Fountain & Bottled Drink, Popcorn, Pretzel, and Other Snack Item Prices Exponentially

[Lensman]

Are you packing 1-2 lunches per trip, cooking breakfast to save money? Or because you genuinely enjoy making, packing, carrying lunches, and cooking breakfast?

It all starts with the requisite grocery shopping trip on arrival day, which is an orgy of impulse purchases and good intentions. Inevitably, bad-for-you snacks are purchased, so to compensate, we always get lots of fruit to encourage healthy snacking. This leads to the huge daily snack ration. Plus it always seems to be a surprise that I'm the only one who likes bananas.

Next comes the deli aisle where inevitably it seems like a good idea to get some luncheon meats and cheese. This leads to lettuce, tomato, and bread going on the shopping list. And once we've bought them, now comes the chore of deciding which couple of days we are going to pack lunch. Lol

Breakfast on the other hand we genuinely like making plus it works out with the shower schedule to be efficient - breakfast is ready by the time the penultimate shower is done and cleanup goes on while the last person showers. Plus it's easy and quick to prepare and is stands up well to even the best table service meals and exceeds any CS breakfast, to my taste. We're not rope drop people anymore and there is a large enough variation in vacation wake up times, so this works out for us. It also tends to be the case that lunch is packed on the day(s) where there is extra time in the morning.

But yes, I'd say that we're doing it to save money because we naturally look to save money where possible. OTOH, we have money so I'd say that 70-80% of our dinners are table service. We will generally eat once or twice at a signature, including Victoria & Alberts.

Contradictory? Maybe.

The point is, are these cost increases beyond what may have been predicted when signing up for DVC, actually subtracting from the pleasure of DVC ownership? Or are DVC members justifying these cost, or seemingly do not care making cutbacks.

Oh, we're not making cutbacks because the prices are going up. If anything, the cutbacks are coming at home with eating out less and eating more chicken and less steak. I can easily save $7-$20 a day on lunch at work, which comes to about $200 a month and I'd rather do that than cut back on eating while on vacation. But note that there isn't a correlation between those two things.

I bought DVC when I was (sort of) just getting started in my professional career and so my pay has mostly kept up with price increases. Not literally but my disposable income certainly has.

Part of my vacation enjoyment is to not cook, carry rations, and indulge - where normally I do not. Personally, I would prefer to take a break during the day and enjoy a sit down air conditioned lunch, opposed to eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

As described, I completely sympathize and agree! (But mostly because I hate PB&J. We usually get turkey with Havarti or ham with swiss) We usually go in Oct/Nov so weather cooperates except when it's raining. Plus like I said it's only 1-2 packed lunches over a week's trip. And I have to admit that there have been several times where the lunch doesn't get eaten - or at least not eaten for lunch.

Food and snack is part of my vacation, and I would be upset if I had to alter my vacation behavior due to rising costs. As a non-DVC member, there less of a feeling of entrapment, even if the cost are rising elsewhere. I thought DVC members would be more upset about this, and I was curious to see if DVC members were more or less emotional about rising costs.

For us, no. In fact I'd say that that we feel immunized a little from the rising costs due to the fact that we are immunized from rising lodging costs. And as room prices go up, we feel like we're "saving" more money and can spend more money on food and incidentals. This may not be logical but I'm just more talking about the psychology of it for us. Others may feel differently.

BTW, I'd never feel entrapped. We don't go every year and I just rent out my points.

 

[Tom P.]

I guess it hasn't reached critical mass point yet.

That begs the question of Why are folks still going to Disney?
There has to be something we are missing, if people know they are getting screwed and still signing up to go, what are we missing.
That's a serious question for any vacation venue.

I can't speak for anyone else. For me, the answer is simple. I don't think I'm getting screwed. Simple as that.

I know, on these boards unless you think Bob Iger is the devil incarnate, you are a heretic. But I still think Walt Disney World represents a good value for what you get. (Yup, I know what I just said. Constructed that sentence deliberately. And mean it.)

