Tired of paying $100+ for meals

[N.Bailey]

Hi,
My feelings are somewhat different than most here. We are a family of 4. DS is 13 and DD is 12, so they are both charged adult prices and they eat like birds.

I have a MAJOR problem paying over $80 for a character breakfast. I really do!!!! It's not like Disney has to pay Brittany Spears or a famous Hollywood celebrity to come to these character shows. They pay regular employees to put on a costume, then charge what I feel is a totally ridiculous price for breakfast. Breakfast? How is expensive is it to make a pancake?

I know Disney pulls at your heartstrings because it's Cindy, Pooh, Eeyore, or whomever, but still........

As for dinner, I live in central Pennsylvania with equates to Hicksville USA, and prices here are somewhat on the low side. We have to drive about an hour to get to the nearest SMALL city, and even there, the prices are on the lower end. So, being used to these types of prices, I tend to look for restaurants that I feel offer us something of value while eating at Disney. For right around $120, the 4 of us could eat at Ohana's at the Poly. I can handle that.

This year I think we're going to try the California Grill and I'm thinking it might be worthwhile to buy those $62 (or whatever they are) dinner vouchers. Wow, isn't it sad that those things might actually save us a few dollars??? To be honest, I'm thinking about buying them from home because I'm afraid I'd change my mind once at Disney and not go. If I have the voucher, I know we'd go.

 

[Mic]

I agree with you, Pam. But that being said, all of our dining costs have gone up. On our second trip to Disney, we purchased AP's for our entire family(2 adults/4 kids), and used the dining discounts associated with them as often as possible. Several restaurants offered a free kid's meal or dessert with each paying adult AP holder, an especially good deal at 'Ohana's, where 2 kids ate free. Back then, our total bill including tip was @$70. Our last bill there was $151 including tip 6 months ago. We tried almost every character meal there during our first 3-4 visits, so we don't need to do them again except for special occassions(like when we take first-timers). That has saved us considerably. We tend to have a few favorites that we have to do each trip, even though the cost keeps going up: Tony's, Teppanyaki, 'Ohana's, and RFC. Here at home, we are spending considerably more to dine out now that the kids are older. A family our size spends over $100 to eat at Outback, and more than $80 at Chili's. We loved the Olive Garden when the kids were small, but we spend over $60 for lunch there now, when the cost was half that a few years ago. The single best decision we made for Disney vacations was purchasing DVC. I'm not trying to pitch this in any way, but it has saved our family dining dollars. Not only do we have a kitchen, but we are staying in the nicer of the deluxes(in my opinion). We usually do breakfast in the room most days(with maybe 1 breakfast with Cinderella or the Princess Storybook breakfast at Epcot if we are staying at the Boardwalk each trip), lunch in the parks(is usually a little less expensive than dinner), and dinner is a combination of eating in the room and eating out. The dinners out are usually counter service for convenience(while watching Fantasmic or Illuminations). In most recent trips, I have budgeted $100-150 a day for our family, spending more some days, and less other days. Without my husband(or more specifically, without the cost of alcohol during meals), I spend even less, in the $65-85 range most days. And my kids don't feel like they miss anything. As a matter of fact, they hate staying in non-DVC rooms now, because with 6 people, we have a hard time deciding where to eat each meal out! Most evenings, they would rather have dinner in the room or pizza by the pool than stand in another line. While I won't deny that Disney prices have gone up considerably, I still find most of their counter-service meals a better value than the average hot dog/FF/soda meal at Carowinds. And Disney will let you carry in your own water bottle and snacks: we usually purchase one snack each per day in addition to meals, and carry in our own water/soda. Carowinds will not allow you to do this, and their park is dirty!

 

[marcyinPA]

We spend about the same amount of money on a nice meal at home, so I don't really feel like I'm paying more at Disney. What DOES bother me, though, is paying anywhere between $7-9 for a glass of wine!! That is just ridiculous, when you can go to the State Store and buy a decent bottle of wine for $10-12!!!

That gets me wondering, do they sell wine in the grocery stores down in FL?? (Might have to buy a bottle instead of getting a glass in a restaurant!)

 

[KELLY]

Im from southern Maine my husband and i went out for Dinner Friday Night at our Local Steak House way better than Outback. But any way 4 drinks 2 appertizers and 2 entress wich come with to sides way to much food we ate left overs Saturday and were Full close to 80.00 with tipping the waitress and the bartender. KELLY Average Grocery bill 125.00 for a week.

