, the Walt Disney World discount dining program, just got costlier! Prices were raised by $25 this week to $125 for Florida Residents and $100 for Annual/Seasonal Passholders and Disney Vacation Club Members.
Tables in Wonderland Membership Card
The membership provides a 20% discount on food and beverages (including alcohol) at most restaurants and lounges in Walt Disney World parks and hotels.
Worth The Price?
Even with the price increase, I still think this is a great deal. With 20% off of most of your dining costs in Disney World, the card quickly pays for itself if you dine table-service often, and if you visit Disney World regularly.
Also, the card can be used at several counter service locations as well; check TablesinWonderland.com for an updated list of participating locations.
Note the addition of new restaurants such as Landscape of Flavors Food Court at the Art of Animation Resort and Be Our Guest Restaurant at the Magic Kingdom. Be Our Guest Restaurant, however, only accepts the discount during dinner.
Do you use the Tables in Wonderland Card? Would you recommend it? Let us know in the comments below.
Our handy (and portable!) ebook guides make sure you get the best deals and can plan a vacation of a lifetime.
I didn’t realize a Florida resident would get TIW, I thought it was only for anual pass holders. A $25 jump seems steep. Now you need to spend an additional $125 before you start saving money.
We are moving to FL soon and just have just started learning about TIW. From the list of locations it seems other than resorts you can use TIW cards only for sit down meals. I think most of our saving would be from grabbing a drink (especially drinking through Epcot) or quick serve in the parks and it doesn’t seem like it can be used for that purpose.
I like the valet parking for meals at the resorts. I didn’t know you could park at theme park for meals. If you use TIW to park in the theme park do you have to come right before and leave right after your reserved meal?
%#&@$! We need a new one next week. Grrrr.
Don’t forget, though you still have to pay an additional 18% gratuity. So really, you only save about 2%
Tracy — Usually if you park at a resort or theme park for a meal, you’ll need to return to your car within three hours. Not sure if this is enforced very often. Also, you will need your receipt from the meal.
Alan — Oh no!! Glad I picked mine up last month, I’ll tell you that!
Katie — True. In our case, though, we usually save the whole 20%, since we usually tip about 20% anyway. 🙂
I’m still trying to decide if our next trip will be DDPX or TIW.
I don’t see how having to tip decreases your savings. Tipping is the right thing to do.
Meh… I think we’re done with Tables In Wonderland. When you only go to WDW a few days per year, split meals and don’t drink alcohol, it takes too long to get beyond the $500 break-even point to make it worth your while.
We love TIW as we are annual passholders & live 3 hours away. It is definitely worth it & we love to eat at the nicer restaurants & savings really add up. We usually tip at least 20% so I always add extra even when using TIW. We have also attended special TIW events which enhance the Disney experience. Have to say I’m glad I renewed last month 🙂 but will keep renewing as long as it’s offered.
We love TIW! We normally make one vacation at the beginning of our annual pass year and then a second vacation and the end of the annual pass year. Adding the Tables in Wonderland (or renewing it) adds the same value for us — two vacations for one subscription price.
Plus, if we just visit Victoria & Albert just once then we’ve saved almost the whole cost of TIW! Plus, adding up all the savings (essentially it pays for our tips) from our daily table service meal, or a meal if cousins come up for a visit, real makes this a great deal for us.
Now, if only Disney would schedule the special TIW events around our vacation so we could attend one of these very special gatherings. 🙁
Yeah, I hate to say it, but I think TIW is getting a little hinky for me too. I ran a spreadsheet this year and it took nearly six months to get to the break even point. Logically, if you use it at the same rate over the next six months, you only “save” the total cost of the package. Sure, you pick up a couple of new restaurants such as Palette and Be Our Guest, but we’ve lost some too… La Hacienda de San Angel is gone, and then all Chef’s Tables anywhere are out, the Fantasmic Dinner Packages are out, Candlelight Dinner Packages are out (I remember using it last year, so I think that’s a new restriction?). The special events are very cool, but unless you really like The Wave, the truly unique offerings are getting fewer and further between. I’ll probably go another year, but it won’t be as carefree a decision as it had been in the past.
I’m a tiw fan. This past trip I developed a giant spreadsheet for our meals and tiw won. Basically it comes down to this….if you stick to the meal plan and don’t deviate (alcohol is a deviation) then the meal plan works. We don’t and I thought the delux meal would win out but it didn’t or was close but it was too much food. A comment above mentions the tip lowers the tiw discount but that isn’t apples to apples. You pay a tip separately on the meal plan.
Alcohol is a big driver in cost as is the apps if you go basic dining plan. One other note with tiw you don’t feel compelled to eat everything that comes with your dining plan meal.
For us, this is the greatest card in the world!!!!
We’ve had it since it was the DDE (Disney Dining Experience) card. I remember paying $ 65 back then .
