Ariel's Grotto question

[hbailey]

So, here is my question. I have a little girl (just turned 3) who LOVES the princesses. I want to take her to Ariel's grotto for the princess lunch/dinner but she will not eat anything! I looked through the kids menu and she would maybe eat 1 bite of mac & cheese and 3 bites of a hotdog that's it for $19.00 actually she wouldn't eat a bite because she'd be so distracted by the princesses being there.... would it be worth it to go. My moral issue is that I know she could pass for being 2 and nobody would ask at all (she still wears size 2T clothes) and I know she would pick off of my plate a tiny bit and drink a glass of milk. What do you all think??? I don't want to wait forever in line to see the princesses. BTW we are going in August when it will be crowded, if it was off season we'd just visit in the park but I know the lines are going to be horrible!

 

[MonkeyDishwasher]

If you don't pay, you are stealing. Simple as that. If she is past the "free" age and you lie, what are you going to be willing to do to save a few bucks on her later in life? Furthermore, what will these lesson teach her in the long run?

Just probing the morality question. If you're willing to do all that, well, we obviously have different lines of morality.

 

[hbailey]

I understand that and I am not going to "sneak" her in... I'm just trying to figure out if it is worth the price since she won't eat anything. I haven't been to Disneyland in YEARS and am just trying to figure out if it's worth over $45 for the two of us to go. Or if I should skip it and see the princesses in the park with a very long wait from what I hear. I don't even know how that works since I haven't visited DL with my kids before.
I guess I'm just frustrated that a barely 3 year old gets charged the same as a older grade school child who really will eat the food.

 

[Michaelasmum]

We actually went twice on our trip, we did a lunch that was planned from the beginning of our trip...and a last minute dinner that I booked for our last day at DLR while we were there.

It was so worth it, we got to meet all of the princesses without standing in the PFF line ups! We enjoyed the food and even though my DD is 5 she didn't eat much of the meal...but really that isn't why we were there.

For us it was well worth the money because my daughter is princess crazy...you have to decide if it is worth it by how much your DD wants to meet them.

 

[Laurabearz]

You can see all the princesses for just the cost of admission, by waiting in various lines here and there throughout the park

OR

You cough up the Money for Ariels, sit in a comfortable chair and have all of them come to you....

But lying about your kids age....

well that's up to you.

 

[nunzia]

How about doing breakfast instead? Cheaper and it's served family style so maybe it wouldn't feel so bad since you wouldn't have to look at that ntouched plate..

 

[amyamya]

For our trip I planned to do Ariel's Grotto for lunch the last day. That way, if my dd4 has not had her fill of Princesses or feels she did not get enough quality time with them, we'll meet them at Ariel's. I'll cancel if we saw them a bunch earlier.

AG has gotten mixed reviews on these boards so I am not 100% sure about going anyway. We'll be there off season, so also not sure if PFF will be going full force...

 

[hlbtimes2]

Well, I think you have to look at it like this- Yes, its $19 for her. But, its really like paying $12 to meet the princesses and $7 (average price of a kids meal in the park is about $6-7) for a meal she isnt going to eat. Are you willing to pay $12 so you dont have to stand in lines at PFF? As for the food, have it wrapped to go, and let her eat it later when she isnt distracted by the princesses.

Just a little tip: When we were there in mid May, we found the princesses around 3pm, between the turn stiles and the train station. The lines were pretty short, a bit unorganized, but short.

 

[ballarinamom]

DD is a very picky eater. We will pay for a meal and ten minutes after we leave, she's hungry!!! So I understand. Does your DD not eat chicken nuggets? We live by those things!
Here's our take. Time is money. Every minute waiting in lines to meet the characters is money. We feel it is definately worth it to pay for a character meal instead of waiting in line. That time should be spent riding rides, IMHO. Do you have AAA? They offer a 10% discount there.
As far as your DD being distracted, they time the rotation of the princesses. They don't just wander around the whole time. You'll see the princesses one after another. Then they will be gone.

 

[sand2270]

We have done it 3 times. My DD eats like a bird and really never eats much food. But I am willing to pay the price for the experience of all the princesses coming to the table, the photo ops, and a chance for me to sit down and eat lunch in an air conditioned building. After reading about the length of the lines for the Princess Faire I scheduled Ariel's Grotto again when we went in March of this year. I explained to my DD that since we were doing the lunch I did not want to wait in the line for the Princess Faire and she completely understood.

