We Didn't Give Disney All Our Food Money

[lugnut33]

I dont own stock in Disney..however...its annoying to listen to someone justify their reasoning..Just be truthful....money was a factor..we found it cheaper to do it this way..that is ok..that is AWESOME!!! That works. However, when you start with...the quality of food is terrible..then you talk about eating dinner at Wetzels Pretzels...umm..then quality of food isnt your issue..cost is...when you start bashing the transportation system because it cant get you to your meals quick enough...thats not true. Just tell the truth..cost is the factor and thats that. Which is TOTALLY FINE!!! Dont make excuses and justify it..its silly.

Hey, go back and read the first post and read it more carefully. I never said that Disney food was "terrible". I think at one point in this thread I said there were good places to eat at WDW also, matter of fact we ate counter service meals and did two really nice restaurants at WDW.

As for transportation, it's sooo much easier with a rental car for us. We sometimes use that car to go to other Florida attractions. Oh the horror!!

 

[lugnut33]

I think this is where people are getting confused. Your posts are full of contradictions...

It is tacky, but sometimes tacky is cute, just ask Zsa Zsa Gabor.

I havn't contradicted myself.

 

[zales127]

Hey, go back and read the first post and read it more carefully. I never said that Disney food was "terrible". I think at one point in this thread I said there were good places to eat at WDW also, matter of fact we ate counter service meals and did two really nice restaurants at WDW.

As for transportation, it's sooo much easier with a rental car for us. We sometimes use that car to go to other Florida attractions. Oh the horror!!

Thats great. Then the title of your thread should have not been about not giving money to Disney for food..it should have been more about the convenience of having your own transportation.

 

[lugnut33]

Thats great. Then the title of your thread should have not been about not giving money to Disney for food..it should have been more about the convenience of having your own transportation.

Ummm, no because I saved a lot of money by not eating at Disney table service restaurants. Disney didn't get my whole food budget eventhough that's exactly what they want.

Seriously, are you just trying to argue for arguments sake? I laid out exactly what we did in the first post and we saved a lot of money, if you don't like that then keep doing what you want. However, there might be some people on these boards that are simply tired of overpaying for their table service meals at Disney. Notice I have not said the quick service places are expensive.

 

[Aunt Bee]

Hi Aunt Bee!

Say "HEY!" to Goober for me!




(Love your screen name! )

I'll sure tell him "hi", as soon as he gets back from WDW. He, Gomer and Barney can't stay away from that place... By they way, they LOVE the food there but always carry a few sardines and crackers for when they run out of money....

Aunt Bee

 

[lin7]

I dont own stock in Disney..however...its annoying to listen to someone justify their reasoning..Just be truthful....money was a factor..we found it cheaper to do it this way..that is ok..that is AWESOME!!! That works. However, when you start with...the quality of food is terrible..then you talk about eating dinner at Wetzels Pretzels...umm..then quality of food isnt your issue..cost is...when you start bashing the transportation system because it cant get you to your meals quick enough...thats not true. Just tell the truth..cost is the factor and thats that. Which is TOTALLY FINE!!! Dont make excuses and justify it..its silly.

I coudlnt agree with you more.

If eating dinner at Wetzels Pretzels isnt an issue, that means quality isnt an issue either. What's an issue is the cost, if it were not cost the op would have ate at Boma cause they "love" it.

I think if the original poster simply said you know we ate off site to save money, a lot of people would applaud him. But when he starts bashing on the food, then claiming to love a certain place yet refusing to go there, then its' not an issue of quality, but rather cost.

If this thread was simply about saving money and didnt have contradicting comments then there would be a lot of support.

For us the ddp works cause we're all big eaters, we want table service, we want signature dining. We dont like getting in lines for food. @ 80 dollars each a day it's worth the price for us. We dont have to worry about paying anything out of pocket in terms of snacks or drinks during the day. There's nothing wrong with budgeting, we do that too. Just that when we're on holidays we dont want to worry about budgeting. That's why we pay to stay on property, we pay for the dining plan ahead of time.

 

[lugnut33]

I coudlnt agree with you more.

If eating dinner at Wetzels Pretzels isnt an issue, that means quality isnt an issue either. What's an issue is the cost, if it were not cost the op would have ate at Boma cause they "love" it.

I think if the original poster simply said you know we ate off site to save money, a lot of people would applaud him. But when he starts bashing on the food, then claiming to love a certain place yet refusing to go there, then its' not an issue of quality, but rather cost.

If this thread was simply about saving money and didnt have contradicting comments then there would be a lot of support.

