What COST took you by suprise?

[tink_n_pooh]

Costs at WDW seem reasonable compared to sporting events

I agree with PP's who have said that the prices of toiletries and meds are ridiculous. It seems like every trip we end up purchasing something

 

[LJD2143]

The first and only time I was ever surprised by the cost of something was just a couple of weeks ago at the bar in Yak & Yeti. I asked for a cup of coffe with a shot of Baileys without knowing the price....it was small and it was $9.50! I guess I was expecting the price of a cup of coffe plus a couple extra dollars for the shot.

 

[kathy884]

DH had a conference at the Contemporary resort. One evening he just ordered room service for dinner and room service for one was $56. His company paid for his dinner, but ouch -- That just seems outrageous.

 

[summermac]

I am also in awe at the price of the character buffets. This will be our last time doing them b/c on our next trip my son will likely be 10 and I am not paying that price for 3 adults. No way. As it is, we opted for a breakfast and a lunch to decrease cost a little bit.

 

[bababear_50]

I love this thread

I just jumped up and grabbed a LARGE baggie ,
Hair twisties
bandaids
mole skin
nail clippers
nail file
small pair scissors
talc powder/Gold Bond
extra razors
Zantac 150
Advil
Tylenol
Tylenol Cold and Flu
Neocitran
small pouch tissues
polysporin
extra toothbrush
dental floss
hairbrush
pen

I I just know I'll still end up needing something from the gift shop

Hugs Mel

 

[Redarrow5150]

Tips for servers even if your on the DP. I paid the customary 15-20% on the bill but it still was an eye opener to see what we paid.

 

[Disney_Princess83]

I can honestly say all the costs took us by surprise, however for us it was because of how cheap things were. For all the food at Disney was incredibly cheap. For the portion size, we would pay double here at least. All the food for us was like that and we were lucky, we could share alot of snacks and counter service meals because the size was so big.

 

[kerplop]

I wouldn't say that I was surprised necessarily by the costs, but by the people buying them. My mom wanted a hat to keep the sun out of her face at AK and I told her just go in and buy a cap, charge it to the room. And she came back with a hat that was $30

 

[Squidgyness]

Coming from England... probably the cost of the holiday itself.

We priced up rooms at various disney resorts, looked at the food plan (which we don't want to do anyway) and no matter what we tried it wound up being too expensive. Primary reason is we were 4 adults (= 2 rooms.) Ended up staying offsite in a basic but perfectly functional suite.

Might not go again for a while (Neither me or my sister want kids, financial issues etc) but what shocked us on last trip was:

Drinks. We went in July = thirsty all the time. Still, we all knew what to expect. Our cinemas are just as expensive anyway.

Clothes. Can't really understand why certain items are much more expensive than others, they seem the same amount and quality but can be 10-15 dollars more.

Lastly, long haul flights cost the earth. Total cost of holiday package (flights and hotel) staying offsite was $6500 for 14 nights. I still think that was a good deal in comparison to some other places though.

This year we went to Malta in the Med, 4 star luxury hotel for 7 nights was $4000 for 4 of us, but it was still a fab holiday. One thing I noticed was the price of drinks was much much cheaper there than in Florida. (Not even just in WDW.)

 

[18sprint]

Golf Shirts. Been trying to play at least one round of golf each time we go now and I always say that I am going to buy a shirt from each course. Was at Osprey Ridge last fall and the best price I could find was $100! Just couldn't bring myself to spend this much just because it had a patch on it.

 

[rapunzels]

I love this thread

I just jumped up and grabbed a LARGE baggie ,
Hair twisties
bandaids
mole skin
nail clippers
nail file
small pair scissors
talc powder/Gold Bond
extra razors
Zantac 150
Advil
Tylenol
Tylenol Cold and Flu
Neocitran
small pouch tissues
polysporin
extra toothbrush
dental floss
hairbrush
pen

I I just know I'll still end up needing something from the gift shop

Hugs Mel

According to your list, you'll be purchasing the gift shop sunscreen.

 

[MrRomance]

1. Turkey Legs - Seriously $9+! It has been 4 years since our last trip but I was shocked by that.

2. Drinks at Jelly Rolls - I agree with the PP

 

[Midnyghtchilde]

The bellydance hip scarves/tops/skirts (the ones with coins on them) in Morrocco.

They want 30$ for those coin hip scarves. Seriously, those are 8$ scarves when bought online. I'm a bellydancer, and those chiffon ones are nice, but they cheapest you can get anywhere! We buy them in bulk for groups and classes and then they drop to about 5.50$-6.00$ a piece. I marvel at those every time I am there.

 

[job09]

Paying full price meals for my disney "adult" son who eats like a bird!