As I've said in other threads, my family and I spent a weekend in the Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge area last month. We went to Dollywood for a couple of days while we were there. All throughout that vacation, my wife and I kept talking about we don't get how people can say Disney's costs are so ridiculous when you look at what other vacation destinations cost. When we were at Dollywood, we kept joking that we needed to go back to WDW where things are cheap.

Is Disney focusing more on short-term profit than they did in the past? Yes. Have the prices on things risen faster than they should? Yes. Would Walt be happy with how expensive the parks are? Probably not. But, still, we enjoy WDW immensely and I think that what we get is worth what we pay for it.

Go ahead. Grab the pitchforks.

 

[Lensman]

Aladdin tickets are WAYYYYY more expensive in New York...I think I paid $165 per for mezzanine last year

It seems like every seat and night are different. Last year, we paid $125 for mezzanine tickets for a Friday night, but I think that was a price from the secondary market. It's hard to tell since I think Ticketmaster lists tickets from Stubhub now. I remember thinking that we got a good deal on those tickets so I think $165 sounds right.

 

[eliza61nyc]

Are you packing 1-2 lunches per trip, cooking breakfast to save money? Or because you genuinely enjoy making, packing, carrying lunches, and cooking breakfast?

The point is, are these cost increases beyond what may have been predicted when signing up for DVC, actually subtracting from the pleasure of DVC ownership? Or are DVC members justifying these cost, or seemingly do not care making cutbacks.

Part of my vacation enjoyment is to not cook, carry rations, and indulge - where normally I do not. Personally, I would prefer to take a break during the day and enjoy a sit down air conditioned lunch, opposed to eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Food and snack is part of my vacation, and I would be upset if I had to alter my vacation behavior due to rising costs. As a non-DVC member, there less of a feeling of entrapment, even if the cost are rising elsewhere. I thought DVC members would be more upset about this, and I was curious to see if DVC members were more or less emotional about rising costs.

So when I purchased my dvc, the cost of tickets and food were never ever a consideration. My dvc is a prepaid hotel room to hedge the rise in cost of the hotel.

Now in this instance, nothing about my vacation behavior as changed one whit. We always carried frozen water into the parks, mainly because we tend to go in August or September and we knew it's Africa hot. someone in our party always has a back pack so what are we talking about when you say "rations". I don't think anyone is hauling army rations on their backs. we're talking a 20 oz bottle of ice water. We were never big soda drinkers. Yep I love a coke with a pizza so if we spend 20 dollars on soda over 7 days that's a lot. That is a cost I can easily absorb without breaking stride.

Now the dvc members I know go many many other places so I'm not sure about the entrapment. Next year I'm skipping wdw not because of the cost but because of star wars. I'll wait until the mad house dies down. I'll bank my 2019 points and in 2020 I'll either invite my family to go with us and cover the room or I'll break it up into 2 or 3 trips with different folks. Only God knows what the cost of an AP will cost in 2020 so I'll reevaluate. But again I usually get a dvc discount on APs so that may help.
Next year I'm headed for either London or Greece. again I have a budget and decide if the vacation is affordable. All the dvc members that I know would sell in a heart beat if they felt they are not getting the value they want out of their vacation.

I'm not making any cutbacks at all nor changing how I vacation.

 

[disneyflush]

So when I purchased my dvc, the cost of tickets and food were never ever a consideration. My dvc is a prepaid hotel room to hedge the rise in cost of the hotel.

Now in this instance, nothing about my vacation behavior as changed one whit. We always carried frozen water into the parks, mainly because we tend to go in August or September and we knew it's Africa hot. someone in our party always has a back pack so what are we talking about when you say "rations". I don't think anyone is hauling army rations on their backs. we're talking a 20 oz bottle of ice water. We were never big soda drinkers. Yep I love a coke with a pizza so if we spend 20 dollars on soda over 7 days that's a lot. That is a cost I can easily absorb without breaking stride.

