What is a reasonable price for snack items !

[AdamEfimoff]

I saw someone say 5 dollars is too much for an ice cream ! Which got me thinking what is a reasonable price? And can you send any pictures of attractions such as museums , aquariums, zoo's prices for snacks I am wondering what they charge!


@WebmasterPete I am expecting your rant here !


ps I know that Disney can charge what it wants at the parks and its a business and allowed to gain a profit.

PS. I know I am posting alot

 

[Ensusieasm]

I saw someone say 5 dollars is too much for an ice cream ! Which got me thinking what is a reasonable price? And can you send any pictures of attractions such as museums , aquariums, zoo's prices for snacks I am wondering what they charge!


@WebmasterPete I am expecting your rant here !


ps I know that Disney can charge what it wants at the parks and its a business and allowed to gain a profit.

PS. I know I am posting alot

At the Plaza ice cream shop in the MK I always order a one scoop kid's cone. It's only 2.99 and even though the menu says vanilla you can choose a flavor, and it comes with two cookie "ears" on top.

 

[Hopefully]

I saw someone say 5 dollars is too much for an ice cream ! Which got me thinking what is a reasonable price? And can you send any pictures of attractions such as museums , aquariums, zoo's prices for snacks I am wondering what they charge!


@WebmasterPete I am expecting your rant here !


ps I know that Disney can charge what it wants at the parks and its a business and allowed to gain a profit.

PS. I know I am posting alot

What do you think?
Why do you post something you expect a rant about?

 

[glassslippergirl]

I think you have to expect to pay a premium for theme park snacks-- by this I mean 20%-30% higher (sometimes more) than off-site. Of course, this is relative as prices vary throughout the country (and internationally). I come from an area where cost of living is high, so prices at WDW don't seem as bad, but years ago when I took my college roommate from small-town Ohio, she was shocked by the coat of everything. She wouldn't buy anything and insisted that we leave the park to eat, even though I explained to her that time IS money in a theme park.

I have no pictures, but WDW snacks are more expensive than snacks a my local zoo, for example. However, they are also more varied and better quality at WDW. So I see greater value in WDW snacks at their price. I feel like a lot of common snacks and counter service meals are more expensive at Legoland, and the quality there is universally awful-- definite advantage WDW.

Sodas are a place where you pay dearly at any theme park, but, since I'm discussing relativity of prices, I've paid more for a tiny bottle of soda in a Paris train station than I have at any theme park anywhere (including DLP). On a hot day, that Coke is welcome refreshment at any price, and value can be maximized at a few CS restaurants with free refill stations.

So I think the question of how much is too much is relative to where you're from, what you prioritize, and ability to maximize value-- and probably a bunch of other factors, too.

 

[powellrj]

http://www.holidayworld.com/park-tickets/food-snacks/

Here is a list of the places for food at holiday world. Your soft drinks are free which make them an even better value.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

Any place you are held "captive" is going to charge a premium for food and beverages - airports, movie theaters, theme parks, resorts. Yes, they simply can. I just took my DS9 to see Moana yesterday at our local theater and a small bag of popcorn was $6.25. That's seriously outrageous considering the margin on popcorn and a paper bag, but we were at the movies and my DS9 wanted popcorn - movie and popcorn kind of goes hand-in-hand! When in WDW, the prices I find most outrageous are the beverages so we typically buy a case of water, keep it in our room and bring a few to the parks. Except for special events (like the dessert parties), I don't find the food prices to be that bad. Considering DS9 and I can eat lunch at a QS for less than $20, I think that's pretty good. We live just outside of NYC, so I guess the food prices don't shock me too much.

 

[Madivan]

Places where I'm okay with the upcharge for food, drinks, and whatnot is sporting events, theme parks, anywhere I'm paying a premium ticket price for entertainment. I don't think Disney prices are bad at all.

I think prices are ridiculous at airports and movie theaters.

Disney isn't that much pricier than zoos and similar in my area but it is a bit more. I live 45 minutes away so it's not like it's a different COL or anything.

 

[Dean Marino]

$2.00. .

 

[DisBuckMan]

Every time someone buys, or doesn't buy, a snack item, they're making a "what's a reasonable price" decision.

