Do my eyes deceive me???

[SleepingUgly]

I have been reading up on some of the menus at the table-service restaurants at WDW, and I am just amazed at some of the prices. $50-plus for an entree for ONE PERSON??? $26-plus per person for a buffet??? It's still a buffet, people! I'm sorry, I enjoy the good life as much as the next person, but I cannot imagine spending that much money for one entree. And at WDW?!? Are the restaurants in the park really that well-known for their food?

Like I said -- I am not one to shun the good life. I've eaten in my fair share of upscale restaurants in the US and in Europe where the prices are outrageous. But I did not expect such prices at Disney, of all places. I cannot imagine the food to be THAT great. And when the prices at restaurants at Disney even top prices at restaurants in Paris or Rome or NYC, well, that is a bit too much.

Am I alone in thinking this, or does everyone else just expect to take on a second mortgage if they plan to dine regularly at Disney during their trip???

 

[scanmom]

the food is rather expensive at WDW. But it is at ANY theme park. Try six flags! And the food at WDW is good. Some of it is great. There are alot of places that serve ALOT more than burgers and chicken strips. You can eat a pretty fancy meal at WDW. It is not cheap, but if you do your research, there are dining bargains to be found. I will let you in on one that we absolutley LOVE!! Trails End Buffet at Ft. Wilderness. It is the cheapest buffet on property, has good food and GREAT fried chicken, and right near the restaurant is a free petting zoo. Plus you can see and pet the horses that work on Main Street. Enjoy!

 

[MrsPete]

You're paying for the atmosphere: a unique, one-of-a-kind themed place wit personal visits from the characters. If you want cheap food, it can certainly be found not far from the Disney property.

 

[Debbie]

You're paying for the atmosphere: a unique, one-of-a-kind themed place wit personal visits from the characters. If you want cheap food, it can certainly be found not far from the Disney property.

and, yes, some of the restaurants ARE that well-lnown!

But you don't need to eat like this every day. We haven't done a character meal in a couple of trips, but when we do, it'd be one or two a trip. Fancy restaurants the same-not every day. (Although my DS and DBinL love to plan their trip around the meals-different strokes for different folks!)

We only eat two meals a day-not because of the cost, but because we are so BUSY! And some of the meals are huge! When it was just DH and I, we shared meals because of the size of the plates. 2 appetizers, 1 main course, and 2 desserts.

Have a scrumptious trip!

 

[annsteere]

Just got back from dropping $130 on dinner for our family of 4 at Boma-- $25 per person plus one beer for DH and the tip. We're the kind of people who ate cereal in the room for breakfast and went to McDonalds for lunch one day (and used a gift card I'd gotten as a promotion).

It was worth it. Over 60 items many of which were African and very unusual. I got to take a taste of things like "mealie bread" that I'd heard of and never tried.

Pick and choose your experiences. Then enjoy your choices.

 

[golfgal]

That is why the MYW dining plan is such a good deal for most people. DIsney is expensive! Unless you are getting an AP rate at a deluxe, the dining plan usually works out to your advantage (especially if you share a couple meals with light eaters and stretch your credits out). We have 3 kids 12,10,10, none of them are huge eaters and 2 meals between the three of them will be more then enough food. That will give us an entire extra day of meals (we are staying 5 nights, speding 6 days in the parks). We will have meal credits for all 6 park days making the meal plan $29/day for each of us.

 

[golfgal]

Another thing to figure into the dining plan is that it includes tip and tax, which at a 15% tip and what 10% tax adds up quickly.

 

[disneysteve]

I don't think many prices at Disney are that high for the quality of food, atmosphere and experience given it is a captive audience. Yes, you could get similar food elsewhere for less, but you wouldn't be at Disney.

We enjoy some of the nice places at Disney, both buffets and sit-downs. On recent trips we've dined at Crystal Palace, Boma, 1900 Park Faire, Kona Cafe and others. But our total food spending last trip averaged just $20/person/day. Why so cheap? We ate breakfast in our room every day. We ate some of our meals offsite. We brought snacks into the parks with us. We drank mostly tap water. And we shared a lot. Most of the portions at Disney restaurants are way too big for one person. So one appetizer and one entree was more than enough for DW and I to split.

If you really want to spend a fortune eating at Disney, it isn't difficult. But if you want to enjoy what Disney has to offer food-wise without breaking the bank, that is certainly possible.

 

[EthansMom]

We ate dinner at Crystal Palace last week. Was it pricey? Yes. But it was also the best tasting meal we ate all week. And it was very relaxing to have the characters come to us rather than wait in line for an hour to see each character. In my opinion, avoiding standing in line to see the characters is worth a good $20 in itself.

As other posters have mentioned, you don't spend $26 per person at each meal at WDW. We spent less than $15 each morning at the food court for our entire family and usually came in around $25 for lunch, so a splurge here and there is not a big deal on vacation.

I'd rather spend $75 at Crystal Palace and visit with Pooh, Eyeore, Tigger, and Piglet than drop $150 at some fancy-schmancy place where the staff treats me like I'm gum on the bottom of their shoes (not that such a place would want my kids to dine with me anyway).

 

[patrenoe]

We have found the prices for dining in WDW are about the same as any other places we go to eat. When we travel to other cities such as Washington, New York and New Orleans we find the prices to be the same as WDW or higher.

 

[epcotfan]

I don't think the prices are that high. It easily costs as much to dine here at home.

 

[sanibelover]

You are right. The food is expensive and much of it is not that great. We had a very good meal at California Grill, but it was as expensive as many of the nicer restaurants that I've dined in and did not have the same ambience. (I felt a little rushed and had to deal with a few too many children - yes, I KNOW it's Disney.)

I think Disney does a decent job for the number of people they have to feed each day, but I just cannot agree that Disney food is on par with excellence outside "The World".

 

[Deb & Bill]

You been to the ball park lately? Those prices are even higher than Disney. How about the zoo? Same thing. Even the food court is getting higher and you have zero atmosphere there. The airport is outrageous and I'm stuck there. You can't get out of a movie with sodas and popcorn for your family for less than you paid for the tickets. And we all know how expensive those are.

By the way, when is the last time you ate in Paris, Rome or NYC? I bet only Victoria and Alberts are the most expensive and you have a first class chef there.

Seriously, you can get some real bargains if you look around. But if you want a buffet with characters or some good choices for food (and I'm not talking about some of that tasteless food you get a non-WDW buffets - Golden Corral, Chinese buffets, etc), you will have to pay.