Worst Value Meal (Most overpriced)

[sharonabe]

I am American and got it at every restaurant. Not sure of the reason, but maybe because Im from NEW England Just kidding

I never had to pay the tip before the bill, prior to this trip.

I think this is something they've started recently. Probably has something to do with people on the DDPs not tipping because they think it's included even though it hasn't been included for over 10 years.

 

[judyannemorgan@att.n]

wow sorry your trip didn't go well - polynesian not good and now the restaurants maybe try a different place?

 

[sweetyk83]

I love this thread! It's truly a perfect example of how differently people feel about different restaurants, resorts, etc. This is why I have such a hard time recommending places, I may love a place but someone else could HATE it.
It's also an example of how a server can make or break an experience.
We actually loved the Bon Voyage Breakfast! Our server was great! We did get the steak, although I was tempted by the pancakes. My son got the steak kids meal and when he said he wished he had more steak our server brought another one without charging us.
We had a negative experience with our server at Cinderella's Royal Table. It completely ruined the experience for us and at $500+ we had zero desire to ever go back, that made me sad.
Anyway, it's always interesting to me to hear everyone's opinions on places!
OP, I am sorry you had a bad experience!

 

[thepicklebee]

That plate of pancakes would make me have to take a nap. So fluffy and carb overload.

I think that I would have a hard time swallowing $40 for those for sure. I think that many of the other character breakfasts have better and more plentiful options so I can appreciate not seeing the food as being a good value when it is compared to others.

Like others have said, there is obvious the upcharge for the experience - but I would also say that the food does matter in overall enjoyment of the experience. This is partly why we go to 'Ohana for breakfast - we like the setting, the characters, AND the food (Mr. eats like a horse).

 

[DISNEY1975]

wow sorry your trip didn't go well - polynesian not good and now the restaurants maybe try a different place?

My trip was wonderful. I didnt love the crowds at the Poly and the first couple of days with everything shut down was rough on me, only due to my knee injury and all the unexpected walking (If I knew, I would have had my brace on), but that didnt take away from my room being amazing, the theme of the grounds being wonderful as usual and the amazing staff. Will I go back..no! But thats just me and my age now. Im less a MK person and more Epcot and prefer a quieter resort. Ive had many trips to the Poly and its just time for ME to change pace.

I liked my breakfast at TaF, Im just saying the value of my DDs meal was probably the worst of all we ate, which was a lot. $40 for a stack of pancakes is outrageous, even for Disney! I was on a dining plan, so I really didnt care, but I would have if I was paying OOP. We ate at 25 or 26 TS..cant recall anymore! Had a few hiccups, nothing to complain about, but some to comment on. 90 - 95% was fantastic.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

We never use the dining plan, so I'm pretty careful about where we eat in terms of what we perceive as having value. For example, we ate at Takumi-Tei this week. It was one of the most expensive meals we've ever had at WDW, but I found value in it because it was very good, the service was amazing and the experience, for us, was very unique. On the other hand, I find character buffets to have zero value for us at this point. DS11 has no interest in characters anymore and the last time we went to Cape May Cafe breakfast, I found the food to be almost inedible. I agree that $40 for pancakes, on paper, looks outrageous, but if you factor in the unique character experience, it might have great value for some families.

 

[robinb]

Almost did. I was offended. It was a trend in all the restaurants for the waitstaff to remind guests that service was not included on the bill and as soon as it was filled out, my payment would be processed. This was the only one to A) Put the bill down directly in front of me, not my husband! But ok, its 2019..anything goes and I was closest to her
B) After the speech about the tip, draw a circle around where I needed to write it.

Up until that point, , she was nice, got our order correct, was attentive etc... I tipped her the 20%, nothing above. Normally I would have given $25 to make it easy on myself, but I searched my wallet for $1's to get the $24.

That would totally piss me off. Her tip would have suffered and, depending on how mad I was, I would involve the manager. My tip would have made it perfectly clear what I thought about the lecture and the highlighting of the tip line.

 

[jsbowl16]

I had the pancakes at Trattoria and didnt even think about it being overpriced. Every character meal you go to is technically overpriced so I just assume I will be paying a higher price just like I would to meet special characters at a hard ticket event. I might not go back but to do it once, $40 was worth it for me and my family. My wife is "veganish" so she almost always gets the cheaper things on the menu but it is her choice so we decide whether or not we want the experience and do our homework before we go to a restaurant at Disney.

