Are Disney parks no longer for the Middle class?

I think the introduction of the dining plan was where the food pricing started to get out of control. It seemed to me that a la carte prices escalated rapidly once the the dining plans were established to make the dining plans look like a better value (and thus by getting visitors to go with dining plan, they got visitors locked in to only eating on property and into prepaying for food.) I found the food prices on our last trip (in 2016) literally left me with a bad taste in my mouth.

M.

I eat about 1700 calories normally. I bump that to around 2500 on my Disney trips. If I got the meal plan, I could easily double that. I don’t eat enough for the meal plan to make sense to me.
 
If that is the way you choose to view the meals, then they aren't worth the money at any cost. But for a HUGE number of people, character meals are a part of the magic of Disney.

and they used to be a great way to meet the characters and free up time in the parks. But, sadly, the prices are getting a little too steep to use them like that.
And quality has gone down. In July we spent 2.5 hours in ohana for breakfast after they were running an hour behind so really 3.5 hours & did NOT ever meet the characters b/c we decided to leave. They’re overbooked & trying to shove as many ppl in as they can. In July, Tusker house cut out their little parade b/c they were behind too.
 
And quality has gone down. In July we spent 2.5 hours in ohana for breakfast after they were running an hour behind so really 3.5 hours & did NOT ever meet the characters b/c we decided to leave. They’re overbooked & trying to shove as many ppl in as they can. In July, Tusker house cut out their little parade b/c they were behind too.

And that kind of stuff is exactly what keeps me from going back. Ohana was one of our favorites. It was so much fun and the food was pretty good.

And things like Tusker House cutting out the parade because they messed up. Just takes away those little extra magic things. And cuts way down on the value of Disney.
 
And quality has gone down. In July we spent 2.5 hours in ohana for breakfast after they were running an hour behind so really 3.5 hours & did NOT ever meet the characters b/c we decided to leave. They’re overbooked & trying to shove as many ppl in as they can. In July, Tusker house cut out their little parade b/c they were behind too.


We had Tusker House on Thanksgiving. Food was great, characters were great, but omg it is so LOUD. My head was pounding when we got out of there. It felt way too chaotic.
 


Comparing two vacations can be hard when you can't afford either one. That adds even more complexity to the issue.
 
I think the introduction of the dining plan was where the food pricing started to get out of control. It seemed to me that a la carte prices escalated rapidly once the the dining plans were established to make the dining plans look like a better value (and thus by getting visitors to go with dining plan, they got visitors locked in to only eating on property and into prepaying for food.) I found the food prices on our last trip (in 2016) literally left me with a bad taste in my mouth.

M.

I think that is a big piece of it. The dining plan started as a recession-lure but has become a premium add-on, and to sell it Disney has adjusted their whole approach to WDW parks dining. I didn't realize how much until spending time at DLR, where there is no dining plan, and seeing how much more affordable the food is despite the tourist premium and how much better the quality and variety. But at the DL parks, Disney has to compete with off-site establishments that are much easier to get to than those at WDW and doesn't need inflated menu prices to support "save up to..." advertising for the dining plan, and it shows.
 
I think that is a big piece of it. The dining plan started as a recession-lure but has become a premium add-on, and to sell it Disney has adjusted their whole approach to WDW parks dining. I didn't realize how much until spending time at DLR, where there is no dining plan, and seeing how much more affordable the food is despite the tourist premium and how much better the quality and variety. But at the DL parks, Disney has to compete with off-site establishments that are much easier to get to than those at WDW and doesn't need inflated menu prices to support "save up to..." advertising for the dining plan, and it shows.
DDP makes the $60 buffets look great! Well, look great when you have the plan. Then it feels like you're saving sooooo much money when the reality is OOP you'd probably choose somewhere else more reasonable than $60/head for everybody over 9yo.

Well played WDW.

I definitely noticed a decrease in entree quality since DDP and Free Food has become so popular. Quite boring and lack luster choices now. But it includes a $15 martini so look how much money you save! Wink ;)
 


DDP makes the $60 buffets look great! Well, look great when you have the plan. Then it feels like you're saving sooooo much money when the reality is OOP you'd probably choose somewhere else more reasonable than $60/head for everybody over 9yo.

Well played WDW.

I definitely noticed a decrease in entree quality since DDP and Free Food has become so popular. Quite boring and lack luster choices now. But it includes a $15 martini so look how much money you save! Wink ;)

This is why we hardly ever do TS. I refuse to do the dining plan. Did it once on a deal and said nope, that’s not how we like to eat. So we pay out of pocket with discounted gift cards and eat what we want and when we want. I hate having to plan ADRs.
 
This is why we hardly ever do TS. I refuse to do the dining plan. Did it once on a deal and said nope, that’s not how we like to eat. So we pay out of pocket with discounted gift cards and eat what we want and when we want. I hate having to plan ADRs.
DDP was a disappointment last trip. It can be much harder to manage than paying out of pocket. In the past we spent alot of time pre-trip to make it work well and not be inconvenient. Last trip I didn't because my SIL was joining us and I wanted to leave her some choice and flexibility. That was a mistake because trying to do DDP spontaneously is like wearing high heels in WDW.
 
To be fair people go to Disney and do resort only trips meaning they don't step foot in the theme parks and people go on a beach vacation and do more than just sit around doing nothing.
Two out of our last three WDW vacations we didn’t set foot in the parks once. We spent 8 days relaxing and enjoying the amenities of our resort (Dolphin), other resorts and Disney Springs.
 
