Snack price increases?

[Virtual Toad]

The two hungry kids that paid nothing to enter? If the parents make the choice to buy the park admission instead of food for the kids, thats on the parents, not Disney.

Yes, it's on us and we do feed our kids. But, by recent example, $45 for one parent and two kids to eat QS at WDW is ridiculous, not just for the prices charged but for the quality of food offered. We're fortunate that a) we can still afford this on occasion if we choose to and b) we know what to expect price-wise going in.

My points, echoed earlier in this thread, are that a) not all WDW guests are aware of the ridiculous pricing of QS food going in and b) our family and others are now actively changing our park touring and dining habits specifically to avoid being gouged.

The $45 experience was the breaking point for us. That means we're now constantly looking at ways to spend less money at WDW, not more. And our perception of WDW as interested in nothing but corner-cutting and short-term profiteering will make us much more likely to take our vacation business elsewhere. That begs the question of whether these blatant price grabs are worth it for WDW and the Disney company long-term.

 

[Simba's Mom]

I remember several years ago that some people would occasionally comment about having gone to other, non-Disney theme parks and having to pay outrageous prices for food. People would say "Sure am glad that Disney isn't anywhere NEAR as bad as that!" I speculate that the PTB at WDW heard about that and said "Hey, we're charging too little for food. We, too, could get those much higher, outrageously high prices that the other theme parks are charging" and, unfortunately for us, they're trying to quickly catch up to what other parks charge. And, dang, but they're doing a good job! Part of the problem, however, is that I don't know of many other parks where people are there, putting up with the outrageously high prices, for more than one or two days. WDW is often a week or more experience and those high prices to eat add up fast!

 

[Princess Leia]

Growing up, my family didn't do Disney every year. When I met someone at an Alice in Wonderland tea party (which my sister and I only got to participate in because another family cancelled and a cast member found my family nearby) who said her family did Disney World every year, I thought "wow, she must be rich".

Just because we did Disney about every 3 years, doesn't mean we didn't do other trips. Spring and Thanksgiving breaks were filled with trips to Massachusetts, or Virginia, or the Carolinas... We also spent a lot of time going to Revolutionary War and Civil War battle sites. My family also did a trip to Cali (with a brief, 30 minute stop at Tijuana) without going to Disneyland (a lot of that trip was spent checking out different missionaries), a trip to Canada, a 10 day trip to England, and a weeklong trip in Germany.

When we did do Disney, we didn't go all out. Sometimes we stayed on property (in a value, gasp), sometimes we didn't. The Alice in Wonderland tea party I mentioned? Probably the only upcharge event that we participated in (minus meals with characters). The Disney World memories are special to me, even though I can't remember the earliest ones. I guess what I'm trying to say is that the upcharges typically won't effect guests, but I can bet that the snack charges will.

 

[xdan0920]

Ever been to the Jersey Shore, Nantucket, etc during the Summer ? Its called get the dollars while you can.

Shoot. Didn't know WDW was closed for winter.

 

[networkpro]

Please be accurate. .05%er. I dont like being lumped in with the 1%er masses.

http://www.kiplinger.com/article/taxes/T054-C000-S001-what-s-your-rank-as-a-taxpayer.html

 

[xdan0920]

Ever been to the Jersey Shore, Nantucket, etc during the Summer ? Its called get the dollars while you can.

Also. My parents owned a house on LBI. Never paid $5 for an ice cream sandwich.

 

[Courtney6682]

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!

Why are you so obsessed with her freakin cabana rental?!

 

[21stamps]

Why are you so obsessed with her freakin cabana rental?!

Lol thank you. I've been wondering the same, but too afraid to ask.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

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.

These group configurations are always puzzling to me. Why would a single person be paying for five adults? I often travel with six adults, but those are three different families paying three different bills. I'm always reading trip reports about people spending $10K on a Disney vacation only to find out they paid for a party of nine staying in three different rooms.

 

[flynnibus]

These group configurations are always puzzling to me. Why would a single person be paying for five adults? I often travel with six adults, but those are three different families paying three different bills. I'm always reading trip reports about people spending $10K on a Disney vacation only to find out they paid for a party of nine staying in three different rooms.

When your kids are older than 13... they pay adult prices but are still your kids.

When your kids get older and have their own families... you still like to treat your kids as your kids and people often pay for their adult kids on a family vacation.

When your parents are fixed income and you want to share your vacation experience with them, you frequently pay for your parents.

It's called a family... it doesn't stop when kids become teenagers.

 

[LuvtheGoof]

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...

So you don't think that Disney, after capturing the "regular" middle class market such as yourself, may not be trying to lure a more upscale customer with the recent offerings? While I don't care for a few of them (such as Tiana's Riverboat party), the vast majority of them affect a regular customer experience not at all. We do a few of them each trip, and find value in them.

