Originally Posted By MPierce >> paid $68 for bleacher seats last game - I'm done for the year << The Cubs have a cult like following so they can get away with it. Prices like folks are charging now is taking the fun out of entertainment.
Originally Posted By Jim in Merced CA I've heard the tiresome argument 'That's what other types of entertainment charge' to which I reply -- 'so what?' The Coca-Cola products at Disney Parks are practically subsidized by Coca-Cola -- Disney could, if they wanted to, let us in on the fun too.
Originally Posted By Jim in Merced CA And for the record, I wouldn't pay $68 to watch Babe Ruth play.
Originally Posted By EPCOT Explorer >>>I swear if I ever return to WDW I will drive my car. All my beer, soda, snacks, and other daily essentials will be packed in my lugage. The Mouse lost a lot of my money when he raised the price of a six pack of beer to $31.50 at the merchantile at Wilderness Lodge. No telling how much it is now.<<< That's what we did. ;-) Hi guys! I'm back!
Originally Posted By WDW Imagineer <<All this plus you get to watch the team of your choice beat the Astros!>> Cut em some slack
Originally Posted By Jim in Merced CA <The Mouse lost a lot of my money when he raised the price of a six pack of beer to $31.50 at the merchantile at Wilderness Lodge.> Is that true? For a six pack of beer? That's borderline extortion. I remember stopping by Gooding's on the way to the Villas a few years ago. Their prices were out jaw-droppingly high -- and we're from SoCal, where prices are high anyway. Isn't Gooding's going out of business? Hope the people losing their jobs don't need to buy a gallon of milk before they get their walking papers.
Originally Posted By vbdad55 the checkout people at Goodings should wear masks and pull a gun on you-- for what they charge
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 <<There is no free lunch.>> well, if you sign up for the 'Take a Spirit to Dinner' plan, there's a free meal for me! <<You pay for it in deminished choices, poorer quality, and difficulty in getting a place at a specific time to dine.>> Of course you do. I mean, I could do a presentation on how Disney can dumb down a steak over say 15 years. Take what in 1995 was say a 12 oz NY Strip on a dinner menu. It came WITH soup or salad. And it came with 1-2 side items and a bread service. The price was likely about $15.95 before any discount. The quality and portions were great. Now ... this is the Disney dining business model thru the years. First, you must have annual (and now bi-annual increases in cost ... although sometimes they'll raise prices for a weekend or week literally because they know they have big convention in town of high spenders). So, incrementally, the cost of the steak would rise. Meanwhile, they dropped the salad or soup, but you could add it ... often for as little as $1.99. Still ... you see where this going. Also, incrementally, the cuts of beef were often lowered again making Disney's bottom line shine. And the two side items shrank in size too. That 12 oz steak is probably about 7-8 oz by now as well (because clearly Disney is concerned that 80% of its guests are obese or morbidly obese). And the prices kept going up ... so 15 years later, that same steak (well, not really the same since Disney is serving a lower cut of beef) is now priced at over $30 a la carte. And that side salad can now cost you upwards of $7-10. Inflation isn't the cause. Cost of living/ wages hasn't gone up. Disney is just giving less all the time and charging more. And the DDP allows ignorant guests to believe they're getting a deal. A deal is leaving WDW property and giving someone else your dining dollars. The same Trail's End lunch buffet I had in the mid 90s for $4.99 BEFORE my 20% discount WITH all the desserts they now charge extra for included is now some absurd price (with much fewer items on the buffet) ... maybe $13.99? Disney is simply gouging its guests. And I'm sorry, but as I've posted before VBDAD's baseball analogy holds no weight with me at all. I compare Disney to Disney and to other theme parks. Ball parks are a whole other universe. And people that pay for (most) sporting events need to have their heads examined anyway in the USA. But what do I know ... I've been to the Olympics, Pro Bowl, Super Bowl and many other sporting events the past two years alone without paying one cent! (but no refillable mugs, just free soda!)
