Should Disney offer a Non-Alcoholic Compromise on Dessert Parties?

[peteykirch]

As much as I'd like to attend a few of these "parties", being forced to pay full-price for an event that offers "All you care to responsibly enjoy alcohol" built into the price when you don't drink at all is kind of ridiculous.

If the current price structure is $79 for adults and that includes anyone older than 12, it's just highway robbery, especially considering anyone 12-20 can't drink in the first place.

I don't know if I would say those who chose not to drink or can't drink should pay the childs price, but maybe if they changed the tiering to something like

Adults 21+ Who Want Alcohol $79
Anyone 12+ and 21+ Who Don't Drink $49
Anyone 11 Under $29

It's not even that difficult to police if at check-in they afix wristbands to those who are 21+ who bought the booze option for the party.

Anyone else in agreement?

 

[DisneyWishes14]

Actually, everyone age 10 and up is paying the adult price, so it's worse than you think it is, LOL!

This is a debate I have with myself not only for the dessert parties, but any AYCTE/buffet type meal now that DS is 10. I do cost benefit analyses on extras at WDW all the time and, for our upcoming trip in August, I'm still making adjustments. We actually originally had the Frozen Dessert party in EP scheduled, but I don't drink alcohol and DS10 certainly doesn't. It would have been really nice to sit at a table, watch Illuminations and then ride FEA, but I decided the $160 wasn't worth it for a chair, some cupcakes and one additional FP+. I'm sure someone else will snag my spot. I think WDW knows they will sell the events without having to adjust the price, so why would they?

 

[DoryGirl1963]

Agree 100%! My husband & I don't drink alcoholic beverages either & just can't justify that much money per ticket when it includes something we won't utilize. Love the tiered pricing idea !

 

[goofy78]

I do think that if Disney priced these special events accordingly that more people would book. Like said a 10 year old is paying the same price as someone who can enjoy the alcoholic beverages. Doesn’t make much sense and I’m sure there is a lot of people not booking because of that.

 

[Farro]

How are they going to police who is consuming alcohol and who isn't? A wrist band means nothing really, I'm pretty sure I can sip some drinks from someone else's champagne glass.

It just is what it is. I don't especially love dessert, but the dining plan wasn't going to be discounted because of it.

Unfortunately either you have to pay for it all or don't go. Although I can definitely see the argument for a child price.

 

[TeresaWen]

Not every event offered by Disney will appeal to every family. I don’t eat desert except maybe a bite or two. I still went to, and very much enjoyed, a desert party. No discounted tickets for non sugar eaters.

 

[10CJ]

This idea seems hard to police. What is to stop people from having one person in the group pay for alcohol and just get drinks for everyone else?

I can see an argument for a middle price for those 10-20 but they don’t really do that for anything else.

I think most of these parties do well so not sure they need to adjust the pricing at all.

 

[LongLiveRafiki]

If they did that, then they would have to include the dinner shows as they also include alcohol... and for the Dining Plan which now includes an alcoholic drink. It's doubtful they would ever change the pricing for non-drinkers, especially considering the dessert parties tend to book up just fine with how they currently have it. Plus, frankly it would be very easy at dessert parties to have one adult buy the drink package and the other adult get the cheaper one, then have the adult with the wristband go up, get his two drinks at a time and give one to the "non-drinker" so they can both still drink but at a cheaper cost. They could check your wristband when you grab a drink but they are not going to monitor every guest after they leave the bar to ensure no one is sharing.

Besides, the price tiers you suggested are a bit low anyway. Here are the adult/kid prices for the dessert parties. Given that kids 9 and under are already $41-$50, there's no way they would reduce their prices for kids as well as make a price tier for non-drinking adults that's similar to what they are already charging for young kids.
$84/$50- MK Terrace
$69/$41- MK Garden
$79/$47- Epcot & AK
$79/$45- HS

I do understand your frustration though. As a vegetarian, it drives me crazy with some of the prices for meals that are buffet, family style, or fixed price (like CRT or BOG dinner). I'm paying for meat that I cannot eat and vegetarian food is pretty much always cheaper for them to provide. That's just the way it rolls with all-inclusive pricing for things. It's great for some people, but not so great for others.

I try to look at the overall value of the event- for dessert parties, it's the seating/ viewing location, the ability to relax and not have to fight for a space, the food and drink offerings, as well as any other perks (like a FP, souvenir mug, fireworks glasses, etc). When we went to the FEA dessert party, we had 2 adults that didn't drink, a 17 yo who also of course couldn't, a child, a toddler, and 1 adult who did drink. Between the 6 of us, we ate probably only $10 worth of food. We felt it was so worth it because of the FP and just being able to sit and relax in a great location at the end of the night. Different people find value in different places though and so I can understand why for some people, that isn't worth the high price.

