Is attendance really down at WDW this or…

[Lilofan]

I’m behind. When did this thread turn into a dining discussion lol

Just sayin’ if food quality was better perhaps so would be attendance. But then again to have a 7 course dinner with whiskey prepared by celebrity Chef Morimoto at his place in Disney Springs is $2K per guest, not including tip. Any other dining experiences at WDW that tops that?

 

[erasure fan1]

I'm not sticking up for it, but I'd like ground the conversation in proper context. You compared a value meal at Chili's to a sit down meal at any restaurant. Not sure you can do that.

I would say it's very comparable. For starters, chilis is a sit down restaurant that would be a fairly similar type of restaurant to sci-fi, outside of theme of course. and the burger is a menu item. The Disney burger is a bit bigger, but not to a point that it would justify that large of difference. And like I said, I think the chilis burger is a better quality burger.

 

[JD80]

I would say it's very comparable. For starters, chilis is a sit down restaurant that would be a fairly similar type of restaurant to sci-fi, outside of theme of course. and the burger is a menu item. The Disney burger is a bit bigger, but not to a point that it would justify that large of difference. And like I said, I think the chilis burger is a better quality burger.

Why not use the regular cheeseburger on the menu as a comparison point? Seems out of context otherwise. But whatever.

 

[jpeden]

I think that’s in part par for the course at an increasing number of places. I got a lollipop for my son this weekend and thought I misheard when the cashier said it was $5. Then there was a $20 (for two of us) train ride around the food court that I’d promised him. Literally two laps in a circle.

I have to remind myself to always check prices before going to the register these days, because I used to be able to assume “Oh, X costs approximately Y, give or take.” Now X might suddenly cost 3 times as much as I assume it would.

We went to our local annual fall festival last weekend - I paid $26 for a funnel cake and a lemonade from one of those traveling fair food vendors. I absolutely knew it was a mistake until I looked at their price list.

 

[Minnesota disney fan]

And a lot of that goes into other factors, I went to a local beach this summer called point pleasant nj. Ordered a plain large pizza (16 inch) pie. Cost $32.00 bucks. under normal circumstances would I do that?? Heck no but we weren't packing up our stuff, walking somewhere else and then coming back. So we accept the cost of going to the shore, no to mention having to buy beach tags just to sit on the beach

You have to BUY beach tags to sit on a public beach???? That's getting a little crazy!!

 

[wannabeBelle]

You have to BUY beach tages to sit on a public beach???? That's getting a little crazy!!

True though in a bunch of beaches in NJ. Marie

 

[JoeCamel]

You have to BUY beach tags to sit on a public beach???? That's getting a little crazy!!

Overcrowded so reservations like another place I can think of

 

[SamusAranX]

Yea, that was one of the requirements JK wanted and got, only themed drinks in the lands.

We used to fill up our Universal refillable cups before entering the land.

Harry Potter land was pitched to Disney and the reason the deal did not happen was because JK wanted too much creative control and Disney said no.

That and the WDW planners only wanted to do a ride and shop, basically TSL but smaller

 

[networkpro]

True though in a bunch of beaches in NJ. Marie

Interesting enough for me to do some web lookups. Having grown up going to my Aunts house on Tybee Island, GA I find it quiet strange.

 

[SamusAranX]

Some people may not think it's worth it, but I think there are a lot of families that just can't afford it anymore. We're all getting squeezed by inflation. You can't ignore the economic situation in this country and blame it all on Disney.

I don’t blame it on Disney singularly, but large corporations who used Covid and “inflation” to jack up their prices beyond reasonable inflation (combined with all the artificial money pumped in by the gov’t) are yes indeed to blame.

 

[SamusAranX]

True though in a bunch of beaches in NJ. Marie

They seriously need to do that at some FL beaches. I can’t even go to Clearwater anymore

 

[erasure fan1]

Why not use the regular cheeseburger on the menu as a comparison point? Seems out of context otherwise. But whatever.

The same reason I wouldn't use the single day admission prices to calculate the cost of going to 2 parks in a day. They offer a bundle option so you'd be a fool not to take it. But put that aside, burger for burger, Sci-fi is over double the cost for a lesser product. So while not 300%, it's still way off the mark.

 

[JD80]

Might as well use Wendy's value menu to compare prices. Because why not.

 

[eliza61nyc]

You have to BUY beach tags to sit on a public beach???? That's getting a little crazy!!

yep. we do have one free beach near here. you can buy daily, weekly or seasonal passes. the season runs from Memorial day to labor day. so rentals will through in a beach tag with the unit.

 

[celluloid]

I'm not sticking up for it, but I'd like ground the conversation in proper context. You compared a value meal at Chili's to a sit down meal at any restaurant. Not sure you can do that.

I would probably imagine that two of the value burgers would equal the weight of the meat in a scifi burger. If we're going to compare the two.

Not that far different as double the meet to matter. Choose Red Robin if that makes you feel better.

 

[networkpro]

So does the mediocre food at high prices correlate to the attendance drop or is it just a reflection of the current economy as a whole ? In middle Georgia (and excursions north to the Atlanta urban wasteland) its easy to spend a hundred dollars for a non-extravagant lunch for two out and about.

 

[adam.adbe]

Might as well use Wendy's value menu to compare prices. Because why not.

TBF, the Wendy's Frosty is probably superior to the SciFi frosty-alike, and bigger too.

That said, I'm not getting the hate on SciFi here: that burger for lunch and I'm pretty much skipping dinner, so the price isn't that out of whack for me.

 

[Disstevefan1]

So does the mediocre food at high prices correlate to the attendance drop or is it just a reflection of the current economy as a whole ? In middle Georgia (and excursions north to the Atlanta urban wasteland) its easy to spend a hundred dollars for a non-extravagant lunch for two out and about.

WDW always had mediocre food at high prices, but it may be getting to a point where more families are being priced out of WDW and only the folks with enough disposable income can afford to go to WDW and partake in the mediocre food.

 

[eliza61nyc]

I don’t blame it on Disney singularly, but large corporations who used Covid and “inflation” to jack up their prices beyond reasonable inflation (combined with all the artificial money pumped in by the gov’t) are yes indeed to blame.

it's not only large corporations. Like I said, my other favorite place is the beach, well the jersey shore during covid was really the only game in town because of course the ocean is outdoors. well business lost their minds imo. weekly rentals doubled or in some cases tripled because people were paying anything just to get outside. this past summer rentals nose dived. the place I rented pre covid was 1800 for a week in july, this summer the guy wanted 4K. are you nutz. 4 grand to sit on a jersey beach? not gonna happen

Priced out of the Jersey Shore: Some travelers opt for all-inclusive resorts instead as rental costs soar

Families across the region say they can no longer justify the cost of an annual week at the Jersey Shore. Some have found cheaper vacation spots elsewhere.

www.inquirer.com

so I know a lot of folks who decided to go to Disney instead.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

So does the mediocre food at high prices correlate to the attendance drop or is it just a reflection of the current economy as a whole ? In middle Georgia (and excursions north to the Atlanta urban wasteland) its easy to spend a hundred dollars for a non-extravagant lunch for two out and about.

It is all part of how majority of people have less discretionary spending money available and a trip to Disney would not take up even more of said discretionary spending money (same as other places) so more focus on what are you getting for it (be it the food specifically or the overall experience) and some finding they can't justify it anymore/not worth it

other still find it worth it and go just as before, others cut back on how often the go, others go as often but make cuts elsewhere (such as few Table Service meals per trip, etc)