Onsite table service dining cost - wow

[ValpoCory]

it looks like Coral Reef (assuming I can get ADRs) would be $150 for dinner for 4 by the time you add up 4 entrees and drinks and a couple of adult beverages?

I guess that I must be living in a high COL area because I don't consider $150 for 4 meals to be out of line. We're not talking TGIFriday's here. We're talking about table service restaurants within a theme park. $37.50 pp after tax and tip is not a bad price at all, IMO.

pantherlj didn't say anything about tax and tip. Adding on tax and tip to $150 significantly increases the cost. $159 after Florida tax, ~$190 after 18-20% tip.

 

[ccgirl]

I agree. $150 for four people doesn't sound that high for me. Dinner last night for two was $50 and that was for a shared appetizer and two entrees. No alcohol.

Right. My DH and myself frequently spend that. However, the food quality and service are fabulous. Something that is lacking at WDW, IMHO. Unless you do the signatures then the price is really getting up there.

I refuse to use the excuse that it's okay to serve subpar food and give me inadequate service becuase it is a theme park. I simply drive in my car and go off site. I know not everyone has that option but that is one reason I rent a car.

 

[englishteacha]

We've eaten table service only twice in all our trips to WDW, both in Mexico for our anniversary for year 4 and year 8. It was for lunch both trips, and while much more expensive than what we'd pay at home, it was a nice treat. Prices have continually gone up at Disney restaurants, and places we would have considered trying 5-10 years ago are now more expensive than we can justify. Our "sit down" meals out are off site, and we eat counter service meals in the parks. My DH, Mr. Anti-pack-your-own-food, has even admitted that once we're a family of 3 (and are likely to bring Grandma along), we'll probably pack in a lunch and only eat 1 meal a day in the parks...counter service.

We had great food and reasonable prices on food at Busch Gardens in Tampa last year, and at Universal. Crown Colony at Busch Gardens, their "Fancy" restaurant, is very good and the prices are reasonable. And you get to watch the animals on the savanna!

 

[disneyfav4ever]

Right. My DH and myself frequently spend that. However, the food quality and service are fabulous. Something that is lacking at WDW, IMHO. Unless you do the signatures then the price is really getting up there.

I refuse to use the excuse that it's okay to serve subpar food and give me inadequate service becuase it is a theme park. I simply drive in my car and go off site. I know not everyone has that option but that is one reason I rent a car.

I wouldn't call the meal I had last night fabulous. It was in no way bad, but all I had was fish and chips. Not exactly five-star dining.

 

[HeatherC]

We just got back and noticed how prices have increase a lot since our last trip two years ago. I think it seems more expensive when you are feeding a group of people. It is a little easier to take when it is only for one or two people. But $70 for a lunch for a family does get expensive.

As an example, we are a family of five who always does Crystal Palace. Last trip it was about $160 with tax. This time it would have been about $250 with tip. That IS a lot to me for one meal. We can't possibly eat that much food.

 

[ccgirl]

I wouldn't call the meal I had last night fabulous. It was in no way bad, but all I had was fish and chips. Not exactly five-star dining.

I wasn't talking about WDW food being fabulous. I was talking about the meals I spend over $100 on at home as fabulous. I think most WDW restaurants aren't worth it and I prefer to drive off site.

 

[Marionnette]

If I were comparing Disney restaurants to fine dining in my area, then the cost of the Disney meals would be much cheaper than the nicer restaurants here. A dinner for 2 with appetizers and wine would definitely run us $150 before tip, pretty much double what the OP anticipates paying for the Coral Reef for 4.

I don't think that the Disney restaurants are on a par with the fine dining that I can choose from at home. But I don't feel that they are equal to an Olive Garden, Red Lobster or any of the many other mid-price chain restaurants, either.

If someone feels that Disney's prices are too high, there are other places to each outside of the resort property. But I think that you will find that restaurants in vacation destinations are more expensive just because they can get away with charging more. Just look at the prices on the menu at the WDW McDonald's and compare them to your local Mickey-D's!

Yes, menu prices have skyrocketed at the restaurants. But hasn't your grocery bill also increased dramatically over the past couple of years? You cannot expect any restaurant keep their prices the same when their overhead has gone up unless they sacrifice portion sizes and quality.

I won't defend the quality of service or food at the Disney restaurants because they have both declined with the introduction of the dining plan. But I think that with any vacation, you make your plans in accordance with your budget. If you don't feel that the Disney restaurants are a good value for your money, you find other places to eat that are a better value and within your budget.

 

[Planogirl]

The problem is that many people fly into Orlando and use Magical Express and are thus (by design) a fairly captive audience. I expect to pay a premium at a themepark but I'd like that food to be pretty good. There are some good places but a lot of it is mediocre and some is just plain bad.

