Urgent Poll - would you still book the Dining Plan if gratuity is not included?

[graeme1299]

Why is this an "Urgrent" poll? Is there some kind of emergency decision to be made by Disney that cannot be made without the input of the DIS Board?

 

[beth_cam]

I do like that I dont have to worry about the check at the end of the meal so that would be one strike...(although sometimes if we are sharing I have to take care of the extra drink and tip)

2nd strike would be that we really dont save much since we wouldn't order that kind of food nor go to as many table services without the plan. so if The tip was going to be added on top of the 38.99 it would probably make it move into definitely a greater expense than out of pocket...seeing as how we dont even really enjoy eating at all the different places anyway - our least enjoyed meals have been the ones that got the most savings from the ddp.

3rd - well the sample breakdown we have seen is that somthing like 25 goes towards your table service, 11 to your counter service and 3 to your snack. I dont know where the break down came from and the exact numbers aren't important...the idea i'm getting to is. So if 25 is the alloted amount for my table service (lets ignore that that includes the tip since I'm assuming that we are saying the price stays 38.99 and you pay tip on top of it), then 25 is what I have agree the price of my meal is and I would want to be tipping on the 25 that I paid for the meal. Not the 50 that the menu price may have been. I know that it is like using a coupon and tipping on the price before coupon so it really wouldn't be fair, but with the tip included that is kind of what we are doing even though that isn't how it gets paid out to the servers. So we are then losing more of the savings aspect by the fact that our out of pocket tip has now signifcantly increased.

However I do like the idea of the tip reflecting the service and the flat 18% that they get no matter what, which I do not tip on top of (obviously i tip for the extras) except in the case of us being difficult (wanting too many things done just this way) or the kids making a mess or just otherwise outstaning service does not encourage good service nor does it discourage poor service.

 

[Tinker74]

Yeah ...i'd like to know why this is urgent too...? iam not worried about my august trip because as the poster above says...its been advertised to include tip and I've booked it as such.
I doubt this would ever happen but if it did we would get fair warning Iam sure.
My Dh says he will never go to DW WITHOUT booking the DP...simply because he loves not having to bother with money and tips..(we are brits working it out is a hassle)
He'll run a mile if they stop including tips...we'd just eat off site more than not.

 

[MzDiz]

Our vacation budget is so tight as it is, between adding on additional cost out of pocket and the decrease in food quality at some restaurants, it would most likely drive us off-site for dinner. There are more than a few TS meals that are in no way worth what they charge if we were to pay out of pocket and with all the competition just outside Disney property, they'd be silly to add more cost to us.
Additionally, if we're not buying the dining plan, there's no point to staying on site - might as well get twice the room for half the price elsewhere.

 

[Mom of 3]

If tip isn't included in the DDP and I have to tip the server based on the cost of food our family of 5 order that could add up to quite a lot of money out of pocket.

If we go to a restaurant and our bill would have been $150 and I had to tip 15 to 20% to the server. I'd be leaving $30.

$30 every day for our 8 night stay would be an additional $240.

The only reason we're staying at a Disney hotel is to get the free dining otherwise we could stay off site in a NICE condo with a kitchen for what we're paying for a moderate hotel at Disney.

 

[mickeymouseclubhouse]

No, I don't think so. What really appealed to us about the dining plan was the convenience and the fact that tax and tip were included in table service meals. If they decide to change that, I'm with some of the other posters in that I would eat less table service meals, eat more counter service and also get a fridge and eat in the room, etc.

 

[beattyfamily]

Wouldn't bother me.

I would still think it's a great value and now I have the power to decide the amount of the tip.

 

[NMW]

It wouldn't really bother me. As it is, we always add money to the tip to bring it up to 20%. I think 18% is a little low. So, we always have the cash anyway, it's just that I like the all-inclusive thing/concept. I'd actually prefer the included tip to be 20%, even if it raised the price of the plan slightly. That way, the only cash I'd have to pay would be for alcohol!

 

[Praying Colonel]

We ate a meal at LeCellier last August that would've cost us $180 if we'd paid for it OOP. We found that most of our TS meals that week would've cost about the same as thta.

18% would be around $33. Multiply that by a 6-night stay and my stay just got about $200 more expensive. Although I voted "Yes," DDP makes much less sense to me in that situation and I'd really be on the fence about it.

And if we weren't on the DDP, the odds of us staying onsite just went down, too. Maybe we'd stay in a condo or vacation home offsite and have roomier accomodations for the same money (or less). We do enjoy staying onsite and would probably still do it, but it's not a slam-dunk.

I'm just not sure what we'd do. It would bring a whole range of options into play that we just don't have to consider when we're doing the DDP. I think they should consider that possibility when they start changing the plan terms. I'd rather they increase the cost of the plan instead of "keeping it the same" but really increasing the cost to those using it.

