Sorry Disney, I Can't Eat On-site

[MelissathePooh]

They're not forcing me into DDP - I have just stopped attending any Disney buffets.



I had the chicken taco platter - 3 chicken tacos, lots of chips and pico de gallo. Worth the price. I didn't see the need for the dining plan to eat this. Don't need to buy a drink - it's free to get a cup of water. Don't need a dessert, either. It's a good bit of food.

I googled Chick Fil A. Sandwich, $2.75. Yes, that's much cheaper if the sandwich is all you want. Add fries and a drink and you're looking at close to the same price as the taco platter, but you had to leave the park to get it.

Add in a couple of character meals and you may feel the pressure a bit more.

Well I admit I like Chik-Fil-A quite a bit, but that wasn't the exact place I was thinking of close to AKL. If we're at Kidani already it isn't a noticeable amount of time to stop in the Ale House - where you do get a ton of food for very reasonable prices.

I just don't agree that $9.99 is an acceptable price for 3 mini tacos. I really enjoyed them - the chicken especially, but no way was it worth that if not on the ddp - to me personally. The drink is a personal choice, obvioulsy. I don't make it far without my Coke Zero or Diet Coke I don't mind going off site either. I'd much rather hit Fat Boys for real bbq than choke down WCC. Yes its a longer drive, but soooo good.

Just preferences though - we go several times a year and tend to stay for 2-3 weeks for at least 2 of those trips. Disney food is ridiculously priced to do that every time. Just more reasons I love DVC and the kitchen

Not everyone goes several times a year or stays weeks at a time. Not everyone has a car. Some people who do/have those things still prefer to eat onsite the whole time.

 

[d-r]

I'm kind of shocked how some posters are implying that we don't have the money to eat at WDW, not sure where that came from. Ummm, that's totally not the case, we could eat every meal at a signature restaurant if we so choose. Matter of fact, I'm more interested in trying signature restaurants than table service. Trust me, we already have our flights paid, we have our AP's paid for 3 trips ago, and our DVC villa is already paid for.

Briar Rose touched on a lot of it. As the years have passed we have changed from a commando type family to a more laid back family. We are not going to stay in the parks during the midday heat of an August day. We are not going to go spend big bucks on a breakfast buffet when we can eat cereal at the dining tabe together.

Yes, we will eat some counter service in the parks, but I have a hard time justifying the cost of those sitdown restaurants. That's really what it comes down to, the cost of the meal for what you get. We have ate at many many table service restaurants through the years and the prices keep going up, especially when you times it by 4.

And heading off-site is not that hard, especially now that i'm learning the roads down there. I would bet I can get to an off-site restaurant faster than most here can take a bus to a hotel restaurant. For example if one was going from the Magic Kingdom to Yachtsman Steakhouse at the Yacht Club.

I understand completely what you are saying. You could certainly be off-property more quickly, easily, and comfortably than taking a disney bus to another resort. There are a few places that I still like enough that I still look forward to going to. Outside that, not so much. I'm at the point were frankly there isn't anything I like at the studios to eat except for cobb salad. There isn't a counter service place at that park that is decent. I like the mexico fast food at epcot, but like I tried to say up there it is hard to justify paying out of pocket for it. Most of the other epcot fast foods aren't that good, and for sit-downs, well, they're not really that great either. I like Tokyo dining, but man, again, every town has Japanese restaurants a fraction of the cost. Germany buffet is sort of different, but the food isn't very good. At magic kingdom, there's no sit down I like. I like harbor house. At animal kingdom, I like flame tree Ok but I'd just as soon have fat boys in Kissimmee or a chain like sonny's in clermont. Flame tree's really not that great. So the parks to me are mostly done. I guess I like Casy's for a hotdog sometimes, and I can eat a burger at pecas bill's or cosmic ray's every once in a while, but really it isn't that good. At the boardwalk, well, we don't really go to big river here in Chattanooga and it is better than the one at the boardwalk. I'd go to flying fish or yachtsman. I'd go to Ca. Grill. But it is hard for me to drop $300 a meal every night. I'm looking forward to artist point on the next trip, and jiko and sanaa. The kids will have to have some character meals, and Melissa wants 'Ohana. Beyond that, I'm not really jonesing for anything. I think about making a reservation but it is hard to justify it. Another example. I really like the buffet at trail's end. The kids can play outside on the playground, ride pony's etc. But the dinner price has gotten too expensive, and there's no way I'm paying $6 for a bowl of chili at lunch.

