peak season pricing

[disneymagicgirl]

Thanks, I misinterpreted the question they posted. The price is a major sticker shock if you are paying OOP. I knew it would be a better "value" to do the ddp instead of qsdp just for the cost of those character meals, but again we went back and forth about that for the longest and our gut instinct is telling us that commiting to a daily ADR won't work for our family, especially since this is our first family trip with little ones. Plus, we didn't want to give up those two snacks and two cs meals a day with how our kids' eating habits are. Next year they are changing the qsdp to eliminate one of the snacks, so I doubt we will ever do the qsdp again. However, I am not sure if doing the full ddp will work for us either. These character meal prices are definitely going to be a splurge for us on our upcoming trip. I don't think we will do these character meals again. If we do, it probably won't be more than one.

Last year we did the QSDP and just paid OOP for the 2 TS meals we did. It worked out great for us. We had a 2 yr old and 10 mth old at the time and didn't think too many TS meals would be good for us. I think your plan sounds good and the QSDP was wonderful. We did Ohana breakfast and dinner OOP for that trip.

 

[2Pirates2Princesses]

I agree with Colleen. All Ears had the wrong prices listed when we went in May as well, the price was listed on the website a few dollars higher than what the non-peak pricing actually was. Tusker House was like $21.99 for an adult before tax, it was listed at $24.99 or something like that.

I just pulled this quote from a different thread:

"Please call Disney and ask about prices instead of relying on allears (or even me). The prices quoted at the start of this thread are incorrect. You may be going during a non-peak season. In that case, the breakfasts will be about $22.99 pluls tax per adult and $12.99 plus tax for children. Your husband may be less incensed about that"

Call the Disney Dining Line and ask if you are unsure. I bet it's $22.99 off peak.

I think this is what I am going to do. That All Ears website may not be accurate like many others have said.

 

[2Pirates2Princesses]

Last year we did the QSDP and just paid OOP for the 2 TS meals we did. It worked out great for us. We had a 2 yr old and 10 mth old at the time and didn't think too many TS meals would be good for us. I think your plan sounds good and the QSDP was wonderful. We did Ohana breakfast and dinner OOP for that trip.[/QUOTE

]


Our gut instinct is telling us the qsdp is the way to go. I really don't want to commit to an ADR everyday and I don't want to give up having the option of two cs meals and two snacks a day. My 2 yr old can't get the dining plan so we plan to use a lot of snack credits for breakfast items and a la carte foods for him. Also, some days my kids have big appetites and other days they are content grazing throughout the day, so even if we were to do the ddp with one table service meal a day, chances are greater that we would end up wasting food or something would come up where we would have to end up cancelling and missing an ADR. My oldest DS has autism and something may happen where he doesn't feel well or something may trigger one of his behavioral fits, so we definitely need the flexibility of the qsdp. Plus I have a 2 year old, need I say more When they are all older, I could see us commiting to an ADR everyday, but with the changes to the dining plans and the prices, I don't know if we will ever do a dining plan again. We'll see

 

[notnothin]

These are regular prices

Does anyone know when the increase happened? I had my expected pricing planned out months prior and it changes things quite a bit.

 

[Colleen27]

I think allearsnet is pretty clear that these are the new prices.

Donald's Safari Breakfast
at Tusker House
Animal Kingdom
Buffet

Menu Date: August 2011


8:00am - 10:30am

COST: $28.75 (10+) and $15.97 (3-9) includes tax NOT gratuity

Seasonal (including Holiday) Pricing May Apply During the Year.

The above disclaimer is on ALL their character buffet menus.

The disclaimer is there but could be interpreted both ways - as a warning that the cost could be higher, yes, but also as a warning that the listed price could reflect that seasonal pricing and therefore not be accurate for off-peak dates.

This has happened before, which is why some of us are thinking this is reflective of the seasonal increase. When the seasonal pricing first went into effect the prices on All Ears quickly got wonky - some included the upcharge, some didn't, based mainly on the date of the most recent update to that restaurant's info it seemed. And I haven't seen any indication of that changing. Keep in mind that Allears, while undoubtedly among the best out there, is still an unofficial fan-maintained site; it is updated frequently with the most recently verified information, and if that information comes from a seasonal surcharge period the prices do seem to reflect that.

Besides, if these are the new normal pricing I'm pretty sure we'd have seen threads from people returning over the summer peak period. Paying $4 more than these updated Allears prices would be a 25+% price jump over the previously listed pricing, certainly enough to spark some sticker-shock threads.

