Sorry...need to vent...FINISHED

[MYD714]

I actually think that most TS restaurants in WDW are reasonably priced. I think that our local Six Flags has worse prices.

While I agree that for some people a place like CRT is not in the budget, I don't think that a child has to feel like they're missing out on something. Unless they are going there, they don't even have to know it exists. My parents could never have afforded to eat in the castle on our many trips to WDW (and this was way before it was a major production). I never felt cheated out of anything because I never knew it was a possibility--for anyone. Sometimes ignorance really is bliss.

 

[kimbo0569]

I can understand day trips, but when you are there for a week and are paying thoses prices, it gets hefty. Im not asking for them to lower their prices everywhere...just ONE character meal that could be affordable to anyone lucky enough to get a reservation.

Oh well..I said my peace, maybe someday there will be a perfect world!!!

Day trips aren't so easy to do either these days. You have the admission prices to where ever you are going, gas and possibly tolls if you don't live nearby, food if it's a whole day thing and possibly souvenirs even if it's something small. I live in NY and even the Bronx Zoo has gotten insanely expensive. It's ridiculous.

Unfortunately, nothing comes cheap anymore, it's just the way things are.

 

[LAS321]

I agree with the OP that for a family the food options are all pretty expensive. Back in the day, we didn't have much money and we took 3 kids to WDW several times. We stayed off-site (no value resorts back then), ate most of our meals off-site and only ate a few times in Disney and those were special treats. I think if you plan you can give your kids a great Disney vacation even with a small budget. At the end of the day your kids just want to spend time with you. It's the parents that can make the vacation magical, not the place you eat.

 

[Rekenna]

Hi OP, I hear you on the vent...I see it from both sides-literally I have been on both sides. My parents divorced when I was young and my mom worked herself to death-seriously she died when she was 46-to take care of my sister and I. My mother was not concerned about where we went on vacation, we didn't go on vacation-we had a home, a car that barely ran, clothes and food-we were good to go.

Now, DH and I are able to do special things for our children partly due to the sacrifices our parents made for us. Honestly, my children are spoiled and will never know what it's like not to be able to go on family vacations. We go to the parks during FD and utilize the Value Resorts to stay within our budget. I actually get mad at myself when I lament that I would like to stay at a Deluxe Resort, it's so not needed for our family. But, I believe if it's what you want and can reasonably afford it-go for it-that's why we all work so hard.

Disney is the only thing we do all year long, I save up for it, plan for it and look forward to it. Disney is expensive, but I think the expense is also expected. It is nice that Disney allows small coolers, provides free ice water, free dining promotion, etc. For our family of 5 (DS2 is still free this year) for a week during Value season with FD it's less than $2,000, add in another $500 for gas/extras-I think that is pretty reasonable for a week long vacation-at least it's within our budget/what we are willing to spend.

 

[larryz]

Im sitting home alone and apparently thinking too much!

I just replied to a thread about Via Napoli and started thinking about their prices. Assuming the cost of a large pizza will be the same as the restaurant at DL, it would cost about $70 for a family of 3 or 4 to have a couple slices of pizza, a drink and pay the tip. Ridiculous!

Luckily..very luckily....I am able to afford a Disney vacation, usually stay at a deluxe and can pay for the dining plan..deluxe even. But many moons ago, I stayed on International Dr several times, ate at Denny's, Perkins and Pizza Hut. Value resorts were not an option back in those days.

Now, Disney has the value resorts and I know that people skimp and save even to stay there and give their children the best vacation possible. Being at a value also means, you are not next to the reasonably priced eats outside the park and more likely than not, will be eating in the parks/resorts. Would it kill Disney to lower their food prices?

This all brought me to my next thought of the castle. Imagine getting to finally go on a Disney trip and having to say to a child..sorry, we cant eat there? Even if only 1 parent went with 1 child..its $100 by the time you walk out. They could definitely cut costs by not giving the pictures. We all have our own camera and can take pictures, even with an option to buy their pictures??

I think Disney should have at least one affordable character dining spot, preferably the castle as its an icon and dream for so many. Also a couple of reasonably priced table service restaurants would be nice too. Every child deserves a magical vacation.

OK...vent over...I feel a tad bit better.

That's about the same as a room service pizza on the DDP. Two TS credits -- seems like that would just about equal $60 or so...

 

[verticalchaos]

We went to Disney more than 25 years ago, and were astounded at how many different names they had for a hamburger! There weren't many sit-down restaurants, counter service was only hamburgers/cheeseburgers/hot dogs, and it was extremely expensive. (There were also many fewer resorts to eat at.)

Now there are great restaurants in Epcot, in the resorts, and in Downtown Disney. Yes, they're more than I might pay regularly, but that's true in every tourist area. I was in Italy recently (yes, I am grateful I could afford it), and we went to the Amalfi Coast. The food there was at least 50% more than the food in Rome. And don't even talk about eating out in New York City! Businesses will charge what the market will bear.

