Why Does a Mickey Bar Cost $3.49?

[Eeyore98]

Mickey bars are similar to the Dove bars you can buy at the grocery store -- The Dove bars even purchased at the supermarket are pretty expensive too. It' interesting too that even though they are essentially the same thing somehow the Mickey bars just taste so much better and those ears are totally irresistable.

I heard in one of those Travel Channel things on WDW that the Mickey bars are made specially for Disney - the chocolate is Dove chocolate, but the ice cream inside is Haagen-Daas. That's why they're so much better.

 

[Shih-Tzu]

I think "gob-smacked" is probably an English (British) or Scotch expression passed down through the generations after they settled in this area ...not sure...not everyone from the Maritimes uses it....but some do.

 

[Mickey Fliers]

I "think" I get what the original poster was trying to get to....now this didn't happen in Disney, it actually happened up here in the "great white north" BUT

I was on a bus trip and there was one guy who would eat about 1/2 a meal and then call the waitresses at whatever restaurant we were at and complain (not quite what he ordered, too cold, could taste onion, etc), so they would do whatever they had to do and not charge him for a meal he wasn't satisified with before he made a bigger scene. About 1/2 way through the trip, one of the people on the bus mentioned something about why he always seems to get something that doesn't taste good or there's something wrong with, but the rest of us have been lucky. His statement was "Oh, I learned to do this years ago - I get to eat but never have to pay for a meal. There really wasn't anything wrong with it at all" I was totally gob-smacked (as were a lot of other people on the bus tour). After that, most people didn't even want him sitting at their table for the rest of the trip....I know that sometimes, the waitresses have to cover the cost of the unsatisified customer (but probably not at Disney) but they do have to suffer the humiliation and complaining....

Am I on the right track here, or did I just have a major de-railment?

Is what you're saying that if people WITHOUT legitimate complaints weren't compensated, then the price of things "could" be cheaper??

OMG! I had a woman I was dining with (not a friend...a mutual friend) do this the other night. She had ordered her 3rd Strawberry Margarita and when she realized that everyone was done with their meals and done drinking, she told the waiter it tasted funny so she didn't have to pay. Totally common!

 

[magicluvinmom]

Thanks for gettin' it, really, seriously, I'm glad the thread wasn't a total waste.

And of course, everyone's learned ya can get free binkys at the Baby Station.

I think most people got it a long time ago. The problem is the way u asked the question if u wanted strait forward answers u should have asked a strait forward question and left the Mickey bar put of it. You should have asked for stories of people abusing the system only, as a matter of fact I wish u had asked it I would have enjoyed reading more stories like the one about the lady who wanted a ocean view at BC HILARIOUS

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Are you saying that because guests try to get free stuff from Disney, Disney has to charge high prices on all of its items to pay for those guests who "steal" from Disney?

Really, $3.49 for Mickey Head Ice Cream Bar is not that outrageous IMO when compared to your local Six Flags or Ball Park. Our local Water Park charges $5.00 for a very tiny bowl of Dippin' Dots. The ballpark charges even more for that same bowl of Dippin' Dots.

On a side note, if you want some "free" Mickey Head Ice Cream Bars, book a Disney cruise out of PC. You can eat as many as you want as they are included in the cost of your cruise fare. My middle son has to order at least one every day.

This was my 1st thought!! Don't forget they're not only free but free through room service!
Gosh, I love DCL!

 

[Uncle Remus]

I think most people got it a long time ago. The problem is the way u asked the question if u wanted strait forward answers u should have asked a strait forward question and left the Mickey bar put of it. You should have asked for stories of people abusing the system only, as a matter of fact I wish u had asked it I would have enjoyed reading more stories like the one about the lady who wanted a ocean view at BC HILARIOUS

Hey, that's a good thread idea, PM me your link.

And here's ya your "free" Mickey Bar.

 

[Wadecool]

Thanks for gettin' it, really, seriously, I'm glad the thread wasn't a total waste.

And of course, everyone's learned ya can get free binkys at the Baby Station.

Maybe not totally, but pretty darn close.

 

[magicluvinmom]

Hey, that's a good thread idea, PM me your link.

And here's ya your "free" Mickey Bar.

I think you may have mixed me up with the other posters. I never claimed any Mickey bars were "free". As a matter of fact the people talking about the Mickey bars being "free" on the cruises paid plenty for those Mickey bars, they just paid up front.

