Little news travels more quickly than that which riles up Disney fans. And so it has been the case with a little e-mail sent out by the office at Walt Disney World which manages the Disney Dining Experience. You know, the card that Passholders can purchase for around $60 which provides a 20% discount on food and drink at a large number of Walt Disney World table service restaurants.

It seems that Disney has decided to make gratuity mandatory (at a rate of 18%) for all table service restaurants across property. [At the time this blog entry is being written, it isn't clear if this mandatory gratuity is for *all* table service meals or for just those who use the Disney Dining Experience card.]

At any rate, why does Disney think they should dictate how much one tips on their meal? Shouldn't that be left to the customer, er, I mean, guest?

Disney already has astronomical prices at their restaurants when you consider a comparable meal at a non-Disney establishment. When you own or control everything within a 48 square mile area, well, I guess you can pretty much charge as you wish with little worry about people going elsewhere.

Tipping in the United States has become nothing more than a means of companies to pass wage and salary costs onto customers. If all servers were required to be paid a living wage, by their employers, well, tipping would quickly become extinct.

One thing is for sure, with the establishment of this new mandatory gratuity, I'll be far less likely to frequent any Disney restaurants from here on out.