Does cost affect your enjoyment of your meal?

[durangojim]

I think it's pretty much a given that WDW is not someplace where value and food go hand in hand but this seems especially true for the higher end restaurants (California Grill, Hollywood Brown Derby, Victoria and Albert's) and that what you're really paying for is the experience of eating a given restaurant and for the preparation of the food they're serving. I'm fortunate to be at a place in my life where we don't really worry about the cost of a meal (although we decided to skip Cinderella's Royal Table this year due to the price and the menu) but when I was younger it was definitely a factor and the price would often help determine what we would order. I'm wondering for many of us here, is price a factor, and if so, does it make many guests sour on a signature Disney dining experience because it can't be enjoyed without the worry of cost?

 

[daisyduckie]

I budget for my meals just like I budget for the whole trip. I look at menus ahead of time, get an idea of what a meal would cost, and come up with a rough number. So no, cost doesn't bother me.

 

[DisneyFreak]

I budget for my meals just like I budget for the whole trip. I look at menus ahead of time, get an idea of what a meal would cost, and come up with a rough number. So no, cost doesn't bother me.

Same here. We are planners and like to make our choices far in advance. We'll budget accordingly and add a contingency so we're covered for just about anything. Cost is not a worry.

 

[larryz]

It doesn't bother me unless the meal doesn't meet my expectations for a meal of that price.

 

[Dreaming of Disney World]

Yes, cost bothers me. We don't have a lot of money. We've splurged on a few nicer meals and even used my credit card for a few. I feel a sick feeling thinking about the money spent for those meals. The worst was for Yachtman's Steakhouse. That meal was so expensive, but the food wasnt good, and we left hungry.

 

[larryz]

Yes, cost bothers me. We don't have a lot of money. We've splurged on a few nicer meals and even used my credit card for a few. I feel a sick feeling thinking about the money spent for those meals. The worst was for Yachtman's Steakhouse. That meal was so expensive, but the food wasnt good, and we left hungry.

What did you order?

 

[Dreaming of Disney World]

What did you order?

I dont remember exactly because it was 3.5 years ago, but I got some kind of steak (expensive but no better than Outback Steak House) and some kind of squash dish I didnt like. My husband also got a steak and side. The bill was huge for this small amount of food. That was the last of our money, and I cried afterward. You might wonder why we went. It was supposed to be a real special meal we were splurging on, but it ended up being the worst meal and a huge waste of our limited money.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

It is all about personal habits/reasonable expectations.

I’ve eaten at all WDW restaurants - excluding a couple recently opened at downtown - 5+ times on average I would say over the years.

I don’t worry about the cost...but I am annoyed when I feel the cost is egregious or the food is bad or measurably worse in quality than prior experiences. That should never happen...it’s a meal, not an “experience”...it could be - but they have chosen to streamline menus and ingredients and not really offer any specialty approaches or cooking.

So it needs to be good...I think that’s a low standard to maintain.

To the earlier posts: I would avoid steak places...yachtsman and le cellier if i was budgeting at all. It’s not a steak place...never really was.
My suggestion is to for things you can’t get at home: grouper would be my first recommendation.

 

[Dreaming of Disney World]

It is all about personal habits/reasonable expectations.


To the earlier posts: I would avoid steak places...yachtsman and le cellier I’d i was budgeting at all. It’s not a steak place...never really was.
My suggestion is to for things you can’t get at home: grouper would be my first recommendation.

Yes, after that we decided the signature restaurants aren't for us. Now we like to splurge on buffets/all you can eat meals where you can really fill up. On our last trip we did Garden Grill and the skillets at Whispering Canyon Cafe, and those were wonderful!

 

[HwdStudio]

It doesn't bother me unless the meal doesn't meet my expectations for a meal of that price.

Totally agree with @larryz

 

[winstongator]

I’d say the percentage difference for counter service is less than the normal table service. The signature dining is pretty close to fancy dining I do outside WDW. 8 nuggets and a soda at cosmic rays is $13. 8 nugget meal at chick fil a is $6.39. That’s double. The $3 Dasani are a pretty major mark up. That’s captive pricing though, and it’s not as bad as at sporting events. I feel like a meal I’d pay $100 for outside WDW is closer to $150, not usually double.