 

[calypso*a*go-go]

I voted "no" because I already think the DDP is over-priced due to the fact that we are paying adult prices for our children. If we were paying for our meal o.o.p we would not order appetizers and desserts for everyone and would probably get water to drink. If they are looking for ways to make the DDP more profitable for Disney, I would prefer a pricing structure that includes adult/junior/child and gives a choice of an appetizer or dessert...but not both (but still includes the tax/tip).

 

[AnninIowa]

We always tip extra, anyway, so it wouldn't matter to us. I'd prefer if the tip WASN'T included...it's not fair to the servers to have to wait for their tips till payday.

 

[Andy B]

We always tip extra, anyway, so it wouldn't matter to us. I'd prefer if the tip WASN'T included...it's not fair to the servers to have to wait for their tips till payday.

I have to wait until payday!

 

[HopperFan]

I didn't vote, yet, not sure where I would stand. I think the big selling point here is not only some savings in cost, but the convenience of knowing you don't have to worry about anything involved in payment, unless you order outside the guidelines. For Disney it keeps us on property and filling the restaurants. I don't think they are losing money when you consider how many TS are being paid as adults for children, and how many use them for lower cost meals like character breakfasts, how many leave credits unused.....and the fact that their food is priced higher anyway.

If Disney is looking to ways to keep it affordable and adjust their profits, I would prefer they look at what they are tipping. I gladly tip 18-20% for good table service, meaning full service. I am not pleased at 18% for the buffet meals. I wouldn't leave that much. The servers we have experienced are rushed, do not come back often and generally do very little compared to those who take our order and do all the work, yet they get the same tip. Note: that on the service that was above and beyond we left additional money.

 

[Allison]

I'm trying to figure out whey this would be "urgent"??

"The handwriting is on the wall"?? According to who?

 

[kaytieeldr]

We always tip extra, anyway, so it wouldn't matter to us. I'd prefer if the tip WASN'T included...it's not fair to the servers to have to wait for their tips till payday.

It may or may not have been fair for the first two weeks of the Dining Plan - remember, many diners did and do pay for their own meals and tip at that time - but now it's entirely fair. True, a server isn't getting tipped today for service provided today; but they're getting tipped Thursday or Friday for service provided last week. It all balances out.

 

[Flagondry]

Nope. We were planning our trip for June using the DDP, but postponed for free dining. I would not use the DDP if it did not include the tip. I would not normally get 3 courses nor would I care if I had a TS each day, so I could just eat as I would normally for the less money. Frankly, the DDP is the only reason I am staying on sight, so is a big selling point for me.

 

[BillSears]

I fall into that catagory of people who use both the DDE as well as the DDP. I have to sit down, each and every trip, and figure which way is going to be cheaper. Usually, they come out pretty close. I tend to go with the DDP even if it's about $50 more..it's just so darn convenient. But, if they deleted the tip from the mix, then it wouldn't be so close in cost.

This is how I feel about it too. I really don't need an appitizer, entree and dessert. When you take into consideration ordering less food plus the DDE discount it's a no breainer for me to not do the DDP if it doesn't include the tip.

 

[lillygator]

Since we are usually not eligible (have ap's no need for package) I would stick with my DDE card......

 

[Mom of 3]

Scenerio # 1 (Approximate costs for family of 5 PER DAY)

Cost of Disney hotel (moderate) = $215 per night
Cost of DDP for our family = $142
If we also have to tip = $30
Total = $387


Scenerio #2
Cost of Disney hotel (moderate) = $215 per night
Cost of DDP for our family = FREE
If we also have to tip = $30
Total = $235


Scenerio #3
Cost of Disney hotel (moderate) = $215 per night
Cost of DDP for our family = FREE
Tips = INCLUDED
Total = $215


Scenerio # 4
Cost of off-site condo (1 bedroom with on-site water park) $85 per night
Eating off site = $100
Tips = $15
Total = $200

As you can see Scenerio #3 and #4 are almost the same price. If we have to then have to start paying the additional money every day for tipping we may as well as stay off-site and eat off-site.

Last time we stayed off site we found a really nice condo that had heated pools and an on-site water park, playground, fishing, boating etc... Our condo was very roomy and we had the kitchen, dining table, washer and dryer etc...

It is only because of the all inclusive free dining that we are staying at a Disney hotel.

I think a better solution would be to have the guests write in the amount of tip they think their server deserves up to the 18% (part of the dining plan) and if you want to leave an extra tip then go ahead. This would then give the servers an incentive to provide good service. Sometimes you get a bad server, sometimes the server has been assigned to many tables and are trying their best but are just rushed off their feet.

 

[Bete]

the no hassle of everything being included for the bill. There is no way I would go to a table service meal each day without the plan having tip included each day. The attractiveness of this deal is the tip being included for me. It's the first thing that attracted me to the plan. We go for the expensive items and tip not being included would be cost prohibitive for us. We would never order an appetizer and dessert with our table service if it wasn't included in the plan; so, us paying tips even moreso on those extra items would just irritate me. There are times I would be even satisfied with tap water to save the beverage cost.

The dining plan is good as is. I can understand the price going up every year, but to start excluding anything from the plan would turn me off. Leave what works alone!