 

[sharonabe]

The fact that all the character buffets (except Ohana, CRT and Akershus) have gone up is what makes me think it is a change in pricing.

I sent them an email asking about it, and the reply was that they're pricing comes from an actual menu that either one of the writers brings back or it could be from a subscriber to the site. They try very hard not to publish peak surcharge prices, but cannot guarantee that they don't, since Disney doesn't always tell you you're paying a peak price.

 

[crostorfer]

I just called the dining reservation line and the Sept.price for Tusker House is $22.99/$12.99. Deb is using seasonal surcharge pricing on All Ears.

 

[sharonabe]

I just called the dining reservation line and the Sept.price for Tusker House is $22.99/$12.99. Deb is using seasonal surcharge pricing on All Ears.

wdwinfo (this site!) has changed their pricing for Crystal Palace and Biergarten and now has each meal listed separately instead of the range you see on most of the other buffets. Curiously, they list the same prices for Crystal Palace and Biergarten that allearsnet does (minus the tax). Is this site also using seasonal surcharge prices?

 

[crostorfer]

wdwinfo (this site!) has changed their pricing for Crystal Palace and Biergarten and now has each meal listed separately instead of the range you see on most of the other buffets. Curiously, they list the same prices for Crystal Palace and Biergarten that allearsnet does (minus the tax). Is this site also using seasonal surcharge prices?

I don't know, call the Disney Dining line and ask about those two. I just asked about my Tusker House reservation and got the pricing I expected for September.

 

[cmash95]

remember that these sites get their info from members who have gone to the various places and then reported back. So if the member went during the summer, then the update would include premium pricing because that is what the meal cost at the time. and you have to think about the DDP like health insurance. If you have insurance, then you bill will be less than those that don't because the ones that don't have insurance are charged the full amount for the service. So if you need to make up the difference that is lost because you have so many DDPs, you either cut back on what you offer, or you charge the rest more. Frankly I have noticed a huge drop in not only quality but quantity in the years since the DDP was established. Maybe the buffets need to be seen as a premium and be charged two points. that would hinder the demand and maybe cause costs to equal out.

 

[Krisscot]

We have done many of the character meals over our previous trips but never chef Mickey's. Everyone just raves about it here. Why is it so good? It doesn't look all that exciting? What am I missing. Is it just Mickey? My girls are definitely more of princess girls...

 

[RichmondTiggerFan]

We have done many of the character meals over our previous trips but never chef Mickey's. Everyone just raves about it here. Why is it so good? It doesn't look all that exciting? What am I missing. Is it just Mickey? My girls are definitely more of princess girls...

Chef Mickey's has Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto, and Donald. Unless you're interested in those characters, Chef Mickey's might not be the best choice for you. For me, my favorites are Timon, Tigger, Chip & Dale, and Stitch, so I usually plan meals at restaurants with one of these characters (Timon=Garden Grove, Tigger=Crystal Palace, Chip & Dale=Garden Grill, Stitch=Ohana)

 

[crostorfer]

We have done many of the character meals over our previous trips but never chef Mickey's. Everyone just raves about it here. Why is it so good? It doesn't look all that exciting? What am I missing. Is it just Mickey? My girls are definitely more of princess girls...

It's not good, it's terrible. Not everyone raves about it. It was so bad it OFFENDED me.

 

[ilovepete]

Yes! I just saw these meal increases yesterday. We are going in October and had a Crystal Palace breakfast on our list, that was the only character meal, but I just cancelled it. There is NO way that, even with the Tables in Wonderland we are using, I can justify that cost for all of us for breakfast! We've been several times before so it's just not worth it for us. My kids still want to meet the characters in the parks even if they meet them at the dining meal so it really doesn't pay for us to see them there instead of wait in line. I think we are officially done with character meals! These price increases just pushed me over the edge on that one.

 

[featherface]

Yes! I just saw these meal increases yesterday. We are going in October and had a Crystal Palace breakfast on our list, that was the only character meal, but I just cancelled it. There is NO way that, even with the Tables in Wonderland we are using, I can justify that cost for all of us for breakfast! We've been several times before so it's just not worth it for us. My kids still want to meet the characters in the parks even if they meet them at the dining meal so it really doesn't pay for us to see them there instead of wait in line. I think we are officially done with character meals! These price increases just pushed me over the edge on that one.

