Food and Wine Nickel and Diming

[rbrower]

But he only sees any change as negative. He is stuck somewhere in another era. I didn't say he was wrong, but he paints it as a bad thing when in fact it's a good thing.



It hasn't happened yet. :ROFLOL:



and it won't :sohappy:

Sometimes, changes are negative. While I would love to praise Disney for every single thing that they do, I can't. I don't feel that ever move Disney makes is for the best. If I was, I would be living in a dream land. You can't honestly tell me that you think Disney has never made a mistake, but you would have to be lying.

Thanks, but I think I may have competition:

Very true.

 

[JWG]

There were free wine tastings by the vinyards.

It is $8 to attend now. In the past you would need to be in line 45-90 minutes prior to the tasting to get in.

So, $8 for one sample or to get into a sampling area of a few different samples and items?

Sorry to detract from discussion on jt's fanboi hardon for WDW1974... this is an event we've not managed to hit in our many trips but want to. I'm sure I could read about it elsewhere but the 5 pages of infighting between 2 posts of information is half the fun right?

 

[jt04]

I agree with you that it gets tiresome, but of those two, one of them contributes legitimate information and the other just pretends his speculation is fact--and insists he is right even when you have insiders telling him he's wrong.

So of those two, why don't the moderators get rid of the spin doctor and keep the one with the real information?

Talk about spin.

I try to provide some balance. That is all.

And I really don't mind paying 8 dollars if it means a better product from what was provided at times.

 

[coasterphil]

So, $8 for one sample or to get into a sampling area of a few different samples and items?

Sorry to detract from discussion on jt's fanboi hardon for WDW1974... this is an event we've not managed to hit in our many trips but want to. I'm sure I could read about it elsewhere but the 5 pages of infighting between 2 posts of information is half the fun right?

For the wine demonstrations it's usually 3 or 4 tasting glasses. For the food demonstration it's 1 serving of a size similar to what you get at the booths and they sometimes includes a single tasting glass of wine.

 

[rbrower]

Talk about spin.

I try to provide some balance. That is all.

And I really don't mind paying 8 dollars if it means a better product from what was provided at times.

If the product and the overall experience are improved drastically, I see charging for it. I guess we will just have to see what the festival holds this year.

 

[wdwmagic]

It's a shame because this was always a great event, but now it's really all about gouging the guests (many locals and loyal, many who come from elsewhere because they want to be there during it).

You can easily spend $100 a person just nibbling and sipping your way around World Showcase Lagoon and now the few free tastings are history.

Let the TDO apologists rejoice!

Agreed, its becoming very expensive - basically out of my price range now. It's been heading this way for the last few years. You can basically buy a sit down lunch somewhere now for the price of trying a few tiny samples. I cant imagine what it must be like for a family of 4 heading around World Showcase trying to do some of the samples - $100+ for some very small offerings.

 

[jakeman]

I haven't been to one of these things in years. Does your experience back up what 74 said, basically that the freebie lines grew longer as the priced samples grew more expensive?

If he's right, that would seem to provide a rather cynical justification for removing the freebies, to remove a "problem" that didn't exist before the prices started going up.

Not really. The prices have increased, yes, but not to the extreme that WDW1974 is claiming.

Well, when the economy is in a depression and people are paying huge sums of money just to walk in the gate, free is gonna get attention.

But that's not really the point.

Maybe if the samples that were once bigger than the size of a quarter were still $1-2 and not in many cases over $4 and $5 ... well, maybe people wouldn't be so eager to get something for free.

When people feel nickel and dimed they are much more likely to try and get something back from the company.

And I have done Food and Wine annually as long as it has existed, I haven't not enjoyed a free tasting. It's allowed me to try wines and foods I might not ever IF I were paying ... it allowed me to expand my dining horizons.

I was curious about the "in many cases $4-$5 statement" so I pulled up the price list from last year and only found 15 samples over $4. This is an increase over 2006 where there were only 5, but the variety has also increased as well. Apologies for not taking the time to set up an appropriate ratio.

I have also never experienced a sample the size of a quarter.

 

[WDW1974]

Again, that is your opinion.

I've been to the F&W festival every year for the past 7 years so I can say with, I feel at least, some authority that the wine tasting wait times have gotten out of hand. Five years ago we were able to do multiple tastings in one trip since the waits were only 15 minutes or so. Last year we were in line for one the wife really wanted to see 1 hour beforehand and we didn't get in.