For us the ddp works cause we're all big eaters, we want table service, we want signature dining. We dont like getting in lines for food. @ 80 dollars each a day it's worth the price for us. We dont have to worry about paying anything out of pocket in terms of snacks or drinks during the day. There's nothing wrong with budgeting, we do that too. Just that when we're on holidays we dont want to worry about budgeting. That's why we pay to stay on property, we pay for the dining plan ahead of time.

<superfacepalm>

I did not BASH the food!! Where did I bash the WDW food in this thread? Now you two are making stuff up.

And for the second time, we had Wetzels pretzels because we had just come out of La Noube and it was after 8 pm. It's not like it was a choice between Wetzels Pretzels and Boma. It was a choice of any of the DTD restaurants and we decided to have hotdogs. Is that such a terrible thing? Besides, we were able to eat there for under $35 as opposed to a $200 meal at Boma. I have never compared Boma to Wetzels Pretzels, you and zales are doing that.

For us the choice was Boma or Bistro de Paris, we chose Bistro which is also a Disney restaurant. That is where we decided to spend a lot of money. Are you saying that since I'm at Disney I should blow as much money as possible on every meal?

And yes it's a combination of cost and quality. I can pay a lot less money to get the same or better food off-site. That's how you save money and that is what I've said since the opening post. Here is my opening paragraph, tell me where the bashing is, and notice I even mention cost!!

Several months ago I made a post about how I wouldn't eat on-site because I thought the cost for the table service restaurants and the dining plans was too costly. I just didn't see the value in the cost. I took a lot of heat for those comments, but am glad to say we didn't eat any table service meals during our 10 day trip to WDW. We are 4 "adults" (two kids, but Disney considers them adults)

 

[zales127]

Several months ago I made a post about how I wouldn't eat on-site because I thought the cost for the table service restaurants and the dining plans was too costly. I just didn't see the value in the cost. I took a lot of heat for those comments, but am glad to say we didn't eat any table service meals during our 10 day trip to WDW. We are 4 "adults" (two kids, but Disney considers them adults)

For breakfast we basically at cereal or cereal bars in the villa, along with juice. We are not big breakfast eaters. I can't imagine our breakfast cost more than a total of $10 per day.

For lunch we had a combination of quick service meals and food back in our villa. We ate at places like Sunshine Seasons, Tortuga Tavern (twice because we felt it's a good deal), and Cosmic Rays. We never spent over $50 for our meals at the quick service locations. Our lunches in the villas consisted of sandwiches, chips, and lots of fresh fruit. Those meals were not over $15 total.

For dinner we basically ate offsite or back in the villa. Our offsite locations were Sweet Tomatoes, Giordano's Pizza, Wetzels Pretzels, and House of Blues. We used a combination of dining.com gift certificates, DVC discounts, and restaurant coupons to keep each meal below $40 total. When we ate dinner in the villa it was easy stuff like pasta, sandwiches, fresh fruit, chicken which wouldn't cost more than $15 total to make.

We did eat two meals at signature restaurants, Jiko ($140 for a mom and dad dinner with a bottle of wine) and Bistro de Paris ($238 all 4 of us). They were really good, and actually not that much more than a dinner character buffet.

We always rent a vehicle no matter what, but if you want to include that cost it was $250 for the 10 days.

Add that all up, throw in some extra costs for snacks in the park, and I'm pretty sure we are right around the $100 per day average. Considering a quick service plan would have cost us $140 per day and the basic plan would have cost $184, I think we saved ourselves a lot of money. Plus it's my little way of protesting the degradation of dining at WDW due to the dining plan.

<superfacepalm>

I did not BASH the food!! Where did I bash the WDW food in this thread? Now you two are making stuff up.

And for the second time, we had Wetzels pretzels because we had just come out of La Noube and it was after 8 pm. It's not like it was a choice between Wetzels Pretzels and Boma. It was a choice of any of the DTD restaurants and we decided to have hotdogs. Is that such a terrible thing? Besides, we were able to eat there for under $35 as opposed to a $200 meal at Boma. I have never compared Boma to Wetzels Pretzels, you and zales are doing that.

For us the choice was Boma or Bistro de Paris, we chose Bistro which is also a Disney restaurant. That is where we decided to spend a lot of money. Are you saying that since I'm at Disney I should blow as much money as possible on every meal?

And yes it's a combination of cost and quality. I can pay a lot less money to get the same or better food off-site. That's how you save money and that is what I've said since the opening post. Here is my opening paragraph, tell me where the bashing is, and notice I even mention cost!!

Thats just 1 statement in your opening thread. Just one.