 

[BalooFan]

I agree with you, OP. Guests who aren’t drinking alcoholic beverages shouldn’t have to pay the same price as guests who are. How Disney would police it isn’t my concern as a guest.

 

[porschegrl]

Besides, the price tiers you suggested are a bit low anyway. Here are the adult/kid prices for the dessert parties. Given that kids 9 and under are already $41-$50, there's no way they would reduce their prices for kids as well as make a price tier for non-drinking adults that's similar to what they are already charging for young kids.
$84/$50- MK Terrace
$69/$41- MK Garden
$79/$47- Epcot & AK
$79/$45- HS

And the MK party doesn't have any alcohol available, correct?

 

[Farro]

I agree with you, OP. Guests who aren’t drinking alcoholic beverages shouldn’t have to pay the same price as guests who are. How Disney would police it isn’t my concern as a guest.

Or the guest chooses not to purchase the dessert party where alcohol is part of the package price. And the concern is how Disney would police it - they aren't going to charge less for someone who is going to sneak drinks anyway.

I'm guessing there was some sort of guest demand for alcohol to be included in these parties and Disney found they would make a profit. If they aren't making a profit, perhaps they will change the prices.

 

[TeresaWen]

I agree with you, OP. Guests who aren’t drinking alcoholic beverages shouldn’t have to pay the same price as guests who are. How Disney would police it isn’t my concern as a guest.

Guests who don’t eat sugar should not have to pay the same price as someone eating platefuls of deserts.

Sounds silly doesn’t it. If you think the price is too high for the value you get from the event you can choose to not book it.

 

[LongLiveRafiki]

And the MK party doesn't have any alcohol available, correct?

As far as I'm aware, they still don't. I meant to include that but forgot, so thanks for pointing that out. The prices for the MK dessert parties are pretty comparable to the others, but without alcohol. The alcohol seems to be more of a freebie with the other parties than an extra cost when you look at it that way.

 

[peteykirch]

Guests who don’t eat sugar should not have to pay the same price as someone eating platefuls of deserts.

Sounds silly doesn’t it. If you think the price is too high for the value you get from the event you can choose to not book it.

That's not really the same semantics wise....

It's advertised as a Dessert Party with drinks being a side-note.

If it was advertised as Fireworks Booze and Mingle Party then you know up front the emphasis is on alcohol.

 

[TeresaWen]

That's not really the same semantics wise....

It's advertised as a Dessert Party with drinks being a side-note.

If it was advertised as Fireworks Booze and Mingle Party then you know up front the emphasis is on alcohol.

Same thing. It’s all about the value a guest sees in an event. If any aspect causes you to not feel you are getting your money’s worth just don’t go.

 

[pooh2001]

They should give a special wrist band to those who drink alcohol

DH & DW of the age to drink, but do not - always avoid the dessert parties
just for that reason - the price does not equate to a bottle of water a few desserts

 

[DisneyWishes14]

Same thing. It’s all about the value a guest sees in an event. If any aspect causes you to not feel you are getting your money’s worth just don’t go.

That is spot on for us. We ditched the Frozen party because I ended up not seeing value and felt I could get what I was really going for (a good spot for Illuminations, a dessert and a ride on FEA) cheaper and on my own with, perhaps, just a little more effort on my part. We did, however, do the Star Wars party last December because DH hates crowds and loves Star Wars. We barely ate or drank anything at the party, but we had a great spot for the show and that was valuable to us.

 

[BalooFan]

Guests who don’t eat sugar should not have to pay the same price as someone eating platefuls of deserts.

Sounds silly doesn’t it. If you think the price is too high for the value you get from the event you can choose to not book it.

I suspect the price of alcohol drives up the cost of the dessert parties more than the cost of sugar.

The OP asked if anyone else agreed with tiered pricing for these events. I do. I was simply answering the question, not asking whether or not I should book a dessert party, but thanks for the advice anyway.

 

[JerseyJanice]

MK parties do not include booze but the tickets still cost plenty.

Personally, I think the dessert parties are the worst value for your money than anything else at WDW with or without drinks. Since it can be difficult to get a good spot for HEA, I can somewhat understand why people might spring for MK parties. But Fantasmic, Rivers of Light and Illuminations are all very easy to get good seating at, so it is beyond me why guests throw away their money on parties for these shows.

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

your assumption that Disney spends $30 on that alcohol is amusing. The cheap stuff Disney buys in the quantity they buy it means that at best you would get a $5 or $10 discount (the latter if they are feeling generous)

But honestly they aren't even going to consider this. They are selling them out and making tons of money. So those of you who think "well it's too much because I am not drinking" aren't missed.

In addition, there's the "policing" method. I can see it now on here. "I don't drink much so I am going to buy one non-drinker and one drinker ticket and then my spouse/friend etc.. will just let me have some his/her wine/beer etc.." Trust me people would be all over this trying to game the system.