We ate there for dinner in November and lunch just last week. The SIZE of the filet is quite a bit smaller for lunch, so the price difference seems about right.
As for the "Experience" meal....I noticed the same thing. But then I also still contend that the "FREE" tickets to the Fantasmic Dinner and the Candlelight Processional package are not in fact free depending on what you order. No they don't actually charge for the tickets, but since the price you pay for the meal package is higher than the price you'd pay out of pocket in many cases, those "free" tickets aren't really free anymore.
To get the "Experience" to be a true value, you would need to order the most expensive items. In other words, if you were to order the cup of soup ($5.99) the Ravioli ($19.99) and the Sorbet ($5.99), you'd be overpaying with the experience. But...if you ordered a salad ($6.99) Prime Rib ($25.99) and the Creme Brulee ($6.99) you'd "save" about $3.00 with the "Experience".
It's a marketing ploy in many respects....most people don't order desert, but this "combo" makes it a bit more appealing to do so, because after all it's included.
It depends on what your normal eating habits are....for the "Experience" if you would be ordering the more expensive items anyway, then absolutely save that $3. But if you would have normally ordered the Ravioli and skipped dessert, then you're really overpaying what you normally would. But somehow wrapping it as a package makes people want it.
The dining plan is the same in many respects....people look at it and say wow for $38 per night, per person, I can eat like a king! But if you wouldn't normally eat like a king, yet not have a rumbly tumbly, then it's not a savings. When we get home next week, I'll be doing a trip report that will go in much greater detail on how the dining plan was not really a cost savings for my family, because we ate more than we normally would have, and we wasted a lot of food that we never would have otherwise. But for some, it's a great deal because their eating habits are different from ours.
I would suggest that in looking at Le Cellier's menu, decide what it is you actually want to eat and after you've made that decision do the math to see if ordering it as a package saves you anything, or if individually is your better deal.
The food by the way was really excellent at both meals....the creme brulee was the best I had at any of the restaurants (and since I don't get creme brulee except on vacation, I ate it every chance I had). The filet was almost fork tender and delicious. The portion size difference between lunch and dinner was noticeable on the plate, but of course I wasn't as hungry at lunch so it was still plenty of food. If we hadn't been on the food plan, however, I'd have only gone at lunchtime, because of that price difference.