 

[madalex]

Originally posted by marcyinPA
We spend about the same amount of money on a nice meal at home, so I don't really feel like I'm paying more at Disney. What DOES bother me, though, is paying anywhere between $7-9 for a glass of wine!! That is just ridiculous, when you can go to the State Store and buy a decent bottle of wine for $10-12!!!

Caveat: I am not in the restaurant business, but am a wine person and the economics of restaurant wine pricing is a common topic for discussion on some other discussion boards in which I participate. Thus, based on hearsay, I offer the following:

By the glass pricing is where many restaurants make lots of money. A bottle of wine should yield 4 - 6 glasses of wine. Often, the "glass" price is equal to the wholesale price for the whole bottle, so that the restaurant makes a 300% - 500% profit on the bottle (this is restaurants in general and not just Disney).

By comparison, a bottle of wine will be often priced at 200% - 250% of the wholesale price, so that buying the bottle (assuming you are going to drink it) is more economical than buying wine by the glass.

That being said, while I think the food in the high end restaurants is priced relatively reasonably, Disney's wine pricing does appear to be at the upper end of the range for what is "normal."

 

[SlightlyGoofy]

Hi people! I read many posts where people are spending a hundred or more on each and every meal. We seldom spend over $50 for the both of us on property. We are blue collar type people and really don't care much for formal. I pay for ambience but insist that the food be good also.

If spending big bucks makes you resentful afterward it is not worth it. If, however, you enjoy the food and have good memories and do not have to put it on a credit card that will require you to spend the next year paying it all off, it is a good thing. Different strokes for different folks and appetites.

We joke when we are headed home about being back in the 'real world' as the prices are so much less than they were on property. Funny that they did not seem so cheap on the way down. LOL

Seems to me that the early closing times of the parks have made it much easier and possible for people to go to eat off property more.

I spend a hundred dollars a week for our groceries back home, including eating out but that is only because diet food is so darned expensive. I got food for free for many years which is why I have to diet now. LOL

Anyone have a list of which restaurants they feel are worthwhile moneywise? Ones that combine good food with Disney magic?

Slightly Goofy

 

[PamNC]

Good question Slightly Goofy - asking what restaurants folks feel is worth the $$ due to the magic and combo of good food of course. I think Ohana is a good one. And, the Garden Grille at the Land. Le Cellier is another one.

Here's a for instance of my dismay with this $100+ per meal. For years, my DH and I couldn't WAIT to eat at Yachtsman Steakhouse and we didn't care that it was expensive. I think for us it was about $80 - now this was years ago. So, we skipped a year and went back. The bill was over $100 - and that's no appetizer, no dessert and no alcohol. I couldn't believe it - so although we love the place dearly we haven't been back.

I liked the idea of DVC - that's a good thought. Thank you - I forgot the poster's name. You do get to stay at a deluxe quality resort that way and you get a kitchen.

The whole catch to this is althoug we're certainly not rich, we're not poor either and we can certainly afford these meals. I'm just having a hard time justifying it and I am starting to feel a little resentful about it afterwards.

I think the answer for us will be to try the FW cabins, since we want to stay there for other reasons. And, when we want to stay at our favorites...Poly and YC/BC...we can split some meals and do some off-property meals. I think it would be fun an adventurous to try some non-Disney restaurants.

Oh yeah - a poster mentioned breakfast. I'm not even talking about a character breakfast (which is ridiculously priced!) but a yummy breakfast at Kona Cafe for the two of us is over $30. Good grief.

Another reason I think the cost is bothering me is because my DH and I love to cook and we're quite good at it IMHO - so sometimes food from a restaurant isn't as good as our own. And breafast...that's another story. we live on a farm and have our own chickens. The eggs can't be beat - anytime I order eggs from a restaurant I'm quite disappointed. I guess that's why I order tonga toast...

Thanks for all the opinions. I've enjoyed this.

PamNC

 

[DiznEeyore]

We are a family of 3 and also can't bring ourselves to cough up $100 for meals at Disney -- even our character meals are a better deal, esp. when we do them for breakfast.

We never eat anywhere "fancy" anyway, so we don't feel like we're missing anything. We own DVC and are all picky eaters, so we love the ability of cooking in our villa. And even if we do counter service, dh and I often split. Come to think of it, we often split at sit-down places, too, or get kids' meals. I know that doesn't work for everyone, but it sure helps our budget!