 

[magicluvinmom]

Maybe not totally, but pretty darn close.

 

[SmilingGrump]

Have you had the Dole Whips? I used to get a Mickey bar, but once I tried the Dole Whips, that was it

Wiser words have not been spoken!


Look, there's one way to deal with the "grifters". Shame them. CMs can't do it or they get fired because (eventually) they'll accuse someone of "grifting" when that person has a legitimate complaint. And it's not because the company is EVIL, it's because the company knows what bad press and word of mouth costs them (whereas giving away a few freebies generates lots of great press and word of mouth, not from the "grifter," but from everyone who saw the CM give away something to someone who appeared to be in distress).

However, we, as members of the paying customers, can call the grifters on it. I too have travelled with people who used the partially eaten meal trick. Rather then just not sitting with them, the next time they tried sending a meal back, I called them out on it in a voice that reached everyone in the restaurant. Sure, they didn't talk to me after that, but that was also my aim. Everyone else had a good laugh, the waitress gave me a free drink, and the "grifter" never tried that trick again for the rest of the trip.

Embarrassment from fellow patrons is WAY more effective then a CM/staff member simply telling them "No" ... grifters expect the "No" and it just fuels their desire to escalate matters. It's only when the rest of society stands up and shames them that they understand what they're doing is wrong.

 

[lauran cameron]

The real problem is a society where people think they somehow have the absolute right to never be insulted, made uncomfortable, or inconvenienced. When it happens they need someone to blame and expect to be compensated or catered to.

It's everywhere, not just at Disney.

I am a server in an Outback Steakhouse in NY and see this everyday. I have had a customer who actually threw his salad on me because one of the cooks forgot pecans on his salad. He then came up to me and called me a "stupid (not nice thing to call a lady)" because I forgot the pecans I told him "sir I apologize for the inconvenience unfortunately I do not prepare the food but I would be more than happy to bring you another salad " he me told to "Get out of my face!!! This is horrible service!!" thanks buddy!!! I sent my manager over and he then threw his son's french fries at her because they "did not get enough." Soooo as a result their $75 bill was comped. I get it you are not happy but you do not have to treat the people who are here to help give you a good experience with such disrespect just because you know they have to put up with you. We probably have about $500 a night in comps on average some of the comps are legit while others are people trying to get a "freebie" Especially in these "times." We have a separate budget to cover this cost but we do go over sometimes. I am sure Disney is the same way. I am not sure what the wage is for servers who work in the WDW restaurants, but usually servers are paid less than minimum wage and are expected to make that up in their tips. In NY I make $5/hour...in Florida I think it is about $4.25/hour? I know, I know sometimes servers do make a killing off of their tips... don't flame me haha. It is definitely a way for a company to get away with paying their employees less as well. Sometimes the food prices do go up to cover the cost of profit loss/food cost maybe only by .25cents or so. So uncle remus isn't completely off on that. The price of everything is going up now too. Another sign of the "times". Not taking any side, I can understand where both sides of the argument are coming from in this thread... just cashing in my 2 cents. Phewww that was long

 

[leebee]

On a recent trip we met up with another family for a day at DHS (friends of my sister's). When the family's dad and 3 kids were on RnR, the ride shut down and riders were "trapped" inside for over an hour. The mom of this family went ballistic. The CM's were doing what they could, assured everyone that the riders inside were OK, that they weren't sure how long it'd be before people were evacuated, etc. Everyone was taking it in stride except this one mom, who was cursing and yelling and being generally over the top. It was about an hour before RnR was running again. This mom went to customer service and complained loudly about Disney ruining her vacation by wasting her time. She ended up with "super-fast-passes" for the 5 of them, good for 4 days, with 6 fp entries for each day, AND a voucher for dinner for the entire family at Brown Derby, 50"s Prime Time, or Mama Melrose. It was embarrassing to be near this mom while she was pitching her fit, but even more so when, after it was all over and she was compensated, to hear her admit that she wasn't really worried about anyone, she just wanted to see what she could get from Disney! SO ANNOYING!! (and these are folks with money who were staying in a 1br BLT for 10 nights, bought matching outfits at AKL to go to dinner at Boma, outfits at CR for breakfast at Chef Mickey's, etc.). I have always wondered if the amount of money they were spending to be at WDW influenced the CM's decision to compensate them so generously.

