Need to vent on prices

[cindyland]

In the midst of planning our DW trip, we made a quick trip to DLR. It drove us nuts to pay $55 for five of us to have a crappy hamburger meal. $55! So on this trip we are staying off-site, limiting our number of on-site restaurants (three/four times over eight days), sticking to lunch in signature restaurants, and planning breakfast and dinner off-site or in the condo. Hoping some of those lunches will have leftovers for dinner.

 

[carly chloe]

We go to Disney every other year and last 2 times were on free dining. It helps out alot in my opinion. We know our favorite resturants and love thier food. I don't understand when someone says the 50's Primetime gives you little food because our plates are always heaping when we go there- we usually can't even eat half our dessert because we are so full.

 

[crostorfer]

DH and I went to the movies yesterday, at the "matinee discount price" of $10.50 each. There we bought a medium (Ha!) popcorn and drink combo, at the "discounted" price of $12.50. I have never spent $12.50 on a CS meal in WDW, even with tax included. So I figure WDW prices aren't as bad as they could be.

This!

I spent $18.50 Thursday night on two small popcorns, a small soda, and small Icee. At Disney on Ice last week I spent more money in two hours on a snow cone and a bag of cotton candy than I did for two CS meals at WDW.

 

[carrie1626]

I'm not here to criticize, only to offer my opinion.

I work very hard and save purposely for all the entertainment for our family. This includes multiple major league baseball games, weekend trips, state fair, regional festivals and WDW vacations ( not as often as I would love). If I want a $3.oo bag of chips, I buy them. My explanation can only be if I spent $3.oo on those chips, then I REALLY must have wanted them!!

I don't think food/beverage prices at WDW are any more extreme than most venues. There're all HIGH

 

[BillSears]

...This "free dining" killed, maimed, took away the good food, excuse is just that....it is an excuse....

Well...I do believe the dining plan changed the types of food different restaurants could offer. It used to be there were some really expensive items on the menus. But now all items have to cost similar amounts. No more stuffed lobster at Coral Reef or Surf and Turf on menus.

 

[waldiddy]

We continue to find our WDW trips to be the most affordable of any vacations we have taken. I think the food for the most part is MUCH higher quality and better value than any other park or fair, and that includes National Parks, beaches and the like.

Yeah, I have to agree with this. Any destination with a captive audience is gonna stick it to you as far as food costs, but at Disney, the costs don't seem that bad and typically, the quality is amazing. I don't dispute the fact that folks have had bad meals at Disney; however, we're frequent visitors and I have yet to have one.

Several years ago, we did a vacation at Myrtle Beach, and even after getting a free hotel for over half of our nights, we still spent more money there than we would have at WDW. And, no question about it, the regional theme parks like King's Dominion or Carowinds, have much higher food prices, with a total absence of quality.

 

[Tiger926]

I think the argument that other places cost more is a silly one. I don't go to the movies, but if I did, I wouldn't buy popcorn or pop. I also don't go to the other places mentioned, so I will compare to Disney itself.

A few years ago, a buffet dinner at Chef Mickey's was less than $30.00, now it's $40.00 during peak season - I'm a teacher, and can only go during peak season. That's ridiculous - I come from a restaurant family, and now about food and labour costs, but Disney's rising prices and surcharges are getting ridiculous because the quality goes down each year, yet the prices rise.

After spending excessively on Disney food over the years, and having eaten pretty much everywhere, we are slashing our food budget as well by eating in our DVC villa.

Sure some of the food is pretty decent quality for a theme park, but we are tired of paying for major food increases.

Tiger

 

[waldiddy]

I hear you loud & clear about the crazy high prices. I didn't mean to imply that Disney is a lot cheaper vs other places, just that other places are doing this as well and very often, the quality just doesn't exist.

I'm also in the same boat as you, as far as peak season, at least until our kids are grown. And, we're planning the same thing as you. Sure, we'll do a few meals at the resort restaurants, but most of our eating will be done in the condo kitchen or off-site.

 

[emmabemmainc]

Like the PP before me, I think the prices are pretty reasonable for a theme park.

To be honest, I am so sick of people whining about the DDP ruining things for the people who know what truly good food tastes like. I've been multiple times in the past few years (as well as lots before free dining and the DDP were even around)--and I certainly don't remember eating like a queen before and a peasant now. I've had some really excellent food at WDW in the past couple of trips.

Also, if there were that many people who loved the old food, obviously you weren't showing up--or else Disney never would have had to resort to the DDP to get people into the restaurants.

Eat offsite if you're so unhappy. Take your own food in. Problem solved.

 

[Tiger926]

Like the PP before me, I think the prices are pretty reasonable for a theme park.

