How tone deaf was it for Disney to announce price increases right now?

[disneysteve]

last year they were changing around the food courts at the values so they all have much more similar menus rather than POP or AoA being different than the All Stars, etc.

I don't recall hearing that. That's really disappointing. AoA had the best food court around. We always go there at least once per trip for lunch or dinner.

 

[goingtoexpo!!]

I agree it's a little tone deaf but I am not going to be upset until I see it across the board. A few drink price increases at Ale and Compass or Brown Derby don't bother me. They seem to be two restaurants that have availability most days for guests who don't plan ahead. I wonder if this is the "you didn't plan 180 days ahead!" tax. Joking. Sort of.

 

[SorcererHeidi]

I assume with Anna and Else out side singing "For the First time in Forever"

@TheMaxRebo - Thanx for making me nauseous!

 

[jennypenny]

I assume Disney is rushing to open up 2021 bookings/packages for all those who are trying to rebook/reschedule vacations. That would probably include factoring in any food price increases before pricing out 2021 Dining Plans. That might explain raising prices now.

I bet we see ticket prices 'adjustments' before they reopen as well. Their MO of late has been to raise prices and then offer specials. I don't expect this to be any different.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

I assume Disney is rushing to open up 2021 bookings/packages for all those who are trying to rebook/reschedule vacations. That would probably include factoring in any food price increases before pricing out 2021 Dining Plans. That might explain raising prices now.

I bet we see ticket prices 'adjustments' before they reopen as well. Their MO of late has been to raise prices and then offer specials. I don't expect this to be any different.

good point - also, we aren't *that* far from when we can book, at least, room only for the actual 50th (Oct 1, 2021) so I am sure they expect a lot of people to be booking vacations around that and might want to get pricing updated before then

 

[disneyland_is_magic]

But if you're spending the day in the park, you do need to eat. You're a captive audience.

This is a genuine mental block for me but maybe not others. I do think as Pete says some folks sort of brush this off as a smaller part of the budget. I price out a standard room with base tickets and get just over $2000 for a week for a couple. That really doesn’t sound bad at all! But the Disney food costs for a week would require a decent chunk of change and there I get stuck.

At DL I do eat in the parks and don’t worry about the price. However, we also eat breakfast at our hotel, stop into convenience stores for waters, drinks, snacks. One day I might walk over to Pizza Hut and bring back a pizza to the hotel room, etc. While sightseeing, we always stop into Costco for $1 churros just to be silly.

Being captive in WDW (and needing to be) to cover decent ground it’s hard for me to imagine keeping the food budget modest for a week. So I do get a real mental block there. I start to think.. maybe $400-$500 for food for two people and am not sure that’s even realistic.

I really respect you Steve as a physician I am sure you can afford it but you still see a need for some reasonableness. Thanks for starting the thread.

 

[disneysteve]

Being captive in WDW (and needing to be) to cover decent ground it’s hard for me to imagine keeping the food budget modest for a week. So I do get a real mental block there. I start to think.. maybe $400-$500 for food for two people and am not sure that’s even realistic.

Not that many years ago, we used to average $20/person/day but we stay offsite in a condo, make breakfast there daily, sometimes make dinner there, and eat numerous meals at offsite restaurants. Over time, and as our daughter got older, that average crept up. I think last trip it was closer to $30/person/day but we also spend more on alcohol than we used to since DD has been legal for 3 years now. But even that number -$30/person/day - is pretty low compared to what others post. It helps that we're offsite. It helps that we almost never do table service dining onsite. No character meals or buffets. So we are able to keep the cost down. Lots of people spend way more than that, so a couple going for 7 days might easily approach $1,000.

 

[MICKIMINI]

There is so much planning involved at WDW including dining that it is easy to get carried away and spend a fortune on food. We know where we like to eat and take the safe route for the most part and "only" spend about $75/day for two. I always recommend newbies check out Allears.net for menus and study them to see what your family likes so you don't waste time staring at menu boards or even worse, giving in to eating anywhere because everyone is "starving" and overpaying due to not planning well.

One thing we are now doing is buying single serve coffee in plastic bottles at the supermarket to bring into the parks. It seems silly to pay $3 for a 12 oz bottle of coffee until you see the prices at SB's AND the long line out the door! Momma is crabby without her coffee, so it is a small win-win for us

 

[butterscotchcollins]

I will never stop complaining about the quality of the food more than the price But admittedly part of the price I'm willing to pay is the convenience to just grab whatever at the park and not have to expend so much mental energy planning/grocery shopping. I've read the tips, I have the facts, I just can't bring myself to stress over the execution and I am stuck with stale cinnamon rolls and sad rubbery iceberg lettuce.

 

[flowergirl45]

Is there a place where I can see the price increases?

 

[disneysteve]

Is there a place where I can see the price increases?

Google Disney World food price increase and it should be the first thing that pops up

 

[MikeTaylor]

We packed our own snacks, water, coffee and maker when we stayed at Pop (to utilize the Skyliner). I think our only sit-down was a "what's available in an hour?" rezzy on the app for Sebatian's Bistro. Quick service here and there, we're still spending $50+ a day on food products alone.

 

[IdahoDisneyFan]

I've literally seen one article on the price increase, with zero attribution. I can't find any other outlets reporting this. Presumably the writer has a "source" inside Disney. I suspect these price increases, if accurate, were planned before the parks shut down. Without additional factual information (ie, when were the price increases decided upon), it's pretty hard to conclude that this was/is tone-deaf on Disney's part.

 

[gdrj]

I can see this being the future under Bob Chapek's idea of guest service.

1-Face masks - $39.95
2-Social distancing at pools- $29.95 to reserve a chair at pool
3-Hand sanitizer $0.50 per ounce throughout parks.
4-Dining room seating $10.00 per person to be allowed to sit in dining room. Take out food additional charge for to-go paper products
5-Park hours reduce closed to 9- 6 PM. After hours ticket $199 for you and 25,000 others to view parties and shows.
6-Fast passes $39.99 for 3 $9.99 for each additional
7-Reduced bus schedules, but more Disney "Minnie Van Service" $99.00 per day for unlimted use on property.
8- Ice cream PRICE REDUCTION, but does not come with cone or cup. Cone or cup extra $9.99 Souvenir cup $19.99 (no refills).
9- Use of Pool cabana required for "safety", only $299.00 for 1/2 a day! Use of pool extra!
10- Tickets required to enter Disney Springs
11- Disney Magical Express $19.99 per person
12- Resort Parking $49.95 per day
13- Toll to enter resort parking lots for Uber drop offs.
14- Telephone hotel reservations $25.00 fee to speak to live person

I'm kidding...but am I ?

 

[Gordon Gekko]

I've literally seen one article on the price increase, with zero attribution. I can't find any other outlets reporting this. Presumably the writer has a "source" inside Disney. I suspect these price increases, if accurate, were planned before the parks shut down. Without additional factual information (ie, when were the price increases decided upon), it's pretty hard to conclude that this was/is tone-deaf on Disney's part.

I feel like Disney does this more than any of us know because it isn't announced they just periodically implement. I believe this was found by someone (with lots of free time) scouring menus and comparing prices. Not agreeing but just think prices increase everywhere you look. I think it is fantasy to think Disney is any different and remember they owe us zip and have responsibility to a shareholder base.