Value for the money..Disney wins!

[tundramom]

I just wanted to share: to those folks lamenting the cost of Disney food- We spent yesterday at Cedar Point :coaster:(DH, me, DD and her friend both 19) and dropped a lot of $ on really mediocre food. Lunch: 1 basket of chicken fingers (3) w/Fries and a Coke $14.97, 2 footlong Subway subs (limited bread choices, American cheese only) 2 drinks, and 2 Choc. Chip cookies $39.97:eek: Snacks: Rootbeer float 5.79 that was in a glass that could not have held 6oz. of Rootbeer (I actually bougth a drink cup of Rootbeer for $4.29 to whet my whistle), Milkshakes &5.97 (this actually looked like a bargain compared to the Float), the worst Churro's we've ever had $4.29 each!, Pretzels $5.29, and $3.97 per bottle of water. We walked out of the park to Friday's to have 1 decent meal!
So, for all of the people who complain about WDW pricing, it isn't just Disney and I'll take their quality, ambiance, and service any day.:cloud9:
That being said, we had a great day, basically walked onto most of the major coasters and beautiful weather. We know what we are getting with this type of park, and primarily go for the thrill fix, but, my oh my, I am sorely tempted to pack a cooler next time we go!

[BrowncatP]

I was a Cedar Point on June 3,4. Can't believe that you got the footlongs at Subway. I wanted the footlong but couldn't bring myself to get it at the outrageous price that they charged. The burger at Pink's was very good, and I still had my "arms and legs" after paying for the burger.

[Arielfan98]

I've never been to Ceder Point but places like 6 Flags and Hershey Park are no different. I also happen to live in one of the highest taxed counties in the U.S, so for me prices at Disney are not bad. But according to your story you are right. Disney does place quality where Ceder Point did not. At Disney you can get a authentic Moroccan meal for around the same price. I agree and sorry about the foul experience at Ceder Point.

[tundramom]

I was a Cedar Point on June 3,4. Can't believe that you got the footlongs at Subway. I wanted the footlong but couldn't bring myself to get it at the outrageous price that they charged. The burger at Pink's was very good, and I still had my "arms and legs" after paying for the burger.

We split the footlongs between the 4 of us so it made it a little more bearable, but not much. As for Pink's, we don't eat hamburg or hot dogs, but it looked like a better choice than the standard fare. I couldn't believe they turned the big restaurant into an all you can eat buffet, and the offerings were :drum: hot dogs and hamburgers :ack:- criminal!

[tundramom]

I've never been to Ceder Point but places like 6 Flags and Hershey Park are no different. I also happen to live in one of the highest taxed counties in the U.S, so for me prices at Disney are not bad. But according to your story you are right. Disney does place quality where Ceder Point did not. At Disney you can get a authentic Moroccan meal for around the same price. I agree and sorry about the foul experience at Ceder Point.
Thanks, but I didn't mean to imply we had a bad experience, I just wanted to share with my fellow intercotee's, so the next time a non-believer makes a comment about Disney prices there will be some ammo for "our"side.:thumbsup:

[honeybear]

I've never been to Ceder Point but places like 6 Flags and Hershey Park are no different. I also happen to live in one of the highest taxed counties in the U.S, so for me prices at Disney are not bad. But according to your story you are right. Disney does place quality where Ceder Point did not. At Disney you can get a authentic Moroccan meal for around the same price. I agree and sorry about the foul experience at Ceder Point.

I live in that same county! I feel the same. Disney prices don't shock me anymore.

[Arielfan98]

Thanks, but I didn't mean to imply we had a bad experience, I just wanted to share with my fellow intercotee's, so the next time a non-believer makes a comment about Disney prices there will be some ammo for "our"side.:thumbsup:

Gotcha :thumbsup:

[#1donaldfan]

We just returned and did not do the dinning plan. We saved $35.00 not counting what the tips would have been with 7 table service meals. I kept every single receipt for snacks, drinks, CS and TS meals. We ate great too, no skimping or cutting corners. I knew it would be cheaper, but not considerably so. :cool:

[Mary Chase]

Agree completely! We live very close to Cedar Point and spend one day a year there. I found the food prices to be very similar to Disney prices, however, I thought the Cedar Point food was terrible. I can't imagine eating there for a whole week like we do at Disney - I felt sick after one day at Cedar Point!

[princessgirls]

Disney is a descent food for the money....

Please...I tell my girls I will get them the best sandwiches at our local gourmet store, and we will picnic in the parking lot for lunch when we go to Great Adventure (Six Flags in NJ), and get them a snack in the park, and we have a ten times better lunch for half the price.

Julie:mickey:

[Maryln8]

I love Cedar Point and so do my children but the food costs as much as Disney and can't even compare to Disney's quality

[Terra]

Wooza, $40 for 2 footlongs, 2 cookies and drinks??

I have always loved Disney food from CS to TS and that's the one place I don't complain about money generally.

Actually I feel really spoiled by Disney and the amount of great places to eat. So when we do Legoland from time to time I'm always so disappointed in quality and places to eat there.

[mandaep]

Tell me about it!!! I can't even understand when people complain about the food cost at Disney. All theme parks are that way, at least Disney does an awesome job at offering a variety. We have Kings Island nearby and we went once this year and we spent soo much on a meal DH and I just passed on food and let the kids split it. We just couldn't bring ourselves to spend more. I can't always say I agree with table services so much (doing a lot is painful on the pocket for us) but you can't beat the cs quality and quantity in most places esp in epcot!

