OT: Disney food prices.

[DanS]

Hi all,

 

We're taking the kids next January.

Anyone go with the meal plan when they went? It's looking like $1100Can for the 4 of us for 7 days.

 

I find it hard to believe that we'd spend that much if we just 'eat as you go'

 

Any suggestions are welcome.

 

Thanks.

 

DanS

[Rabid]

Cali or Florida? Where are you staying? Will you have a kitchen in the room?

 

I should be there sometime in early January, and also in early November. Trying to use up that season pass which is not easy when you live in Kentucky.

 

Anyway, about food prices. Let me start by saying, EXPENSIVE. Water is the bargan at $2.50US. A basic meal of burger, fries and drink can be $8.00. Bucket of popcorn for $5. Hotdog, $4. It is like trying to eat in a movie theater.

 

So what do you do? I eat breakfast in the hotel, and not a disney breakfast. Find a grocery near by and stock up. I also go to the park in the morning, take a break and have lunch outside of the park, then eat in the park in the evening. There is a spote at the end of Hotel Bvd. called Crossroads. It has a range of restaurants from Taco Bell to Red Lobster. It is much cheaper to eat there than inside the park. Downtown Disney has a lot of food choices but they are also a bit expensive. And if you have a room with a fridge, go to the grocery and stock up on sandwich supplies. Also grab snakes to take into the park. You will see a lot of people eating candybars they carry in.

 

Robert

[BLAblablah]

Originally posted by Rabid Also grab snakes to take into the park. Robert

 

Got any good recipes? We certainly have plenty of "snakes" here in Florida

Barry

[DanS]

Thanks Robert, but for the sake of convenience, we're going to stay on site (Florida), so that limits the 'bring in food' side of things.

 

The snakes are to scare people away from their food, right?

[Ani]

I just ran a search to find out if there was a price list online for Walt Disney World food prices on site.... BINGO!!!!

 

This is the official site that relays food pricing for restaurants located inside the Disney resort area in Orlando. See for yourself what you might be spending. Also, you can probably call the park and find out about whether or not they offer free water at all their stands. The phone number is located on the web site listed. All Cedar Fair Parks offer the free glasses of ice water; Disney may do the same for their parks.

 

 

Walt Disney World Dining Finder

 

Those that have a single $ in the text description have meals less than $14.00 a head.

 

 

This link appears to be one compiled by an outside source.

http://www.wdisneyw.co.uk/food.html

[Tralfaz]

It's been a few years since I've been to Disneyworld, probably about 7 years, so maybe a lot has changed.

 

Anyway, I sprang for the fancy option with the meals, and I never regretted it. For me at least, half the fun of Disney was eating at the various themed restaurants. (My favorite was the Prime Time Cafe, done up in the style of a kitchen from the 1950's.)

 

And if you have young kids, attending one of the character breakfasts is an absolute must. The kids will get a chance to talk to a lot of various Disney characters in a way that they'll never get just from wandering around the park. If you do only one Disney meal, it should be one of those.

 

Yeah, the food is overpriced, and yeah, you could eat a lot more for a lot less if you just bring your own food. But honestly, you can eat cheese-whiz on crackers at home. Why punish your palette when you're on vacation? If you're already committed to travelling halfway across the country for the "Disney experience" you might as well splurge a little more and go whole hog.

 

Just be sure to do your homework ahead of time and make your reservations (or "PS" as Disney calls them) as soon as possible for the events you really want. Some specific meals, like the Cinderella breakfast, are very tough to get to get in to. (If you have a little girl, she will hate you forever if you fail to get a PS for the Cinderella breakfast, alas).

 

That's my 2 cents.

[blue2blue]

Growing up in the shadow of the Matterhorn, I went to D-land a lot when I was a kid.

 

I remember one time when my buddy's dad took the two of us. He was (and is to this day) a very sharp, working class intellectual, a mechanic, a trade he learned in the RAF in WWII. Back then I didn't quite get the economic differences between my two-breadwinner, one-kid upwardly mobile family and my friends'.

 

 

When we got to Disneyland he turned us loose and had him meet us at lunchtime near Tom Sawyer's island.

 

I don't think I was expecting him to provide lunch or anything, but I was kind of shocked when he pulled three peanut butter and jelly sandwiches out of his camera bag and passed them to us.

 

I looked around and there were probably 8 places to spend money on food around and I'm thinking -- what, I came to Disneyland to eat peanut butter and jelly?

 

He must have read my face, because he said something like, "I'd be happy to buy you a hot dog or something." I might have been a little slow answering. He said, "You see, when I came to the states I'd just been married, we had a baby on the way and I had nothing.

 

"Now we have our little house and a car and a piano and a black and white TV -- and that's all we need for now. But one thing we need down the road is to be able to send our son, here, your friend, to a good college. He'll be the first person on either side of our family to go to college.

 

"It means some sacrifices, but we try to have our little luxuries, too.

 

"And coming to Disneyland is one of them. But even when we do that, we try to save a couple extra pennies. For the future."

