When did Disney start pulling this trick?

[dntd]

Still am not buying how a piece of cake should be cut back. We pay top dollar to get into the park, increases yearly. Cake in most likely baked at disney, which cake mix is pretty cheap, no special skills required to make a carrot cake. To shrink a cake AND slice more from a cake is down right wrong. If disney can't afford food costs due to the meal plan stop giving it away or stop the plan itself! BTW a meal for kids over $20 is crazy, all you can eat buffets are not worth that amount for a 4 year old to eat. We barely saw the characters when we ate , not $15 worth at all.

 

[3Minnies1Mickey]

BTW a meal for kids over $20 is crazy, all you can eat buffets are not worth that amount for a 4 year old to eat. We barely saw the characters when we ate , not $15 worth at all.

Then don't eat there. Many are willing to pay that price to NOT stand in line to meet characters plus eat Mickey shaped waffles. I am one of them.

 

[Mrsjvb]

I see it as Disney's way of helping curb the obesity epidemic. as a society we feel we need to eat every bite cuz we paid for it and we still remember our grandmothers admonsihing us that there are people starving in China.

a smaller slice means that many fewer calories that need walking off.

 

[TDC Nala]

I see it as Disney's way of helping curb the obesity epidemic. as a society we feel we need to eat every bite cuz we paid for it and we still remember our grandmothers admonsihing us that there are people starving in China.

a smaller slice means that many fewer calories that need walking off.

I don't think it has anything to do with concerns about obesity. Disney is not concerned about whether or not its guests are obese if they're still serving junk food and plenty of it. Many restaurants and food producers are doing this, and it's about their choice regarding either raise prices exponentially or raise prices a little and serve less.

 

[gigi1313]

and yet one more long islander chiming in... have you purchased food at yankee stadium lately? holy smokes! it makes disney look like a bargain at twice the price!!!

 

[mousegear]

I totally agree with Yankee Stadium food prices are shocking compared to Disney. While at home, we might not eat out everyday but prices at Disney isn't bad at all. We lived in Mahattan, Tokyo and Hong Kong and they have much higher price tags for about same leve. So Disney restaurant prices are very reasonable especially with DDP. So it all comes down to where you live... and prices around you. Also, for the portions, some are too much for us. We are family of skinny people but still enjoy character buffet.

 

[MissionMouse]

Food prices have increased during the recession. One of the better ways to maintain customer loyality is to maintain your prices by decreasing the unit size by a few ounces while commonly maintaining the same package size or very close to the former package unit size. They have found why people do not like price increases their more aligned to accept a little less product, especially when it is visually hard to tell. In many cases the consumer may not even notice it. You will find this very common is the food industry today with products that have seen price increases in some of their raw ingredients.

 

[traylorc]

Then don't eat there. Many are willing to pay that price to NOT stand in line to meet characters plus eat Mickey shaped waffles. I am one of them.

 

[ajleone]

Still am not buying how a piece of cake should be cut back. We pay top dollar to get into the park, increases yearly. Cake in most likely baked at disney, which cake mix is pretty cheap, no special skills required to make a carrot cake. To shrink a cake AND slice more from a cake is down right wrong.

It's all about money. The fact is no matter what Walt's dream was Disney is now solely in business to make money and if they can get 4 more slices out of a carrot cake thats what they are going to do.

If disney can't afford food costs due to the meal plan stop giving it away or stop the plan itself! BTW a meal for kids over $20 is crazy, all you can eat buffets are not worth that amount for a 4 year old to eat. We barely saw the characters when we ate , not $15 worth at all.

Actually if you pay attention to the 2nd quarter stock report Disney is in the works of stopping discounts which is isn't going to get you back a larger piece of pie. It's just going to make it even harder for people to afford a vacation at their favorite resort. And as for the price of food- don't eat on property if you don't like the prices. Compared to some of the local parks I have in my area the food is a steal at WDW

 

[cinabug]

And as for the price of food- don't eat on property if you don't like the prices.

While I agree with this strategy is the wisest option when we don't like prices, I think it's fine for the OP to complain a little about an overpriced item at WDW. I love Costco, by far my favorite store, but I still do a little whining each time the maple syrup container shrinks or the price goes up. I still buy it though. I suppose if it gets expensive enough I'll stop buying it.

 

[Mrsjvb]

I don't think it has anything to do with concerns about obesity. Disney is not concerned about whether or not its guests are obese if they're still serving junk food and plenty of it. Many restaurants and food producers are doing this, and it's about their choice regarding either raise prices exponentially or raise prices a little and serve less.

