[WishUponAStar]

This weekend I picked up the '08 Birnbaum's guide for Disneyland. I am currently trying to figure out how much $ to budget in for spending/food/tipping, etc. & I forgot how tricky this can be without the WDW Dining Plan.

Anyway, Birnbaum's gave the following suggestions in the tipping guide & I don't know, a couple of them seemed kinda low to me.

What do you think of these? Do you think these are pretty accurate & customary? Do you normally tip more/less for any of the services below?

Birnbaum:

Bellhop: $1 per bag
cab driver: 15%
shuttle/tour bus driver: $1
Valet: $1-$2 when you get car
Restaurant service: 15-20%
"Mousekeeping:" $2-$5 per day

Anything else that may have been left out? What about at a buffet?

*I kinda thought that was a little low for bellhops, shuttle drivers, valet; & mousekeeping I would say $5/day, right?

[woohoo]

eek- im one of those lame people that believe that you are paying for a service and tips are for above and beyond that service so Im a bad one to ask....

[Dopey]

I didn't think they were low. However, I always, well if the driver isn't a weirdo , tip cab drivers at least $5.00 - no matter how long or short the ride is. I never thought of doing it by percentages. Interesting.

I leave $5.00 per day for mousekeeping
$2.00 per bag for the bellhop
In the restaurants it depends on how good the service was. I won't tip 20% if it's not good.
I am with woohoo. Tip is for a job well done.

[WishUponAStar]

Originally Posted by Dopey

I didn't think they were low. However, I always, well if the driver isn't a weirdo , tip cab drivers at least $5.00 - no matter how long or short the ride is. I never thought of doing it by percentages. Interesting.

I leave $5.00 per day for mousekeeping
$2.00 per bag for the bellhop
In the restaurants it depends on how good the service was. I won't tip 20% if it's not good.
I am with woohoo. Tip is for a job well done.

That sounds reasonable, but I could never just hand the shuttle bus driver or Magical Express driver $1. That seems kinda crazy to me.

[chottsy]

what about at the beffets??? that's a good question......

[WishUponAStar]

Originally Posted by chottsy

what about at the beffets??? that's a good question......

true, because we plan on eating at two in Disneyland.

[mickeysgirlz]

Originally Posted by WishUponAStar

true, because we plan on eating at two in Disneyland.

If the server is attentive and removes dirty dishes refills drinks etc . . . I still do the 20% cuz sometimes they do more work then a regular server who takes the order and delivers the food!

If they don't do the above I do $2/ each person eating!

I would say Shuttle driver $2/person

Bellhops I always do $1/bag . . . but I never have less then 5 bags (3 girls! )

When I lived in NY I always did a 20% tip on the cab . . . I just thought that was how it was done?

Mousekeeping . . . I do $2/day and then on the last day leave a $5 or $10 depending on the service!

Hope this helps . . . tipping is so hard. I have friends that were servers and when I go to eat with them they are like leaving $20 tips, and they say you have NO IDEA how hard it is and how many people stiff you! So if the service is good I tend to OVER TIP!! Go with your gut . . . it'll never fail ya!

[Dopey]

Originally Posted by WishUponAStar

That sounds reasonable, but I could never just hand the shuttle bus driver or Magical Express driver $1. That seems kinda crazy to me.

I agree, that's worse than handing him nothing at all.
I think a Lincoln would be nice for the bus driver. I never thought about tipping the shuttle drivers

[woohoo]

This is my typical rule of thumb-
Mousekeeping I leave $1 per person in the room per day- but that is after they have done their job- not before
ME driver- if they help with our bags and stroller- Ill give $1 a bag..
Buffets- I give $1 per person and if its a great job clearing and with drinks Ill leave $2 per person- if they never came around and I was stacking plates and had to ask over and over then they get nothing.
I never take a taxi so I would not know
Quicksilver I always just do the inclusive 20% - I have always had amazing service so there was never a question there.

But I used to be a waitress and I know that some people dont tip at all, Im not being rude- I just think that its a reward for great service... I leave around 20% for most of my dinner checks unless Im upset about the service and I tip accordingly- But I am a squeaky wheel so if I leave less, well lets just say that the waitstaff knows why.

