Sorry Disney, I Can't Eat On-site

[BEASLYBOO]

We all have different tastes, but what is evident is the inconsistency that never existed until recent years. Why?

We've been going to WDW for 25 years and never had any complaints about the food until recently. It was consistently great. Yes, we paid premium prices, but never felt we didn't get our money's worth. The most difficult part of every vacation was deciding where to eat because we had so many favorites. Now, we have fewer favorites.

Disney has a reputation for being right on top of what the public wants, so maybe the younger generations are easier to please. Whatever the reasons, things have changed. I really don't know why. We have been blaming the dining plans, and I do believe they have a good deal to do with many of the changes, but dining plans at Disney are nothing new, and they, too, have changed.

Totally agree.

Just because I don't see value in many of Disney's dining options compared to yesteryear doesn't mean that I love Disney any less or that anyone should forgo a dining experience based on my experiences. I can justify the cost of Boma because it's never disapointed me, I find the food imaginative and of good quality but I won't pay the same money for other Disney rest. that I loved at one time because they've changed in that very same respect. I've been to Disney 50+/- times, my perspective is different so for me to go off site to eat at some of Orlando's top restaurants works, where as someone who seldomly goes to Disney won't want to take time away from the parks, thats understandable, it's not the way I now vacation at Disney!

For those of you who love Disney dining, great, it's just no longer the case for my family, so we incorporate other dining options to make our vacation that much better! After so many years, we evolved and since the kids are older now, they want to go to the outlet mall, they want to try the zero gravity ride, it's just not "all" Disney anymore!

 

[PRmamiDEdos]

I know it's expensive, but I eat there because it's convenient. If I spend that much to be at Disney, I'm going to try and get as much time as possible there. As a PP also said, I factor the dining plan prices into my budget.

 

[cluvsdisney]

Yes! I agree, Plataforma is amazing.

I'm not expecting that kind of quality at Disney, but their buffets aren't the Ponderosa either.

Also, how much is the "convenience factor" worth? My time and energy are worth something. Last time I was at Disney the most exhausting part was getting offsite to eat (at the Steak and Shake, Sweet Tomatoes, etc.) to "save money". And I can't eat fast food or Applebees every night anymore.

From the Magic Kingdom, it was 1/2 an hour just to get from the gate to the TTC, then a tram to my section of the lot, then waiting for the A/C in the car to work long enough for the car to be cool to drive, then 10 minutes to leave Disney property, then another 10-15 minutes to commute to the restaurant, then sitting down and ordering, etc. etc. For what? A burger and fries or a salad bar? Also, at $4 a gallon, this looks even less appealing.

I don't want to become Suze Orman, but the words "DVC member" and "10 night trip" are key here. If you have $12,000-$15,000 minimum to drop on a timeshare, plus points, plus APs for your whole family (not cheap either) why is a $100 meal (with 20% off from TIW) bothering you? Once you've dropped $20,000 on Disney, $1000 for meals is like a rounding error.

Time, Energy, Money : pick two. And this goes for every vacation, not just WDW.

What bothers me about paying for meals at some of the Disney restaurants is that I feel like I am getting ripped off. It's not about saving money it's about not liking the food enough to pay Disney prices for some of what they serve -some of which would be better off served in Applebees (imo). To me that's a waste of time, money, energy - everything. It doesn't really take us any longer to eat off site then it does to hoof around on the buses from resort to park to resort and back again.

It really just comes down to how people want to spend their vacation. Some people, want all Disney all the time and for others it's a little bit goes a long way. As long as everyone gets home and says "Hey that was great!" we're all good.

 

[blondietink]

Some people don't mind paying a lot of money for dinner out. Yes, we are DVC members, but we bought it before retirement. Living on a fixed income means you have to watch the pennies, at least for us. We also live in a cheap area of the country (yes, even New York State has cheap areas), and if anybody around here charged more than $24.95 per person for a buffet, they would be out of business in a week.

So, to each his own. If you have the money to spend, go for eating out at Disney. If you don't, there are plenty of other options, such as go during Free Dining time, eat off-site, cook in your villa.

 

[GeorgeG]

Some people don't mind paying a lot of money for dinner out. Yes, we are DVC members, but we bought it before retirement. Living on a fixed income means you have to watch the pennies, at least for us. We also live in a cheap area of the country (yes, even New York State has cheap areas), and if anybody around here charged more than $24.95 per person for a buffet, they would be out of business in a week.

So, to each his own. If you have the money to spend, go for eating out at Disney. If you don't, there are plenty of other options, such as go during Free Dining time, eat off-site, cook in your villa.

Yes, there are options for just about every budget. Being retired, I can certainly appreciate that. Dining in just about any tourist area will cost a few extra dollars and that was always the case at Disney, too. Whether it's what's now called "signature" dining, a buffet, or counter service, you should still come away feeling like you had a good meal for what you paid all things considered. Too often, tourists get taken. I don't know what the current prices are, but in the late 90s, a "dirty water" hot dog in lower Manhattan was $1.00 for a decent hot dog. Up in the theater district you paid $1.50 for a hot dog that wasn't as good. I suspect there is a similar comparison between on-site and off-site food around the Orlando attractions these days, although the Eastern end of Continental Drive has some pretty disgusting places.