It's called sarcasm. or a Pollyanna way of dealing with the changes nearly every manufacturer and company has made due to rising costs of everything from fuel to clean water.

from a practical point of view I personally am wasting less when they serve me a smaller portion. I don't concern myself with the fact that last time I paid $3 for a slice of cake and threw a third of it away. that was THEN. Now I pay $3.50 and don't toss anything but a few crumbs. If I think that $3.50 for a slice of cake regardless of it's size or relative size to the last piece of cake I bought is too much, then I move on to the caramel apples. or the Dole Whip. DH and I deal with rising costs by sharing a side order of fries with our CS meal. or better grab one of the HUGE CS meals that you can always seem to find in various spots around the park and share. if that isn't 'quite' enough then we splurge on a dessert or a snack afterward. and again, no food is wasted if we each paid $12 for a meal,inevitably half the fries on each of our plates would have been tossed in the trash. but we can pay $15 for a larger combo meal and waste nothing. to my wallet, we saved.

 

[Colleen27]

It's all about money. The fact is no matter what Walt's dream was Disney is now solely in business to make money and if they can get 4 more slices out of a carrot cake thats what they are going to do.

Yep. And while the rising costs of food & energy are today's excuse, the underlying reason is unchanging - we have created/accepted a business environment where there is no such thing as "enough" and every quarter's profit MUST be larger than the last or it is viewed as failure. There's no way to reconcile that philosophy with providing a product of stable quality and value, because even if input costs never change you still reach a point where that results in flat profits and cuts have to be made to keep up the dynamic of constant growth.

ETA: That said, the cutting back of portions that I couldn't finish in the first place aren't at the top of my list of cutbacks to complain about.

 

[Lynne M]

This is a standard practice in the hospitality industry....it's not just Disney.

And it's a standard practice in the food industry, and has been probably as long as there have been stores that sell food. It's certainly nothing new.

I remember a lesson in oh, something like sixth grade, about how manufacturers keep their profits up by making the package size smaller, or the amount in the package smaller, and still charging the same price.

And that was in the 1960's.

 

[4orm]

Have you tried the carrot cake from the BW bakery? To die for!

I find the prices in WDW good! It my be because I'm from Canada but the portion size you get the prices of things in WDW was shocking to me. I remember once ordering the chicken dish - $18, not bad... well when the place came it was for a half a chicken! To me, that's huge! My husband and I always split meals when we're there do to the gigantic portion sizes.

 

[marielynn724]

the cupcake prices at disney are nothing - go to magnolia's bakery in NYC!

 

[pixie08]

the cupcake prices at disney are nothing - go to magnolia's bakery in NYC!

Sorry totally O/T but..They are so small for the price but they are the best cupcakes...but the one's downtown are so much better then rock center!

The fact of the matter is these price hikes happen every so often to help with inflation and profits. As consumers, we can cough up the bucks to Disney, or spend them elsewhere. Simple as that, Disney is not forcing you to buy anything or even to choose them as a vacation destination. Sometimes I think it is all relative. It is hard to judge what one person finds to be valuable, and what another person finds to invaluable.

Much of the vacation (and food) experience is personal and emotional!So it's hard to say what is worth $$ to someone? I might pay $50 for a cupcake but only $10 for shoes. People might think that is crazy, but that is may be what I deem valuable...

ok fyi that is so not true, although my husband may wish it were lol!

 

[Granfan]

I used to stop at Dollar General to pick up a few thingss now and then because it's on the way home. I stopped the other day and the sizes of some things caused me to burst out laughing they were so ridiculously small. It's actually sad, not funny but they looked like they belonged in a Minnie Mouse House!

 

[vinotinto]

When the recession started? When gas prices went through the roof? When all costs for everything went higher?

I have found smaller portions for everything these days. Check out what used to be considered a gallon of ice cream.

I don't think Disney should ever be excluded from raising prices. They aren't in a bubble where the real world doesn't exist and we all still can afford everything we did five years ago.

This. I remember when a yogurt was 8 oz. Then it became 6 oz. ThThe yogurt I had this morning was 5.3 oz.

Just two weeks ago, Publix used to sell 8 o clock coffee for $5.29. Today, it's $7.89. That's a 50% increase.

Psychologically, it is easier on the consumer to cut down the size of the cake than to increase the price to $5 for a piece of carrot cake that used to be $3.50.

 

[copper0426]

Some have said I would rather pay the same and throw less away. Not to start an arguement, but I don't remember reading that the OP wrote anything about throwing what wasn't eaten away. Just that they were given less for the same price. If I could eat the entire piece and was satisfied with the original portion and went to get the same thing knowing I would not need anything else to eat and then getting it not realizing the size difference and not being satisfied (filled) and needing to order something else would irritate me. Then you are spending more money.

There are some out there who can eat everything that they pay for. What you get is what you get whether it be worth it is entirely up to that individual.

 

[dntd]

Not eating at Disney is sort of hard as they basically lock you into the "resort",saying don't eat there is not a good answer to Disney raising the prices when truly there is no need. Disney increase the prices to make the plan seem like a better buy. Seasonal charges are crazy too, you get more people in eating but end up paying more?