[WishUponAStar]

Originally Posted by Dopey

I agree, that's worse than handing him nothing at all.
I think a Lincoln would be nice for the bus driver. I never thought about tipping the shuttle drivers

I am assuming since it was the DL book & they don't have Magical Express when they say Shuttle drivers I think it's like your airport transfer. We are taking the "Super Shuttle" from LAX to DL Hotel so I am just going to treat that dude as if he was a ME Driver.

[WishUponAStar]

Originally Posted by woohoo

This is my typical rule of thumb-
Mousekeeping I leave $1 per person in the room per day- but that is after they have done their job- not before
ME driver- if they help with our bags and stroller- Ill give $1 a bag..
Buffets- I give $1 per person and if its a great job clearing and with drinks Ill leave $2 per person- if they never came around and I was stacking plates and had to ask over and over then they get nothing.
I never take a taxi so I would not know
Quicksilver I always just do the inclusive 20% - I have always had amazing service so there was never a question there.

But I used to be a waitress and I know that some people dont tip at all, Im not being rude- I just think that its a reward for great service... I leave around 20% for most of my dinner checks unless Im upset about the service and I tip accordingly- But I am a squeaky wheel so if I leave less, well lets just say that the waitstaff knows why.

What do you usually do for buffets?

[Rob Parsons]

I've always had this thing about rewarding good service.

It's always seemed crazy to me that we insist on this percentage rate.

A server brings & clears 3 plates to a table costing $ 45 and receives a $ 9 tip
Another server brings & clears just 1 plate costing $ 50 and gets $ 10.

Just because the food was more expensive doesn't mean the server deserved more. Get my drift ?

A flat rate of $5 per person is more realistic don't you think ?

[woohoo]

Originally Posted by WishUponAStar

What do you usually do for buffets?

I wrote that one too..

I will tip $1 per person and if its great service Ill leave $2 but if its lousy service and Im stacking plates to get them out of the way of the kids and I am asking over and over for drinks I leave nothing- the reason they get a tip is for making my meal a more relaxed experiance- not for me to get the food, serve the food, serve the kids and clear the plates. Wiping the table when Im done is simply not enough-

My rule of thought is that its about 5% - 10% of the cost of the buffet per person. That is not a bad percentage for what they are doing. Its not like they are taking our orders, serving, getting whatever we need, refilling drinks, asking if we want dessert, serving again, coffee etc... There is a definate difference in what they do-

[WishIWasThere]

Ive really never thought about how much I tip. I tip on service. If Im at a sit down restruant and the service is great (especially if they are good with my DD) then I will leave a good tip. If not I don't leave a good tip. I always tip at least 3.00 if all three of us are eating. I have tipped up to 20.00 for exceptional service.
As for buffets, I have to admit I never tiped at one. I didn't think it was really necessary because they weren't really waiting on you.
Taxis, we don't tip over here because Japanese find tipping insulting (its one of the things they told us in our newcomers brief). When I was in the states it depended on the length of the drive and the driver. If it was good I would tip 5.00-10.00 depending on how many bags I had.
I never thought of tipping a bus driver. Ive taken a lot of buses and I would not have thought I would need to tip them
We handle our own luggage so I have never used a bell hop. If I did I would probably do 1.00 a bag.
Mousekeeping I tipped for the first couple days then I stoped because I came back to a disgusting room and they had to call someone to clean it (at midnight and I was like 4 months pregnant). When I did tip I tipped 2.00 per day per person. So 4.00 total.

[dixie]

Its a difficult one for us as tipping is not as customary here as it is in the United States. We follow a similar scale to Mickeysgirlz, but this one something we learnt-quickly!
Tipping here is usually for great service only and if we get tips its a bonus and if not its no big deal but then I believe our service industry pay is higher than in the US.
Interestingly, in WDW, 'international' guests are always given a printed note with the bill explaining that gratuities are expected and suggesting 20-25% of the total charge.