 

[Jenngoofys]

I love this thread

I just jumped up and grabbed a LARGE baggie ,
Hair twisties
bandaids
mole skin
nail clippers
nail file
small pair scissors
talc powder/Gold Bond
extra razors
Zantac 150
Advil
Tylenol
Tylenol Cold and Flu
Neocitran
small pouch tissues
polysporin
extra toothbrush
dental floss
hairbrush
pen

I I just know I'll still end up needing something from the gift shop

Hugs Mel

Q-tips and toothpaste might help LOL

I pack a pharmacy in my luggage, without fail we need it!! At the end of a long day the Tylenol/Advil is wonderful for aching bodies! My niece needed childrens tylenol, Aunt Jenny was a hero My daughters friend had a headache Guess who helped? Me!! I have only had one time where I had to buy Nyquil and believe me I would have payed $100+ for it that night easy lol But thats another whole story!!

I view the character meals as a great time saver!! I can eat my meal while the characters come to me for a Picture and Autograph. That saves me around1/2 hour or more per character in the parks!! Thats 2 1/2 hours extra for me per meal!! I mean Im going to be eating any way so why not multitask LOL Not to mention some you may have a hard time finding in the parks, if at all. So if I do Chef Mickeys, CRT, and Crystal Palace I have saved myself 7+ hours!!! I have just given myself another whole day in the parks or to rest!! Woohoo!!! Im not standing in a line with the sun frying me to a crisp, kids getting upset waiting, parents getting upset waiting, Im relaxed eating my meal while they come to me!! Doesnt get much better than that.

 

[patti92517]

Everything, but I knew to expect double prices than anything at home.

 

[ABCD's Mom]

I also didn't understand the post about the antenna toppers.
They had some at my local Disney Store last year and they were only about $3.00. They were the same price the last time I was at WDW too. For my $ that is one cheap souvenior.

I thought the same thing...cute, cheap souvenirs!! Nice little WDW gifts for everyone in my family (that didn't go...LOL)!

WDW souvenirs are expensive, but I agree...if you go to a sporting event, concert, etc ...you'll find that everything (food, souvenirs) are expensive there, as well.

 

[boldlyreal]

So I've been reading all the items that come as a shock as very expensive and Ithought I would share some bargains I have found over the years!

1. Morocco and Mexico and China all three pavilons have cute quirky inexpensive trinkets. ex. $10 earrings, clay bells, fans with your name written on them in chinese
2. The little alley way at Downtown Disney that has everything $10 or less. Most of the items are last seasons models, but since I only come down once a year, its kind of like shopping the clearance rack at home.
3. Basin at Downtown Disney has soap slivers by the bag for considerably less than a big chunk.
4. The resort giftshops always have a sale rack you just have to ask.
5. My Dooney and Burke purse I feel is a great bargain. I only use it on Disney trips or when I'm feeling Disney Blue and it will last for a longggggggggggg time so I took its price /wear x years of service = value

 

[miztressuz]

The bellydance hip scarves/tops/skirts (the ones with coins on them) in Morrocco.

They want 30$ for those coin hip scarves. Seriously, those are 8$ scarves when bought online. I'm a bellydancer, and those chiffon ones are nice, but they cheapest you can get anywhere! We buy them in bulk for groups and classes and then they drop to about 5.50$-6.00$ a piece. I marvel at those every time I am there.

that's an interesting bit of knowledge. i always knew that kind of stuff was marked up pretty high but it's nice to know about how much. thanks for the inside perspective

the only things that got me were first aid things from the gift shop. until recently we always flew and relied on Disney transportation. the one year was blisters from h*ll year plus other random cuts and such (we were so accident prone that trip!) we went through my whole supply of band aids by mid week. So I expected the sticker shock of band aids, blister cushions, neosporin like ointment, moleskin etc but it was at least 3 times the normal cost. it wasn't so much a high cost, but you got a much smaller package for about the same or a little higher than typical store pricing. it was a few years ago so i don't recall exact prices. Sunscreen you expect, but the 'convenience' pricing of first aid was more than anticipated.

But in thinking about it, it would have cost more to hire a taxi to walmart/grocerstore/drugstore and purchase the products so I felt a little better in that it could have been higher it also reaffirmed my 'craziness' in making room in our checked luggage for a huge metal cosmetic case that has all our toiletries/first aid/drugs/etc that covers every eventuality. i always make sure we have more than is needed for the length of trip... that year just went crazy and we went through the expected plus the reserve.

the pictures at character meals shocked us at first, but you get the 6x8 (or whatever) plus 4 4x6's. we only go to character meals with family so the cost gets split x number of ways to share the photos. so it's not as bad as the PhotoPass photos. (even with discount codes, that's crazy pricing. bought a few one year cuz there were photos that just couldn't be had with our camera. since we had a discount code we bought them... without it we might have relied on memory )

 

[PFW]

I'm subscribing to this thread
As I read through the past 8 pages I found several items to add to my packing/need to buy lists
Thanks !!!