I have too, jake. And I have never waited 15 minutes to get in. The shortest waits were usually in the 20-30 minute range.

They also cut back the number of tastings while increasing the number of special events/dinners/lunches/seminars that all are very pricey.

We noticed the increase no less than 3 years ago when they were still doing two tastings in the old festival centers.

However, if I'm "defending the man" then I guess I should point out your pathological hatred of Disney management.

Pathological? I'll have to ask my therapist about that one.

I should stop and add here that some of my closest friends still ARE exec with TWDC, so I don't think they'd like knowing I hate them. I hope they don't cancel our lunches in LA next month because of this post!!!

I don't hate Disney management ... whatever that means. I hate the way WDW is being managed and I personally don't like the jobs that some of the individuals have done in particular.

But this 'defending da man' 'tude has become the new 'normal' in our post-9/11 world (not to get political, but we all recall when our last Prez stated 'you're either with us, or you're against us').

That's the same 'tude here. You can't love WDW and still wish Erin Wallace, Al Weiss and Phil Homes were in the unemployment line? ... well, you can.

 

[Eeyore]

Talk about spin.

I try to provide some balance. That is all.

And I really don't mind paying 8 dollars if it means a better product from what was provided at times.

I think you may see your posts as providing balance and I think at one point they may have, but it seems that you may be taking it a bit too far. Your posts are coming across in much the same way as 74's. It seems like you're just trying to fire people up. When posters (you, 74, or anybody) post in that way often what you're really trying to say gets lost.

 

[Pumbas Nakasak]

Talk about spin.

I try to provide some balance. That is all.

And I really don't mind paying 8 dollars if it means a better product from what was provided at times.

Is thats what its called?

Its called attention whoring round here.

 

[rbrower]

Agreed, its becoming very expensive - basically out of my price range now. It's been heading this way for the last few years. You can basically buy a sit down lunch somewhere now for the price of trying a few tiny samples. I cant imagine what it must be like for a family of 4 heading around World Showcase trying to do some of the samples - $100+ for some very small offerings.

This is very true. It would most likely be cheaper for a family of 4 to all four eat a full meal at a quick service lunch (maybe even a sit down lunch, depending on where they were eating) than for one or two family members to get anywhere near a full meal nibbling down on samples. Unless they are much larger samples all of a sudden and just a better event, I don't see how this is going to go over too well. :shrug:

 

[Eeyore]

If the product and the overall experience are improved drastically, I see charging for it. I guess we will just have to see what the festival holds this year.

Bingo! :wave: Now that is a balanced viewpoint class. :lol:

 

[Master Yoda]

Well, when the economy is in a depression and people are paying huge sums of money just to walk in the gate, free is gonna get attention.

But that's not really the point.

Maybe if the samples that were once bigger than the size of a quarter were still $1-2 and not in many cases over $4 and $5 ... well, maybe people wouldn't be so eager to get something for free.

When people feel nickel and dimed they are much more likely to try and get something back from the company.

And I have done Food and Wine annually as long as it has existed, I haven't not enjoyed a free tasting. It's allowed me to try wines and foods I might not ever IF I were paying ... it allowed me to expand my dining horizons.

The thing is, as jake already pointed out, the tastings have really gotten out of hand. Some people do not mind waiting through a sea of people to get a few shot glasses of whine but quite a few of us don't want to deal with the madness. And what do people do when they drop $80 to get into a park and they are greeted by a sea of people at one of the events they wanted to go to? They go to guest relations and complain and expect compensation. If an $8 price tag turns what has become somewhat of a cluster f then that is a small price to pay. I for one would rather throw down a few bucks for a more relaxed and enjoyable experience.

 

[rbrower]

Bingo! :wave: Now that is a balanced viewpoint class. :lol:

Thank you very much. :lol:
While we shouldn't get extremely mad at the Disney executives yet for an increased price as we don't know what the event holds, we also can't praise the company for this move and assume that the festival will be any different than it has been with a few minor changes. :shrug:

 

[jt04]

This is very true. It would most likely be cheaper for a family of 4 to all four eat a full meal at a quick service lunch (maybe even a sit down lunch, depending on where they were eating) than for one or two family members to get anywhere near a full meal nibbling down on samples. Unless they are much larger samples all of a sudden and just a better event, I don't see how this is going to go over too well. :shrug:

I assume that is the case because otherwise they won't sell anything. Quality will go up.

