Hi Derrick,
Welcome back to the Disney Parks Moms Panel! I am delighted to hear that you have chosen the Disney Deluxe Dining Plan!
At this time, with the Disney Deluxe Dining Plan, gratuities are only included at dinner shows, Private In-Room Dining and Cinderella's Royal Table. Take a look at the Gratuities section of the
Disney Deluxe Dining Plan. Since you will have a party of six, you will automatically be charged an 18% gratuity. Since we have traveled with a group of six or more in years prior, I can say that our dining plan entitlements were used to cover the cost of the meal and we had to pay for the gratuity. Most often, I leave the gratuity charge on our resort hotel room account using my MagicBand and then pay the total bill when we checkout of the resort hotel.
Derrick, when we first moved from the Disney Dining Plan to the Disney Deluxe Dining Plan, I had not calculated the difference in tip amount overall based on our increased number of table-service meals. By the end of that trip, I was shocked to see that the difference was a few hundred dollars. My best advice now is to make advanced dining reservations. Once you do so, check the menus for each restaurant to get an estimate of the cost of your meals. You can then use that estimated meal cost to estimate the gratuity cost. What we love about the Disney Deluxe Dining Plan is the flexibility it affords us. We always use our meal entitlements to dine at a few signature restaurants. Just be sure to map out your meals and calculate how many dining entitlements you will use at each meal. Doing so helps me make sure we do not run out of entitlements before the last day. Also, be sure to verify with the cast member who serves you what menu items are included on the plan at each restaurant!
Magic, memories and Minnie Mouse hugs,
Donyell