How much would you pay????

[HongKongFu]

Inspired by fantasy08's discussion about the whether Epcot Showcase food is included with park tickets or not.......


How much would you pay for unlimited food and drinks at Epcot?
Effectively a park wide buffet of unlimited sit-down and counter services from crepes in France to beers in Germany to steak in Canada.
So if it's your thing you could eat 5 lbs of lamb sitting down for 3 hours in Morroco, puke it out and head over to UK for a fish and chip quickie.

Stipulations:
1)ordinary park hours apply 9am to 9pm with Showcase opening at
its usual 11am

2)crowds are as such that you do not need reservations for any sit-down.....there's a table waiting for you.

3) expensive/high roller type drinks do not apply. You don't get to tank 750ml worth of Johnnie Walker Blue all day or $50+ glasses of wine.....just typical beers, margaritas and lower caliber wines and shots are offered as much as you can drink, of course

4) no tipping........Epcot entry ticket is the one and only payment you make.

5) all rides and attractions are operational with nothing exceeding 20 minute wait.

6) no intentional wasting of food. No ordering a a full meal and taking 2 bites at every sit-down. A reasonable and good faith attempt not to overly waste. If you puke out your 3rd Bass Ale because you drank too much, fine......you're on solid ground.


I'd pay $375 for a ticket.....maybe $400

 

[eliza61nyc]

Good question, humm are we going with your price includes a 1 day park entrance??

I would say maybe 100 dollars over the cost of my entrance. Generally we are not big park eaters. we just prefer the resort restaurants. Our favorite at Epcot is Via Napoli and Chefs de France. 100 bucks would cover a meal and adult beverage and the occasional snack we have.

 

[networkpro]

For my wife and I, any value in it above one of the dining plan would be minimal. I could see it having value for teenagers who would eat anything without a coat of fresh paint, but that's about as far as it goes.

 

[Shouldigo12]

You would to be a huge eater for an all day buffet ticket to be worth it. Just the deluxe dining plan is already too much food for one person, I can't imagine someone actually wanting to eat enough that they would pay for unlimited food. An unlimited drinking pass though- that I can see people jumping on.

 

[Lilofan]

All you can eat and drink mixed with riding Test Track, Mission Space and Soarin and I will be losing my lunch fairly quickly.

 

[HongKongFu]

Good question, humm are we going with your price includes a 1 day park entrance??

Well yes

 

[yaksplat]

Except for a meal or two at Trail's End and another the Bier Garden we just eat kid's meals so there's no interest here. I could down plenty of beer though, but on average, we don't exceed $20/day for alcohol.

 

[Cmdr_Crimson]

I for one think it's a horrible idea..Do you realize how bad simple kiosks that on a normal day that could be 2 to 3 people waiting in line for a snack now becomes 60 people deep...It's as awful as a concept similar to Six Flags..Places that hardly got big lines become worst as the stick out in midways...

 

["El Gran Magnifico"]

Not a fan of the idea but....

You already have DDP that would cover the TS options.

I'll address this by looking at it solely from a kiosk and beverage (alcoholic) perspective. And say: an add on of about $79.99 per person.

That covers about 4 beverages and 6 snacks/kiosk offerings for close to a break even point for the guest). If you spend the entire day (or about 6-7 hours) at EPCOT - it is a doable amount.

 

[HongKongFu]

..Do you realize how bad simple kiosks that on a normal day that could be 2 to 3 people waiting in line for a snack now becomes 60 people deep..

2 things this was not a serious proposition....just a hypothetical to see what some would be willing to pay. Second you went against my imaginary stipulation(s): no more than 20 minute attraction lines and an available sitdown table waiting for you. That means very few people in the park and thus, no pile up at counters, right?

 

[Jon81uk]

I've seen tasting sampler cards and things before (like Animal Kingdom did one basically spend $50 and get $10 free).
Some kind of 10 snacks for $50 card would probably be the best way to offer this at Food and Wine.

 

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

I would pay nothing.
If I want to try food/drinks I buy what I want to try or I go to a festival where I get a small portion so I can try multiple things without getting too full.
I am also someone who does like the DDP so another thing I'd consider is maybe getting the DxDP which I normally would not get but if I wanted to try multiple things at EPCOT I'd consider it.

 

[drizgirl]

I would never do this. I have no interest in subsidizing other peoples’ eating. And I would never eat enough to justify the cost.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

The only advantage to this over the Deluxe dining plan would be that you would only pay for the 1 day, or just when you're at Epcot, instead of paying for the DDP for the whole trip.

But even then you could just get a $100 gift card, and then whatever you don't spend on food that day, you could use it somewhere else.