You want it and you buy it, it's reasonable enough for you.

You want it and don't buy it, it's unreasonable.

Let's face it...no one "needs" all these snack items at Disney World. Disney allows you to bring your own snacks into the parks, so you're not forced to buy them or starve.

Is an ice cream sandwich shaped like Mickey's head a "reasonable" buy at $4 each? Obviously so, since I see hundreds/thousands of people roaming the parks with them every day I'm there.

 

[shh]

I'm fine w/quick serve and snack prices - about the same at the zoo, movie theater around here. But I think many of the table service places are ridiculously overpriced on dinner costs for the quality you get. And we're a couple who gladly spends $125-150 on a dinner out at least once every 4-6 weeks at home, so it's not sticker shock. It's what you get in return for the spend.

Ever since the dining plan was created, it feels like restaurants tried to cut costs and increase prices for oop people to compensate. We'll never get the plan, even if it's free. (It's just the two of us and a poor fit for the way we eat - room-only discounts always seem a better deal).

So we go outside the park for all our dinners and WDW loses a few hundred in incremental spend each time we visit.

 

[JZCubed]

I saw someone say 5 dollars is too much for an ice cream ! Which got me thinking what is a reasonable price? And can you send any pictures of attractions such as museums , aquariums, zoo's prices for snacks I am wondering what they charge!


@WebmasterPete I am expecting your rant here !


ps I know that Disney can charge what it wants at the parks and its a business and allowed to gain a profit.

PS. I know I am posting alot

People planning to use the Disney Dining Plan will often use $5 as the cost of a snack to help them determine the value of the Dining Plan.

So very often, you'll see folks point out items that some snacks are above $5 - which represent a 'good value' use of a snack-credit.

If this is just about ice cream - we pay $3-$4 at just about any local place around where we live. At Disney, you can get anything from a $3 cone at places like The Plaza, and spend more on superior gelato in France and/or Disney Springs - with pricing all over the board.

If we have a conversation about just ice cream - you can think of pricing as more or less than $5. And depending on the place, this may or may not be a larger or smaller volume of ice cream.

In other words, there is an apples-to-orange element to your question.

However, of all the foods Disney sells, ice cream may be the one thing priced similar to your hometown favorite.

FWIW, even within a Disney Park, you can find price variations for things as common as Mickey Ice cream Bars. Personally, these are my favorites (because the Ears do taste better).

 

[CinderDuffy]

Prices at Disney are comparable to or lower than prices at home in NYC.

When people rant about Disney food prices, I often wonder what they expect and/or guess they're from a low COL area.

 

[Minnie404]

I am surprised to see such a jump on ice cream bars-we are here now and we paid $4.25 on Friday at HS and today they jumped up to $5. For a family of 4 that is crazy to pay $20 just for ice cream. I can see a small increase but why so much?!

 

[Narawen]

I don't think Disney snacks are much more than I would expect at a place like that, and they are significantly lower prices than I've seen in a mid-size city at sporting events, concerts, and local attractions (museum cafes, etc). In fact, when I'm out with my WDW-loving mom around town, we will comment to each other when the bottled water, soda, or other commodity snack is more expensive than at Disney.

 

[jo-jo]

To me the value also changes with the served items vs. prepackaged. Two weeks ago we got a sundae at an ice cream place in fantasy land. I'm waiting in line and see some sundaes with 6 inch swirl of ice cream and a lake of strawberry topping. Strawbery goo almost spilling over the side. The sundae we got was the saddest looking thing. Right after I was handed the ice cream, CM closed the window. I think perhaps her shift was over and she wanted out of there.

 

[nursejackie]

For me, it's not so much about the price but about how much I want it, and can I get it anywhere else? I am happy to pay for a cheesecake brownie at Boardwalk Bakery, a huge candy apple at Sweet Spells, definitely a red velvet cheesecake cupcake at Starring Rolls, without doubt a fruit and nutella waffle at Sleepy Hollow, and not forgetting the school bread at Kringla Bakery. I could go on but my mouth is watering!

Anyway, the point is, I can't get any of these treats where I live (UK) so they are all worth it to me, even if they cost a little more.