Tipping for table service

[LadyBelle]

I'm going through my budget for my upcoming trip and I was wondering what an appropriate tip would be for the servers? There are only two members in my dining party and I've got the dining plan.

I want to pay cash for the tips, but not knowing what we will actually order, I'm not sure what I should go ahead and budget.

Thanks in advance for your help!

 

[BuddyThomas]

Here we go again. PS - the search button is your friend.

 

[LadyBelle]

Sorry. Nothing came up on my initial search. Will try again.

 

[MissingDisney]

Tipping as a keyword provided 194 pages of results. Lots of entertaining reads.
Have fun.

 

[Tuvalu]

@LadyBelle, I'm going to assume you'd like to tip between 18-20%, which seems to be standard today. Look up the menus of the restaurants where you plan to eat on disneyworld.com. Add together the price of an entree, dessert and beverage to give you a rough idea of the total you will tip on (remember to times it by 2 to include your companion.) If you pick the most expensive items for your budget estimate, you will be assured of having enough cash to cover all your tips...and if you end up ordering less expensive entrees, you can reward a stellar server with a higher tip or spend the extra cash on a treat for yourself.

 

[LadyBelle]

Thank you so much @Tuvalu!

 

[Tuvalu]

Thank you so much @Tuvalu!

You're welcome . I had to do this myself last fall when my son and I got free dining. Having an AP, I use Tables in Wonderland and don't get the DDP.

 

[jaklgreen]

We tip 20% at any restaurant, Disney or otherwise. More if they were exceptional.

 

[bethymouse]

15-20%. Most bills for a family of 5 might be up to and over 200$, so I budget for about 20-30$ each table service meal for tips. We usually have about 200$ cash for tips in general ( maid, bell services, etc...). Otherwise, if we don't want to deal with cash, we put it on our credit card.

 

[harryk]

20% unless the service was not up to standards then have dropped to 10% - but this is so rare that it is not really a consideration.
Just look at the bill when it comes - if charging - the final bill (the one you take home) sometimes does not have the cost of the meal on it. (Dining Plans). None of the dining plans include tips so make sure you look at the bill when it comes the first time so that you know the charge for the meal. Pretty hard to compute a tip if you don't know the bill total.

 

[danyoung56]

Make sure you tip on the un-discounted total, not the total after Tables in Wonderland or AP discounts.

 

[Tuvalu]

Make sure you tip on the un-discounted total, not the total after Tables in Wonderland or AP discounts.

Tables in Wonderland includes an 18 percent gratuity on the final bill.

 

[bpadair32]

@LadyBelle, I'm going to assume you'd like to tip between 18-20%, which seems to be standard today. Look up the menus of the restaurants where you plan to eat on disneyworld.com. Add together the price of an entree, dessert and beverage to give you a rough idea of the total you will tip on (remember to times it by 2 to include your companion.) If you pick the most expensive items for your budget estimate, you will be assured of having enough cash to cover all your tips...and if you end up ordering less expensive entrees, you can reward a stellar server with a higher tip or spend the extra cash on a treat for yourself.

This.

 

[danyoung56]

Tables in Wonderland includes an 18 percent gratuity on the final bill.

True - I keep forgetting this!

 

[slappy magoo]

We tip 20% at any restaurant, Disney or otherwise. More if they were exceptional.

I tend to do 20% at full service restaurants but 15% at buffets. The wait staff is getting drinks and clearing old plates but you're still serving yourself. I don't know if others would consider that appropriate (or extravagant). It seems right to me. But I think lots of things are right that aren't, from what my analyst tells me.

 

[bhg469]

I tend to do 20% at full service restaurants but 15% at buffets. The wait staff is getting drinks and clearing old plates but you're still serving yourself. I don't know if others would consider that appropriate (or extravagant). It seems right to me. But I think lots of things are right that aren't, from what my analyst tells me.

I do not think that is unreasonable at all. If they are the type of server that is ready to replace your drink the moment you are done, that is worth an extra few from me. If you're going with adult beverages that money is going to the bartender as well so I always keep that in mind. You don't want your server to have to pay for your drinks. Its a terrible system but it is what we have right now.

 

[BrianV]

And remember you are only expected to tip the pre-tax total including all food and drink. 15-20 percent is typical. 15 is totally acceptable. I prefer 18-20%. Really, tip based on how good the service was. Occasionally we'll just have appetizers and the meal ends up really cheap but the work was just as much for the servers. Might tip 25% in those cases.

 

[Huglife]

You shouldn't really tip less than 18% (15% is fine at a minimal service buffet) 20% is a good tip and easy to calculate. Also, when tipping based on service, remember that a lot of things aren't the server's fault. The kitchen may be backed up, someone may have called out and they have 6 extra tables, they may not be properly trained. Unless the server is rude I wouldn't lower their tip, even if they may make a mistake. You may not like the tipping system but it's their livelihood and how they make ends meet. They are also often sharing the tip you give them with several other members of the service team. Great service, however, should be rewarded if you have a little extra to share.

 

[BrianV]

You shouldn't really tip less than 18% (15% is fine at a minimal service buffet) 20% is a good tip and easy to calculate. Also, when tipping based on service, remember that a lot of things aren't the server's fault. The kitchen may be backed up, someone may have called out and they have 6 extra tables, they may not be properly trained. Unless the server is rude I wouldn't lower their tip, even if they may make a mistake. You may not like the tipping system but it's their livelihood and how they make ends meet. They are also often sharing the tip you give them with several other members of the service team. Great service, however, should be rewarded if you have a little extra to share.

Obviously opinions vary on all such issues. And I would be unlikely to tip below 15% except for poor service even at a buffet. However, I would argue that the expectation is 10% at a "minimal service buffet". And while it might not be the server's fault if they provide bad service, all you have to go on is the quality of the service. Since as you rightly point out, the tip is likely shared with many others, reducing that for poor service affects all those involved in the meal, including the individuals who might in fact be responsible for the poor service.

This site sums up the tipping expectations in the US. http://emilypost.com/advice/general-tipping-guide/

 

[Weather_Lady]

20% is a standard tip amount, and an easy one to calculate in your head. (Even on the DDP, your receipt will show the cost of the meal in dollars, so you'll know what to use as your base amount -- on our last trip, I believe the receipts even had listed suggested tip amounts at 18% and 20%, already calculated.)

Do keep in mind that there are a limited few Disney restaurants where your tip is already included in the price (Cinderella's Royal Table, Spirit of Aloha dinner show, and Hoop-Dee-Doo Revue dinner show, for example). My understanding is that even on the DDP, you do not need to leave an additional gratuity at these restaurants -- but you need to be aware of this ahead of time, because your server is not going to remind you that the gratuity is already paid, and the bill they present will still have a space on it for you to add one!