 

 

It ended up being a great day at Disneyland -- and it started changing the way I looked at a lot of things.

 

So, with the right guide, even Disneyland/world can be an educational experience.

 

So what happened to my pal?... He ended up graduating 3rd in his class at UCLA Law and became... a public defender.

 

[Ani]

Blue,

 

Great story about your experience with your friend and his dad. Seems your friends' father had his head on right and "planned" well for the future.

 

Dan,

 

Here is another site that offers a more detailed (per item) menu pricing.

 

http://www.intercot.com/infocentral/dining/menus/default.asp

[Rabid]

Originally posted by BLAblablah Got any good recipes? We certainly have plenty of "snakes" here in Florida Barry

 

And they taste like chicken.

 

Breakfast at Chrystal Palace in Magic Kingdom is something to try, but I think it is about $20 a person now. We went there maybe 25 years ago and my mother still talks about it. My favorite area to eat is the Epcot International Area. You get a lot better variety than in Magic Kingdon. The BBQ in Animal Kingdom is not bad, but the pizza is not much better than frozen.

 

In my many days running around the park I have never seen anyone with a glass of water. But like I said, at $2.50 water is probably the cheapest thing they sell. You see a lot of people carrying in bottles of frozen water.

 

You might consider staying on Hotel Bvd. It is still Disney property and they run shuttle busses from all of the hotels. Some of them have suites, and other have refrigerators available. At one end is Crossroads, and at the other end is Downtown Disney. Just eating breakfast outside of the parks can save you enough for good seats at Cirque du Soleil.

 

Robert

[The Pro]

I went to Disney World in Florida for the first time ever this year, and I was pleasantly surprised that the food was the most reasonably priced thing there. I don't know where the "$4 hotdog" came from - I specifically remember paying $2 for a very large hotdog that was a meal in itself. I had a very nice complete breakfast in one of the upscale dining areas for under $10. It seemed to me that once you paid the high ticket prices that Disney went out of it's way to make the food prices reasonable. I've been to other places where food gouging was much worse.

 

My wife and I splurged and stayed in a balcony room at the Contemporary Resort. It was expensive but worth it. If you stay in the actual resort then you get extra time in the parks when other visitors have to leave... our favorite time was staying in the Magic Kingdom after regular hours when the crowds were gone.

 

My impression was very positive compared to other theme parks. Disney is a class act unto itself and I would go again.

[Lee Knight]

Originally posted by blue2blue Growing up in the shadow of the Matterhorn, I went to D-land a lot when I was a kid. I remember one time when my buddy's dad took the two of us. He was (and is to this day) a very sharp, working class intellectual, a mechanic, a trade he learned in the RAF in WWII. Back then I didn't quite get the economic differences between my two-breadwinner, one-kid upwardly mobile family and my friends'. When we got to Disneyland he turned us loose and had him meet us at lunchtime near Tom Sawyer's island. I don't think I was expecting him to provide lunch or anything, but I was kind of shocked when he pulled three peanut butter and jelly sandwiches out of his camera bag and passed them to us. I looked around and there were probably 8 places to spend money on food around and I'm thinking -- what, I came to Disneyland to eat peanut butter and jelly? He must have read my face, because he said something like, "I'd be happy to buy you a hot dog or something." I might have been a little slow answering. He said, "You see, when I came to the states I'd just been married, we had a baby on the way and I had nothing. "Now we have our little house and a car and a piano and a black and white TV -- and that's all we need for now. But one thing we need down the road is to be able to send our son, here, your friend, to a good college. He'll be the first person on either side of our family to go to college. "It means some sacrifices, but we try to have our little luxuries, too. "And coming to Disneyland is one of them. But even when we do that, we try to save a couple extra pennies. For the future." It ended up being a great day at Disneyland -- and it started changing the way I looked at a lot of things. So, with the right guide, even Disneyland/world can be an educational experience. So what happened to my pal?... He ended up graduating 3rd in his class at UCLA Law and became... a public defender.

 

You are a great story teller! I read that and visualized the whole scene. I grew up in the shadows of that place too.

 

I'm in the process of trimming the fat right now and this post really hit home for me. "Waste not, want not".

 

Thanks Blue...

[Rabid]

Originally posted by The Pro ... I don't know where the "$4 hotdog" came from ...

 

Casey's Corner on the corner of Main Street in Magic Kingdom. The place with the baseball theme. $3.59 plus tax for a large dog, $3.29 for the small. Granted, these are large hotdogs. But, Disney is really no different than any other theme park. The food is always expensive since they have a captive audience. At least it was not as bad as buying hotdogs in the Georgia Dome during the SEC Basketball Tournament. While there, two little hotdogs and two drinks came to $15. Well, two dogs and two drinks was also $15 at Disney, but they were twice the size and I got fries.

 

I think the worst food I got was at the fish and chips stand in Epcot. No taste at all. Yuck.