Costs of WDW used to bother me, but I’ve found that you just have to lol at it in totality and manage things as you need to. We do a lot of breakfasts in the room/on buses/in the car, try our best to bring water bottles or soda (when we used to drink it), snacks and fruit into parks. I have friends who also pack their lunches - often that is due to wanting healthy options vs Park food. Merch cost is high too, and we have taken to giving our kids a set amount and let them self-regulate. Works great for one, less great for the other.

 

[OneofThree]

When I'm on vacation, I don't concern myself with the cost of whatever we happen to be doing at the time, whether dining or any other activity. At the same time, I make my living off of numbers, so they do matter to me, and I don't like the feeling of being taken. It didn't bother me at all to pay +$200 for 2 at Yachtsman a while back, but it just was "worth" that, not even relative to other Disney signatures. Won't be doing that again for awhile. Paid more Flying Fish, and would totally go back. Can I get a better meal elsewhere for the same $250? Absolutely. But as the OP states, we all know this going in. I basically feel like it's all relative. Disney charges a premium -on everything. I'll say this, I can't see how some actually enjoy their vacations there if the money they're spending is causing them to stress, even on the spot. Have to imagine you'll have a more enjoyable time with a reasonable, sober budget, and sticking to it. That way, no regrets.

 

[Gitson Shiggles]

I pay for a Dining Plan in advance to avoid worrying about dining costs. That being said, I still pay attention to which restaurants are worth two table dining credits.

 

[Bartledvd]

We get free dinning each year but even without it i would not go if i was worried about picking specific things based on price. Sadly very little in disney is good value but it is a theme park and like most tourist attractions prices are high quality is mediocre and most menus are designed for speed.

 

[Dutch Inn '76]

I love eating out - but yes, I hate wasting money on eating out.

I really enjoyed it when we ate at Victoria & Albert's and I look forward to going back some day, but that $500 check (for two) was hard to swallow. It was a splendid meal with the best service I've ever had anywhere - but it's hard not to think of all the other uses I could put that $500 to.

 

[note2001]

Absolutely cost of a meal does matter in regards to enjoyment! I have always taken the family out to a few better restaurants each trip, but the when the bill comes due at the end I often wonder if the smiling staff was worth that $300+ bill. (Buffets are never worth the price even if characters are involved.)

A twist on planning that many DVC owners/renters will understand: When I weigh out what size room to reserve (studio verses larger with kitchen... or even a cabin) I will take into consideration who is most likely to come along on the trip as well as what eating out will cost verses stocking up a full kitchen and cooking up our own food. The larger rooms tend to win and we all tend to prefer this over lengthy dining anyway. (Which means more pool/shopping/ride and bumming about time!) We all take turns cooking, and we experiment with new recipies at the same time. In these cases the enjoyment of dining out has been moved over to other aspects of the vacation that are often more meaningful in the long run, all while letting my wallet take a vacation too.

 

[bigorangeandy]

One of the things that we do is to eat a lunch or two each trip as our big meal of the day. I'm not usually having buyers remorse when we get the bill, if I think about what we are paying to sleep each night it doesn't seem so bad.

 

[drizgirl]

I lower my expectations with perceived value for the amount paid at Disney. But it still matters.

 

[Mickey5150]

Thanks to the rising costs of Jikos and Flying Fish I started looking for new restaurants. That's when I discovered Raglan Road and found my favorite restaurant ever. So looking at price has been very good to me, lol.

 

[Weather_Lady]

Yes, cost bothers me. We don't have a lot of money. We've splurged on a few nicer meals and even used my credit card for a few. I feel a sick feeling thinking about the money spent for those meals. The worst was for Yachtman's Steakhouse. That meal was so expensive, but the food wasnt good, and we left hungry.

Same. Our biggest splurge so far was brunch at the California Grill and were disappointed at every turn. It wasn't just "not spectacular" -- it was actually bad. We've had better meals (better executed, with better service) at a fraction of the cost at places like Yak & Yeti, Raglan Road and Via Napoli. The more Disney restaurants we try, the more I become convinced that the less expensive non-signature restaurants make objectively better food than the pricier venues, and that there's no sense whatsoever in paying more.