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 <<Isn't Gooding's going out of business?>> The only store left is in LBV. This was a chain of about 15 stores two decades ago. And I happened in to it a few months back with a local friend and it looked out of business ... dumpy and half empty shelves. I think the only thing that kept it going this long is ignorant tourists who stock up because it's the closest grocery store to WDW. ... Yeah, Winn Dixie is maybe a mile in one direction and Publix is maybe two miles in the other. But bloggers have told bumpkins they should stock up at Goodings. Why is anyone's guess.
Originally Posted By GMouse <<Disney is simply gouging its guests.>> I think I'll opt for a Carnival Cruise next year instead. At least everything is included in one "reasonable" price. Except for alchohol, but that's not a necessity like food is.
Originally Posted By fkurucz >>for $48 you can park close to Wrigley - LOL !<< Cubs fans are nuts. I once went to a Rockies/Cubs game at Coors field. The Cubs fans outnumbered the Rockies fans at least 3 to 1. And the Rox won that day
Originally Posted By SeventyOne Goodings is pretty infamous among locals. More than once I've heard the bartenders in the Fridays across the lot warn tourists not to shop there. If you want proof that DDP is the leading cause of inflated prices, look no further than Mythos and Finnigans at Universal. In-park table service with fairly reasonable prices.
Originally Posted By tashajilek The thing is the hassle of leaving the park and coming back in. I couldnt imagine going to wdw for a few hrs then going all the way to the parkade, eating and coming back. How long would that take? Even at DL it is a big hassle and if i eat out of the park it's after the park is closed.
Originally Posted By GMouse <<The thing is the hassle of leaving the park and coming back in.>> That was exactly my problem. I also had a toddler with my that made it even more of a hassle.
Originally Posted By MPierce >> Hi guys! I'm back! << Hi EE! Did you fill the trunk of the car up with new Figment plushes?
Originally Posted By MPierce <<All this plus you get to watch the team of your choice beat the Astros!>> >> Cut em some slack << Evidently you haven't seen them play this year. They are really bad! Only the Pirates can keep them off the very bottom.
Originally Posted By MPierce >> <The Mouse lost a lot of my money when he raised the price of a six pack of beer to $31.50 at the merchantile at Wilderness Lodge.> Is that true? For a six pack of beer? That's borderline extortion. << A six pack of beer use to run around $14 at the Merchantile. That was pretty bad, but I always figured what the heck, Mickey has to make a buck. When I went down for some beer my first day in 2009 they no longer carried six packs. Now all you could get were individual beers at $5.25 each. I ask the people working the registers about it, and they told me Food Services had complained in the restaurants that they were losing beer sales. The obvious choice for Mickey was to raise the prices. It was $5.25 in all the resort stores, and was up to $8 for a beer at most of the kiosk around WS. I have no idea what the prices are now. It seems like they go up a couple of times a year now. I wish somebody going to the World this summer would check on the prices now, and let me know what they are. Yes the Mouse has become way to greedy for me to continue my annual patronage.
Originally Posted By MPierce >> The same Trail's End lunch buffet I had in the mid 90s for $4.99 BEFORE my 20% discount WITH all the desserts they now charge extra for included is now some absurd price (with much fewer items on the buffet) ... maybe $13.99? Disney is simply gouging its guests. << Keep on dreaming Spirit. From Deb Willi's site. Trails End Buffet BREAKFAST 7:30 - 11:30 a.m. Guests ages 10 and over: $13.99; Child (3-9): $8.99 Continental Breakfast also available LUNCH 11:30 a.m. until 2 p.m. Guests ages 10 and over: $16.99; Child (3-9): $9.99 Soup and Salad Bar Only Available DINNER Sunday - Thursday: 4:30 to 9:30 p.m. Friday - Saturday: 4:30 - 10 p.m. Guests ages 10 and over: $22.99; Child (3-9): $11.99 Soup and Salad Bar Only Available
Originally Posted By EPCOT Explorer >>> Hi EE! Did you fill the trunk of the car up with new Figment plushes?<<< Yep!!! Some Vinylmation, too.
