They always do that, don't they? Crazies.
Weirdos...I wish we could just find out who they are...:lookaroun:ROFLOL:
I am sure Meg, Erin and Danny appreciate you standing up for their little food fest.
I don't believe my 'slant' to be negative, but realistic. They used to offer free seminars, they now charge for them (and I have yet to hear one person say the tastings have doubled in size or grown at all).
Interestingly, I also think of my slant as realistic. Funny, huh?
I think it is really safe to say in this discussion, that it is probably a blend of both of our stances.
You say they are charging to make money, which I don't deny, but I am also pointing out that it will have the effect of making it available to people with greater time contraints.
Trust me, I will freely admit if they don't work when I come back. I'm already a little soured on being able to prepurchase the tickets.
They used to have reasonable price points for the samples, most that are small to tiny (there are some exceptions -- I have heard the Greek portions are very fair, for example). Having 'samples' at $4 and $5 (and a few are actually $7 range) price points reeks of gouging to me.
And I know the fact they have allowed DDP 'credits' to be used again plays a factor. You keep increasing prices because you want folks to think they are getting a deal, when in fact they aren't.
Again, just from the pictures I've seen, the portion size seems to be all over the place and a good mix too.
I'm sure the credits do play a factor, I'm just not sure how much. The fact that the place is dead during the day in the week and explodes at night and on the weekends would lend itself to my theory that it a local driven event. Of course, I will admit that is an observation only conclusion of mine.
Do you think Disney would lose money if they had samples for $1, $2 and $3?
I don't know. You don't either. Do you think they would lose money if Cokes were $1?
But in past years, when I added my daily tab up and realized I could have gone to the Coral Reef or Tokyo Dining (or even California Grill) for a very nice meal vs. the tidbits on plastic I had on benches or while walking it became apparent to me the value just wasn't there any longer.
That is a personal preference. The experience and the atmosphere is still very much worth it to me, overall.
People who spend $300 to get smashed drinking around the world could have done that much cheaper elsewhere on property, but it is about the experience.
I agree again with all of that, which is yet another reason why I have an issue with charging for them.
Nothing like spending $8 or $16 for two people only to find out you couldn't stand the swill served.
Free tastings encouraged people to try new wines (and foods) with no penalty if they didn't like the stuff.
That is a very valid point. I can only counter with you run that risk whenever you purchase new food (yeah that is a weak arguement, I know).
Again, I wish we knew more about the relationship between the wineries and Disney. It would make it easier to discern some of the reasons for these changes.