Forgot downtown disney. Here's the thing folks. There's an earl of sandwhich at the service plaza on the turpike on the drive south, less crowded than dtd.

 

[TDC Nala]

I am not in the least interested in character meals - of course it's different for guests with children. They either want character meals or the children insist on character meals. For me, I can go forever without doing another buffet or character meal (or the DDP for that matter).

The fixed-price restaurants are where the price increases are the most noticeable. Disney may have figured that people will go for these (especially the character meals) no matter what they cost.

 

[rachel09985]

There are 4 (daughters are 14&11) of us and we are staying in a 1 bedroom at Kidani, so we will have a a full kitchen. And honestly, we always leave the parks at around 1pm, so it's not that big of a deal to hit up a lunch on the way back to the room. While yes, I'd like to be able to eat in the parks (or on-site) because I love the theming and its convenience, but the price is just a killer.

Like I indicated before if we ate at Sci-fi our bill would probably shake out around $75. If we swing by Chick-fil-a it'll cost us around $25. That's a $50 savings. Then, if we eat in our room later that's an even bigger savings. It's not that I'm cheap, it's just I feel bad paying those inflated prices.

Your talk about Chick fil a talk is making me hungry!!! There are no Chick-fil-a's in Minnesota..maybe I will have to take time out to eat there in Florida.

 

[sharona]

IMO the TS prices are inflated primarily to make the DDP seem like a good value. If you plan on eating on site you are practically forced into one of the DDPs in order to make the prices palatable. Once you purchase the DDP they have you locked in to dining on site and thus you are unlikely to leave the WDW property at all and they are assured of getting you to spend most of your vacation budget at WDW.

Think about it - everything is geared towards getting you on site and keeping you there for your entire stay. All the "perks"... The ticket prices are front loaded so if you are traveling for a week (as most do) you have the option of adding a day to your tix for $5pp or paying $80+pp to go somewhere like Sea World. For transportation, free ME gets you to the resort from the airport and the free buses will get you to any WDW park, resort or restaurant. This is so you don't rent a car. If you don't have a car, you are unlikely to go offsite to US/IOA or SW for a day or to leave for a reasonably priced meal

It's really genius of them.

We plan on doing a mix of onsite and offsite dinners. The TS we booked are all "experience" type of meals like HDDR or character meals. For the rest we will travel outside the world 3 or 4 nights out of 8 for a reasonably priced dinner before heading back to the parks for our evening plans.''

Prices for meals will continue to rise as long as people pay them.

 

[pigletto]

IMO the TS prices are inflated primarily to make the DDP seem like a good value. If you plan on eating on site you are practically forced into one of the DDPs in order to make the prices palatable. Once you purchase the DDP they have you locked in to dining on site and thus you are unlikely to leave the WDW property at all and they are assured of getting you to spend most of your vacation budget at WDW.

Think about it - everything is geared towards getting you on site and keeping you there for your entire stay. All the "perks"... The ticket prices are front loaded so if you are traveling for a week (as most do) you have the option of adding a day to your tix for $5pp or paying $80+pp to go somewhere like Sea World. For transportation, free ME gets you to the resort from the airport and the free buses will get you to any WDW park, resort or restaurant. This is so you don't rent a car. If you don't have a car, you are unlikely to go offsite to US/IOA or SW for a day or to leave for a reasonably priced meal

It's really genius of them.

