Frustrated, Mad and Question??

[indymom1]

We will be at DW from March 29-Arpil 6th. We have dinner at Crystal Palace booked for Sunday, March 30th. When there were posts about price increases for Easter I called right away and I got a nasty CM who told me I can't believe everything on the internet and that Sunday was NOT involved in the price increase. Today there is a link on these boards that of all the buffet price increases so I call again. This time I get a lady who confirms we do now in fact have to pay $32.99 per adult. I have an 11 year old boy who according to them is an adult so that makes 3 adults and 1 child on our ressie. Anyway I very nicely asked how you could make reservations at the 180 day mark for us was back in October and be quoted the price of $27.99 per adult and now find out there is this price increase with no notice from Disney. She put me on hold and came back with this response "pay it or cancel the reservation."

We have never been to CP and thought it might be nice for my son who is 5 who is really into Tigger but is it going to be worth $32.99 per adult???
HELP
Thanks in advance

 

[Tricia1972]

You have a few options:

See if you can get breakfast or lunch. There is still a price increase, but you won't pay $32.99 per adult. More like $22.99 (ish) for breakfast and and $24.99 for lunch. Same characters, less price!

Change your reservation for April 1-6th, where you won't have a dining surcharge.

We like Crystal Palace and will be in WDW March 21-March 28. We opted for lunch for our group.

 

[seobaina]

I'm very sorry you had a bad experience with a cast member on the phone.

I ate at CP in April 2006 with a group of adults and we LOVED it. In fact we're going back this April and it was the first place my best friend asked for. I think whether you feel it is worth the price is really a personal thing. All I can say is that we really enjoyed the character interaction there (the kids in the restaurant seemed to be having a LOT of fun) and we also enjoyed the food. As a buffet it gave us a nice range to chose from, even for the fussy eaters. The cast members were also really nice to us and, even though we had no kids with us, we weren't ignored at all. We also liked the fact that we could walk up main street before the park opened - to us, having photos of a virtually empty park was worth the money alone. It also saved us having to queue to meet the characters when we saw them in the park itself.

I can't really say if it is worth the money for you personally but I can say that it is a very popular choice and if you are not going to do many character breakfasts then this is prob one of the best to do. I'll also add though that if you decided to keep the res, forget about the price increase and just go enjoy it. The last thing you want to do is be sat there thinking 'it cost me more' while you are eating because that will spoil it for you.

Whatever you decide I hope you have a great time.

 

[seobaina]

oops too many 'alsos' in that message - sorry, kept thinking of things as I wrote it

 

[Hootch]

CP. We have had dinner there the last three visits. Everything is somewhat pricey at WDW. Character meals are even pricier because you have to pay for the entertainment.

Generally any entertainment business has a caveat that prices are subject to change. That doesn't allow the CMs to be rude but it does explain the response of the second CM

 

[disney queen]

that is a really good question and only you can answer it. that does seem like a lot to pay for an 11 year old, but i do understand the policy. my thought is: is there another character dining location where your 5 year old could see tigger and it might be less? and how important is it for him to see tigger? i have seen tigger in mgm and epcot for greet/meet/photo ops. would that be an option? as far as the meal, we have only done breakfast at CP; so, i could not give an opinion on whether or not it is worth the extra because of a holiday. good luck!

 

[gomagic]

We had to deal with these price increases over Thanksgiving. While it was aggravating to make the adr's before any mention of the increase and to then be dealt them, we didn't change any of our plans. Actually the increase ended one day before we left. That being said we had breakfast at CP(with increase) and CM(without increase) and we much preferred CP even with the higher price.

