Snack price increases?

[Communicore]

So the parking lot golf cart snacks have gone up too?

 

[Luxe]

I know this is a small focus group, but hear me out-

I am in 2 FB planning groups for November and December. Great group of people bouncing planning ideas, and sharing their vacation experiences. Many of them did/or will be doing plenty of up sell events. I only did 2- JBJB dessert party and MK EMM. Plenty of others in the group were actually able to get Holiday Wishes Dessert Party (it's been sold out for quite some time), and quite a few also did EMM, JBJB, and Club Villian. I did not see one person complain about them, in fact they all gave great reviews.

The new SW 7 hour thing would have been perfect for my family, and definitely will be in the future. They are options that can enhance a vacation, that's all. If you don't do them it's not the end of the world or a horrible vacation, I still had a great time at MVMCP even without the dessert party.

I'm baffled that you STILL fail to understand the problem with the barrage of upcharge events after it's been explained to you so many times in multiple threads. Staggering...

 

[GhostHost1000]

new advertisement - Get your $5 Mickey Ice Cream bar...it tastes like a million bucks... how much would you pay?

 

[21stamps]

I'm baffled that you STILL fail to understand the problem with the barrage of upcharge events after it's been explained to you so many times in multiple threads. Staggering...

You view it as a problem. I view them as more options.

It's that simple.

 

[Virtual Toad]

Geez, I thought I was the only one who thinks that DIS by it's pricing/spending patterns is acting like a financially unsound business.

Everyone assumes they're just doing it to get rid of low-value customers, but the pace and timing of the upcharges, coupled with the snail's pace of actual improvements, doesn't give me much confidence as a shareholder. DIS has had a great run in recent years-- stock-wise-- but how much of that stock value is based on sound management and prudent long-term investment remains to be seen.

 

[Mr Ferret 75]

There has always been people that could not afford a Disney vacation. The class warfare card isn't valid.

Easy to say when you are a 1% er

 

[networkpro]

Easy to say when you are a 1% er

Even easier to take the vantage point that if doesn't fit my personal situation it has to be bad and should be chased around with pitch forks and torches.

 

[Mr Ferret 75]

Disney HAS a problem, They supposedly want the 'elite' customers yet are only willing to provide Motel 6 levels of service. Where at Disney today can you get even 'Sandals' levels of service and luxury, That's right NOWHERE on property.

Disney management has been blinded by greed, They have been strip mining the investments made by prior management teams while contributing NOTHING to the growth of the parks just herd the cattle in and take em for all they've got. Keep cheapening DVC till we have the sorry excuse for villas in the Poly yet charge highest price ever.

This is about lining the pockets of management, I really pity the next management team because they are going to have to rebuild the Disney brand with NOTHING on hand just a couple of assets which are declining in value and some Movie IP

Really ??

 

[Mr Ferret 75]

Even easier to take the vantage point that if doesn't fit my personal situation it has to be bad and should be chased around with pitch forks and torches.

 

[Luxe]

You view it as a problem. I view them as more options.

It's that simple.

Still running off pixie dust from your trip huh?

 

[21stamps]

Still running off pixie dust from your trip huh?

Everything in life is a personal choice, right? Sure there are extenuating factors..but pretty much everything we do is a choice.

For me personally- My daily life is extremely hectic, some of that is by circumstance, most of it is by choice. So, when I choose to take a vacation convenience is key. Some things work in the budget, some don't. Some things don't fit in the schedule. All things I know about ahead of time.

I knew Mickey bars were $5. If I was worried about being able to buy my kid a $5 ice cream then I wouldn't be going on a vacation-anywhere.
As for the overall price increases- What I can do is make other adjustments. I cut back on daily Starbucks about 2 months before our trip. This helped me justify a vacation so close to Christmas. That was my personal choice.

Another choice- I think game rooms are a waste of money at WDW. I let my kid buy a $5 game card..and made him take it out of his money. I gave him the choice- "spend some of your budget on this, or save it for something else. We can play games at D&B or one of the 8 other indoor game places where we live and go semi often." He chose the $5 for games, and when he ran out we discussed if he really wanted to spend more on that. He reluctantly said that he didn't want to spend anymore of his money, and we went about our day.

Other people may go in the same game room and spend $20-$100. Do I think they're nuts? No, I just think their choices are different than mine.

 

[xdan0920]

Still running off pixie dust from your trip huh?

Look buddy. She has no disposable income. I am sure she worked 70 hour weeks in some office somewhere to be able to afford this vacation.

 

[xdan0920]

By the way. I don't actually care if some random poor can afford a Mickey bar. That said.....

I don't particularly like feeling like a sucker when I am on vacation. Sure, I can afford the ice cream, but I find it hard to reconcile the price of it. Disney food prices have gone absolutely batsit crazy. The last time I was there, 13 months ago. I felt like a MORON every time I got a bill or paid a check. I still havn't shaken that feeling. Now on my next trip, we are going to be packing snacks. Like poors do. I just can't make myself spend car payments on fast food lunches every single day for a week.