 

[MickeyLuv'r]

Long ago....WDW used to offer a package that included, more or less, unlimited everything at WDW. At the time, my thought was that we could not possibly use enough entitlements to cover the going price of the package.

Simply, we can't be two places at once.

Second, WDW already offers buffets that are AYCE. If WDW offered this, they would likely charge more than the price of a buffet, but we'd be up against the limits of logistics.

More logisitcs would also play into this. In Epcot, time very much = $.
If I have to wait 60min in line, and thus can effectively only get 1 glass of wine per hour, then IMO, the offerings aren't truly unlimited. The beverage offerings = a trade off.

At least, that is how such offerings have historically worked at WDW. The DDP, in part, lured WDW's customers into a time trade-off: instead of eating 25 minute QS meals, they shifted to 90+ minute TS meals. (= less e-ride time per day.)

***********

WDW currently offers something a bit like what you describe: club level lounges at their deluxe hotels. While lounges don't serve food all day, they offer food and beverages much of the day: 7am-10pm. CL guests are allowed to eat as much food as they want while the food is out. (Breakfast 7am-10am, mid-day snacks 11-4, appetizers 5pm-7pm, and desserts 8pm-10pm.) Some alcohol is also available upon request much of the day: beer, wine, and 8pm-10pm cordials. (mildly limited by staff per FL alcohol laws)

To be fair, much of the food offerings are items like chips, cereal, bread, and sweets, not full meals, but it is an interesting option for some folks. In practice, most CL don't sit around all day gorging themselves. They eat breakfast, head to the parks, then maybe come back for appetizers or desserts.

 

[Minthorne]

NYE open bar with high end food at Cali Grill is going at $675 a person this year. So I'd guess this at Epcot would be about $575 at Disney Prices.

I'd think you could eat/drink all you really wanted and pay out of pocket for less than that.

 

[Hockey89]

NYE open bar with high end food at Cali Grill is going at $675 a person this year.

Tell me this is a joke? So high end food, so they are cooking different food than they normally do the other 364 days?

 

[MickeyLuv'r]

The only advantage to this over the Deluxe dining plan would be that you would only pay for the 1 day, or just when you're at Epcot, instead of paying for the DDP for the whole trip.

But even then you could just get a $100 gift card, and then whatever you don't spend on food that day, you could use it somewhere else.

It might be worthwhile, but another long-standing strategy has been to book a split stay, where one part of the vacation is a package with deluxe dining plan, and the rest of the trip is a room-only stay.

When Disney offered the old unlimited package, pretty much the only way to come remotely close to getting the value of it was to book it for just 1-2 days of a longer WDW vacation, and go all out those two days.

Even then, even going full tilt, I never thought the cost added up to what we could possibly manage to do in a day.

 

[Minthorne]

Tell me this is a joke? So high end food, so they are cooking different food than they normally do the other 364 days?

I guess from your post you don't consider the menu there 'high end' food. I would imagine you'd agree it is at least on par with Epcot TS - which is what I was comparing it to.

Elegant Evening Under the Stars at California Grill
Ring in the New Year with an elegant toast, marvelous entertainment and a special appearance by some of your favorite Disney characters.
Take in a bubbling champagne toast in a setting inspired by the twinkling lights and lush greenery of California wine country. Be mesmerized by a slight of hand magician, or have an artist paint your portrait. Indulge in decadent delicacies as you mingle with a host of eccentric personalities. You might even spot or catch a glimpse of Mickey, Minnie, Donald and Goofy as they make a special appearance to celebrate the New Year!
Cap off the night with a dazzling rooftop view of the spectacular Magic Kingdom fireworks.
When and Where
December 31, 2019 at California Grill

• Check-In: 7:00 PM
• Event Time: 8:00 PM to 12:30 AM

Price
$675 per person, tax and gratuity included
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• For men, we recommend dress pants or slacks with a collared shirt, tie and jacket.
• For women, we recommend dresses, skirts, pants and blouses.

Reservations
Advance reservations are highly recommended and can be made on this page or with the My Disney Experience app up to 180 days prior to your visit. You may also call (407) 824-1391. Guests 18 and under must have parent or guardian permission to call. Full payment is due at time of booking. Cancellations must be received at least one day prior to event to avoid being charged full price.
All events, offerings and menus are subject to change or cancellation without notice.

 

[JIMINYCR]

I know I wouldnt pay anything for it. I would never eat that much food to justify an unlimited amount paid feature. The DDP serves me fine and even that sometimes isnt worth taking. A TS meal, a couple of snack items throughout the day and I'm fine. I dont live to eat, I eat enough to satisfy myself and to enjoy. We do have friends who go deluxe DP, they go to eat and eat and eat. They would find that kind of feature just right. ( I wont disclose the difference in our body sizes but it is vastly different)