Dde & Tips

[luckylinda]

hi

I have read threads re DDE. My understanding is that you pay a fee of $60 then 20% is deducted from every meal in Walt Disney restaurants. They then charge 18% gratuity automatically, can people give me their opinions as I feel 18% is too much for a tip!!! Also, can anyone advise if tips are automatically added throughout Orlando with or without DDE.

Thanks.:confused2

[Amyrlin]

The DDE (Disney Dining Experience card) is only available to either Florida residents or annual pass holders. I am not sure if the fee is still $60, that is certainly the renewal fee, but it is somewhere in that region.

In return for the card you will get 20% off of food and drink at selected Disney restaurants, mainly the table service restaurants, but you can use it at a few counter service restaurants at locations where there are no table service restaurants. There are some 'holiday' periods over which it is not accepted.

There is now an automatic gratuity added onto the bill if you use the card. At Disney and other restaurants the standard amount of the tip is usually between 15% and 20% but variant dependent on the quality of service. This may seem high compared to this country, but it is the standard over there, and in most places the food is much cheaper so it is best to look at the total cost (food plus tip).

My personal view is that if you have received good service then you should follow the culture as it is out there (where wages for wait staff are very low and they are taxed on tips which it is assumed they are given). However, if you receive bad service you can always ask to have it removed or lowered.

There are a large number of threads about tipping. Personally I have never had a gratuity automatically added to a bill (expect when using the DDE), but there are reports of it happening on other threads, so it looks like it is hit and miss.

[Lil_Missy]

Like was said 15% - 20% is the norm for tips in the US so 18% is an average in the middle. I would be happy for them to add it automatically so that I would not have to work out the tip myself.