I was going to say don't bother coming to NYC if you think WDW is expensive! I live here, so it feels like a discount to go to Disney for me! (I would also caution people who don't like standing or being crowded in with others on the buses to avoid NYC as well as you'll likely end up on the subway at some point, and unless you're riding at 3am will likely be standing AND right up against someone if you're in the touristy areas of the city.)

That said, the first character meal my sister and I had was when we were celebrating her college graduation and my first grad school graduation - at something like 24 and 29 (and we'd been to WDW several times before as children). Our parents had theirs a few years earlier on their 25th anniversary trip. We're all living proof that it is indeed possible to survive childhood unscathed without ever having a character meal. It's a nice bonus, but it's not a necessity.

 

[DISNEY1975]

I was going to say don't bother coming to NYC if you think WDW is expensive! I live here, so it feels like a discount to go to Disney for me! (I would also caution people who don't like standing or being crowded in with others on the buses to avoid NYC as well as you'll likely end up on the subway at some point, and unless you're riding at 3am will likely be standing AND right up against someone if you're in the touristy areas of the city.)

That said, the first character meal my sister and I had was when we were celebrating her college graduation and my first grad school graduation - at something like 24 and 29 (and we'd been to WDW several times before as children). Our parents had theirs a few years earlier on their 25th anniversary trip. We're all living proof that it is indeed possible to survive childhood unscathed without ever having a character meal. It's a nice bonus, but it's not a necessity.

OK...this is my last post on this subject....

I dont think its every childs dream to go to NYC. I personally dont care about the prices, but there are people who work just as hard as me, if not harder, who may make less and not be able to afford the things I can afford. Are the children upset that they cant get a character meal?? Most likely not. But...as a parent who has seen the complete joy of my child when she had a meal with the characters, a special hug and an autograph, I just wish anyone who wanted that was able to have it. $100+ for breakfast is sometimes not an option for people and I, personally, would like to see ONE CHARACTER meal in the MK cost less than $25 plain and simple. Im not asking the local amusement parks, NYC or Paris to lower there prices..just one character meal at the Magic Kingdom.

 

[verticalchaos]

OK...this is my last post on this subject....

I dont think its every childs dream to go to NYC. I personally dont care about the prices, but there are people who work just as hard as me, if not harder, who may make less and not be able to afford the things I can afford. Are the children upset that they cant get a character meal?? Most likely not. But...as a parent who has seen the complete joy of my child when she had a meal with the characters, a special hug and an autograph, I just wish anyone who wanted that was able to have it. $100+ for breakfast is sometimes not an option for people and I, personally, would like to see ONE CHARACTER meal in the MK cost less than $25 plain and simple. Im not asking the local amusement parks, NYC or Paris to lower there prices..just one character meal at the Magic Kingdom.

It's also not every child's dream to go to Disney. I know that may seem shocking to people on here, but I know more than a few kids who have no desire to go to Disney whatsoever.

While one that's cheaper might be nice, I can only imagine how quickly that one would fill. Probably make the race to get CRT reservations look like a snail race.

 

[catne]

OK...this is my last post on this subject....

I dont think its every childs dream to go to NYC. I personally dont care about the prices, but there are people who work just as hard as me, if not harder, who may make less and not be able to afford the things I can afford. Are the children upset that they cant get a character meal?? Most likely not. But...as a parent who has seen the complete joy of my child when she had a meal with the characters, a special hug and an autograph, I just wish anyone who wanted that was able to have it. $100+ for breakfast is sometimes not an option for people and I, personally, would like to see ONE CHARACTER meal in the MK cost less than $25 plain and simple. Im not asking the local amusement parks, NYC or Paris to lower there prices..just one character meal at the Magic Kingdom.

We just had Crystal Palace breakfast buffet in May 2010 for $20.99 per adult.
Just sayin' Think the breakfast buffet over at the Swan is even less (has characters a couple of days a week I believe.)

 

[TDC Nala]

You don't need a character meal to meet characters - they are everywhere. Children (or adults) who want to meet characters aren't being denied the opportunity because they aren't sitting at a table eating mediocre food, having the character come to them. While character meals are nice they aren't necessary for a magical vacation.

It's not even EVERY child's dream to go to Walt Disney World.

I agree with the above post - try the Garden Grove at the Swan. $19/$12 for breakfast on weekends. You probably can't find many buffets in a resort area for much less than that. It's not Disney but it's cheaper (less of the Disney gouge) and they do have Disney characters. I'm not sure what the "reasonable price" would be here if it's under say $20 for adults. The Swan's not in MK but Crystal Palace is.

 

[Tricia1972]

The Garden Grove over at Swan has hefty discounts on their $25 gift certificates. If you watch for deals you can easily get your first $25 for just $2 when you buy a gift certificate through restaurant.com.

http://www.restaurant.com/microsite.asp?rid=381414&mcn=00085587

They frequently have codes that knock $5-$8 from the $10 price. (Right now the code is either FUN or VACATION for up to 80% off of the $10)

(Some of their fine print...Minimum 2 entrees. 18% Gratuity added prior to discount. Valid for Dinner ONLY. One certificate per table..)