 

[MAGGIED]

We love CP... it is a must do for us every trip.... my DD is 18 , allergic to nuts and a vegetarian so no matter where we eat there is limited menu for her and we always have to pay full price... she might eat a plate of veggies and thats all..... I can say that in some of the rest. the chefs have come to the table and made a special meal for her.... but again it is usually all veggie.... so we are paying $28 for a plate of veggies... sounds crazy... but its more than just the food. The way we see it is we have to eat... and Tigger is also my DS (14) fav character... so we pay it... enjoy the food, have fun with the characters and make memories as a family

 

[momtoBrandon&Jacob]

Personally, we love the Crystal Palace and are repeating it for lunch on our next trip, BUT we are on the DDP so cost and surcharge isn't a factor. But I do think that even if we had to pay OOP we would still do it especially since your son is into Tigger and Pooh. They have great food and great character interaction.

 

[LSchrow]

unfortunately, there is nothing you can do about the price increase (if it was paid for, the "old" price would be honored. else, restaurant, stores, etc can raise ~ or lower ~ prices without notice or consent).
CP is a lot of fun, even for adults tho i agree with tricia's suggestion of having b'fast or lunch instead. you will still get the same character interaction, as well as an excellent meal, for even less than what you were going to pay initially

 

[rgf207]

The dining surcharges for hoiday times are, imho, not needed and just and extra way to get money but it's disney's policy and people will pay it so why wouldn't they. I would do as other posters say and either stick with it for the experience or try to switch to breakfast or lunch.

Unfortunatly disney does reserve the right to change the prices at any time without notice.

 

[traviesojmt]

We are eating at Cinderella's Royal Table for breakfast on June 23 for our daughter's birthday. For that meal, you CC is charged in advance. We were charged the holiday surcharge rate for that meal. Apparently all of the days between Memorial Day and 4th of July are "holidays". It is not a meal that my DH and I are thrilled about, but it is my DD's 5th birthday so we are "sucking it up". I personally just wish that if they are going to raise the prices, just do it already. June 23 is not a holiday.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

I'm a little unclear - are they charging this charge for people on the dining plan too? Is this Disney's further way of trying to force everyone onto the dining plan. From WDW's point of view, the dining plan is good because it really keeps people on property more. Those who pay oop are more likely to dine elsewhere.

But maybe they are also trying to free these places up so more of the folks who are on the ddp will be able to get tables at these prime locations. I imagine they get an earful from folks who pay for DDP, and then can't find places to use their TS credits.

Maybe WDW needs to add more TS eateries - not taking away places al la Tusker House - but adding more dining options - and more charater ones....

To answer op's question, that's a lot to pay. If you've never been there and have your heart set on it, then I suppose it's worth it. It' probably too late to get a breakfast ADR at CP, so probably if you try to change it, you'll have no other option. IF it were me, having been there before, I would skip it and give them an earful about the surcharge.

 

[Stitchfans]

Let me get this clear. For Chef Mickeys' the breakfast I once paid $18.99 I now have to pay $26.99? That is $8 extra a person!!!
And for the dinner at CMs it is $6 more a person.

Garden Grill lunch $8 more a person?
1900 Park Fare dinner $5 more a person

Ohana breakfast $4 more a person

for those 5 meals I will have to pay $93 more for the same meals just because we are going during the Easter holiday? Totally unfair and really makes me going to have to at least cut out the ones that are charging $8 more a person that is insane.

 

[Imagination]

Picture being Disney Management:

Demand for seats vary over the year.

Choices:
Build more seats$$(May be way costly given existing facilities) and you may fit more in peak season...but increase overhead$$ the rest of the time when demand is not as high.

Want to add special treats for special holiday season? Well if you are serving a fixed price menu, then the extra cost of those items come either from the higher price people pay year round so that you can provide those items during holidays, or during the holidays.

Have way more demand for seats during the holidays than supply? Do you use a capitalistic or some elgalitarian method to chose who gets those seats? If you increase price, then people can decide how much that meal is worth to them (...given their financial means), as long as all seats are occupied then the increase revenue can be used for bettering the business. The danger for Disney is if people feel they are being gouged and are a captive audience. Attitude effects repeat business, as well as ancillary business. Remember one can eat off-site. The rules of price/supply/demand work for both sides.