tipping with DDP

[TinkerBeth21]

I guess I'm not understanding this... do you still have to tip at the restaurants? if you do do they figure a tip out and automatically charge you for it (to you room) or do you leave cash at the table? I read something about with tables of 6 or more there is an automatic tip but there are only 4 (one under 3) of us so what does that mean? and if you just leave cash on the table (or is that unheard of?!?!) would the server be offended if it's not that much? (since we are already paying a lot for the plan in the first place, not getting it for free). I would still tip what I would normally tip if I actually have to tip...

[KeriWDE]

I don't have an answer for the "how much" questions, but I do know you do have to tip.

My assumption is that a party of less than 6 should tip as they normally would. And for parties of 6 or more, the tip will automaticallly be calculated and added to the check. Of course, you can add to that tip, if you like.

You do have the option of method of payment of the tip. You can give cash, charge it to your room, use Disney Dollars or give a credit card for the tip.

You DO need to be very careful about how the tip is paid. It has happened more than once - and I'll bet another Intercotee will have a story about how it happened to them - where the server charged the tip to the room and took the cash tip, not realizing that it was double dipping. Just be sure to check your room charges and keep your receipts showing how you paid your tips in case you need to have some charges reversed.

[ibelieveindisneymagic]

Tips are no longer included on the DDP, so you have to tip, just like at home.

When you get the bill, you will have a chance to add it to your room charge, but we always just leave cash.

When you're on the DDP, you have to "sign" for your meals, so we've always just tucked in the tip in the same folder with our signed receipt.

Anytime there is a place for tip, we just marked it 0, so there couldn't be any confusion.

If you are a party of 6, the tip will be added to your bill automatically, but again, you'll have a choice of how you want to pay ... you can leave cash or charge to your room or to a credit card.

[forever a child]

Since you will be on the DDP they will give you first bill (check) that has the amount with actual price of your items, tax and total bill. This is where you can write in $ amount for tip or write 0 in. You leave your card with check (same as you would a credit card) when they return with a copy to sign....all the prices will be zeroed out. You will sign (same as with Credit card) and then if you plan to leave cash as tip...just leave it with this signed copy.

FYI, When we went in Dec we wanted to keep a tab of our spending on DDP before credits were applied. I soon realized that TS don't give you a copy of the check with the $ amounts for your meal choices...so I started writing them down on an envelope I carried with me. I wanted to see if I was saving $, losing $ or breaking even. So if you want to know what your actual meal costs...make sure to make note of that before they take the first bill...they one they give you for your copy wont have that info and will be useless to help you determine if DDP will be a good choice for future visits.

[TinkerBeth21]

thanks for the info, I prefer leaving cash anyway. I know I always liked getting cash when I was waitressing, was easier to deal with... I definitely want to see how much we spend so that was a good tip about writing down the amounts. thank you! we're going to see if we make it worth while

[Ms. Mode]

thanks for the info, I prefer leaving cash anyway. I know I always liked getting cash when I was waitressing, was easier to deal with... I definitely want to see how much we spend so that was a good tip about writing down the amounts. thank you! we're going to see if we make it worth while

We've done this our last two trips and have found we saved a bundle. But, of course you can eat cheaper just by going to CS meals all the time; the thing is we like to try the TS meals too. I've found that an average CS meal is approximately $15 but TS is way up there.

The bill will for a TS meal will give you a "high end" tip as well as a "low end" tip suggestion.

[The Hitchhiking Ghost]

The bill will for a TS meal will give you a "high end" tip as well as a "low end" tip suggestion.

Right, at the bottom of the bill you will see suggested tip amounts. They give you the tip amounts for I believe 18% and 20%. Oddly enough no suggestion for 15% much less lower.

[cuteduck223]

Right, at the bottom of the bill you will see suggested tip amounts. They give you the tip amounts for I believe 18% and 20%. Oddly enough no suggestion for 15% much less lower.

I would guess because the Standard rate is 18% so they don't want to offer you a suggestion lower than the standard suggested rate. 18% should then be considered the minimum for having someone wait on you with 20% for better service or whatever.

We almost always do 20% just because the math is easier, and we've never received poor service. (poor service being: server took our drink order and NEVER returned, or returned more than 30 minutes later...without drinks).

