This depends on how you ask for your check. If you get one check for your entire party of eight, then you will be assessed the 18% gratuity regardless of how you are seated. If your party is seated at tables of fewer than six, and your checks are calculated for those groups of fewer than six, then you can tip at whatever level you desire.
Personally, I feel that an 18% tip is fair in almost all WDW table service dining situations, but I understand that people have passionate views on this topic. So to keep things impartial, I'm going to quote
an article that ran in the Wall Street Journal on October 23, 2008 by
Neal Templin called, "Tipping Point: What it Takes to Make Your Waiter
Like You." Templin writes:
I usually tip 20% for excellent restaurant service, 15% for
solid service and 10% for bad service. I thought I was being generous.
Turns out that makes me, at best, an average tipper. Tips have been on
the rise for some time. During the 1950s, people commonly tipped 10% of
the bill, says Michael Lynn of the Cornell University School of Hotel
Administration. By the 1970s and 1980s, the standard tip had risen to
15% of the tab. Nowadays, people commonly tip 15% to 20%, with the average tip about 18%.
So as it turns out, 18% is now the standard tip everywhere. There are a few situations where an 18% tip is
automatically added onto your bill at WDW these include:
- When you're using the Tables in Wonderland Card
- When you're dining with a party of 6 or more
- Certain meals such as Cinderella's Royal Table
If you're not in one of these special circumstances, then you are free
to tip at whatever level you like. If you think your server deserves
15%, then tip 15%. I will say that I VERY rarely have had poor service at WDW. If you feel that your service has not
been up to par, then I encourage you to speak with a manager and get
the situation worked out rather than lowballing the tip.