To be honest, I am so sick of people whining about the DDP ruining things for the people who know what truly good food tastes like. I've been multiple times in the past few years (as well as lots before free dining and the DDP were even around)--and I certainly don't remember eating like a queen before and a peasant now. I've had some really excellent food at WDW in the past couple of trips.

Also, if there were that many people who loved the old food, obviously you weren't showing up--or else Disney never would have had to resort to the DDP to get people into the restaurants.

Eat offsite if you're so unhappy. Take your own food in. Problem solved.

See, I don't understand posts like this...

It is not whining, when you have seen prices rise on the DP to be more than $13.00/pp a day than they were before, and that is when the tax and gratuity was included, so the amount is much higher. It is not whining when a buffet dinner used to be $28.00/pp, and is now $40.00/pp without gratuity included. It is not whining when one used to get good cuts of meat, and now they are cheaper cuts of meat.

We have eaten pretty much everywhere, Signatures included, multiple times - I have spent thousands upon thousands of dollars on Disney dining, so, as a consumer it is very relevant to me to assess the product that I have purchased. It is insulting and rude to tell people to take in their own food or eat off-site. The prices are high, and food and service have gone down, in my opinion, after having eaten everywhere for years on end - I am not here to argue or debate, it is fact. I have all receipts and some photos of meals over the years, so we have done comparisons. Heck, my young children notice the difference between meals, as they have eaten at WDW so often. Going forward, we have slashed our food budget, and will eat most meals in our DVC villa, and may go off-site for a few, as we've been there, done that with overpriced food (especially buffets), long waits in restaurants, overcrowding and subpar service.

The bottom line, for us, is that there is some great food, and I may even stretch that to excellent at places like Yachstman and Citricos, but most of the food is just ok, and some is downright horrible. The buffets have really suffered as of late, yet the prices keep rising. Why? Because Disney has a captive audience - where else can you eat with Mickey Mouse, besides Disney. Is it good for a theme park? Sure it is, but for a place that has gourmet chefs on staff, celebrity chefs running restaurants and food and wine festivals, it should be better, and has been better just a few short years ago.

Just as you are welcome to your opinion, so are we who find that the food is suffering at Disney. To compare it to other theme parks is not applicable here - it needs to be compared to itself, and in this respect, the food has suffered. How much, can be left up to interpretation and personal taste, but the food is definitely expensive, and has suffered over the past few years.

Tiger

 

[koolaidmoms]

Lunch at Seabreeze

For lunch we ordered:
1 Italian Sausage (no onion or peppers on a hot dog roll)
1 Zweigles red hot
1 hamburger (no roll for my gluten free son)
1 double cheeseburger
1 french fry
1 garden salad with Italian Dressing
2 large sodas
2 small sodas

total cost: $38.60.

To tell the truth we have had much better counter service meals in Walt Disney World for about the same price. Amusement parks know exactly how much to charge so that they can make a decent profit and still sell their product.

You can leave the parks for cheaper meals but by then you will have lost valuable touring time and is it really much cheaper in the end if you have to figure in time out of the park and possible cost of travel if you are not using WDW transportation?

Amusement parks will always charge what the market will take. Free dining has been offered at least once each year since about 2006 and brings in many people. It is a toss up in the end depending on the family whether it is really a bargain or not. Higher room cost or higher food cost?

 

[Belle5]

In the midst of planning our DW trip, we made a quick trip to DLR. It drove us nuts to pay $55 for five of us to have a crappy hamburger meal. $55! So on this trip we are staying off-site, limiting our number of on-site restaurants (three/four times over eight days), sticking to lunch in signature restaurants, and planning breakfast and dinner off-site or in the condo. Hoping some of those lunches will have leftovers for dinner.

Sounds like an interesting plan! What locations have you chosen for your lunches?

 

[gibbersome]

=
Amusement parks will always charge what the market will take. Free dining has been offered at least once each year since about 2006 and brings in many people. It is a toss up in the end depending on the family whether it is really a bargain or not. Higher room cost or higher food cost?

The problem is that the restaurant prices at so many locations are so high that without free dining I don't see them faring well.

 

[Tiger926]

The problem is that the restaurant prices at so many locations are so high that without free dining I don't see them faring well.

Yup! So many of us who have been paying cash for years, are not doing it any longer.

Free Dining brought in business for Disney, but it has also set up a discount culture, where guests expect it, and therefore, they won't pay for dining any longer.

I think Disney needs to continue Free Dining for as long as possible, as I just don't think they can sustain the restaurants with cash paying guests, especially during certain seasons.

What the heck did everyone do before Free Dining, is a question that needs to be discussed more often, IMHO? We've never received Free Dining, as we've paid cash, but we have slashed our dining budget, and won't be doing that any longer - I know there are lots of others like us, especially DVC members like us, who are done with Disney's high beffet prices, especially.