One “trick” we learned from a CM when we purchased the TIW a few years ago…. buy at the beginning of the month if possible. The card is good for a “year,” but actually extends until the last day of the following month you purchase. Example. I JUST bought my new card on Sunday, 2 Dec 12. New card expires 31 Jan 14. If I would have purchased it on 30 Nov 12, it would have expired 31 Dec 13. By waiting until after 1 Dec, I literally picked up an extra month of “card” for the same price. I actually HAD to mention this to the CM who processed my purchase. Guess not all know this.
Frank
I’m a little fuzzy on how the gratuity works. Do you pay 18% on top of what you will already be tipping or does it count as the tip?
Thanks!
18% tip is calculated in and shown in the listing. I believe it is added to the original gross amount before the 20% comes off. 20% comes off the gross… I could be wrong on this but I don’t think so. Tip is ALWAYS there but lots of times no one will advise you of that.. you have to remember because there is ALWAYS a blank line for the ……..tip!!! No kidding. I like it a lot because it takes the guess work out of it. Just $0 out the extra tip line (ALWAYS), sign and go.
Nice to know there are counter service areas that take it now.
ALSO, it is accepted at the major Swan-Dolphin restaurants, BLue Zoo, Il Mulino’s, Kimono’s, Shula’s… NOT at the Dolphin fountain… I think it is accepted at the Dolphin Lobby bar too, but NOT at the Cabana Beach Club restaurant or Picabu.
Frank
Asuka: The auto-tip is calculated off the undiscounted amount; the tax is calculated off the discounted amount (excluding tip).
Final cost is (1.065)*(.8M) + (.18M) = 1.032M, where M is the pre-tax/tip total. (1.052M for V&A main dining room)
Like anything at WDW, this card isn’t for everyone. The TiW price has been the same for years now, even though menu prices have steadily creeped up, which is a different subject. The break-even points are higher now ($470/$587) but I think they’re still reasonable: 2 adults on a 4 night trip or 2 date nights/bday dinners at V&A would come close to those amounts. Lately, I’ve been doing a lot of dining events that aren’t covered by TiW (like the FF chef’s counter) but as long as I save $101 over the card’s lifetime, I’m OK with the $100 fee.
Frank – several of the Swan/Dolphin locations will give you a 20% off food (not beverage) discount with a AAA Card.
Some require a AAA Diamond Card (which only comes with a AAA Vacation Package).
It doesn’t hurt to ask!
Several dining locations at Universal will give you a 10% off food discount, too.
The TIW card is definitely worth it if you drive and pay for parking at the parks. Parking is $14. If you eat breakfast or lunch in the park within 3 hours of parking, you can get your parking fee reimbursed. It’s a hassle as you have to go to park relations and request the refund, but all you need is your parking ticket and receipt. If the two times are within 3 hours, they will reimburse parking regardless of whether you leave the park afterwards. We get our parking reimbursed on the way out for the evening. The break even point is a lot lower if you factor this in.
My break even point is higher than most only because we are AP and DVC members where we get some of the perks of this card already. Still we travel to WDW often and sometimes just to eat at their restaurants. The price break definitely pays for itself and we would have tipped at 18 to 20% anyway. (it is the right thing to do!)
TIW is one of the best of the Disney ‘incentives’ by a million miles.
Without doubt the new prices are disappointing for us, but, to be honest, previously it took just about four meals for a family of four to break even. Now it takes five and you’ve got your cash back.
The parking is good, but, to be honest, most TIW members are also AP members, so that advantage is a bit fuzzy.
Let’s hope that this year’s increase is the last for a long while!!
“For us, this is the greatest card in the world!!!!
We’ve had it since it was the DDE (Disney Dining Experience) card. I remember paying $ 65 back then .
One “trick” we learned from a CM when we purchased the TIW a few years ago…. buy at the beginning of the month if possible. The card is good for a “year,” but actually extends until the last day of the following month you purchase. Example. I JUST bought my new card on Sunday, 2 Dec 12. New card expires 31 Jan 14. If I would have purchased it on 30 Nov 12, it would have expired 31 Dec 13. By waiting until after 1 Dec, I literally picked up an extra month of “card” for the same price. I actually HAD to mention this to the CM who processed my purchase. Guess not all know this.”
Frank
Frank- You mention that you had to mention it to the CM before he processed the card. Does the computer system not automatically do it that way?
Seems not.
I think that each purchase is a considered a new one. It’s not a renewal in any way.
Previous purchases aren’t noted anywhere. You just have to be alert when you buy.
Frank
It says the 18% gratutity is always added, does that mean they add one onto the acceptable CS meals, where normally you wouldn’t tip, as well? Do any of the snack stands accept it? (Specifically hoping for the Grand Marnier slush)
This card is gold for anyone who likes signature dining, especially with the drinks also discounted. No other discount comes close. The break even is really based on your party size. We had 8 adults, 6 kids last year and broke even after night 2.