 

[kathy884]

Have you had the Dole Whips? I used to get a Mickey bar, but once I tried the Dole Whips, that was it

I did try a Dole Whip (got one at the Polynesian -- love that hotel and setting) on our 2010 trip. I didn't know about them till I started reading these boards. While good (I can understand people being fans), I'm still a Mickey Bar person and picked a Mickey Bar as my theme park treat on our 2011 March trip.

 

[kathy884]

Many businesses not just Disney that take pride in providing great customer service will spend some monies accomodating people who were inconvienenced. It may add something to their costs, but I'm guessing benefits them in the long term (A great reputation is priceless.)

I like it the Disney does this sometimes without even being asked (gives me positive feelings about the place). At AK for example, our tickets for some reason were demagnitized, not allowing us to get any fast passes. We were at the back of the park and the CM gave us a fast pass for the Sarafi ride we were trying to get a fastpass for when our fast passes didn't work and told us we'd unfortunately have to go up to the front to customer service to get these working again. They normally can do this at other stations, but for some reason the one near where we were the CM told us wasn't working. When we made our way to the front of the park to the customer service area, I thought it was nice that the nice CM gave us a fastpass for any ride of our choice for anytime (wanted to do something little for us due to our having to go out of our way for something that should have worked.) This wasn't money out of their pocket, but was a nice gesture.

We once too took my Mother-in-law who is in her late 80s to a nice resturant. She was debating between two things, and we heard clearly what she ordered. When the waiter came out with her dish, she told him that it was the wrong thing (it was exactly what she had ordered, though). The waiter was so wonderful, said I'm so sorry, and brought her the other dish (the one she was considering, but didn't order.) You bet we gave this exceptional waiter a big tip. This lovely resturant that prides itself in customer service does this to keep patrons happy and give them a great experience. We didn't have to say anything, and this kept my mother-in-law from being embarrassed. And guess what? We remember this, and choose this resturant time and time again for special occasions.

 

[glasslipper]

Well, if there is more to the story, and you are privy to private details that we don't have, then your thread is confusing...If you know for a fact, that scammers are having an effect on Disney's bottom line, then you should have said that.

I am very kind to the CMs, even when they aren't so kind to me...

Tiger

Besides being confusing, it's also misleading. Add in the intentional dialect grammar and it's almost like having to translate, so maybe your point gets a little " lost in translation".

 

[jlhay]

There is a big assumption in the original post.... that if the scamming and grifting stopped Disney would lower prices. That is doubtful. As others have said it's more supply and demand so if no grifting Disney's profit would go up the little bit those losses are one costing them

 

[PeterPan09]

I think that Disney's own reputation puts them in a bad position sometimes. Everyone associates it with excellent customer service and "magic"-and they arrive with very high expectations. Also, there are people-none of them would be on this board of course-that read the internet stories about how someone who got a little extra pixie dust and then use them to demand some of their own.

We live in a very entitled society, IMHO and it is not enough anymore for some people to be fortunate enough to vacation at all-let alone at Disney. Every need must be immediately filled, every wish granted or someone is going to hear about it. And the screaming guest in the hotel lobby or crowded store does often get rewarded in a way they don't deserve.

As anyone who ever took a single accounting course can tell you-there is no such thing as a free lunch. Somewhere, somehow-that freebee given to shut up the crazy person is costing money.

 

[WTP]

A Mickey Bar costs $3.49 because people like me will pay that much for one. Actually, I pay that much for several of them over the course of a Disney vacation.

Exactly. Disney is charging as much for its products as it can. If they could make $1 per bar by selling them at $2, they may sell 1,000 per day. But if they can make $2 per bar by selling them at $3, they may sell 800 per day and be ahead. And if they make $1.49 per bar by selling them for $3.49 and selling $750 per day, that is what they will do!

They charge it because we will pay it. I value a mickey bar more than I value $3.49 in my pocket. Those who don't, don't get the mickey bar.

 

[sdzman]

I like the $3.49 price, keeps me from eating 6 per day

 

[pilferk]

I think Disney employees have a right to take it personally.

The Disney employees who take it personally also have a right to go find work elsewhere. They're not indentured, and Disney doesn't hold them hostage.

If Disney doesn't make a profit, they don't employ anyone. They're not a charity.