[MrPeetrie]

I totally agree with tundramom's point.

We go to Cedar Point every Halloween and are always caught off guard at the high priced food with a mediocre-to-poor taste. Never, as we are driving up to Sandusky, do we say, "I can't wait to get to Cedar Point to eat the such-and-such. (I'm excluding the Bay Harbor Inn. We enjoy that meal very much.)

On a Disney vacation, however, we CONSTANTLY talk about our food choices.
"I can't wait for Peco's Bill's." "I'm looking forward to a Casey's hot dog." "I can't wait for a Mickey Bar!" Etc. I'm sure many of you feel the same way. There are SOOO MANY MUST-HAVES regarding food choices that it's an integral part of the vacation. We'll be discussing our food options for the next 14 months!!!

As far as Disney food prices, I don't think about that too much. Something has to pay to maintain 47 square miles of property. I think they're in line -- or possibly lower -- than other "lesser parks."

I remember one year, we decided to hit Busch Gardens in Williamsburg as a cost-cutting option to Walt Disney World. It was within driving distance. Beautiful Park. Theming and attention to detail to rival Disney. Park tickets were cheap. But after paying for outrageously-priced food (again with mediocre-to-poor quality,) we vowed "Never again!" We'll save up for a trip to WDW.

Still, we LOVE Cedar Point for the rides and are going there this Halloween. Just not for the food!

[Tigerinvestigator]

We just got back from a Disney/Universal trip and we had the worst counter service meal I have ever experienced anywhere, at Islands of Adventure. We got spaghetti and meatballs that were completely uneatable, chicken that didn't look like chicken, and a cheeseburger that was ok that we ended up splitting four ways just to satisfy our hunger for a few moments. The meal was the worst $64 that I've ever spent. I will never complain about Disney or their prices. It blows my mind people complain that the food at Disney is bad.....do they not go to other theme parks? It is so much better than any other theme park IMHO!:thumbsup:

[Melanie]

Just throwing it out there that we went to Busch Gardens in Williamsburg yesterday and had one of the best theme park meals (BBQ) we've ever had, and the price was very comparable to other theme parks. And sorry, the refillable drink program (similar to what Universal has) is great! I just don't understand why Disney doesn't get in on that. :shrug:

[cer]

Just throwing it out there that we went to Busch Gardens in Williamsburg yesterday and had one of the best theme park meals (BBQ) we've ever had, and the price was very comparable to other theme parks. And sorry, the refillable drink program (similar to what Universal has) is great! I just don't understand why Disney doesn't get in on that. :shrug:

Enjoyed following you yesterday. Thanks for posting the pictures and videos. Looked like a fun time!

[AgentC]

Just throwing it out there that we went to Busch Gardens in Williamsburg yesterday and had one of the best theme park meals (BBQ) we've ever had, and the price was very comparable to other theme parks. And sorry, the refillable drink program (similar to what Universal has) is great! I just don't understand why Disney doesn't get in on that. :shrug:

The BBQ at Busch Tampa is very good too. Do they do the all day dining at Williamsburg like they do at Tampa? I like the refill programs too.

[Melanie]

Do they do the all day dining at Williamsburg like they do at Tampa?

You know, I'm not sure, Cindy. I didn't even notice. :blush:

[MrPeetrie]

To be fair to Busch Gardens, they had these kiosks set up around the park, where they grilled up shrimp and served them with ice cold metal bottles of Bud Light Lime. DW & I nearly went broke on those as they not only smelled fantastic (it was hard to pass up those kiosks,) but also tasted great, especially with the beer chaser. I liked those. Pricey, but tasty.

[Goes4FastPass]

Cedar Fair Parks have expensive lousy food.

WDW food is expensive and often pretty darn good.

Cedar Point has many rides and some of them are bigger badder and better than anything like them at any Disney Park... and you don't have to make a reservation months in advance to ride them.

[i'm grumpy]

We won't eat at Silver Dollar City. The food is cold and not edible. And the last employee we ordered from was rude!

[BowTie7]

I find food prices at any park quite a shock.

Disney World seems to do a really good job at offering more interesting items and using themed settings to make the high charges a little bit easier to take. They really don't have much of a choice really, people spend a week or more at the resort and won't if there wasn't variety and quality to the food.

Universal has been upgrading the quality of some of the new locations and hopefully this will continue to all the in park spots. The two Universal parks in a way have to compete with all the City Walk locations, so I'm surprised they coasted as many years as they did.

Cedar Fair and 6 Flags parks do seem to operate as if they have a captive audience and aren't really trying on the food. I think they are missing out on potential revenue from so many people who pack a picnic, skip a meal, or wait to eat after leaving the park. I was at a catered event at Cedar Fair Kings Island this May that had really great food so its not like they can't do good food when they want to.

I also question the use of outside brands (like Subway) were everyone knows the real would price, it just makes it so blatant that you are being taken advantage of. At least at Disney that expensive hamburger has a topping bar, a great themed location and (at Cosmic Rays) entertainment.

I've always had great luck at Silver Dollar City. I find it to be the one regional park with consistently quality food (prime rib on the Christmas buffet at a price far less than any Disney buffet), pleasant surrounding, and in some instances live entertainment. I have always had great service.