 

[21stamps]

By the way. I don't actually care if some random poor can afford a Mickey bar. That said.....

I don't particularly like feeling like a sucker when I am on vacation. Sure, I can afford the ice cream, but I find it hard to reconcile the price of it. Disney food prices have gone absolutely batsit crazy. The last time I was there, 13 months ago. I felt like a MORON every time I got a bill or paid a check. I still havn't shaken that feeling. Now on my next trip, we are going to be packing snacks. Like poors do. I just can't make myself spend car payments on fast food lunches every single day for a week.

Now this point I agree with!!! I also don't think it's about being "poor", just about being "smart". We have season passes to a Cedar Fair park. Food and drink prices are ridic. I pack snacks and bottled water every time we go, and this year I finally broke down and purchased one of the refillable mugs that I've always thought looked so annoying to carry around. They are actually a good value and convenient. We do buy 1 or 2 overpriced ice cream, caramel apples, and funnel cake sundaes each visit, but sometimes share an apple, and I try not to eat meals there. I also pack food and milk in my luggage when we go on any vacay. The problem with Disney this time is I stupidly put the 2 6 packs of Horizon singles in a carry on bag, and didn't realize til too late. Needless to say they were thrown away by security

 

[PeoplemoverTTA]

By the way. I don't actually care if some random poor can afford a Mickey bar. That said.....

I don't particularly like feeling like a sucker when I am on vacation. Sure, I can afford the ice cream, but I find it hard to reconcile the price of it. Disney food prices have gone absolutely batsit crazy. The last time I was there, 13 months ago. I felt like a MORON every time I got a bill or paid a check. I still havn't shaken that feeling. Now on my next trip, we are going to be packing snacks. Like poors do. I just can't make myself spend car payments on fast food lunches every single day for a week.

You've hit the nail on the head. Can we afford to pay $6 for pretzels (with cheese that is unnecessarily thrown away and wasted)? Sure. But it's hard to reconcile spending that amount on something that was more than $1 cheaper back in August.

We're passholders, so we're looking at taking one last, long trip next summer before they expire. It's not even just price, but also food quality. The irony is that as prices have gone to ridiculous levels, the quality in many areas has decreased (particularly in counter service meals, as some have mentioned). We had been ordering Garden Grocer for water and breakfast in the past (we've used DDP on some trips and haven't on others). Now that we know Whole Foods Orlando will deliver to our hotel, we will be ordering significantly more food. I don't like to cook on vacation, but the quality of quick, healthy meals from Whole Foods is on par or better than a $15 quick service meal in the parks.

I calculated the difference between the food I'm ordering and doing the quick service dining plan for 3 people...$900.

Just because I can afford to buy their food doesn't mean I'm a fan of throwing my money away. I'd much rather put that money toward a unique tour or something truly special, rather than a magical SuperPretzel or Dove Ice Cream Bar.

I thought I saw somewhere a notion that the prices "aren't that bad" and are "worse elsewhere." Agreed - prices are worse in many sports arenas and amusement parks. Except sports venues, concerts and amusement parks are attended for a few hours to a day (possibly two) at an amusement park. They do gouge you because they can - they know you're less likely to go to the hassle of bringing your own (when allowed) or foregoing altogether because it's "only" a few hours, or "only" a day.

Many WDW vacations are 5 to 7 days. So even approaching the prices of a concert or sports even is ludicrous. The situations may seem similar but they're really not. WDW is in a class of its own.

 

[betty rose]

For now...

We were shocked at how much we spent on food this past summer. We've been going twice a year for 15 years, so we have plenty to compare it to. It was never cheap, but it also never bothered me like it did this time.

Incremental price increases are expected. Lately it's been well beyond that. Sad times when you make good money yet find yourself getting priced out of a Disney vacation.

We are DVC owner's, and did two trips a year like you. Next year only one trip, to use our points and bring the kids and grandkids. We are out for the second trip, it's just not worth it to me, anymore. When the grandkids get old enough, we are selling.

 

[flynnibus]

Here is the death spiral of costs as fueled by complacent customers.

Step 1: Business sets price
Step 2: Customer: Sees price, says... its vacation.. who cares what it costs... its vacation right?
Step 3: Business #2 sees what Business #1 is getting away with.. sets their prices similar or higher
Step 4: Customer later says "The prices are similar to the other vacation spots.. so I guess its normal"
Step 5: Now Business #1 says "hey, people are used to these prices, we can demand more because of our premium"
Step 6: Customer sees prices, is already conditioned to the high prices.. doesn't like the new price, but capitulates and writes it off as 'not too bad..'.
Step 7: Business #2 sees new price in the market.. and follows suit

Now the loop just keeps continuing and the complacent customer says "well its vacation.." or "its the same as everywhere else!!!"