 

[madalex]

Originally posted by PamNC

Here's a for instance of my dismay with this $100+ per meal. For years, my DH and I couldn't WAIT to eat at Yachtsman Steakhouse and we didn't care that it was expensive. I think for us it was about $80 - now this was years ago. So, we skipped a year and went back. The bill was over $100 - and that's no appetizer, no dessert and no alcohol. I couldn't believe it - so although we love the place dearly we haven't been back.

PamNC -

As other posters have said - if you are not happy or comfortable paying these prices for a meal, then that is all that matters and you should definitely find somewhere else on or off property to eat.

I also understand that $100 for what sounds like two entrees and two cokes is a lot of money.

However, that being said, I am curious about your "dismay." Does it arise because prices have gone up so quickly (from your post, it wasn't completely clear to me whether the jump from $80 to $100 was over a two year span or a many year span)? Or is there some other reason?

 

[SlightlyGoofy]

Pam, I am like you in that we can afford but it is what we chose to afford that matters. We do without nothing that we need and little that we want but watch what we spend.

We usually only eat one meal in the park and have a simple breakfast in the room and something at night. We go to a lot of the buffets. We enjoy Bomba's, Hollywood & Vine, Biergarten and thre revolving restaurant in the land. Looking forward to trying O'Hana's this trip as we are meeting friends there. Good friends can make any meal delicious and since my friend is an avid Diser I am sure that the food and atmosphere will be great also. I can only handle one large meal a day anyway.

We like food that we cannot get at home as there is no way that a restaurant can match good home cooking. LOL

There are so many levels and varieties of food places at DW that you can find just about anything you want. I keep telling myself that the high prices of food and tickets are to pay, in part, for all the little amenities that we find through out the property. Makes it make more sense and does not hurt so much then. (smile)

See you in September as we are headed that way! LOL

Slightly Goofy/Linda

 

[crisi]

Brunch at my club, with no characters costs $20.00 for adults, $11.00 for children. Holidays are more.

Character meals are a bargain.

I think it depends on what you are used to. Character meals are expensive if your breakfast comparison is Perkins. They are not expensive if you are comparing them to Easter brunch at a hotel in a large or medium city.

 

[madalex]

Originally posted by crisi

I think it depends on what you are used to. Character meals are expensive if your breakfast comparison is Perkins. They are not expensive if you are comparing them to Easter brunch at a hotel in a large or medium city.

This applies to all other meals as well. Disney has literally a hundred or more options which will allow one to eat at a wide variety of price points and certainly for less than $100/meal for two people. The original post, however, had to do with "nice, full service meals" and specifically referenced Artist Pointe, California Grill, Yachtsman Steakhouse and Narcooses's - all of which are among the best, but also the most expensive, restaurants at WDW. As I have posted above, I think those restaurants do provide "value" for the money, relative to the cost of other fine dining restaurants in the "real world".

 

[bballmom56]

This is an interesting topic. People spend an incredible amount of money for a Disney vacation. That includes hotel, airfare, transportation (rental car or car service), park admission, and of course, food. All of the categories except food seem to have a variety of discounts available. Most people on these boards don't pay "rack rate" for their accomodations since they are very knowledgable about codes and discounts. We would not be staying at the Swan without the teacher discount. Airfare seems to have a variety of options with different airports and different airlines. Rental cars have more discount codes than I can count. Park admission can be bought at lower than gate prices. But dining at Disney World does not have many discounts (except for AP or DVC members). The price they state is the price you pay. We are looking forward to trying many places that I've read about here on the boards - Le Cellier, Rose and Crown, Biergarten, Crystal Palace, Liberty Tree Tavern, Trails End, Beaches and Cream. Most of those are either buffet or family style which will probably suit us well as DD20 is not a huge eater and DS15 is a picky eater. At Le Cellier and Rose and Crown, maybe we will share meals. I will also purchase some breakfast vouchers and Q&C vouchers to help reduce cost. I agree that $16.99 for breakfast is obscene, but as long as it's all you can eat, I can deal with it. This is Disney - nothing is cheap! At least I have the information well before our trip as to the cost of every restaurant so it doesn't ruin the meal for me .

We are in the NY metro area, so maybe we are used to higher prices. But since we haven't been to Disney World in 11 years, I've saved extra money so we can do some of these places.

Obviously there are enough people willing to pay the prices or they would come down. Would I prefer to pay less? Absolutely. Will I let the current prices affect my plans? Not for this trip, since I have all the prices in advance, I can budget for it. If we went several times a year, or every year, or every other year I would probably feel differently. But once every 11 years, I'll cope !