 

Robert

[Rabid]

 

Originally posted by Ani Blue, Great story about your experience with your friend and his dad. Seems your friends' father had his head on right and "planned" well for the future. Dan, Here is another site that offers a more detailed (per item) menu pricing. http://www.intercot.com/infocentral/dining/menus/default.asp

 

 

Nice link Ani. (Imagine the thumbs up here.)

[Ani]

Thanks Rabid!

 

I just called WDW Swan and inquired about the free water; they do not do this at Disney parks.

[DanS]

Thanks all, and thanks Ani for the links.

We'll be checking 'em out.

 

Our thing is that we don't plan on returning anytime soon, so we're going for 7 days, and cram as much in as possible.

 

Unfortunately any child over 9 is considered an adult for the meal pricing, so that jacks the meal plans up to the point where I think we'll be doing the 'pay as you go' thing.

 

Thanks again.

 

D

[Ani]

You're welcome Dan.... it's the least I can do for a special and awesome keyboard player. Hope you guys have a great time when you go....

[Mr. Donovan]

I think the theme restaurants at Disney World are awesome. When I was little I went to the Mexican Theme restaurant in Disney World with my family, because my dad read in an unofficial guidebook that it was the best. The restaurant had a huge Aztec or Mayan Temple that was really cool.

 

One time we ate at the Health Food theme restaurant, and after I ate there I (ironically) felt really sick. I even had a fever for the next day. So stay away from the health food and eat some good Mexican food.

[steadyb]

I was just at Disneyland with my family in July for 2 days.

 

A dinner of cheesburgers or chicken sandwiches (comes with fries), drink sold separately, for 4 was $7.00 to $8.50 for each "burger/fry", and another $2.50 to $3.50 per drink.

 

So, just under $50 for a dinner of essentially "fast food"... one meal.

 

Kids want ice cream? At least $2.50 each.

 

Three meals a day, plus a beverage or two when it's hot (even if it's not), per person... it adds up.

 

Now, I really not complaining so much as giving you an idea as to what it's cost is recently. Living in L.A., being a kid here and now having kids here, I've been to Disneyland many times, so I know what's in store for me going in. If you can try and have a good breakfast outside the park (a bit tougher at Disney World IIRC), it'll probably be less expensive and healthier.

 

 

$150 a day times 7 days is $1050, so the amount you put is pretty in the ball park. I'm not sure what's in the Disney food package, so it could be a worse deal, but it could be a better deal too. But $1100 isn't outside what you would expect to spend.

 

I hope that helps.

[steadyb]

 

Originally posted by Rabid Well, two dogs and two drinks was also $15 at Disney, but they were twice the size and I got fries.

 

 

Yep, $10-17 per person (per meal) is right on the money (depending on your appetite).

 

If you all are big eaters, all bets are off. I have no doubt there are families of 4 there that spend $75 a meal and don't think twice about it.

[steadyb]

BTW, I love going to Disneyland. Every time I go, I have a great time.

 

And you can always "pack a lunch" and save a lot.

[DanS]

Thanks everyone.

Sounds like I'll be having food flown in.

[17 Tubes]

We've been to Florida Disney many times in the past 5 years. Being semi-local, we always at least bring a big bag of snacks.

 

My brother in-law and his family recent had a 7 days stay in the park...with the concierge (that "food and drink" in hotel speak).

 

His feeling was that while it was convenient, it didn't justify the cost. At least some form of food, snack or drink just about anytime you wanted it. But with 2 small children and busy days in the park, well...let's just say he couldn't light up the bar all the time.

 

He also made reservations of meals in the park. We told him not to, and he did realize THAT was a mistake as well. Being at a certain place at a certain time is not anything you want to try on a regular basis.

 

 

One thing we learned, whether you can bring food in or not, is try to eat a decent breakfast. So that you are not hungary by 11am. Try to get past the lunch hour and you won't have to fight the crowd as much. That can push your dinner a little bit later. Try to stick to 2 "good" meals a day.

 

If there is a certain place you want to eat (the Drive-in Diner is cool)...and you want to do it at peak times...make a reservation. They are often busy throughout the day, except very short intervals.

 

There are some kiosks with cheaper food. Drink lots of water, and try to eat at least one good healthy meal a day...if that is your thing, although that's hard to do sometimes.

 

There's a buffet in the front of Magic Kingdom, I can't remember what it is called, a slight bit expensive (depending on your taste), but it seemed wirth it, if you are really hungary and willing to "take a break" afterward.

 

Have fun! Don't fear the mouse!

[DanS]

Thanks Tubes, very helpful.

[Zooey]

 

Originally posted by steadyb BTW, I love going to Disneyland. Every time I go, I have a great time. And you can always "pack a lunch" and save a lot.

 

 

My wife really loves Disneyland. I think it has something to do with being deprived as a kid. We've been twice in past 4 years.

 

One trick we've found: you can split the giant taco salad at that Mexican place near Big Thunder. Plenty of food for two people.

[deanmass]

If Disney would just allow us to hunt and eat those large animals raoming all over the park, food prices would not be a big concern.....course, they would prolly rent huge firepits with 'goofy sauce'.