Complacent customers feed this process vs pushing back.

 

[21stamps]

You've hit the nail on the head. Can we afford to pay $6 for pretzels (with cheese that is unnecessarily thrown away and wasted)? Sure. But it's hard to reconcile spending that amount on something that was more than $1 cheaper back in August.

We're passholders, so we're looking at taking one last, long trip next summer before they expire. It's not even just price, but also food quality. The irony is that as prices have gone to ridiculous levels, the quality in many areas has decreased (particularly in counter service meals, as some have mentioned). We had been ordering Garden Grocer for water and breakfast in the past (we've used DDP on some trips and haven't on others). Now that we know Whole Foods Orlando will deliver to our hotel, we will be ordering significantly more food. I don't like to cook on vacation, but the quality of quick, healthy meals from Whole Foods is on par or better than a $15 quick service meal in the parks.

I calculated the difference between the food I'm ordering and doing the quick service dining plan for 3 people...$900.

Just because I can afford to buy their food doesn't mean I'm a fan of throwing my money away. I'd much rather put that money toward a unique tour or something truly special, rather than a magical SuperPretzel or Dove Ice Cream Bar.

I thought I saw somewhere a notion that the prices "aren't that bad" and are "worse elsewhere." Agreed - prices are worse in many sports arenas and amusement parks. Except sports venues, concerts and amusement parks are attended for a few hours to a day (possibly two) at an amusement park. They do gouge you because they can - they know you're less likely to go to the hassle of bringing your own (when allowed) or foregoing altogether because it's "only" a few hours, or "only" a day.

Many WDW vacations are 5 to 7 days. So even approaching the prices of a concert or sports even is ludicrous. The situations may seem similar but they're really not. WDW is in a class of its own.

See my last comment. If you go to an amusement park 10-20 times over the course of the season those sky high prices do add up. I am happy that Disney hasn't reached that level of crazy! It's easier to pack for an amusement park, or hit a drive thru on the way there, than it is for WDW.

 

[Disorbust]

By the way. I don't actually care if some random poor can afford a Mickey bar. That said.....

I don't particularly like feeling like a sucker when I am on vacation. Sure, I can afford the ice cream, but I find it hard to reconcile the price of it. Disney food prices have gone absolutely batsit crazy. The last time I was there, 13 months ago. I felt like a MORON every time I got a bill or paid a check. I still havn't shaken that feeling. Now on my next trip, we are going to be packing snacks. Like poors do. I just can't make myself spend car payments on fast food lunches every single day for a week.

This is why I cancelled our May trip, I felt like I was being sucked and they can make their botton line on someone else. It's always been on my bucket list to do NYE at Epcot and when I prcied out our trip in May with going over Christmas It was almost the same. So now we are at POR instead of YBC and it's even cheaper then it was in May. I have also planned more DTD restaurant because I feel they are a better value especially after reading so many trip reorts on decreasing quality and portion sizes at WDW restaurants.

This will probably be our last WDW trip , I just can justify the costs. Our tickets are 500$ more than they were 18 months ago(5 adults) It would be different if I had nothing to compare too but we have been going over 20 years and all the price increases and upcharges have pushed me over the edge when combined with the sad shape of EPcot and DHS.

They can eat their own 5$ mickey bar, I find it insulting to my intelligence. The nickel and diming just leaves a bad taste. I always help work friends plan their trips and now I am having them also consider UO or better yet the National parks.

 

[Bandini]

Everything in life is a personal choice, right? Sure there are extenuating factors..but pretty much everything we do is a choice.

For me personally- My daily life is extremely hectic, some of that is by circumstance, most of it is by choice. So, when I choose to take a vacation convenience is key. Some things work in the budget, some don't. Some things don't fit in the schedule. All things I know about ahead of time.

I knew Mickey bars were $5. If I was worried about being able to buy my kid a $5 ice cream then I wouldn't be going on a vacation-anywhere.
As for the overall price increases- What I can do is make other adjustments. I cut back on daily Starbucks about 2 months before our trip. This helped me justify a vacation so close to Christmas. That was my personal choice.

Another choice- I think game rooms are a waste of money at WDW. I let my kid buy a $5 game card..and made him take it out of his money. I gave him the choice- "spend some of your budget on this, or save it for something else. We can play games at D&B or one of the 8 other indoor game places where we live and go semi often." He chose the $5 for games, and when he ran out we discussed if he really wanted to spend more on that. He reluctantly said that he didn't want to spend anymore of his money, and we went about our day.

Other people may go in the same game room and spend $20-$100. Do I think they're nuts? No, I just think their choices are different than mine.

Yes, I understand your point. Why waste money on game room when it can be spent on a poolside cabana at the GF? A much better vacation expense!