"You get what you pay for" is as true as ever.

 

[rbrower]

I assume that is the case because otherwise they won't sell anything. Quality will go up.

"You get what you pay for" is as true as ever.

You can never know for sure though ahead of time. Just speaking all over the world, not the Disney one, many prices have gone up while the quantity of the product and/or the quality have gone down. It might be a price added to the same exact event, or it could be a new version of the festival.

 

[coasterphil]

I assume that is the case because otherwise they won't sell anything. Quality will go up.

"You get what you pay for" is as true as ever.

If that were the case then Disney wouldn't keep adding surcharges to buffet/character dining meals during nearly every part of the year.

 

[jakeman]

I have too, jake. And I have never waited 15 minutes to get in. The shortest waits were usually in the 20-30 minute range.

They also cut back the number of tastings while increasing the number of special events/dinners/lunches/seminars that all are very pricey.

Well it looks like we are going to get in to an anecdotial park experience peeing contest!

Wait times are out of hand, and have been for several years, even before they reduced options.

Since I have experience that those wait times will not decrease if they increase offerings, I am happy to pay $8 to experience something I haven't had the time commitment to do in almost 4 years.

Pathological? I'll have to ask my therapist about that one.

I don't hate Disney management ... whatever that means. I hate the way WDW is being managed and I personally don't like the jobs that some of the individuals have done in particular.

But this 'defending da man' 'tude has become the new 'normal' in our post-9/11 world (not to get political, but we all recall when our last Prez stated 'you're either with us, or you're against us').

That's the same 'tude here. You can't love WDW and still wish Erin Wallace, Al Weiss and Phil Homes were in the unemployment line? ... well, you can.

Could you be any more off topic? If any viewpoint that opposes yours defaults into "defending da man" then there is no point in having any sort of discussion.

We agree on many points, especially about dining around WDW, but if your kneejerk reaction to me or anyone else disagreeing is that we are apologist then I'm not sure there is anything left to say.

 

[WDW1974]

Agreed, its becoming very expensive - basically out of my price range now. It's been heading this way for the last few years. You can basically buy a sit down lunch somewhere now for the price of trying a few tiny samples. I cant imagine what it must be like for a family of 4 heading around World Showcase trying to do some of the samples - $100+ for some very small offerings.

It's just very stupid, even from a business standpoint.

The reason I made the event a 'must' on my annual plans was because you could graze around the lagoon ... try new things, enjoy the atmosphere, maybe learn a bit about the foods and wines.

But now? If I'm going to spend those prices on Disney dining you better believe I'll be doing so at somewhere like the California Grill or the wonderful new Sanaa.

I won't be doing it on paper plates while sitting on a bench in a theme park.

But this is part and parcel of how WDW is run these days.

I recall (likely over a decade now) when they started adding a few hot dog wagons in MK. There was one in Frontierland (now permanent) and it was only open late nights ... hot dogs were $2.50 ... a very reasonable price and they sold plenty of them. What happened? Every year the price went up to the point where I think now you're looking at like $8-9 for a 'hot dog meal' ... what's changed? Only the amount of profit ... but at what cost? How many more hot dogs would they sell if they kept the price realistic? And what about the PR aspect of it? Plenty of people feel that Mickey is gouging them ... and those aren't the fanbois here, but just regular people taking a vacation.

But I need to run... I'm sure when I check back in this thread will likely have 743 posts.

 

[WDW1974]

You can never know for sure though ahead of time. Just speaking all over the world, not the Disney one, many prices have gone up while the quantity of the product and/or the quality have gone down. It might be a price added to the same exact event, or it could be a new version of the festival.

That has been my experience with WDW Food and Beverage for years now.

I expect the worst.

And even if it actually improves size-wise, they are still taking something that has been FREE from the start and charging for it.

And since samples at booths are no longer $1-2, but much higher, they are making it a very costly event.

I don't have to wait to experience it to know it's a bad move ... this is the direction they've been going in for years.

Anyway, that's my last word of the afternoon on the subject or I'll never get out of the office. I'm sure there will be plenty more added ... enjoy the topic ... I won't charge you $8 for reading!