I have heard that with the dining plan and a party of 6 they automatically put in a tip at 20% for you.

Is there anyway around this? If they are good then- yes, 20% better then good who knows maybe more but what if they are horrbile and only should get 15% or less...

We are going with my parents and will be eating with them but we will have seperate dining plans- will that change anything?

Thanks!

Actually, I believe it is 18% for parties of 6 or more, but I could be wrong.
Of course, you can add more than what is indicated but if you want it reduced, you will probably want to talk to a manager or supervisor anyway to explain the situation. Chances are, it wont be a problem to get it reduced if service was really that bad.

To be honest, only one time out of the past past severals years have I even considered less than an 18-20% tip.

If you have separate dining plans but seated as a party of 6 or more my guess would be that you would treated as a party of 6, with separate checks, with the auto-gratuity added in. Again, just a guess.

GusMan is correct.

If the party is 6 or more people an 18% gratuity will automatically be added. There is nothing to preclude adding more.

If you feel the service has been deficient, you can ask to speak to a manager and more than likely it will be lowered.

And even if separate checks are requested, if the total party is six or more the gratuity will be added.

(Also, on a side note, anybody using the DDE card will automatically get an 18% gratuity added, no matter the size of the party.)

Oh Thanks for the information- I did not realize that it was added for anyone with the DDE card. Also, I am much more comfortable with the 18% and then just leaving some extra on the table for good or if things are bad talking to a manager. We have never had a bad experince with the waitstaff but we are worried that knowing they will get a percentage no matter what might chance things.
Hope not!
Thanks again!

Well I guess that the waiters and waitresses in Nov/Dec are gonna get a far less tip than what they would normally get with our family and further more even though EVERYTHING on the menus are highly priced, our family is going to order the least expensive meals, this way they will get less of a tip. I hate the fact that because I have 4 children that I get penalized and get told EXACTLY how much I am going to tip. In college I lived off of tips, so as a rule my tip starts out at 30% and goes up from there. Even if I get horrible service I will tip 30% because you never know why the service was bad, whether it was the server is having a bad day, shorthanded or what. BUT when I get told how much I am going to tip then they never get more than what they tell me I am going to tip.

Also from what I have seen is that the service is always HORRIBLE when the tip is added on to the tab, maybe this is because when the customer is told what they are going to tip they don't feel like adding on. The service is just bad because they dont do extra for more.

just to be clear, this party of 6 (or more) deal is regardless of the DDP.

it is 18% except at V&A's where it's 20%

and to build on the even if separate checks, it's also even if you're seated at separate tables as well as long as you share the same server.

and yes, you have the right to refuse or lower the tip, but the server is empowered to introduce the manager into the situation (although if you have legitimate reasons for not wanting to tip, the server may not want to do that). the minimum wage in FL for tipped positions is almost half of the minimum wage for non-tipped positions, Disney pays barely above that and they are not responsible for any lost tips.

Thanks for all the input....I definately agree that tips should be min. of 18% I just hate the idea that someone picks the amount for me :) but we have decided that we can always leave more on the table change it if needed.