Now the dvc members I know go many many other places so I'm not sure about the entrapment. Next year I'm skipping wdw not because of the cost but because of star wars. I'll wait until the mad house dies down. I'll bank my 2019 points and in 2020 I'll either invite my family to go with us and cover the room or I'll break it up into 2 or 3 trips with different folks. Only God knows what the cost of an AP will cost in 2020 so I'll reevaluate. But again I usually get a dvc discount on APs so that may help.
Next year I'm headed for either London or Greece. again I have a budget and decide if the vacation is affordable. All the dvc members that I know would sell in a heart beat if they felt they are not getting the value they want out of their vacation.

I'm not making any cutbacks at all nor changing how I vacation.

If the cost of tickets and food were never ever a consideration when weighing purchasing DVC you are likely well enough off in this world that you aren't in the percentage of people where these hikes are sensitive issues. I wouldn't think the others of us here discussing it with a bit of sensitivity would require so many of the same posts stating how these price hikes just don't affect you at all. Have a great time on your European vacation next year.

 

[The Empress Lilly]

I was just getting on to see if anyone here can confirm this. Raising prices mid-festival seems over the top, even for WDW. What is going on down there with the sudden decline in offerings and uptick in prices. I get all the arguments one way or the other but it seems drastic and sudden with it happening on both ends. Anyone know what’s really going on?

End of quarter happened between September and October. Plus the need to decrease the decrease of increase of profit through cuts and price hikes. (Sentence meant that way)

 

[Tom P.]

I was just getting on to see if anyone here can confirm this. Raising prices mid-festival seems over the top, even for WDW. What is going on down there with the sudden decline in offerings and uptick in prices. I get all the arguments one way or the other but it seems drastic and sudden with it happening on both ends. Anyone know what’s really going on?

I would say the end of a fiscal quarter, the agreement to raise wages, and the finalizing of the deal for 21st Century Fox are all conspiring to put more pressure on the folks in Florida to squeeze out every last dime.

 

[eliza61nyc]

If the cost of tickets and food were never ever a consideration when weighing purchasing DVC you are likely well enough off in this world that you aren't in the percentage of people where these hikes are sensitive issues. I wouldn't think the others of us here discussing it with a bit of sensitivity would require so many of the same posts stating how these price hikes just don't affect you at all. Have a great time on your European vacation next year.

You read all of that into the post?? jeez

ok what I meant was that my late husband and I knew about timeshares and we knew that it was a hedge against the cost of the room and the room only. We had a very honest sales person who flat out said that ticket prices go up all the time. We did not think that it had any effect on food or ticket prices. although when we purchased you got 2 free length of stay passes. "sensitive issues" Disney is a LUXURY. hopefully if one is going to the world continuously one is not starving.

secondly we are talking about the hikes on drinks nothing else. some one else asked how this, the price of drinks effects the dvc members and again I don't think it has a big impact for various reasons. Now when the discussion of AP's come up, the answer will probably different. If there were a considerable hike in our membership dues, again that would definitely be a different answer.

when we purchased we actually had less disposable income than now. we had small kids and college tuition to look forward to.
The reality is that if anyone is going to wdw a lot they probably have their financial house in order. Disney is not nor has it ever been a cheap trip

lastly I don't apologize for my comfort. I'm almost 60, put 3 kids through college and paid off my mortgage and I have a pension and I lived below my means. like everyone else I have a budget and some years it's flexible but in other years it's not.
Any vacation I take is budgeted and saved for and I make priority. Yes I want to go to Europe next year, it also means I'll be cutting back on other things and actually I wanted to go this year but my 10 year old car finally died.

I am sensitive that youngins today have it a bit different with saving for retirement and paying off crazy student debt but I did not cause this situation so I'm not about to feel guilty it.