 

[lin7]

I guess if money is a huge factor that is the smart thing to do. For many including myself the dining experiences at disney are one of the biggest reasons we go to disney in the first place. I also pretty much despise leaving disney property for any reason during my vacation. The rest of orlando is just so tacky/touristy. Def smart to avoid the character meals though bc they are by far the worst value on property unless you have little kids

It had nothing to do with money. It has to do with me not accepting the prices that Disney is charging for the meal you get. I'm upset that the dining plan is ruining dining at WDW.

It's quite easy to get offsite. From Animal Kingdom lodge it's just a couple of minutes to the Irlo Bronson Hwy. Not that big a deal. Oh, and one day we went and spent the day at New Smyrna Beach, which was a lot of fun. The kids loved it. We found a fresh fish store/restaurant and had an incredible meal, for around $50 total.

Initially you claim that money isnt an issue, and now slowly you are accepting it is an issue.

Point is, if you had just accepted that fact, than for those of us that want to save money we'd follow suit. But when you make contradicting claims that's when people are pick apart your comments. Your comments wouldnt make a big deal if you hadnt defended urself saying that it has nothing to do with the money, when in every way it has everything to do with money.

 

[lugnut33]

Thats just 1 statement in your opening thread. Just one.

Yeah, and how is that comment bashing?

Everyone knows there has been a degradation of the dining at WDW due to the dining plan. They keep charging you more and more, taking things away (appetizer and gratuity to name two of them) and making the menu more basic and homoginized. That is fact.

You must have also missed this comment I made:

Don't get me wrong, there are good places to eat at WDW, and I certainly don't begrudge anyone who gets the dining plan.

 

[lugnut33]

Initially you claim that money isnt an issue, and now slowly you are accepting it is an issue.

Point is, if you had just accepted that fact, than for those of us that want to save money we'd follow suit. But when you make contradicting claims that's when people are pick apart your comments. Your comments wouldnt make a big deal if you hadnt defended urself saying that it has nothing to do with the money, when in every way it has everything to do with money.

How can you say that when in my first post I mention saving money is an issue and it's why we did what we did?

Could we afford to eat at Bistro de Paris for every meal, yes we could. That's why money isn't an issue, because we have enough to do whatever the heck we want to. Just like you paying $80 a person for the deluxe plan, that's OK, you have the money to do it. However, I'm not going to call you cheap if you decide to pass on buying that expensive souvineer.

 

[lin7]

<superfacepalm>

I did not BASH the food!! Where did I bash the WDW food in this thread? Now you two are making stuff up.

And for the second time, we had Wetzels pretzels because we had just come out of La Noube and it was after 8 pm. It's not like it was a choice between Wetzels Pretzels and Boma. It was a choice of any of the DTD restaurants and we decided to have hotdogs. Is that such a terrible thing? Besides, we were able to eat there for under $35 as opposed to a $200 meal at Boma. I have never compared Boma to Wetzels Pretzels, you and zales are doing that.

For us the choice was Boma or Bistro de Paris, we chose Bistro which is also a Disney restaurant. That is where we decided to spend a lot of money. Are you saying that since I'm at Disney I should blow as much money as possible on every meal?

And yes it's a combination of cost and quality. I can pay a lot less money to get the same or better food off-site. That's how you save money and that is what I've said since the opening post. Here is my opening paragraph, tell me where the bashing is, and notice I even mention cost!!

No it's not a horrible thing to be eating hot dogs, anyone who claims they've never had a hot dog is simply lying.

But fact is you preach on quality, and what a lot of us have a problem is you complain about the quality of food at Disney, yet you're eating hot dogs on vacation for dinner when there's so many other choices. As I stated before, it's not quality you're seeking for, it's rather being cost effective.

It's a different matter if you say, we're not picky eaters, we can sacrifice eating on site for a better deal off site. We dont mind not eating snacks from a gas station cause at the end of the day we were smart and saved money.

 

[lugnut33]

No it's not a horrible thing to be eating hot dogs, anyone who claims they've never had a hot dog is simply lying.

But fact is you preach on quality, and what a lot of us have a problem is you complain about the quality of food at Disney, yet you're eating hot dogs on vacation for dinner when there's so many other choices. As I stated before, it's not quality you're seeking for, it's rather being cost effective.

It's a different matter if you say, we're not picky eaters, we can sacrifice eating on site for a better deal off site. We dont mind not eating snacks from a gas station cause at the end of the day we were smart and saved money.

I'm sorry, but I have went back and read all my posts and nowhere do I see me harping on quality of the food. I see me saying an awful lot about the cost of the food for the quality one is getting. Like I've said, it's a combination. Please go back and point out specifically where I have ripped on food quality?

I did say I was disappointed in Chef Mickey's, but that was because of the cost of the meal didn't match the quality of the food. I've been pretty straight forward about that. I was fine with paying $238 at Bistro because the food and experience were worth it.