DDP makes the $60 buffets look great! Well, look great when you have the plan. Then it feels like you're saving sooooo much money when the reality is OOP you'd probably choose somewhere else more reasonable than $60/head for everybody over 9yo.

Well played WDW.

I definitely noticed a decrease in entree quality since DDP and Free Food has become so popular. Quite boring and lack luster choices now. But it includes a $15 martini so look how much money you save! Wink ;)
I have absolutely noticed a decline in food quality & service. We used to eat TS twice a day every day of a trip. But, as DS doesn’t tolerate TS meals well, it’s been an easy place to cut the budget. There is nothing to miss.
 
DDP makes the $60 buffets look great! Well, look great when you have the plan. Then it feels like you're saving sooooo much money when the reality is OOP you'd probably choose somewhere else more reasonable than $60/head for everybody over 9yo.

Well played WDW.

I definitely noticed a decrease in entree quality since DDP and Free Food has become so popular. Quite boring and lack luster choices now. But it includes a $15 martini so look how much money you save! Wink ;)
Duplicate post.
 
Pew puts the middle class as 45k-140k (plus you have to make 150k for Pew to consider you high income). We're well within their range but do make more than 75k as a household. On the other hand we do not have children and would doubtless have very different lives (and disposable income) if we did. I often wonder how people with families manage it all...

I’m a husband to a wonderful wife and a father to 3 of the best kids in the world (I might be biased). We travel to Orlando every year, but we use a VRBO or something similar and rent a giant house with my parents, brother & sister and their families. It’s kind of a family reunion & vacation all at once. By the time you split the rental up you save tons. I know it’s not for everyone & you have the hassle of a rental car & parking, but it works if you put the extra effort in. Make some lunches to bring with you and save a few dollars that way too.
We’ve stayed on resort a couple times as well (Port Orleans most recently with a dining plan), but that ended up costing $6k plus. We can easily save $1500-$2000 by staying offsite the way we do. I know it’s not for everyone, but it allows our family of 5 to get there every year. We also travel during the “non-peak” times in January. Food for thought.
 
DDP makes the $60 buffets look great! Well, look great when you have the plan. Then it feels like you're saving sooooo much money when the reality is OOP you'd probably choose somewhere else more reasonable than $60/head for everybody over 9yo.

Well played WDW.

I definitely noticed a decrease in entree quality since DDP and Free Food has become so popular. Quite boring and lack luster choices now. But it includes a $15 martini so look how much money you save! Wink ;)
We used to love the free DDP. Initially it was app, entree, desert, soft drink, tax, and tip!!! HAHAHA. One of those and a counter service and a snack. And the snacks were very liberally defined.
We ran up so much money at Spoodles. They'd let you even add the add on shrimp skewer and add on scallop skewer to your entree.
Then they cut some weeks out of the deal. Then they took the tip out. Then it became ap or desert. Then they decided values only get the quick service plan free. Meanwhile, several one baggers became two baggers. They have added in some of the alcoholic drinks and fancy milk shakes and stuff plus another snack. But to us, it's still not the value it was.
 
I think part of the problem with this discussion is that the term middle class covers such a wide range of incomes, and then no one wants to think they fall below it which makes it cover more. The fact of the matter is that if you are middle class currently and suddenly made 20k a year more in take home, you'd probably still be middle class. Yet if you're day to day lifestyle didn't change your notions of what is and isn't affordable would probably change completely.

Then people value and enjoy different things. The fact of the matter is that we have a nice home full of all our stuff in a major city whose entertainment options we rarely have time or energy to explore. There's a fairly high threshold to get us out of that situation for a week. For us that's New York, San Francisco, Puerto Vallarta, Paris, Rome and, yeah, for the last few years Disney. Disney is about even spending wise with our other vacation options. Frankly a lot of what has been put out there as the cheaper but comparable experiences for us really aren't comparable (for us). I find myself thinking "I'd rather stay home" and I don't mean that in a sour grapes way I mean it literally--I'd rather vacation at home. We've actually done that before. If you throw a thousand or two at a week in Chicago and spend it all on show tickets, admission and dining you can have a pretty kick *** vacation and you get to sleep in you own bed. As far as some of the even more economical stuff--road trips and, G*d forbid, camping well I'd rather go to work. LOL

Hopefully everyone is able to find something that they enjoy that isn't financially crippling...
 
We used to love the free DDP. Initially it was app, entree, desert, soft drink, tax, and tip!!! HAHAHA. One of those and a counter service and a snack. And the snacks were very liberally defined.
We ran up so much money at Spoodles. They'd let you even add the add on shrimp skewer and add on scallop skewer to your entree.
Then they cut some weeks out of the deal. Then they took the tip out. Then it became ap or desert. Then they decided values only get the quick service plan free. Meanwhile, several one baggers became two baggers. They have added in some of the alcoholic drinks and fancy milk shakes and stuff plus another snack. But to us, it's still not the value it was.

And now even the mods only get the QS plan free. That took away any reason for me to choose a mod over a value. And the plans are still behind on snacks from when they started because they also took away the desserts with QS meals.
 
I think the introduction of the dining plan was where the food pricing started to get out of control. It seemed to me that a la carte prices escalated rapidly once the the dining plans were established to make the dining plans look like a better value (and thus by getting visitors to go with dining plan, they got visitors locked in to only eating on property and into prepaying for food.) I found the food prices on our last trip (in 2016) literally left me with a bad taste in my mouth.

M.

I agree and wouldn't normally get the dining plan, but when traveling with a 6 y.o. who will probably only go once, I decided to go heavy on the character meals, so it made sense to get it.
 

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