We plan on doing a mix of onsite and offsite dinners. The TS we booked are all "experience" type of meals like HDDR or character meals. For the rest we will travel outside the world 3 or 4 nights out of 8 for a reasonably priced dinner before heading back to the parks for our evening plans.''

Prices for meals will continue to rise as long as people pay them.

Probably the most accurate summation I have seen of the marketing behind Disney.

 

[lugnut33]

Your talk about Chick fil a talk is making me hungry!!! There are no Chick-fil-a's in Minnesota..maybe I will have to take time out to eat there in Florida.

Hahaha, that's why I used Chick-fil-a, because there are none here in Wisconsin either. Also, don't try to go to a chick-fil-a on a Sunday, they stay closed.

 

[lugnut33]

And yeah, the prices will keep flying up because the restaurants are busy. I guess the price has just passed me by. At what point does Cindy's Royal Table become overpriced, $100 per person? At the current price of $55 per adult ($59 for peak season pricing) it's still packed, which blows my mind. Just think, for my family it would cost $260 to eat there once tip was included. OUCH!! That's never going to happen. Plus, I'm not stressing about getting a ressie at the 180 day mark.

 

[MaryKatesMom]

Interesting thread.

The Podcast did a review of the Princess breakfast at Askerhaus and Pete was justifiably harsh on the food and price but he was right. People will still pay the price to watch their children's faces when they meet the princesses.

I completely see the OP's point. If you are already someone who leaves the park in the afternoon, have a car, and travel frequently to WDW sometimes the feeling of being gouged (regardless of your personal finances) is just irritating. Especially if you aren't someone who has a ton of "must do" restaurants.

We fall into the category of this is part of my vacation. We have so many "must visit" places that I need to plan multiple trips and I still can't fit Sci-Fi in my April or August trip. Both day's that we are in HS are the only two days I could get Le Cellier for lunch so we'll walk over.

An air conditioned TS lunch break has always been part of our plan. We never leave the park during the day.

I fully expect my "bowl" of cheddar cheese soup to come out in a thimble eventually and my filet keeps getting smaller but we have so many memories of us being here as a family we keep going. The pretzel bread is still awesome.

Over the years I have definately seen the quality gone down. When they changed the buns over at Casey's we have never gone back. We don't eat hot dogs at home and it used to be a treat but now yuck. We may find during our April trip that yet another cherished dish is gone. The pie sampler at R & C was so different and delicious but they no longer have it so we no longer go to R & C.

I will stop and get a Bodington's because no where around here is it on tap. There is a cherished memory of me sitting on a bench in the shade with a Boddington while my youngest took a nap in the stroller. However, they replaced the Norwegian beer with a more common beer from Denmark so I skip that.

We always have loved the onion rings and burgers at Sci-fi and I bite the bullet and have two martini's with the lighted ice cubes so each DD gets one.

These are the memories are worth the premium price.

 

[sharona]

Interesting thread.

The Podcast did a review of the Princess breakfast at Askerhaus and Pete was justifiably harsh on the food and price but he was right. People will still pay the price to watch their children's faces when they meet the princesses.

I completely see the OP's point. If you are already someone who leaves the park in the afternoon, have a car, and travel frequently to WDW sometimes the feeling of being gouged (regardless of your personal finances) is just irritating. Especially if you aren't someone who has a ton of "must do" restaurants.

We fall into the category of this is part of my vacation. We have so many "must visit" places that I need to plan multiple trips and I still can't fit Sci-Fi in my April or August trip. Both day's that we are in HS are the only two days I could get Le Cellier for lunch so we'll walk over.

An air conditioned TS lunch break has always been part of our plan. We never leave the park during the day.

I fully expect my "bowl" of cheddar cheese soup to come out in a thimble eventually and my filet keeps getting smaller but we have so many memories of us being here as a family we keep going. The pretzel bread is still awesome.

Over the years I have definately seen the quality gone down. When they changed the buns over at Casey's we have never gone back. We don't eat hot dogs at home and it used to be a treat but now yuck. We may find during our April trip that yet another cherished dish is gone. The pie sampler at R & C was so different and delicious but they no longer have it so we no longer go to R & C.