I could rip on Cosmic Rays if you want me to. Worst meal I have ever encountered and I actually tracked down a manager to get a refund on a meal that both my daughter and I coudn't eat. It was the bbq rib platter. Stick with the burgers and chicken nuggets there is what I'd suggest.

 

[zales127]

Im confused. Its about saving money..its not...its about quality of food..its not...its about time..its not...I think its time for me to tap out cause Im just getting more confused.

 

[lugnut33]

Im confused. Its about saving money..its not...its about quality of food..its not...its about time..its not...I think its time for me to tap out cause Im just getting more confused.

I have explained myself a million times now, it's a combination. The quality of the food (and sevice) has to match or exceed the price. It's pretty simple unless you are used to overpaying or not aware that you are overpaying.

Most people got it.

 

[wezee]

I can honestly say...good for you, but not my kind of vacation.
1. DH and I enjoy the Disney dining experience.
2. We also enjoy a cocktail or wine with dinner and do not drink and
drive...thus really appreciate Disney transportation.
3. I refuse to cook on vacation.
4. I can have cereal and poptarts for breakfast at home.
5. We go to Disney to leave reality...Mickey take me away!
6. Finally....we plan and save for this vacation all year....
kinda like a hobby for us. I'M not interested in Disney politics.
Just give me my Mickey bar and I am content.

 

[zales127]

I have explained myself a million times now, it's a combination. The quality of the food (and sevice) has to match or exceed the price. It's pretty simple unless you are used to overpaying or not aware that you are overpaying.

Most people got it.

LOL..nice dig..there are a lot of things that I "dont get" about your experiences..but to each their own. Hopefully people wont be detered by your post..they wont think that the service is bad and transportation is bad because its not. The food is great...grant it, its no Wetzels Pretzels but its good food.


But that is coming from someone who wont skimp on her kids experiences so me and dad can go out and spend 140.00 on dinner for 2 and a bottle of wine...just sayin.

 

[zales127]

I can honestly say...good for you, but not my kind of vacation.
1. DH and I enjoy the Disney dining experience.
2. We also enjoy a cocktail or wine with dinner and do not drink and
drive...thus really appreciate Disney transportation.
3. I refuse to cook on vacation.
4. I can have cereal and poptarts for breakfast at home.
5. We go to Disney to leave reality...Mickey take me away!
6. Finally....we plan and save for this vacation all year....
kinda like a hobby for us. I'M not interested in Disney politics.
Just give me my Mickey bar and I am content.

I <3 you!

 

[lugnut33]

LOL..nice dig..there are a lot of things that I "dont get" about your experiences..but to each their own. Hopefully people wont be detered by your post..they wont think that the service is bad and transportation is bad because its not. The food is great...grant it, its no Wetzels Pretzels but its good food.


But that is coming from someone who wont skimp on her kids experiences so me and dad can go out and spend 140.00 on dinner for 2 and a bottle of wine...just sayin.

That's funny, the kids forced us to go to Jiko because we hardly ever go out alone. Normally it's all about the kids.

Of course, I could say we prefer to spend our family money on expericences other than stuffing our faces, but I won't. I have no problem with people who want to go on the DDP, or the deluxe dining plan and eat. No place have I said any different nor have I ripped on Disney in the way you seem to think I have. You have yet to provide me with one shred of evidence to anything you have said I said.

I have no clue why anybody would be deterred by what I have said because at no point have I said the food is horrible nor the Disney transportation system is bad. You keep inferring things that have not been said.

Now, if you have a serious problem either report me to a mod or PM me.

 

[Mom of 2 Wife of 1]

The bottom line is this... Disney won and Lugnut33 lost. The OP thinks they told off Disney and showed them that they didn't get all of their money. They think they've found a way to speak with their wallet. What the OP doesn't realize is that they still spent a lot of money at WDW. And whether the OP has day-tickets or an AP, they wasted perfectly good time on their precious vacation going off-site to eat or retreating back to their villa just to save $XX per day.

When you're on vacation, time is more important than money. You can always make more money, but you will never get back the time you've either lost or squandered. This is not a crack against people who can't afford better. I'm not talking about them. The OP admitted in a PP that they could afford better, but that they chose not to do so. As a result, they lost. They just don't get it. They refuse to see why and most likely always will. It was their vacation and they basically said to their family, "Sorry, but you're just not worth it." It's not a matter of personal opinion. It's simple math, and for that matter, emotion you feel for your loved ones. They lost. Disney won.

I also find it ironic how the OP has spent all these pages arguing their point and not describing or posting pictures of what a wonderful time they had. Sadly, I think that says everything right there.

P.S. Disney won.