[brivers222]

for buffets where i have to get my own food i leave 15%

for family style buffets and other sit-down TS i leave (just like at home) 18-20% because i am lazy and don't want to do math i usually just do 20%

[KennyandKim]

As previousposter suggested make sure they aren't double dipping on tips. We left cash at Ohana's last year and found later they also charged our room key for tip as well. We were on the DDP. This year I will be very vigilant because that waitress made like 100 off us that night. I was a waitress for 9 years and very good at it but NO ONE is worth that kind of tip.

[lynnek]

We originally were going to do tips out of pocket, but this double dipping thing had been brought up before, so we just charged the tips to the room. Another question: I forgot to look, were the 18% and 20% suggested tips on the receipts before tax? I know, doesn't seem to make much of a difference, but when your dinner bill is $300, it does make a difference.

[CleveRocks]

would the server be offended if it's not that much? (since we are already paying a lot for the plan in the first place, not getting it for free). I would still tip what I would normally tip if I actually have to tip...

Yes, you should tip like you would any other time. The food server is doing his/her job the same whether you are paying out-of-pocket or paying with the Disney Dining Plan. If you are a party of 4 your tip is NOT automatically figured into the check, and you'll be able to see that when you receive the check (the receipt has suggested tip amounts but nothing will be added to your bill for a party of 4).

Would the server feel offended if you don't tip as much as usual because you already paid a lot for the DDP? I typed 3 or 4 responses and deleted each of them because they sounded too mean and sarcastic and I don't want to do that. Yes,. tip exactly as you normally would, no more and no less. How much you already paid for the DDP has NO bearing on the tip you pay to the server for the server's service to you. If you use the DDP smartly, you the amount you already paid for the DDP will be LESS than the amount you would have paid out-of-pocket for meals during your stay. Please don't stiff the server because you think you already paid too much ... that is not the server's problem and not the server's responsibility.

Like I said, please tip the server exactly the same amount that you would tip the server if you were paying cash for the meal, no more and no less. The server deserves that consideration.

[rubato]

Would the server feel offended if you don't tip as much as usual because you already paid a lot for the DDP? I typed 3 or 4 responses and deleted each of them because they sounded too mean and sarcastic and I don't want to do that. Yes,. tip exactly as you normally would, no more and no less. How much you already paid for the DDP has NO bearing on the tip you pay to the server for the server's service to you. If you use the DDP smartly, you the amount you already paid for the DDP will be LESS than the amount you would have paid out-of-pocket for meals during your stay. Please don't stiff the server because you think you already paid too much ... that is not the server's problem and not the server's responsibility.

Like I said, please tip the server exactly the same amount that you would tip the server if you were paying cash for the meal, no more and no less. The server deserves that consideration.

I also had to rethink my response to this a couple of times not to sound too harsh. How much the dining plan costs an individual has no bearing whatsoever on the server. If he or she has done a good job, they should be tipped a % based on your total bill. People's ideas of what that % is are different, but the dining plan cost should have nothing to do with it.

[wdwnutz]

We just returned from WDW two weeks ago. We were a party of 6, so we were automatically charged the 18% gratuity for all table services. I absolutely have no problem with this except when you have bad service.
At Coral Reef our waitress was lousy. She did not speak English very well and hardly said two words to us. While she was filling our drinks we saw the head chef and asked him if we could have the crabcakes which were an appetizer made into an entree for our table service on the DDP. He said it was no problem what so ever.
When the waitress returned the first two in our party placed their orders, but my DD was undecided, so instead of skipping over her and taking the next three orders, she just walked away without saying a word!
We sat at our table and complained about her (we were sitting right next to the kitchen door where we knew she was standing), so she came back, of course with no apology. We tried again to place our orders and explained what we discussed with the chef and she refused to accomodate us! We called over a manager who was only worried about how it would be billed! The chef returned and told them to take the order and he would take care of the billing.
After the waitress left the manager told us she would "remind our waitress to be more polite and attentive"....are you serious, remind a WDW employee to be polite and attentive??? During the meal the waitress refilled our drinks before we took 2 sips from the glass. In the end we had 15 glasses of empty, and waterdown glasses of ice tea and soda because we couldn't drink them fast enough!
The chef was absolutely wondeful and returned to our table three times during our meal to check on us! The crabcakes were the best we ever had (made fresh for entree size instead of appetizer)! We personally complimented him on HIS fabulous service and food!
In the end, the 18% tip was removed and we chose the tip amount.