 

[Belle5]

Pam,
I think you will love the cabins in FW. I love to hang out on the front porch at Trail's End with a beverage and I find the General Stores to be very charming. I really don't like to cook on vacation. I would rather sleep cheap and eat well.

 

[cudworth]

Our family very rarely eats out we take out chinese or pizza or grab a qiuck burger but even that is rare its not that we don't have the cash its that we dont have the time to sit down at a restaurant to have a meal it is qiucker when you have to run kids to fiqure skating and hockey and gymnastics to eat at home , So for us it is a treat to eat at a counter service place . Our only Ps this year is our Fantasmic dinner at Hollywood and Vine .

 

[xanman]

Maybe you really do enjoy the meals and can afford them, but 100 just is the line that your mind refuses to cross. I know I am that way about some things, I can pay just so much for somethings and that is it, I just can't enjoy them if I spend more, even though I can afford it. Freud would probably have many theories about this.
We love being able to have a kitchen whether at FW or elsewhere, even if you just use it to store and reheat your doggie bags.
Part of what we love about our DW trips is the fact that there are sooooo many really good little hole in the wall (translate CHEAP) locally owned restaurants. There are tons of ethnic specialty places to eat with great food, look in the yellow pages for deli's too. Also since you are so near the coast and like to cook, you really should check out the fish and seafood markets. FW cabins come with a charcoal grill outside, so you have that to use also, "throw some shrimp on the barbie" etc.
You can order desserts to go from the restaurants, cook dinner, and have your favorite sweets for dessert while you leave the dishes for the maid to clean up! (My personal favorite part of FW)

 

[AuroraluvsPhillip]

Our first stay at the Disney resorts we stayed at the FW cabins and we did save a lot of food money. We bought breakfast stuff and ate in before we hit the parks. We ate dinner outside the parks each night and saved there too, but it was because our kids were really small with the appetites to match, so I couldn't justify spending the bucks to eat in the park. We did do a couple of buffets with the characters for the kids and the HDDR which was nothing special as far as the food went, we did it for the show. We knew this though, from reading the Unofficial Guide, so we were prepared.

If you've hit all the nice restaurants in WDW, you could probably hit a few Orlando area restaurants too for dinner, nicer ones if you like. I don't know the cost comparisons however.

This trip we made 3 PS's to try out for dinner, so we'll see. My daughter is now 14 and will try anything so I figure it's ok to up the food budget now. We'll see. I've never eaten in WDW, except for a couple of WS restaurants on our honeymoon 20 years ago...hmmm, what a coincidence, I just realized I'm heading back to WDW after 20 years of marriage..if I mention it I wonder if I'll get a prize?? <LOL>

 

[Jockaroo]

PamNC,

We are pretty close so I understand what you mean about the prices. It is just the two of us so $100 is quite a bit for a sit down meal. We've never reached that point though at WDW. We typically limit ourselves to the $$$ and under places and skip the $$$$ places. We don't order mixed drinks or wine with our meals either and that cuts our prices.

That said, we do pick a few of our favorites, typically WS places and eat lunches. The portions are still more than we can eat. We find this does save us some money. I don't care if I have a hot dog for lunch or dinner, so why not dinner--the dog costs the same and I save $. One of our most expensive meals last year was our 'Ohana feast. Although the price was set, we had excellent service and left a nice tip for our server. I don't think twice about rewarding good service. Since we try to stay 10-12 days each trip, we space out our meals. We did draw the line at the $17 for breakfast with Donald (hubby's fav.) and ate much cheaper at Kona Cafe. We will definately repeat this experience!

Even though the prices do bother me, I will say that I have rarely been disappointed with the quality of my meals or the portion sizes. Although a cheapskate at heart, I feel I get a good value from counter to buffet to sit-down. I just can't make that jump to the $$$$ places though.

 

[AdventurerKat]

And even if we go to a nicer restaurant, if I am just having a meal and a cocktail, the bill doesn't get that high because I don't order steak, lobster, that kind of stuff, you know...expensive!

But I think if it did, I probably wouldn't care much for paying that either.

 

[undertheradar]

We are doing this our upcoming June trip. We are staying at GF for two nights and then getting realistic and staying at FWC for 3 nights. It is "trying" to justify the dollars charged for meals. We will do 2 days of Disney dining and then do bkst and dinner in the cabin, buying lunch in the parks. As a family of five- 2A-1J-2C, we cannot justify the added expense of disney meals for an extended vacation.