Have you ever paid for Hoop-Dee-Doo Revue? That is an upcharge event that has been around for decades. Do you honestly think you're getting anywhere near the amount of food that you are paying for? Or that the show is worth that much? To some, such as us, we are good with it, and pay the money. Others think it isn't worth it, and decide not to go.

As far as snack prices go, well, we don't ever buy them. If someone wants it, they will pay for it. It's really no different than someone buys a Lexus, and someone else buys a Chevy. Both do the same exact thing, but one costs double or more of the other. Some people will bring in their own snacks to eat, and some will pay for the Disney treat. What people choose to spend their hard earned money on is none of our business and we have no right to judge anyone as well.

 

[LuvtheGoof]

Yes, it's on us and we do feed our kids. But, by recent example, $45 for one parent and two kids to eat QS at WDW is ridiculous, not just for the prices charged but for the quality of food offered. We're fortunate that a) we can still afford this on occasion if we choose to and b) we know what to expect price-wise going in.

My points, echoed earlier in this thread, are that a) not all WDW guests are aware of the ridiculous pricing of QS food going in and b) our family and others are now actively changing our park touring and dining habits specifically to avoid being gouged.

The $45 experience was the breaking point for us. That means we're now constantly looking at ways to spend less money at WDW, not more. And our perception of WDW as interested in nothing but corner-cutting and short-term profiteering will make us much more likely to take our vacation business elsewhere. That begs the question of whether these blatant price grabs are worth it for WDW and the Disney company long-term.

Where do you spend $45 at a QS for 3 people???? My wife and I eat at places like CHH, and spend $12 for the 2 of us. Even adding a third person would keep it under $20.

 

[alphac2005]

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

It's not class warfare. Most middle class families are priced out now. That's far from class warfare, rather reality. We all know from the insight in the board from certain sources that management has decided to laser focus on the top 10-15% of wage earners to pay the outrageous prices. My household has a healthy income and I find it very hard to justify the cost, let alone someone making the median household income in this country, it's just not feasible.

 

[Bocabear]

Also. My parents owned a house on LBI. Never paid $5 for an ice cream sandwich.

I grew up on LBI!

 

[alphac2005]

Where do you spend $45 at a QS for 3 people???? My wife and I eat at places like CHH, and spend $12 for the 2 of us. Even adding a third person would keep it under $20.

We took one of our sons in May for a day at the Magic Kingdom. We had salad with grilled chicken, he had a kid's meal, and a veggie burger with two beverages and one water at a QS location and it was $40.

 

[LuvtheGoof]

It's not class warfare. Most middle class families are priced out now. That's far from class warfare, rather reality. We all know from the insight in the board from certain sources that management has decided to laser focus on the top 10-15% of wage earners to pay the outrageous prices. My household has a healthy income and I find it very hard to justify the cost, let alone someone making the median household income in this country, it's just not feasible.

Sorry, but to state that the "middle class" is now priced out is just wrong. My family was solid middle class in the 70's and we could never afford to go to Disney. Never. I went as an adult when I moved to Orlando in the 70's. People keep talking about how much cheaper it was, and that is a fallacy.

 

[Bocabear]

Where do you spend $45 at a QS for 3 people???? My wife and I eat at places like CHH, and spend $12 for the 2 of us. Even adding a third person would keep it under $20.

then you must be getting a soup and your wife would have a side dish only and split a beverage... The sandwiches at CHH are over $10... Either that or you last ate there in the 90s.

 

[LuvtheGoof]

then you must be getting a soup and your wife would have a side dish only and split a beverage... The sandwiches at CHH are over $10... Either that or you last ate there in the 90s.

Nope, we get the fish & chicken that we split, add a cole slaw, and 2 waters. More than enough food for the 2 of us. We ate there last month.

 

[LuvtheGoof]

We took one of our sons in May for a day at the Magic Kingdom. We had salad with grilled chicken, he had a kid's meal, and a veggie burger with two beverages and one water at a QS location and it was $40.

Did you have a lot of food left over, or did you all clean your plates? Just asking, as one of us cannot finish a burger and fries at WDW. It's way too much food. The people talking about smaller portions are just flat-out trolling, as we never saw that at any place we ate. I guess that's just us, as we could easily split a burger and fries at any QS location and get more than enough food.

If you simply had to have something different from each other, well, that's on you. You can eat a lot cheaper at WDW if you want too.

 

[Bocabear]

So you split a meal and had basically no beverage just the complimentary water... Not sure why you would be surprised at $40 for three people having their own meals at a QS restaurant.... I guess I could get a side of coleslaw and a complimentary water and act outraged that anyone could possibly spend more than $3 for a meal at CHH... but that does little to illustrate the point.