We like to eat at Boma and that one sets us back quite a bit. Luckily we're beyond character meals now.

 

[eliza61]

4.

I don't think that the Disney restaurants are on a par with the fine dining that I can choose from at home. But I don't feel that they are equal to an Olive Garden, Red Lobster or any of the many other mid-price chain restaurants, either.

If someone feels that Disney's prices are too high, there are other places to each outside of the resort property. But I think that you will find that restaurants in vacation destinations are more expensive just because they can get away with charging more. Just look at the prices on the menu at the WDW McDonald's and compare them to your local Mickey-D's!


Yes, menu prices have skyrocketed at the restaurants. But hasn't your grocery bill also increased dramatically over the past couple of years? You cannot expect any restaurant keep their prices the same when their overhead has gone up unless they sacrifice portion sizes and quality.
.

I had to giggle at this because I went to Olive Garden yesterday. Let's compare it to Mama Melrose or Tonys Town square.

1) Menu availability: winner OG. about twice the offerings that whats available at either place.

2) food quality Winner OG. no matter how many times I go there, and no matter which OG I go to, breadsticks all nice and hot. complimentary salad always good. Entree good (not great) consistently. Tony's is so hit and miss it is almost laughable. What do they do change chef's once a week.

3) price: Winner OG. ok this is not fair because as we said prices in tourist destinations are always higher but. My price tag was 109.33 before tax. We got 2 appertizers, 3 sodas (with refills), 1 glass of wine and 4 entrees. throw in the 20 buck tip.


Now as far as mcdonalds, I actually think that serves to our complaint. Mcdonalds does an excellent job of maintaning quality. They are the industry leaders in making sure that no matter if you are in San Fransisco, Spain, St. Louis or Philly the food quality taste the same. So if I'm in Orlando, yes I know those fries maybe a dollar or two higher but I can expect the fries to taste just as golden delicious.

The problem is that many people fly into Orlando and use Magical Express and are thus (by design) a fairly captive audience. I expect to pay a premium at a themepark but I'd like that food to be pretty good. There are some good places but a lot of it is mediocre and some is just plain bad.

.

So for me, I totally expect to pay way more on vacation but I hate bad food. Now that the prices for the ddp is ridiculous I can't even blame it on the dining plan. for 50 bucks a head, no excuse for not being able to provide quality dining.

 

[Cuddlemama]

It's driving me crazy at the moment to realize that FOOD will be the most expensive part of our trip this time. More expensive, possibly, than airfare and tickets combined....

That's CRAZY.

We're flying from NY and buying Y.E.S. tickets, and 14 days of food at Disney for 5 Disney Adults (2 of which are actually still our children) and 1 Disney Child (who will be 8 on this trip, but is gluten free, so she requires special meals) is insane no matter whether I contemplate Quick Service dining, regular dining plan, TIW or out of pocket.

 

[ilovemk76]

I had to giggle at this because I went to Olive Garden yesterday. Let's compare it to Mama Melrose or Tonys Town square.

1) Menu availability: winner OG. about twice the offerings that whats available at either place.

By this standard a Dinner is the best place in the world to eat.


2) food quality Winner OG. no matter how many times I go there, and no matter which OG I go to, breadsticks all nice and hot. complimentary salad always good. Entree good (not great) consistently. Tony's is so hit and miss it is almost laughable. What do they do change chef's once a week.

You really think the food quality at OG is good? My Italian family will not eat there after trying it once. The food sucks. We even have an Italian trained chef in the family. Now that is great food. MM's pizza is what the chef in our family cooks. We love MM's pizza.

3) price: Winner OG. ok this is not fair because as we said prices in tourist destinations are always higher but. My price tag was 109.33 before tax. We got 2 appertizers, 3 sodas (with refills), 1 glass of wine and 4 entrees. throw in the 20 buck tip.






So for me, I totally expect to pay way more on vacation but I hate bad food. Now that the prices for the ddp is ridiculous I can't even blame it on the dining plan. for 50 bucks a head, no excuse for not being able to provide quality dining.

Tony's wins for atmosphere and MM's wins for food. A Dinner wins for the menu.

 

[Marionnette]

I had to giggle at this because I went to Olive Garden yesterday. Let's compare it to Mama Melrose or Tonys Town square.

1) Menu availability: winner OG. about twice the offerings that whats available at either place.

2) food quality Winner OG. no matter how many times I go there, and no matter which OG I go to, breadsticks all nice and hot. complimentary salad always good. Entree good (not great) consistently. Tony's is so hit and miss it is almost laughable. What do they do change chef's once a week.

