Biggest ripoff at WDW?

[mickey2008.1]

It's only rip off if you paid for it and did not get what you expected. Buying a $20 balloon for your kid to see that face is priceless, and that is what one would expect for buying it. We have our own choices to buy, and expect certain results, even in WDW. It's more than just food, it's atmosphere. It's more than just a bus, it's the adventure. And everyone here knows full well going that it may be overpriced, or slow, but we still choose to go. The rip off would be paying for a service/show/souvenir that was unacceptable, which is argue-mental. Service, beds not turned down, bad service at a restaurant( tip reflected), Mvmcp not getting cookies or way too crowded, souvenir being broken or not working. We blame too many things on others when its us who know what too expect. For example, a glow necklace, we all know its good for one night, but people complain when it does not work the next day. Stupidity like this leads to the ripoff scenario." Daddy, my balloon flew away" or "Wow! these crowds are huge" Expect the unexpected, and plan accordingly, spend wisely, we all have our own minds to do what we want. If it's a ripoff to you, it may not be to others.

 

[draybook]

How about the little spray fans that are what, 10 bucks? You can get them at WalMart for about $2 or so. I went even cheaper and bought a regular spray bottle for 97 cents because I'm not lazy enough to need one that sprays for me.

 

[captainkidd]

Here's one I hadn't thought of, but it doesn't just pertain Disney, but to most theme parks:

Pictures at the end of the ride. That's a disgusting rip off. That 5x7 photo they charge $15 for, costs them about 25 cents.

 

[DisneyLeo18]

I have a friend whos on his first trip to WDW was with me and a few other friends, he was mad that they filled his large cup of soda mostly with ice. He then proceeded to argue that was a huge rip off and how Disney makes their money.

Me - "No it's not the $11 you just paid for a burger, fries and soda. It's the ice to soda ratio" :ROFLOL:

 

[Zummi Gummi]

That's actually a very good point. In a way, it really just goes to show how everything in this country is out of whack. The rate of inflation is outpacing the increase in salaries by so much, in time, people will be lucky if they can afford to go on vacation at all.

This.

 

[Communicore]

I have a friend whos on his first trip to WDW was with me and a few other friends, he was mad that they filled his large cup of soda mostly with ice. He then proceeded to argue that was a huge rip off and how Disney makes their money.

Me - "No it's not the $11 you just paid for a burger, fries and soda. It's the ice to soda ratio" :ROFLOL:

I used to work at the Cosmic's soda station and that is part of the strategy!

 

[draybook]

I used to work at the Cosmic's soda station and that is part of the strategy!

Indeed, I always specify no ice, because I hate the flat taste of coke with ice and because it's cold enough out of the dispenser.

 

[NewfieFan]

Balloons. I have never bought one at Disney, but if I paid $10 for a Disney balloon to have it deflate just like any other balloon, I'd feel ripped off. $5 is what I'd pay for one.

You know for years we refused to buy the kids one of those balloons and they would ask every trip. One day it dawned on me that the balloon is something I would have wanted as a child and you can't get any more special than a Disney World balloon. So, we decided to bite the bullet and shelled out the cash for two balloons. We did it on our first full day of our vacation and do you know the balloons were still completely intact on our departure day (and we were there for 12 nights). The kids played with them everytime they came back to the room. It was one of the best $20 bucks I ever spent!

I think the Photopass CD's are like $120....that's a ripoff

That depends... if you take enough photos and you're at Disney for awhile you can accumulate quite a lot of pictures. I have small kids and enjoy the pictures that the photographers take at the M&Gs. They seem to capture the candid moments better than I do. I can usually put down my own camera, relax for a second, and enjoy the moment with my children.

Also, you can still pre-purchase for $99

Things I won't buy at WDW (or most other places) because I don't think they are worth the markup:

1- bottled water. We bring in a bottle each and get FREE cups of ice water at the CS places. Or- gasp- use the water fountains. I don't think the FL water tastes bad.

2- light up necklaces and toys. We bring in our own glow necklaces and glowsticks- we hand them out to kids near us when waiting for F!, nighttime parades, etc. When DD was younger, I would get her light up spinny toys (and T's, stuffed animals, pins, etc) at the Disney Store near us when they went on clearance and give them to her as "Mickey" presents at the hotel every day.

Concerning the bottle water... besides for taste there are other factors to consider. Florida water tends to mess with our digestive system (all of us). I guess the water is different enough from our home water that our bodies tend to react to it a little. I will however try to buy the bigger bottles of Dasani at the resort gift shops and use that to fill up our own water bottles - it saves a few dollars!

I bring my own glow bracelets/sticks etc. from home as well. The light up toys are very expensive!

Are your taste buds dead?

And yes, I was going to ask the same thing! :lol: It is honestly the worse water I have ever tasted. Maybe where we come from we have cleaner (less chlorine, etc.) water but that water is horrible!?!

DVC owner. Why am I not surprised?

Hey, not all DVC owners are defenders of all things Disney. When I don't like something I will point it out and will take the time to complain to guest services as well.