It will be interesting to see what the next few years brings in terms of dining. I'm not sure how much higher Disney can go?

Tiger

 

[Missytara]

You have to realize the logistics of getting that bag of chips to you for purchasing. Disney is a huge operation and it takes many people to get that bag of chips to the parks to sell to you.

Someone orders it; receives it in the warehouse; offloads; distributes it for daily delivery; drive the truck; offloads; and then pays the vendor the bill.

That can be up to ten people to have to work together to get that one bag of chips to you.

 

[Ron from Michigan]

We place our order for snacks, cereal, milk etc. with Garden Grocer before our trip. You will save $$$$ doing this.

 

[A&Bmama]

You have to realize the logistics of getting that bag of chips to you for purchasing. Disney is a huge operation and it takes many people to get that bag of chips to the parks to sell to you.

Someone orders it; receives it in the warehouse; offloads; distributes it for daily delivery; drive the truck; offloads; and then pays the vendor the bill.

That can be up to ten people to have to work together to get that one bag of chips to you.

How is this any different than your local corner store?

In general, large consumer, such a Disney are usually able to buy at lower prices than smaller consumers because they buy in large volume. They are also able to streamline their operations to make them more efficient. I do agree that the price of a bag of chips covers more than just the cost of the product itself but I just do not believe Disney's overhead costs warrant triple the price.

Here is a sample of cost is Iqaluit, a very remote town in northern Canada where all supplies must be air lifted in on small planes since it is not accessable by any roads.

"Below is a list of some prices that you would find in Iqaluit:
2L 2% milk............$8.99
1 doz eggs............$3.99
1 loaf of bread.......$2.59
1 lb butter...........$4.45
1 2kg bag of flour....$14.45
1 can of Coke.........$2.00
150g bag of chips.....$4.99"

It seems Disney is not far off this pricing.

Disney sells at these prices because they get them, plain and simple. Sure I would love to see the prices lower but I know what the prices are I plan accordingly, and eat sparingly.

 

[Tiger926]

How is this any different than your local corner store?

In general, large consumer, such a Disney are usually able to buy at lower prices than smaller consumers because they buy in large volume. They are also able to streamline their operations to make them more efficient. I do agree that the price of a bag of chips covers more than just the cost of the product itself but I just do not believe Disney's overhead costs warrant triple the price.

Here is a sample of cost is Iqaluit, a very remote town in northern Canada where all supplies must be air lifted in on small planes since it is not accessable by any roads.

"Below is a list of some prices that you would find in Iqaluit:
2L 2% milk............$8.99
1 doz eggs............$3.99
1 loaf of bread.......$2.59
1 lb butter...........$4.45
1 2kg bag of flour....$14.45
1 can of Coke.........$2.00
150g bag of chips.....$4.99"

It seems Disney is not far off this pricing.

Disney sells at these prices because they get them, plain and simple. Sure I would love to see the prices lower but I know what the prices are I plan accordingly, and eat sparingly.

This! Excellent example.

It actually costs Disney less money to bring in that bag of chips, as they will only pay so much, plus, they have tremendous buying power, and will only pay wholesale prices. They have huge contracts with vendors, where some of the products are actually free, so people need to not kid themselves into thinking that product actually cost more. A corner store would pay the highest amount, or, remote areas such as the above example. Disney gets wholesale prices or contract incentives, such as free pop syrup, which means the products cost them less money. They charge so much because they can!

Tiger

 

[eliza61]

Yup! So many of us who have been paying cash for years, are not doing it any longer.

Free Dining brought in business for Disney, but it has also set up a discount culture, where guests expect it, and therefore, they won't pay for dining any longer.

I think Disney needs to continue Free Dining for as long as possible, as I just don't think they can sustain the restaurants with cash paying guests, especially during certain seasons.

What the heck did everyone do before Free Dining, is a question that needs to be discussed more often, IMHO? We've never received Free Dining, as we've paid cash, but we have slashed our dining budget, and won't be doing that any longer - I know there are lots of others like us, especially DVC members like us, who are done with Disney's high beffet prices, especially.

It will be interesting to see what the next few years brings in terms of dining. I'm not sure how much higher Disney can go?

Tiger

Actually people did pay the prices, I think the difference now is that disney knows the quality is not worth the price. Most of the restaurants have been open since the parks opened, they managed to survive.

You hear it here all the time. People tolerate the food because it's discounted.

 

[waldiddy]

You have to realize the logistics of getting that bag of chips to you for purchasing. Disney is a huge operation and it takes many people to get that bag of chips to the parks to sell to you.

Someone orders it; receives it in the warehouse; offloads; distributes it for daily delivery; drive the truck; offloads; and then pays the vendor the bill.

That can be up to ten people to have to work together to get that one bag of chips to you.

You're joking, right? It's called 'economies of scale'.