Again I was answering a specific question about dvc members

thank you

 

[Goofnut1980]

The large drinks increase is kind of insane. Syrup costs them pennies on the dollar, especially in the quantities they buy it in. You can't sit there and tell me they weren't already making a killing on both sizes. If McDonald's can sell large drinks for a dollar and still make money, you can bet WDW is raking it in at $3.49.

AMC charges $6.29 for a large soda

 

[Brad Bishop]

The large drinks increase is kind of insane. Syrup costs them pennies on the dollar, especially in the quantities they buy it in. You can't sit there and tell me they weren't already making a killing on both sizes. If McDonald's can sell large drinks for a dollar and still make money, you can bet WDW is raking it in at $3.49.

I'm going to be the "business guy" and say: It literally doesn't matter what it cost them but, instead, what you, or the vast majority of visitors, are willing to pay at WDW.

Don't like the prices? Don't buy the drink. If enough people did this then they'd be forced to lower their drink prices. Unfortunately, people will "just pay it".

Not knocking your or trying to come down on you. Just saying this all in very general terms.

 

[Brad Bishop]

Could a cover charge for Club Cool be far behind... ?

Isn't it something like $100? I haven't been in years but I'm pretty sure the cover is around $100.

 

[BoarderPhreak]

I look at it this way... For every WDW trip I took, I could've gone just about anywhere else in the world, and probably had a helluva time. But do I regret any of those WDW?

NOPE.

That said, it's getting harder and harder to say that with as much enthusiasm.

 

[erasure fan1]

I would say the end of a fiscal quarter, the agreement to raise wages,

This has a much greater impact than some would like to think. When wages go up like this, guess what, it gets passed on to the consumers by raising prices. Of course Disney pretty much uses any excuse to raise prices. Why? Because they can.

 

[eliza61nyc]

Can I ask, how much of a raise did the employees get? I hope it was substantial.

 

[Lensman]

If the cost of tickets and food were never ever a consideration when weighing purchasing DVC you are likely well enough off in this world that you aren't in the percentage of people where these hikes are sensitive issues. I wouldn't think the others of us here discussing it with a bit of sensitivity would require so many of the same posts stating how these price hikes just don't affect you at all. Have a great time on your European vacation next year.

I think @eliza61nyc was just responding to the question about how DVC members felt about the price hike on drinks (and food), considering that we might be even more captive than regular visitors.

I hope you don't feel similarly about my posts in response to the question, but if so I apologize for making you feel bad. It was not my intention.

I also hope that this post doesn't dissuade others from posting their opinions on this topic. I, for one, welcome all possible comparisons to sports arenas (even college sports, and I don't care whether you do or don't have season tickets), other theme parks (even ones that aren't in low cost-of-living areas and contain 4 theme parks in one complex), other countries, other planets, even alternate quantum universes.

And you Club 33 members, don't feel shy about posting about your experiences either! I won't make you feel bad for being able to afford such a luxury. I'd honestly like to hear about how good the food actually is and how it might be in MK, even though I likely would never be able to afford to join unless I won the lottery (and it would have to be a big one even then).

I'm going to be the "business guy" and say: It literally doesn't matter what it cost them but, instead, what you, or the vast majority of visitors, are willing to pay at WDW.

Don't like the prices? Don't buy the drink. If enough people did this then they'd be forced to lower their drink prices. Unfortunately, people will "just pay it".

Not knocking your or trying to come down on you. Just saying this all in very general terms.

I think that buying the drinks and feeling taken advantage of is also a valid strategy, in that it is the one that I tend to choose.

Such moves will eventually erode my brand loyalty, if they haven't already. We don't go as often as we used to, but that may be due to other factors (kids grown up, etc.).

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

I can't speak for anyone else. For me, the answer is simple. I don't think I'm getting screwed. Simple as that.

I know, on these boards unless you think Bob Iger is the devil incarnate, you are a heretic. But I still think Walt Disney World represents a good value for what you get. (Yup, I know what I just said. Constructed that sentence deliberately. And mean it.)

