put it all on my KTTW card, but that might be even smarter (at least more budget-conscious!).

It just meant we could get on and enjoy ourselves without worrying about money. I hate paying holiday bills after the holiday has ended! I filled envelopes with $5 notes for mousekeeping before we left based on the same principle. The children each had their spending money separate from mine and there was only one rule. Spend it however you want, eek it out or spend it all on the first day, but when it's gone it's gone, do not come to mummy bank for any more. This last part worked really well - much better than all the pestering that would have been involved with a day limit on spending.

TinaMouse
03-29-2009, 09:07 PM
I do the tip envelopes too. Cash/disney gift card/disney dollars for all shopping, at a pre-set, pre-determined amount. I used to pay everything via traveler's checks, but those are no longer easy to use or received everywhere, so I moved to cash and Disney Dollars. Other than worrying about getting TO WDW with the cash on myself, it worked fine. We were a HUGE bunch of people travelling together (Mousefest) so the coordinators of our meals asked that we all bring cash to make it easier on the CMs. I made up meal envelopes and just grabbed the envelope for that restaurant before I left the room that day. Hurrah for the safes in-room!

This trip, I'm just moving all of the money I've saved from savings to checking before I leave and have them hold my cc on my KTTW. Day before I get ready to leave, I'll settle up with the front desk by using my debit card. Still cash. I keep pretty good notes and most everything will be paid before I set foot in FL. I'll let you all know how this goes. Each trip I seem to tweak it a little.

danyoung
03-30-2009, 04:24 AM
I think you'll find it's a whole bunch easier to deal with money on a card than actual cash dollars. And doing it on your cash card is the way to go - it's how I'm doing it this trip, too!

jsilkey
04-13-2009, 08:19 AM
When you put a credit card on the room, does there have to be funds? Do you know if they run a hold amount? Can it be a debit card?

I would like to put the charges on the room and then pay with cash. I need to know if I need to have available cash/credit for them to run it?

Gas stations in my area usually hold $75 and won't approve if you don't have that much available, so I was wondering about how Dis does it?

Thank you!

GusMan
04-13-2009, 08:52 AM
When you put a credit card on the room, does there have to be funds? Do you know if they run a hold amount? Can it be a debit card?
There has been some conversations about this in the past, like this one (http://mousepad.mouseplanet.com/showthread.php?t=108037&highlight=credit+card+hold) but in general, be prepared for them to put a hold on your debit card.

The possible holds are:
$500 for values.
$1000 for moderates.
$1500 for deluxe resorts.

And once you hit that limit, they charge the card.

I know that people like to use debit cards, but my recommendation is to use an actual credit card for your vacation expenses and just pay it off when you get home or use your debit card when you check out to clear the balance. To have your money tied up in holds can really cause issues.

Of course, when you check in you can say that you do not want to use your cards for charging and then just use cash / debit card for all your purchases.

danyoung
04-13-2009, 08:55 AM
OK, so here's a situation that fits this discussion. For my next trip, I plan to use my debit card to pay for everything. I don't need to leave much for incidentals, but I will want to charge internet access to my room. I don't have a card with $1000 available on it. Can I specify at the front desk that they can hold, say $400 on a given card?

GusMan
04-13-2009, 09:25 AM
Can I specify at the front desk that they can hold, say $400 on a given card?
I honestly dont see why not. I know the $500/$1000/$1500 is a sort of "standard" but I bet it can be reduced upon request to cover basic incidentals. Most other hotels (non-Disney) do a hold of $x per day for things like phone calls and internet access charges.

Unless someone else chimes in with a conformation, you may just need to ask at the front desk.

ETA: One note - I would like to ask that if there are more questions or a desire to continue the discussion regarding the use of credit/debit cards at Disney, please start a different thread so that this thread does not get derailed.

Thanks...