So $29/adult dinner $13/child dinner. $71 - less $23 ($25 gift cert less $2), about $48 for two adults and one child at a character meal.

 

[jenjersnap]

I was sad when they discontinued the ice cream social at the Garden Grill for this very reason - it was a reasonably priced alternative for guests to sit and have characters come to them (very important to my family ... we do not like to wait in line for characters).

 

[Planogirl]

I agree with the OP that for a family the food options are all pretty expensive. Back in the day, we didn't have much money and we took 3 kids to WDW several times. We stayed off-site (no value resorts back then), ate most of our meals off-site and only ate a few times in Disney and those were special treats. I think if you plan you can give your kids a great Disney vacation even with a small budget. At the end of the day your kids just want to spend time with you. It's the parents that can make the vacation magical, not the place you eat.

Well said.

 

[MODisneyfan]

I was 16 the first time I went to Disney. I really was not ever exposed to Disney so I didn't miss a thing, I didn't know what to expect or anything. We ate CS the first 2 time that I went and never even knew that there was such things as Character meals. I was 27 before I had my first. ( I love them now) but I never would have noticed that I was missing anything. My nephew didn't. He met all the characters that he wanted and had an amazing time. Yes some of the meals are expensive but I believe that is why Disney has free dinning. It makes it easier for those that might not have the money to go to all those character meals to have that amazing experience.

 

[walkdmc]

LOL, I'm with the poster who didn't even know Disney restaurants existed until recently! I knew about the QS places but had no idea there were sit down places! I also remember when my parents took us when my brother and I were 8 and 10, about 28 years ago. They couldn't afford to buy us enough to drink at the park and my brother ended up dehydrated, needing IV fluids. I have no clue where we stayed back then, but you could bet it wasn't on property. Now, we stay Deluxe, get the DxDP, the whole enchilada.

I don't think my vacations now, with all the extra stuff, are any more special/magical than the vacations where my parents couldn't afford to keep us hydrated, LOL-I guess. I don't think kids notice those things.

 

[Sammie]

Honestly most kids could care less about where they eat at Disney World, its the parents that are into.

If you never told a child about CRT they would not miss it. Disney food is expensive and not that good.

The Counter service meals are very quickly catching up to the TS meals.

 

[julluvsdisney]

I can understand both sides of this! on one hand kids have no idea these meals exist unless they are brought into the resturant. Ive been going to disney since I was 4 yrs old and had not eaten at a resturant until I was 12. My parents would bring us to the ASMu to stay and we each got to each pick out one place to eat while we were there (its just my brother and I so 2 TS places in a 7 day period) all other meals were CS or stuff we brought with us. I never cared at all about the meals. I more or less cared about the mickey bars and cotten candy that I would see on main street. Kids want what they can see around them that other kids have. Not character meals that they dont know are out there. I didnt eat at a character meal, or even knew there was such a thing until we booked CP on our honeymoon 3 yrs ago when I was 25! So I dont feel I missed anything.

That being said I book alot of character meals for my kids so they can have the memories years from now. Plus it makes it easier to pass those same characters in the park and remind my kids that we just saw that character yesterday at breakfast. No waiting in long lines wasting valuble ride time. Also a nice inexpensive character meal is cape may at the beach club. I think its about 18 for an adult so 6 bucks more than the old country buffet I think thats do-able for most

Honestly I think disney at times can be high in some prices since we are captive but not on everything. I paid 12 for chicken fingers no fries or a drink at a concert last summer and something like 30 bucks to drive on the jersey turnpike. So disney prices I can handle!

 

[julluvsdisney]

Ps I grew up with alot of kids whose parents couldnt afford any vacations at all so I think I was very fortunate to have disney memories thanks mom and dad!!!

 

[marivaid]

You don't have to go to a character meal to see characters. You can meet characters for FREE at any park. If you don't want to wait in line, well THEN you have the option of having a character meal. But they come with a cost.

To be honest I find it hilarious to ask Disney to have a cheap character meal, in the castle of all places. CRT is probably one of their biggest money maker. WDW is not a charity, it's a business. Would you go to Universal and tell them, hey dude, my kid's dream is to see Hogwarts so can you make the IoA tickets half off ?

 

[TisBit]

As a kid we stayed offsite and ate offsite and I didn't know any better. As an adult I discovered the resorts/resort restaurants and the park table service restaurants. I was happy going to disney as a kid and didn't know what I was missing. Truth be told, kids don't even know there is a restaurant in the Castle, unless they are told.

As far as affordability, it is all about supply and demand. If they have cheap restaurants they will be packed (look at the CS places) and then people will complain how busy it is , etc etc. They will keep their prices set so they still attract people, but they don't have overwhelming demand that creates complaints.

We have come a long way in villifying business/corporations in this country. Some of it is justified and some of it is not. If you can put yourself in their shoes and had a business, of course you would want to maximize profits.....