3-A batteries from the kiosks. I paid $15 for a 4 pack a couple of years ago. I paid it so it was a voluntary rip-off but I've never forgotten batteries since. :lol:

Yes, I think we can all agree the batteries are a ripoff! Sunscreen is expensive as well!

How about the little spray fans that are what, 10 bucks? You can get them at WalMart for about $2 or so. I went even cheaper and bought a regular spray bottle for 97 cents because I'm not lazy enough to need one that sprays for me.

Actually, I think the misting fans are somewhere in the range of $15 now. But I still buy them! I bought one at a local Walmart here in Canada and it was junk. The fan didn't spin as fast and the water didn't mist (it kind of sprayed and then trickled down the container or off the back of the fan blades (even while they were spinning). And when you're really hot... $15 is worth a spray in the face! :animwink:

 

[DisneyJoe]

Here's one I hadn't thought of, but it doesn't just pertain Disney, but to most theme parks:

Pictures at the end of the ride. That's a disgusting rip off. That 5x7 photo they charge $15 for, costs them about 25 cents.

Yes, but that photo was taken while you were AT that park and ON that ride, and it is capturing a memory....granted it may not be worth $15 to everyone, but to most it is probably worth more than 25 cents.

 

[MKCP 1985]

I visited the Magic Kingdom several times during my childhood in the early 70s and almost no photos remain from my parent's polaroid or kodak cameras. There were no "on ride" photos back then. How I'd like to have an album of photos of on-ride action or interaction with characters or family members in front of Cinderella's Castle from even one of those trips.

When you think of it like that, the photo CD at today's price of $120 is expensive, but may be worth it to many people who are going to want to look back at those happy times of their childhood, or that of their children. Even more so when you consider looking back someday in the future to a past trip with a loved one no longer around.

 

[jlevis]

...

Pictures at the end of the ride. That's a disgusting rip off. That 5x7 photo they charge $15 for, costs them about 25 cents.

We have a bunch of those and they make nice souvenirs. I try to make different expressions as we pass the cameras. You don't have to buy them, you know. I'm going to have a nice collection of them on the photo board at my wake.

 

[DisneyLeo18]

I used to work at the Cosmic's soda station and that is part of the strategy!

I 100% believe most QS (even outside of WDW) do this, but I don't think it's where Disney is turning all it's profits.:lol:

 

[captainkidd]

We have a bunch of those and they make nice souvenirs. I try to make different expressions as we pass the cameras. You don't have to buy them, you know. I'm going to have a nice collection of them on the photo board at my wake.

Of course you don't HAVE to buy them. It's sort of like the concert t-shirt mentality. Why charge $40 for something that costs 50 cents to make. Just think, if you only charged $20, you'd probably sell 5x as many and still make a killing.

 

[erasure fan1]

It's not just this thread. There seems to be an element to the boards that seem to focus on the negative with Disney. I suspect it's due to a self serving agenda. Not all the dissenters mind you, but you can see patterns.

I am honored you chose to quote me. :ROFLOL:

And Im honored that you're honored.:lol: Its a win, win.

 

[8laurach]

Disney is still the best!

Disney is simply the best vacation ever. I can't wait to take my Daughter next year.

 

[CaptainJackNO]

Disneyquest has BECOME a ripoff.

I used to go years ago, when everything worked and it was clean. The last time I went, the elevator did not work, the arpet throughout the place was filthy, the Jungle Cruise (virtual) had flaws in the video. It was not up to Disney Standards. And, for 40 bucks, total ripoff.

Oh, and having to use 2 dining credits for pizza delivery to your room is a ripoff, too.

 

[wvdisneyfamily]

Light-up balloons simply because my little guy would lose his within an hour. Lol. When he's older, I'll certainly get him a balloon and deflate it before we go home to put in his scrapbook.

 

[Figments Friend]

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I would say the first thing that springs to mind when the thread title is asked as a question would be this:

The fee charged to make your MYW ticket 'Non-Expiring'. I like to buy 10-Day Non Expiring PH tickets once every few years as a future investment in future visits, but the fee now added on to make them 'non-expiring' is outrageous, exspecially for a 10-Day. It used to be that all ticket media never expired if days were left over on it. One would simply save them for future visits. Not anymore as we all know.

I love the statment made in a 2001 official Disney travel guide about that...
'When we say any left over days on your ticket do not expire, we mean that it does not expire until YOU do..!"



So yeah, that 'once was free, now a premium charged cost add-on' kind of irks me.

 

[The Empress Lilly]

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I would say the first thing that springs to mind when the thread title is asked as a question would be this:

The fee charged to make your MYW ticket 'Non-Expiring'. I like to buy 10-Day Non Expiring PH tickets once every few years as a future investment in future visits, but the fee now added on to make them 'non-expiring' is outrageous, exspecially for a 10-Day.

On a MYW ticket, additional days are virtually free. To prevent the use of a single 10-day ticket as two five day tickets, the non-expiration option has been raised, to nearly doubling the price.

Bad news for some, I suppose, but the MYW pricing strategy wouldn't make much business sense otherwise. :shrug:

 

[Clever Name]

The price of a Jumbo Turkey Leg has increased more than 21% at WDW during the month of August. Previous price was $7.59 and new price is $9.19 (sales tax extra). :wave: