Dining pricing - peak vs regular season

[Marytheta]

We're heading to WDW in Oct and are trying to figure out meal costs. Most menus show a general price range that varies based on the season and day of the week. Is anyone aware of a published schedule or site that would tell me what price point to expect? Right now I'm planning for the worst and hoping for the best (cheapest!). Or does anyone have pointers based on past history? I am guessing that isn't prime season but with food and wine fest I didn't want to just assume. We've always done the dining plan in the past but are doing without this time to test it out.

[Ms. Mode]

Most of the menus posted will give you the price of each item; rule of thumb for us is that lunch is going to cost around $16 per person and dinner around $40 but that's being very generous and we have done it for cheaper...just depends on where you eat and if you share.

My DH and I went in October this past year and there was no difference in any of the prices regardless of the time of year. :thumbsup:

[TheDuckRocks]

Just sent you a private message hope it helps.

[Marytheta]

Thanks for the feedback. I realize now I probably wasn't very specific with my area of difficulty. :confused: The prices that are giving me trouble are the buffet costs as those seem to be listed most places as a range vs a set price. I thought I read somewhere that Disney publishes their pricing schedule for meals but can't seem to find it. Am I dreaming this or has anyone ever seen this?

:mickey:

[VWL Mom]

October would be regular season. The peak season prices for 2013 dining are:

February 14 – 23, March 8 – April 6, May 31 – August 3, and December 13 – 31, 2013.

The buffet pricing is a bit odd on the Disney site. I know some meals show $36-$59 for dinner, that's quite a range. Is there a specific buffet you're interested in, maybe a fellow intercotee has been there recently and can give you a better idea of the cost.

BTW :welcome: to INTERCOT

[DisneyDawgette]

I don't know how correct it is, but when I see that crazy range on the Disney site, I typically assume that the high end is around what I would pay for dinner, and the lower end would be closer to what I would pay for an earlier meal at breakfast or lunch. It's been close enough for me in the past to budget relatively closely with my (probably skewed) system. :blush:

EDIT: Also, for exact prices, you can always call the Disney Dining line. I was just raving about how helpful they are in another post on the Theme Parks board. I've never had a problem that they couldn't solve or a question that they couldn't answer. :)

[mechanic]

we've been peak and off peak. never really paid attention to variation . how much does it vary? 10% 20? more?.
then I'm thinking once a peak is over prices probably wouldn't go all the way back down because of inflation?

[VWL Mom]

we've been peak and off peak. never really paid attention to variation . how much does it vary? 10% 20? more?.
then I'm thinking once a peak is over prices probably wouldn't go all the way back down because of inflation?

It's probably about 10% or so. Not really noticeable IMO. Most times they do go back to a lower level.

[Marytheta]

Thank you everyone for the info. It has all been helpful. We're doing the Tusker house AM buffet which says $28.75-33.01 for adults; O'hana family style dinner $36.20-42.59; Ltt family style dinner $34.07-38.33. Some of the ranges don't seem like a lot but with 7 adults and one child, it adds up fast!