Same here, we were going to do three charactor meals but now might not do any. Not only are the prices way to high, most of the time the food is only average at best. I'm going to do the math on renting a car. Come to think of it if we have to rent a car just so we can eat, then we might as well stay off property and save even more money.

 

[sharonabe]

TIGER926 I hope you are right, and based on the prices you probably are.

What still concerns me is the home site of DISBoards (wdwinfo.com) has the exact same prices listed for CP and Biergarten as allearsnet, and these are recent updates in their menu lists as well. All the other buffet menus on wdwinfo have a price range, but these two give exact prices for each meal.

 

[Tiger926]

TIGER926 I hope you are right, and based on the prices you probably are.

What still concerns me is the home site of DISBoards (wdwinfo.com) has the exact same prices listed for CP and Biergarten as allearsnet, and these are recent updates in their menu lists as well. All the other buffet menus on wdwinfo have a price range, but these two give exact prices for each meal.

I can't comment on those restaurants, as we just had to cancel our trip, so I am not able to confirm if there has been another price increase as of late. Based on prices listed on both websites, they are peak season prices (one has tax included, and one does not), which have been in effect since beginning of June.

Re: All Ears - the best thing to do is call Disney directly, but in regards to All Ears, they are very late with updating, and as I said, peak season ends tomorrow at midnight, so those prices are now incorrect, once again.

Re: WDWinfo - I find they just copy All Ears at times, which is not a great idea. I have seen the exact same wording of errors on both sites, which tells me that one is just copying the other. I know that All Ears gets prices from guests, but is utterly horrible at updating, but I don't know how WDWinfo acquires this info?

Right now, they have peak season pricing listed for Crystal Palace which does NOT include tax. I just checked, based on your response and I'm not sure what the concern is since that price has been listed since July? Again, that ends tomorrow, so not sure when they are going to change it back?

Best to always call Disney, if you are very concerned, or, you can check online prices for a meal such as CRT, as it's a prepaid meal, so when you make an online ADR, you will see the actual price you will pay for your travel dates (remember though, that meal includes tax and gratuity).

The bottom line, is that Disney does not want guests to know the actual prices, unless they call. If they did, they would keep up with prices online...it should't take third party websites and guest photos to figure out what Disney's prices are. But, if those third party websites have decided to make this a priority for their visitors, then they need to do a much better job of updating prices, with better descriptions, especially All Ears. Basically all it does is create unnecessary panic in all of you uberplanners - All Ears is 2 months late with updating peak season pricing, and WDWinfo has had the current seaonal pricing updated since beginning of July. Both websites are correct until tomorrow night, when they will be outdated again!

And for those going in 2012, expect some type of buffet increase, as Disney has been increasing meals at least 1x per year, especially since they just increased the price of the dining plans for 2012. And, I don't anticipate the peak season pricing ending anytime soon either, as it's built in profit for WDW.

Happy eating, Tiger

 

[crostorfer]

TIGER926 I hope you are right, and based on the prices you probably are.

What still concerns me is the home site of DISBoards (wdwinfo.com) has the exact same prices listed for CP and Biergarten as allearsnet, and these are recent updates in their menu lists as well. All the other buffet menus on wdwinfo have a price range, but these two give exact prices for each meal.

Like Tiger said, these sites are reporting from the most recent menus they have seen, which reflect higher prices because they are all showing the seasonal upcharge. Unless you are going over Thanksgiving week or late December, the prices won't be as high as they look now. It would make sense that multiple sites reflect the same pricing, if they are all looking at summer priced menus. There is no reason to be worried.

 

[dzorn]

I dropped Park Fare from out Nov trip, between the price increases and them taking out the ice cream machine(main reason my kiddos loved it) not worth the money.

Denise in MI

 

[sweetpee_1993]

Don't start ditching your ADRs!!!!

I just spoke with Disney Dining about 15 minutes ago. I was pretty freaked out by the Allears updates, too!


Here are the 2 sample prices I asked about for mid-September (lowest pricing tier which takes effect on 8/14):

1. Crystal Palace breakfast: Adult including tax is $24.49. Allears shows this as $28.75.

2. 1900 Park Fare dinner: Adult including tax is $38.33. Allears shows this as $42.59.


Sounds to me like Allears has the holiday surcharge prices quoted. I already sent them a note letting them know of the error (and my somewhat-but-not-really mild freak-out ).




Even with the misquoted price, I still will NOT pay the Chef Mickey's prices. That's such a blatant inflated price just because of the popularity. That place used to be a tradition for us but not anymore. Someone else can be the sucker. Not me.