 

[lugnut33]

I don't want to become Suze Orman, but the words "DVC member" and "10 night trip" are key here. If you have $12,000-$15,000 minimum to drop on a timeshare, plus points, plus APs for your whole family (not cheap either) why is a $100 meal (with 20% off from TIW) bothering you? Once you've dropped $20,000 on Disney, $1000 for meals is like a rounding error.

That appears directed at me, the OP.

OK, so the reason we bought into DVC is for the overall value that I will see over the many years of use I have before me. My contract doesn't expire until 2054.

Maybe it's my Suze Orman side coming out, but we looked at DVC as an opportunity to have discounted deluxe accomodations at WDW for the next 46 years (We bought in 2008 and this is the only extravagance our family has purchased). And so far it has worked out great. I believe after this trip we will have pretty much paid for the points we bought if you compare where we have stayed to how much it would cost for a cash reservation.

Example: Our 1 bedroom, 10 night stay at Animal Kingdom Lodge Kidani on points is costing us around $1200 in yearly dues. If I were to book the same stay with cash it's $5625, so I'm saving $4425. It doesn't take too long with those kinds of savings pay off the initial outlay of around 13K.

How does this relate to food? Well, with the money we save by not eating in the parks we are also saving a lot of money. Money that we can use for other trips.

BTW, I still have not made on ADR for our August trip.

 

[bakenatj]

We eat at the parks, takes to much time to go off site plus I don't rent a vehicle. Disney food is good not great, but we enjoy it for the atmosphere and convenience. Besides I am not a penny pincher, drives me nuts. My wife is a book keeper so she is more of the conservative when it comes to spending, and even she loves eating at Disney. We are on vacation and want the most convenient option. Not interested in running around to save a few hundred dollars. Besides I know going to Disney is going to cost $$$ but we love it, I guess that's why we have DVC.

It's not like we are shopping at Wal-Mart, going aisle to aisle looking for the best deal, it Disney, you are going to pay a premium. But my view on life is I work hard to make money so I can spend my money. I can't take it with me when I die so might as well spend it now. (Don't worry all you financial planners, I have a retirement plan, a good one.)

 

[lugnut33]

It's weird, the more I read the restaurant board the more upset I get that Disney is not giving people a good enough meal for the money. I'm positive that the dining plan is eroding quality. I was disturbed that Kringla Bakerie is now offering an inferior product for more money.

Anyways, it just reinforces my point about eating off site.

Currently, I only have 2 reservations made for our 11 day August trip, Sanaa for lunch and Jiko for a parents night out. I've sat for hours looking at reviews for where I want ot eat at Epcot, but I just can't pull the trigger anywhere due to the cost. So I guess I'm resigned to Sunshine Seasons, which is OK and quite a bit cheaper than one of the sitdown restaurants at Epcot. It's not that I can't afford a meal, but it bothers me to pay that much for what is being served.

I wish I had that old flame for the sit down places, but I just can't get it to burn.

 

[rentayenta]

I might be in the minority, as I haven't read all of the responses but I don't think the meals are all that spendy; no more so so than at the ball park or any other place where there is a captive audience. I think the portions are far more than the recommended serving size 90% of the time and easy enough for two people to share, especially children if you stay off the kids menus which we do.

As far as food quality at both WDW and Disneyland, we have seen a decline. During our last trip to the GCV, we grilled which was great. Another reason I love my DVC, the ability to have a full kitchen. We will take advantage of it during our next trip too.

 

[d-r]

Here's a good comparison. We went over to Sonny's bbq for supper tonight. Chain bbq, but pretty good. Compare it with whispering canyon. For the price of one person's skillet at whispering canyon, the whole family gets ribs, chicken, pulled pork, briscuit and the trimmings. Everybody. There were five of us, we had to get a to go box. The server didn't send over kids with a bunch of bottles of ketchup, though. But the trade off is, parking was easier and frankly, the bbq was a whole lot better. I mean lets be honest here, Sonny's isn't the best bbq but it is about a million timers better than whispering canyon. I love going over to the lodge, and it is fun to go to whispering canyon what, maybe once a year? But honestly I'd just as soon go to fat boys or sonny's the rest of the time.

A couple of posts up somebody brought up dvc, and their question was "if you are paying for APs and DVC why not pay $100 a meal?" The flip-side of that question is if you have APs and DVC you don't feel like you have to pack every single second and every single meal with disney. You have enough days that it doesn't matter so much. The thing is, if the quality is high you'll still go - I'm looking forward to some copper river salmon at artist point in a couple of weeks. But honestly, I don't have to eat at disney every day anymore because so much of it just really isn't that great. I love going to ft. wilderness for example, but the same thing applies. That buffet is great for around $20 a person. Sure, you could go to a buffet off property for less, but what the heck, it is the fun of going to the fort. But for around $40 a person? Sorry, not so much.