3) price: Winner OG. ok this is not fair because as we said prices in tourist destinations are always higher but. My price tag was 109.33 before tax. We got 2 appertizers, 3 sodas (with refills), 1 glass of wine and 4 entrees. throw in the 20 buck tip.






So for me, I totally expect to pay way more on vacation but I hate bad food. Now that the prices for the ddp is ridiculous I can't even blame it on the dining plan. for 50 bucks a head, no excuse for not being able to provide quality dining.

I wish that you would not have added your comment within my quote. It makes it appear as if I made that statement about the McDonald's in Paris and I didn't.

Why not compare Olive Garden to Via Napoli or Tutto Italia? Why compare it to the two worst Italian restaurants in Disney World?

I totally agree with you that bad food is bad food and a captive theme park customer base is no excuse for it. But just like any vacation destination, Disney has both good and horrible dining experiences. None of them (with the exception of V&A) would even border on exceptional, IMO.

But I still maintain that one does not have to eat in Disney if one finds the price to be so outrageously high. There are plenty of dining venues in Orlando. Some are located as close as the Swan and Dolphin hotels. There are even more in the Crossroads shopping center and Downtown Disney hotels. You can escape the doldrums of Disney dining with a little cab fare and some research. No one is trapped onsite unless they want to be.

 

[Marionnette]

It's driving me crazy at the moment to realize that FOOD will be the most expensive part of our trip this time. More expensive, possibly, than airfare and tickets combined....

That's CRAZY.

We're flying from NY and buying Y.E.S. tickets, and 14 days of food at Disney for 5 Disney Adults (2 of which are actually still our children) and 1 Disney Child (who will be 8 on this trip, but is gluten free, so she requires special meals) is insane no matter whether I contemplate Quick Service dining, regular dining plan, TIW or out of pocket.

Part of the reason that food is your biggest expense is because you got great prices on everything else, there are a large number of people in your party and you are staying for such a long period of time.

I could compare our dining costs against the other expenses for 2 people staying 4 nights and flying from Philly and the percentage spent on food would be much lower.

 

[ccgirl]

If I were comparing Disney restaurants to fine dining in my area, then the cost of the Disney meals would be much cheaper than the nicer restaurants here. A dinner for 2 with appetizers and wine would definitely run us $150 before tip, pretty much double what the OP anticipates paying for the Coral Reef for 4.

I don't think that the Disney restaurants are on a par with the fine dining that I can choose from at home. But I don't feel that they are equal to an Olive Garden, Red Lobster or any of the many other mid-price chain restaurants, either.

If someone feels that Disney's prices are too high, there are other places to each outside of the resort property. But I think that you will find that restaurants in vacation destinations are more expensive just because they can get away with charging more. Just look at the prices on the menu at the WDW McDonald's and compare them to your local Mickey-D's!

Yes, menu prices have skyrocketed at the restaurants. But hasn't your grocery bill also increased dramatically over the past couple of years? You cannot expect any restaurant keep their prices the same when their overhead has gone up unless they sacrifice portion sizes and quality.

I won't defend the quality of service or food at the Disney restaurants because they have both declined with the introduction of the dining plan. But I think that with any vacation, you make your plans in accordance with your budget. If you don't feel that the Disney restaurants are a good value for your money, you find other places to eat that are a better value and within your budget.

I live in a vacation destination during the summer. The population of my town doubles. I also have fine dining establishments. Comparing my home restaurant to WDW, my home restaurants win hands down.

Mussels appetizer $9
Meal (lobster mac & cheese) $24
Glass of wine $7

Meal = 40 multiply by 2 for 2 people = 80$. Tack on 20% tip = round to $100. Service is exceptional and quick. Something Coral Reef does not have, IMHO.

Coral Reef
Mussel appetizer $12
Lobster Ravioli $27
Wine ( I believe was around $12)

So, the meal is $11 more a person, the portions are smaller and do not taste as good, the service is slower and nowhere near as good. I would want to pay more for that; why? Coral Reef is not even a signature restaurant. It is their middle of the road table dining.

Which is why, as I said, I drive off site.

 

[EvangelineG]

On our recent trip, I really didn't find the WDW TS food expensive compared to local restaurant food. We are Canadian, and I know that makes a difference as far as COL, but we don't live in Vancouver or Toronto where things are very expensive.
I found signature prices to be on par to what you would pay for a nicer restaurant around here, and regular TS to be on par with pricing at the mid range chain or casual dining restaurants.

Out of curiosity I just did some googling:
Spaghetti with meatballs for lunch
At Tony's= 16.99
At Olive Garden= 16.25
At Earl's (a reasonably nice chain restaurant)= 17.00

I can't specifically address quality or portion size, but Olive Garden certainly isn't renowned for having particularly good quality authentic food around here. So Disney's pricing isn't out of line with what you would pay for comparable quality restaurants in our neck of the woods.