I know my DD will never eat enough to justify the costs of the character meals...but we do it for the convenience and because I like to relax and let the characters come to us (I also tend to like the food more than counter service meals).

And I think my DD maybe ate about 4 or 5 bites of the hotdog and mac and cheese as well...I don't justify the cost by what she ate but by the experience.

This isn't a judgement either just my experience. My mom was extremely frugal when I was growing up and she would ask me to lie about my age (I was a small kid) so I would get the lower price on haircuts, admissions, etc. It stressed me out because often I would have to be the one lying about my age and as a little kid I was always worried I would get into trouble. I refuse to do that with my daughter and have always been honest about her age.

 

[cmwade77]

I do not know if they still do this, but it used to be that if a member of your party was not eating, they could still go with the rest of your party that is eating and pay a small fee (around $5) for the entertainment. Since Ariel's Grotto is not a buffet, this should not be a problem, I would call 714-781-DINE and ask.

 

[JadeDarkstar]

I would call and ask. I know my son hated the mac and dogs we are still going this year again couse i had fun he had fun we all loved the princes. How old is she if shes like just 3 or something maybe ask if she can just eat off your plate i mean your payign for your self. I have also heard of the entertainment rate i dont know if its five or 10 but id for sure ask some one
I my self might order the chiken nugets for me if they will let me. I am picky and didnt like what they had to chose from for disney the food wasnt that grate.

Dont miss goffys kitchen tho hehe that food was delicious

 

[mariezp]

Totally worth it even if she does not eat just to NOT have to wait in line at PFF!
Not to mention that you can at least enjoy your meal and sit down while meeting those princesses. When we were there the food was pretty good.
As some others have mentioned, it's not necessarily the food you are there for but more the special moments with the princesses. You will get some great photos and your daughter will have a great time she will remember for a long time. That's what makes it worth it.

 

[DTDkettleCORNfan]

I really like what one of the previous posters said...........make the priority seating time for the end of your trip, and then cancel if you have been able to see the princess beforehand.

It might be well worth the money to go though, not just for the princess experience, but also for a cool, relaxing place to sit in August.

We have gone once. I'm not sure if we will do it again because it was expensive, but it was definitely worth it once. Soon your daughter will not be into the princesses, but more into High School Musical or something else.

 

[hbailey]

Thanks so much for all the advice! I was thinking last night about what I wanted to do and decided like a couple of you mentioned to make the reservations for the end of the trip so that if we get our princess fill then I can just cancel them... but if not I'll keep them and we'll go to Ariel's. I do like the idea of the breakfast buffet better since she does LOVE scrambled eggs & sausage (go figure!) I know that we're going to end up at the PFF anyway and I figure we'll just go there first thing one of the mornings and my DH can take my 6 year old DS on the rides with height requirement (while picking up the rider swap tix so I can ride later). I'm not feeling rushed this trip since we have 5 day hoppers (got them on a special) which is far longer than most spend at DL but we decided we were going to let the kids experience Disney and not be rushed.

 

[hbailey]

I just called Disney Dining (even though I can't make reservations yet) I wanted to make sure they offer the breakfast and they do. Question now is.... it is SO much cheaper to order meal vouchers through getaway today than to buy it through Disney. $43 compared to $59.46. How does getaway today's vouchers work? How far in advance do you have to order them etc. Thanks to all of you for helping me figure out what I'm going to do with my little princess obsessed 3 year old!

 

[ballarinamom]

We ordered ours last week for our November trip. They don't expire until 2009. We will be picking them up from a ticket window at DL. Don't forget to use the code PODCAST to save the $10 fee. We had to order each meal separatley to use the code. Otherwise, they charge you $10 for each meal you order tickets for.

 

[cmwade77]

Ok, what is this getaway Today and the voucher deal? Do you have to book a package through them to be able to get a voucher, or can anyone buy them? We are locals, so anytime that we can save a few bucks it is always handy.

 

[DTDkettleCORNfan]

I echo the previous question..........I have just been all over getawaytoday's website, and can't find the Disneyland meal vouchers.........

 

[hbailey]

The vouchers are in the section for tickets... and then you go to where it says meals. My only question about Ariel's for breakfast is that it's not listed as one of the character breakfasts.... which doesn't surprise me because it's not listed on the Disney website either. I think I need to call getaway today and make sure that it would work.