Dining Plan question

[Ms. Tinkerbell]

I know on the dining plan it says gratuity is included...is it really? or do you leave additional tips? I don't want to be cheap and the servers not get their full tips...I'd love to hear from you all about this, so we don't seem ignorant or rude when we get there. Thanks so much!

 

[octoberbarry]

we were there in October on the dining plan and the gratuity was definitely built right in, it was itemized on the bill. And there seemed to be no expectation from the servers that we leave extra. They treated us very well at all meals.
Sorry servers if we were supposed to. We never did, and now I'm actually wondering if I should feel guilty...

 

[hrmom26]

I know on the dining plan it says gratuity is included...is it really? or do you leave additional tips? I don't want to be cheap and the servers not get their full tips...I'd love to hear from you all about this, so we don't seem ignorant or rude when we get there. Thanks so much!

i do believe the tip included is good but when i go in march i plan on adding a few dollars to servers who are extra good. i have two kids, and when i get a server who is extra nice or patiant with them i always tip high:wave:

 

[ZaBeJa]

Receipts show a 15% gratuity added to the bill total. If we got great service (nearly always) we added whatever was necessary to raise the tip to 20%.

Can't say enough about how great the dining plan was. Just make those reservations so you can put it to use in the restaurants you really want to dine at.

(returning to lurk mode) :animwink:

 

[bhg469]

We noticed it was included but it was low from what we normally tip. Not that we are rich or anyything but 15% is what we tip for an average waiter or waitress. so we ended up throwing extra money on the table.

 

[WISH3]

Receipts....

Its good to know about the tipping. How does the receipt show dining credits?

 

[octoberbarry]

Hmmmmm....now I DO feel guilty...and I usually do tip more like 20% so the the 15% was low. I guess I just got complacent in knowing it was on there, so I didn't check the percentage.
Oh well, all you servers who read this, rest assured that you'll be VERY happy to serve our table next time we're there :wave:

 

[bhg469]

Its good to know about the tipping. How does the receipt show dining credits?

the reciept will actually tell you how many of each type of dining that you have left. Snack, counter service or sit down.

 

[ZaBeJa]

If I remember correctly, the receipt only indicates how many of whatever dining option you *just used* are remaining, either snack, counter service or table service. It would be easier to keep track if all the remaining dining points were listed but they're not.

 

[WISH3]

Does the receipt tell you how many adult left and how many child credits left?

 

[ZaBeJa]

There was only one line at the bottom of my receipts which would read something like '8 TBL SVC Cns Remain' I didn't have any Child credits in my package however, so I don't know for sure if they'd be listed or not.

 

[zuzudog]

More food, more tip

We noticed that the servers encouraged us to get an appetizer and dessert for our meals. While it is included in the dining package some days we just weren't up for it. Then I realized that if we did get both the appetizer and dessert the tip for the server was always more so this is one way to waste food plus give you server a bigger tip.<o></o>


bt

 

[Tinkershelly]

We used the dining plan a couple of weeks ago, and yes, there was too much food, but we felt that we had to try to eat all of what we ordered. I would be much more picky the next time, but it was so easy to get caught up in the "free-ness" of the whole thing.

One thing to be careful of is that if you order anything not covered by the dining plan (such as cocktails) you will be given two receipts, one with the dining plan only items that you must sign for, and one with the extras that you will need to pay for. We tipped on the extra items based on their price, but after a couple of meals we noticed that a 15% tip was already added to that bill so we were double tipping for the extra items. We didn't begrudge the extra money, but would have liked knowing ahead of time.

Also we were shocked by how booked up the table service restaurants were and you will need to make reservations in advance. We are normally spur of the moment people but after trying to walk up to all four restaurants in MGM at 4pm and being turned away we found it necessary to be a bit more planned than usual. We had some great meals, though.

Enjoy!

Tink

 

[Senderella]

We noticed that the servers encouraged us to get an appetizer and dessert for our meals. While it is included in the dining package some days we just weren't up for it. Then I realized that if we did get both the appetizer and dessert the tip for the server was always more so this is one way to waste food plus give you server a bigger tip.<o></o>


bt

That was the way we went about our dining plan. I wanted to make sure we utilized the appetizers & desserts so we could have a *good* 15% for tip. My mantra for the dining plan was "don't feel the need to eat it all.. just sample and nibble..even if it is just a couple of bites!" That made it fun because we got to try a lot of different things even if it was something we didn't think we'd care for (and I wasn't being rolled out of the restaurant from eating too much.. IE- I was comfortable enough to do some more walking but I was just full enough.. not about to puke from overeating). I believe every single time we left a few extra dollars (I want to say an extra 5 or so, but I don't remember) because the service was just so good. Being an ex-server myself, I felt the servers we encountered totally deserved it.

 

[JPVonDrake]

Receipts show a 15% gratuity added to the bill total. If we got great service (nearly always) we added whatever was necessary to raise the tip to 20%.

Can't say enough about how great the dining plan was. Just make those reservations so you can put it to use in the restaurants you really want to dine at.

(returning to lurk mode) :animwink:

Starting in 2006 the Cast Member/Server will recieve 18% gratuity for meals on the Disney Dinning Plan. So please, please, please, feel free to order the most expensive items on the menu, your Server will love you for it!
:sohappy:

 

[Ms. Tinkerbell]

oh okay, thanks so much! You all are great with information for a newbie! I just wanted to make sure I didn't do anything silly ;-)

 

[Nemo14]

Come visit us in the huggles thread if you really want to see silly!

Welcome!:wave:

 

[Ms. Tinkerbell]

what is the huggles thread? I'm such a newbie here....

 

[momrek06]

Does Anybody Know......

:lol: Can DH & I "purchase" a food plan with the 7 day land and sea package? I booked & paid it through Disney on 12/24 and we go out 01/29 with 4 days in WDW @ AKL FIRST. Agent @ Disney never mentioned anything to me about a food plan. I LEARN SO MUCH FROM THESE BOARDS!!!! Anyway, as I went through the POSTS and THREADS no one mentioned being on a cruise and using the Food Plan......ugh....anyone, anyone at all:lookaroun momrek06 ps I would only use it while @ WDW (obviously:hammer: )