 

[pantherlj]

I appreciate the input on the cost of food and my reality

We don't really eat out a lot so anything above the local pizza place is a lot for me, but, it just seemed extra high. Especially buffets for my 10 year old.

However, I do recognize that in some of the places you are paying for an experience as well. I don't get to sit in a car and watch a movie (Sci_Fi) at Red Robin.

We will pick probably 2 places onsite for table service and then eat offsite or at the condo for our other dinners.

Looking forward to our trip and happy that I am saving 5% on all those meals by buying my Disney gift cards at Target

 

[dzorn]

On our recent trip, I really didn't find the WDW TS food expensive compared to local restaurant food. We are Canadian, and I know that makes a difference as far as COL, but we don't live in Vancouver or Toronto where things are very expensive.
I found signature prices to be on par to what you would pay for a nicer restaurant around here, and regular TS to be on par with pricing at the mid range chain or casual dining restaurants.

Out of curiosity I just did some googling:
Spaghetti with meatballs for lunch
At Tony's= 16.99
At Olive Garden= 16.25
At Earl's (a reasonably nice chain restaurant)= 17.00

I can't specifically address quality or portion size, but Olive Garden certainly isn't renowned for having particularly good quality authentic food around here. So Disney's pricing isn't out of line with what you would pay for comparable quality restaurants in our neck of the woods.

Only thing is the OG around here for lunch the spaghetti & meatballs is $9.50

Denise in MI

 

[gina2000]

Only thing is the OG around here for lunch the spaghetti & meatballs is $9.50

Denise in MI

Here, too. And I live outside NYC. I even checked the NYC menu and it's $9 and change.

I just think overall mediocre food at a world class tourist destination such as WDW is a crying shame. When I vacation, I go for more than a day so I don't feel that comparing prices to a ball park or an amusement park is a fair comparison. I'm only a captive audience at a ball park or a local amusement park for a day. WDW is a VACATION for us. Part of the enjoyment of our vacation is a relaxing, well prepared dinner. And sub-par food at high end cost just is a shame.

We often go offsite. We sometimes eat onsite but we were quite dissatisfied on our last trip. We're trying again in June but if the food lives down to its current reputation, we'll be offsite for the majority of the trip.

 

[eliza61]

I wish that you would not have added your comment within my quote. It makes it appear as if I made that statement about the McDonald's in Paris and I didn't.

Why not compare Olive Garden to Via Napoli or Tutto Italia? Why compare it to the two worst Italian restaurants in Disney World?

I totally agree with you that bad food is bad food and a captive theme park customer base is no excuse for it. But just like any vacation destination, Disney has both good and horrible dining experiences. None of them (with the exception of V&A) would even border on exceptional, IMO.

But I still maintain that one does not have to eat in Disney if one finds the price to be so outrageously high. There are plenty of dining venues in Orlando. Some are located as close as the Swan and Dolphin hotels. There are even more in the Crossroads shopping center and Downtown Disney hotels. You can escape the doldrums of Disney dining with a little cab fare and some research. No one is trapped onsite unless they want to be.

Because you said mid price range restaurants. Via Napolis is not mid range prices especially when you consider a large pizza there is almost 30 bucks.


I'll go back and edit the other post. the gist of what I meant is that it seems that most folks totally accept the high prices, it's the subpar food that is the issue.

The problem is not the location, I think that's a cop out. NO matter where the restaurant is located people want to feel that they get what the pay for. Yes it is very easy for me to go off site especially since we always have a car but what is so wrong with demanding the quality that disney charges top dollar for?

I foolishly expect that if you charge me 40 bucks for a piece of steak, (le Cellier) I should be able to expect that the steak will be darn good.
I'm very much like Gina2000, meals when I'm on vacation are important (not that they are not to you). Dinner at wdw is often where we unwind and laugh and talk about the magic of the day. IMO is just sad that I very rarely say "wow that was a great meal" at wdw. When we go around the table and ask how each others entrees are most of the time my family says "it's OK". for the prices they charge, I do find that said.

These are just my ramblings. I'm not trying to prove how others think the food for price value goes. It's definitely what things each individual feels is important.

 

[eliza61]

Tony's wins for atmosphere and MM's wins for food. A Dinner wins for the menu.

I think Olive garden is good for what they serve. Low cost "americanized" italian food. I do think they like most low to mid range chain restaurants have their quality control down fairly well. Like I said, the OG in Orlando serves the same food as the one in Philly. You know what you are getting and it's fairly consistent and what you don't see at the chain restaurants are 15% price increased combined with lower food quality. That's what we have going on with the mouse world.

Man o Man, I don't blame your family. I can't imagine any seriously trained chef, remotely thinking chain restaurants are "good".