I will stop and get a Bodington's because no where around here is it on tap. There is a cherished memory of me sitting on a bench in the shade with a Boddington while my youngest took a nap in the stroller. However, they replaced the Norwegian beer with a more common beer from Denmark so I skip that.

We always have loved the onion rings and burgers at Sci-fi and I bite the bullet and have two martini's with the lighted ice cubes so each DD gets one.

These are the memories are worth the premium price.

Way to take one for the team Mom! I Love it. I may have to steal that little gem. "See the sacrifices Mommy makes for you kids!" Of course I'll need to have another child to make it work!

 

[d-r]

Interesting thread.

I will stop and get a Bodington's because no where around here is it on tap. There is a cherished memory of me sitting on a bench in the shade with a Boddington while my youngest took a nap in the stroller. However, they replaced the Norwegian beer with a more common beer from Denmark so I skip that.

.

I understand completely what you mean. I said basically the same thing to my wife the other day. I can fall for $7^H^H $8 a pint for one guiness, even if it is 1/2 that here, because I like it and I like that nostalgic feeling. But I can't bring myself to most - and the carlsburg was the example I used. Honestly I think that is good metaphor for the whole dining thing - I can handle a couple of character meals for the kids, but I'm now open to what was unthinkable to us 8-10 years ago, which is leaving property for a meal.

 

[MaryKatesMom]

I understand completely what you mean. I said basically the same thing to my wife the other day. I can fall for $7^H^H $8 a pint for one guiness, even if it is 1/2 that here, because I like it and I like that nostalgic feeling. But I can't bring myself to most - and the carlsburg was the example I used. Honestly I think that is good metaphor for the whole dining thing - I can handle a couple of character meals for the kids, but I'm now open to what was unthinkable to us 8-10 years ago, which is leaving property for a meal.

Ringnes was the name of the beer wasn't it?

We actually went off property for the first time last trip. Went to Joe's Crab shack. I kept seeing the commercial's on the food network, we had a car so we went! We all loved it. I don't have time to go this trip but we will again in August.

There is nothing like the Sci-fi diner anywhere else and we still smile when we tease the youngest how the monster's used to scare her. We will always flinch when the guy gets shot through the chest with the syringe. However, if we find that the onion rings, burgers and milk shakes have gone downhill we'll skip it in August.

 

[Agri]

We've really pared down how often and what we eat at WDW. We definitely bring in our own water and a few snacks. We don't go off property, but if we eat breakfast its usually a buffet (or at Kona) and we don't eat disney food again until dinner time. We might need to eat some pb crackers, but usually we're so full from breakfast we're not hungry again until dinnertime.

So the price of some of the buffets isn't too bad for us since we basically get two meals out of it.

Our favorite resort is POFQ, but if we had a kitchen area we'd definitely eat in our room (or pack food) even more. I like a lot of the restaurants, but its hard to justify the price for a lot of them if I can eat just as good - if not better - back home. I can get good bbq and good seafood at home, so I don't usually eat those at WDW. Same reason I can skip Italy. (I do make an exception for my favorite lunch - the pulled pork tacos at Kona Cafe.)

My 'ideal' vacation would involve only eating a handful of restaurants - because I can't eat that food anywhere else - and mostly preparing food in the room.

 

[lugnut33]

For those who think the DDP is great, here's a calculator that helps determine the price of the plan you are picking. Keep in mind that it does not include the seasonal surcharges or gratuity. I was shocked when looking at what the cost of a 10 day meal plan costed.

http://www.dvcrequest.com/dining_plan_calculator.asp

Instead of spending almost $200 per day for our family, I'll be opting for the $100 or less option of eating off site. The car we are renting (which I would rent no matter what) is coming in right around $300 for the 10 days we are there. So we are looking at saving over $800.

 

[kmk1180]

the cost of a meal at WDW is not commensurate with the real world prices. I know that, and I still eat on-site. I want to eat there not because the food is so much better , I eat there because it is the ambiance. I am finally at DisneyWorld. Besides, if you pick the right restaurant, your meal could be better than elsewhere.