As I've said in other threads, my family and I spent a weekend in the Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge area last month. We went to Dollywood for a couple of days while we were there. All throughout that vacation, my wife and I kept talking about we don't get how people can say Disney's costs are so ridiculous when you look at what other vacation destinations cost. When we were at Dollywood, we kept joking that we needed to go back to WDW where things are cheap.

Is Disney focusing more on short-term profit than they did in the past? Yes. Have the prices on things risen faster than they should? Yes. Would Walt be happy with how expensive the parks are? Probably not. But, still, we enjoy WDW immensely and I think that what we get is worth what we pay for it.

Go ahead. Grab the pitchforks.

Just speaking for me...

The question isn’t whether a given day or trip is “still enjoyable”...the question is where is the tipping point and when will we cross it?

I don’t ever want to see that day...but can’t say with good faith the leadership isn’t willing to cross that line. What does it really matter to them?

That’s why “old Disney” is gone and the new one can’t be looked at be in the game for the long haul.

 

[DABIGCHEEZ]

So I'm a dvc member, own at the beach club.
I don't speak for them all.
For the most part the reason why we purchased a dvc is to hedge against rising cost. Most of us knew the prices were going to rise so by locking in our room it was a way to keep prices a little lower and next many of us purchased so we would not be held hostage by this sort of thing.
We always get a 1 bedroom with a full kitchen. We buy a case of water from walmart, freeze them overnight and have cold water through out the day.
Also our dvc card gives us discounts at a lot on site resort restaurants. 10%
And a 15% discount on merchandise.

As a DVCer, this is what we do and have done for years. Also we have breakfast in our room, bring water and snacks in(buy a few in park too) on our park days, and dine at a few on property restaurants and a few off property(we drive down so we have our van). I will say that the amount of times we go has lessened from 1 or 2x/year to maybe 1x/every 2 years.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

As a DVCer, this is what we do and have done for years. Also we have breakfast in our room, bring water and snacks in(buy a few in park too) on our park days, and dine at a few on property restaurants and a few off property(we drive down so we have our van). I will say that the amount of times we go has lessened from 1 or 2x/year to maybe 1x/every 2 years.

I see this account all the time...and I have to ask: are you doing that because you WANT to? Does it make you happy?

Or is it more like Work from home?


Also...I doubt disney is really supportive at all. I can see them eventually building without or retrofitting the kitchens out. They’ve done surveys on this.

The goal of DVC is not for them to “make it cheaper for you”...it’s to guarantee you’ll always be there with your big, fat wallet.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Well, They have to pay for that knew $15 minimum wage increase. And you KNOW they are going to jack up prices at DHS once Star Wars Land opens.

What you call "false equivalencies" the rest of the world calls Economics. You can't give all of your staff a massive pay increase and maintain it without raising prices to cover those costs.

Woah...supply side alert!!!

We have heard it on every topic a zillion times. So can we not go over it a billion times here?

I get it...it’s fall semester and there will be 3 exams and two projects

 

[Tiggerish]

This DVCer hasn’t stepped foot in a WDW Park for almost 3 years. We rented our points this year to help cover our Alaska cruise (on DCL, naturally)

Between 1998 and 2015, we took anywhere from 2-6 trips per year to WDW, most times renting a car and stopping at Publix for groceries (on a long trip) or at least the Hess (RIP) for a case of water on our short trips. We LOVED the F&W Festival until a few years ago when we saw the prices go up and the portions go down. Price increases along the way, when the portion size didn’t diminish, were ok with us, but I won’t pay more for less.

We would usually breakfast in the room and loved table service dinners (and often lunches too)...until making the DDP seem to have more value by jacking up the cost of dining got to us.

We live in NYC. It’s expensive for sure, but I don’t feel like the COL here has increased quite so exponentially as WDW has over the last 3 years.