shocked-beware

[raidermatt]

No one is forced to buy additonal items, but many do, which allows them to have the promotional pricing. You also need to take into consideration that some places may not have rasied prices, but have reduced the size of the portion which allows for them to not raise prices. Some places may have also started using a lesser quality product to make the food to keep the costs down.

The fact is that food prices have risen (just Google rising food prices) and restaurants have adjusted accordingly, whether it be to raise prices, reduce portion size or use lesser quality products. In this case Disney has chosen to raise the prices.

What some are missing here is that a business's costs rising has absolutely nothing to do with whether customers will pay more for their product.

Restaurants in general are not raising their prices to keep up with costs simply because there aren't enough customers who will pay the higher prices. So many restaurants are taking hits on their margins because lower margins are better than no margins.

In WDW's case, they clearly believe we will still come and we will still buy their food. We'll just have to see how it goes.

 

[luvdisney00]

They have us, a captive audience and they can do what they want. Seriously the option is to bring your own food and I know many do, but I stay on property and I am not making sandwiches in a hotel room, I'm buying their food. I don't like price increases, but I have always thought that by theme park standards, WDW food was very reasonable. Six Flags is much higher and the food is horrible.

I don't like it, but it is what it is. It won't stop me from eating there. I am really grateful that we have FD though!

 

[carrie1626]

Yep. Meat is insane!

And restaurants around here have increased their prices or reduced portions within the last year or so. Some have done it more then once. It's not just Disney.

There was a segment on our local news AGAIN, about the increase in food$$.
Cattle farmers have drastically reduced the numbles in their herds. WHY? They have to sell off their herds to pay off DEBT. Less cattle=increased prices. Also, there is the trickledown of severe droughts that some areas are still dealing with.

Just went to a local burgerjoint yesterday: CULVERS thumbsup2), big price increases since I was last there ( 6 months ago).

 

[J.C.&ALI'SMOM]

We used to eat all our meals on WDW property and never leave the gates. Over the years we've learned that renting a car and eating offsite makes much more sense for us. I feel that the food is better and cheaper and we have the freedom to go to Publix and buy plenty of snacks and drinks for more savings. It also allows us to avoid the buses and the waits that go along with them. It is cheaper for us and we enjoy our trips more.

 

[TDC Nala]

I have the 2012 Snack thread and it does seem to me that while they may not have raised the level (previously $4) to say $5, what they have done is keep most of the items as a SC even after the price rises to over $4. But that being said, not all items in the low $4 range are counted as a SC.

Link to my thread is in my siggy.

What readers have to remember about the snack thread is that there is no official Disney-produced listing of snacks. The snack thread relies on reports from the parks as to what guests have been able to get. The snack listing does not mean that WDW won't eliminate some of the snacks on the list, but we have to wait until somoene reports that you can't get that item as a snack anymore to know that.

In the past they have eliminated some snacks with higher prices, and kept others.

 

[aes74]

I could afford to pay the prices for food in Disney, but I won't. Those are crazy, out of control prices IMHO. I don't live in Connecticut or California where prices are that crazy so I'm not alright with it. This is why we are so happy to be DVC with the kitchen in our room. I do two things now I would have NEVER done a few years ago:

1. I cook and pack lunches for us. My kids love it because I pack things in their lunch they NEVER get to eat normally! A lot of times we will put the crock pot on in the morning and come back to something that smells amazing. By the way, a favorite to pack are the cuban sandwiches from Publix along with their homemade lemonade. Whole Foods is a few minutes away and we always stock up with some great things from there.

2. We eat off property. I used to refuse to do this -- felt like it ruined the magic. Now I love that we can afford to get appetizers, amazing main dishes, and dessert for far less than we would pay at Disney.

We do save our money to eat two special meals at Disney. The kids love to decide where they would like to eat.

The reality for me is that a $10 sundae at Ghiradhelli isnt worth it because it really is not that good. Paying over $100 to eat burgers, onion rings and having a sundae at Beaches and Cream is insanity. And my children do not eat enough food to make the DDP worth it. I have to add that my picture below is misleading, I haven't updated it in four years (sad!). I have three now, the oldest 11 and the youngest 3, so we are paying for more and larger mouths now!

On a side note, the restaurant promotions for me are perfect because I drink soda about three times a year. Yay for me!

 

[ML_LovesDisney]

I love eating at WDW but when DH and I went to Citrico's and spent well over $100 for the two of us with very bland and unoriginal meals, I have decided we will eat nice meals off property this trip. I don't mind paying a lot for a good meal but expensive for mediocrity? DH and I can't stomach it. To each their own though. I still love a lot of the WDW restaurants don't get me wrong

 

[North of Mouse]

I saw a commercial last night that reminded me of this thread. On the DIS, people are always defending WDW prices by saying the price of food has gone up everywhere. That is true for the grocery stores. At least, it is around here. That's not true for many restaurants. They are practically giving food away. Red Lobster has a 4 course meal for $15. Chili's & Applebees offer a shared appetizer & 2 entrees for $20. Many of the other chains have similar deals. While the grocery stores are definitely raising prices, in our area restaurants aren't. If anything, they've gotten cheaper. Personally, I don't care for chain restaurants, so it doesn't really matter to me what type of deal they have. I just posted this to show that all food isn't going up everywhere.

The chain restaurants, as well as others in this area, have indeed gone up in the last 3 months. Yes, they have specials to lure you in, but they also have new menus with "new" prices. Yes, we do go to chains, and the last couple of weeks noticed new menus at Red Lobster and Macaroni Grill to name two. It's just like grocery stores, they have loss leaders to draw you in, but their prices have definitely gone up, or stayed approx. the same with smaller containers. Noticed the size of OJ lately or ice cream, etc.

 

[verdi73]

I haven't seen a drastic increase in food prices where I live (NJ). A gallon of milk is around $3, pasta goes on sale for 59cents a pound often, I saw peanut butter Skippy (regular size) for $2.50 today and ragu sauce (regular size) was on sale for $1 last week. A loaf of brand name bread is around $1.99(on sale). Butter has been on sale for $1.99/pound within the last month. I have noticed an increase in meat prices. 1/2 gallon of ice cream has been 1.99 for a long time but the last 2 weeks it has been $2.77 (brand name turkey hill or friendlys)

What kind of prices is everyone else paying?

In metro Atlanta a gallon of milk is 3.25 store brand, 5.45 for Mayfield, pasta is $1 for store brand, $1.50 for name, peanut butter is $3-$5, Ragu is $1.99, and name brand bread is at least $3.99, butter is around $3.50, and ice cream is around $5.25.