But then again no tourist location is.
US, Hawaii, Seaworld, or any sporting or concert event.

Exactly, plus Disney is very much in line with other theme parks, sporting events, concerts, etc when it comes to their food pricing and for the most part they offer better food. For us, when we go somewhere, we know the food is going to cost more and we plan accordingly but going outside for food or bringing food in just would not work for us because the food is part of the experience.

But you have to do what works for you and it sounds like eating off site or back at the room would work for the OP.

I agree.

Those tacos are pretty good, but man for 12 bucks you can get the papacita macho grande platter at most any mexican restaurant out in the real world. Sure, you don't get to hunt for a table outside in epcot, but somebody will come a fill up your tea. Throw in a $7 cup of Dos X and your pushing 20 bucks.

Here's a fun experiment. After a few days of eating on property, go over to Miller's ale house. The size of the menu, the size of the servings, the quality and the price will absolutely amaze you after a few days at disney world.

But as others have stated...your not in "the real world".
You are on vacation.
Disney or anywhere else, when I go somewhere on vacation I want to try the local food, not some fast food chain.

For those who think the DDP is great, here's a calculator that helps determine the price of the plan you are picking. Keep in mind that it does not include the seasonal surcharges or gratuity. I was shocked when looking at what the cost of a 10 day meal plan costed.

http://www.dvcrequest.com/dining_plan_calculator.asp

Instead of spending almost $200 per day for our family, I'll be opting for the $100 or less option of eating off site. The car we are renting (which I would rent no matter what) is coming in right around $300 for the 10 days we are there. So we are looking at saving over $800.

Hey do what you like, personally I would feel I'd be wasting half the trip leaving to get food.
After all I can eat fast food at home. I can't go on the rides.

And with your comparsion you'd getting less food too.
Sure you can get a value meal at a resturant cheaper than a sit down meal.
But a cheesburger (or chicken sandwich) at a fast food chain is smaller portion than theme park. And DDP includes dessert and drink, fast food doesn't always.
And places like chic Filet don't include drink with meal. So that's more there.
And I don't know about you but i'm hungry less than an hour later after eating a value meal at fast food place.
In the end I don't think your savings will be as great as you think.
Because ultimately you'll be hungry again and grab a snack anyhow because you won't want to waste another 2-3hrs to get something else to eat.
While you might save $500-$800, you'll have also lost 20-30hrs in the parks.
And that's one thing I don't think your factoring in. The money your losing in park time you paid for with your tickets.
Your paying for the whole day in tickets whether your there open to close or 2 hours total.
20-30 park hours is like paying for 2 to 3 days of tickets your not going to use.

If I'm paying to be there, I'd rather have that park time over savings a little money.
But do what makes you happy.

 

[angelbrd]

I live in tampa, have an annual pass and still always dine onsite. My general rule of thumb is 3 days or less-TS and snacks. 4 days or more DDP.
I agree wih not leaving the magic. You are on vacation for goodness sakes. That is why Walt made Disney World because he saw how quickly Disneyland became saturated with unmagical outside chain companies and took away from the magic.
Sure you can drive down I-drive and pick up your Chick fil A. But I distinctly remember when I was young always watching the other kids skipping in the park eating thier mouse ears while my mom handed me a bag of warm carrots and brown apples. I never wanted my kids to feel that way.
Sure its expensive but thats like going to NYC and complaining about the traffic. IMO its apart of the trip and the magic.
All the more to you if you dont mind leaving MK, hopping on the monorail to your resort and then getting to your car, leaving the property to find a cheap place to eat, hop bck in the car, drive back on property while finding your room key to gain access to park again, and then heading back to your room or park....meanwile. Just I walked up to TS, ordered a burger and made it in time for the next parade or fastpass!

 

[lugnut33]

It's not like going offsite is some major trek. We jump in the car and in 10-15 minutes we are offsite. There are also some really nice shopping places offsite. One time we even went to New Smyrna Beach which was fantastic. Really not a big deal.

I guess Disney has reached my tipping point with the prices of the sitdown restaurants. I find the prices to be high for what one is getting. I used to eat at the on-site places all the time, but it's just hard for me to mentally justify the price even with the Tables In Wonderland card. Sure, the prices may be "on par" with other touristy places, but that doesn't make it OK in my mind. I probably won't eat at those other places either.

Me and my family can eat at Chick-fil-a and be satisfied. I now wish instead of using Chick-fil-a I had said Sweet Tomatoes. Maybe that would have been a better comparison. To me and my family, there is no buffet on-site that can come anywhere close to what we get at Sweet Tomotoes in terms of quality for price.

Hey, we will still eat at quick service locations inside the World when needed.

 

[Colleen27]

For us it comes down to the fact that time is money. We're staying in a cabin for our next trip so we're planning breakfast in the room (in our family, that's muffins or fruit & juice for the kids, coffee for DH and tea for me) and a couple of dinners on the grill, but we're not willing to waste time leaving the parks, much less leaving Disney property entirely, for our midday meal.

Yes, Disney restaurants are more expensive than comparable quality in the real world, but we don't feel that the savings from going offsite would be enough to justify the time spent doing it and the gas to get to those cheaper restaurants. But we haven't had the dismal experiences some here have posted about; there have been some "misses" to be sure, but we don't seem to have a hard time finding choices where the total package of food and atmosphere is enjoyable enough to keep us coming back.

 

[lugnut33]

I live in tampa, have an annual pass and still always dine onsite. My general rule of thumb is 3 days or less-TS and snacks. 4 days or more DDP.
I agree wih not leaving the magic. You are on vacation for goodness sakes. That is why Walt made Disney World because he saw how quickly Disneyland became saturated with unmagical outside chain companies and took away from the magic.
Sure you can drive down I-drive and pick up your Chick fil A. But I distinctly remember when I was young always watching the other kids skipping in the park eating thier mouse ears while my mom handed me a bag of warm carrots and brown apples. I never wanted my kids to feel that way.
Sure its expensive but thats like going to NYC and complaining about the traffic. IMO its apart of the trip and the magic.
All the more to you if you dont mind leaving MK, hopping on the monorail to your resort and then getting to your car, leaving the property to find a cheap place to eat, hop bck in the car, drive back on property while finding your room key to gain access to park again, and then heading back to your room or park....meanwile. Just I walked up to TS, ordered a burger and made it in time for the next parade or fastpass!

Interesting you should bring up Disneyland. I like it more than Disney World. I didn't mind coming out of Disneyland and walking across the street to our hotel.

Also, I like staying in the far away resorts because they feel more relaxed. My favorite place is the Tree House Villas followed by Kidani Village.

 

[sharona]

Sometimes it's not about the money itself, it's about the feeling you get when you know you are paying too much. And sometimes, it's about the money. Not everyone can afford to pay $150 for dinner for a family of four WDW adults.

We'll definitely be eating some of our meals outside the World. We'll do this because we'll have a car and we'll be leaving the parks anyway to take some mid day breaks and because we have plans to see some other Orlando attractions.

While I would not leave the parks specifically to get something to eat, nor would I bother bringing in my own snacks and lugging them around, I refuse to pay some of the TS prices for the mediocre food and I don't want to eat CS all week.

It's amazing to hear people justify the outrageous prices (of the TS meals and of the DDPs). Yes, it's the same at some other amusement parks and sports venues - that doesn't make it right.

Regarding the inconvenience of leaving the parks and coming back - the same people who don't think twice about waiting 20 minutes for a bus, transferring at a park and then standing on the bus for another 15-20 to get to another resort for dinner then waiting 15-30 minutes to be seated for your "reservation" are worried about the 20 minutes it takes to get to your car and drive to a nearby restaurant?

And don't get me started on the "immersed in the magic" bs.