 

[DISNEY1975]

I had the pancakes at Trattoria and didnt even think about it being overpriced. Every character meal you go to is technically overpriced so I just assume I will be paying a higher price just like I would to meet special characters at a hard ticket event. I might not go back but to do it once, $40 was worth it for me and my family. My wife is "veganish" so she almost always gets the cheaper things on the menu but it is her choice so we decide whether or not we want the experience and do our homework before we go to a restaurant at Disney.

I totally agree. I just wanted to point out one meal; in case anyone was interested in knowing what they would get for $40.

As I stated in many posts, I was on the DP and didnt care about the cost. We paid for the DxDDP for my DD and 7/10 she ordered from the kid menu. Obviously not the best deal but worth it to me, as I sit hear typing 2 weeks later, not owing one cent to Disney or my CC company. To each their own. This entire thread went in a completely different direction than my intent.

 

[sharonabe]

We paid for the DxDDP for my DD and 7/10 she ordered from the kid menu. Obviously not the best deal but worth it to me, as I sit hear typing 2 weeks later, not owing one cent to Disney or my CC company. To each their own. This entire thread went in a completely different direction than my intent.

And that's exactly why it went in a different direction. You "paid" about $33 for every kid's meal she ordered and didn't even get characters with them. But you chose the $40 pancakes with characters as your worst value. In truth, they all have the same value to you, because the most valuable thing is that you don't owe any more money after your vacation.

Any time you want people to attribute value to something, you're going to end up with something like this thread. Your definition of value is different than mine and mine is different than some of the other posters.

So maybe start a new thread and leave out the word value. Just ask for overpriced meals.

 

[Jennasis]

I dunno. That's a pretty extraordinary stack of pancakes. And a character meal? $40 seems right to me.

 

[Donna M]

I totally agree. I just wanted to point out one meal; in case anyone was interested in knowing what they would get for $40.

As I stated in many posts, I was on the DP and didn't care about the cost. We paid for the DxDDP for my DD and 7/10 she ordered from the kid menu. Obviously not the best deal but worth it to me, as I sit hear typing 2 weeks later, not owing one cent to Disney or my CC company. To each their own. This entire thread went in a completely different direction than my intent.

It sure did, and I know that's not what you were looking for! It was feeling very judgy, wasn't it? I get that the characters make the meals cost more, but yup, $40 for a plate of pancakes makes you say thanks for the ddp. We had an eye opener when we got the bill for a character dinner. The prices seem to go up faster than I can keep track, and they only give you a range.

I like hot dogs, but would have a hard time enjoying one for the price I see at some of the restaurants.

 

[DISNEY1975]

And that's exactly why it went in a different direction. You "paid" about $33 for every kid's meal she ordered and didn't even get characters with them. But you chose the $40 pancakes with characters as your worst value.

The kids meal wasnt even brought up until around post 30. Im sure that was not the reason it went in a different direction. I also made it clear that I was on the DP and IF I were paying OOP, it would be $$$ for a stack of pancakes. My last question in my original post was what to look out for if I were ever paying OOP.

There was no choice as TaF. All meals were $40. Im demonstrated what you would get if your ordered the pancakes, in comparison to large plates of a variety of foods if you ordered something else. A better value would be to order something different. Ive made my point more than I ever thought I would need to. Anyone can continue if they care to......feel free to twist away....

 

[TwoMisfits]

Most overpriced meal at Disney - really, all of them. You're at a theme park, paying theme park prices for theme park quality food. Aka - pretty much any meal is available at a cheaper price in a better form if you step out of the gates and drive about 10 minutes away to a local restaurant or even better, make it yourself.

However, being overpriced doesn't mean lacking value. It's finding a balance on vacation to make you happy.

My family just spent a week at Water Country USA and Busch Gardens Williamsburg...and we decided we were going to try anything we wanted on one day in the park (and do a Dumbo or die type day)...and eat the rest of our meals at local restaurants or at our home resort (with high end and convenience items and lots of fresh produce) with shorter park days (and other local and resort activities) for the rest of our time. It made for a great week, with no one ever getting sick (with my severe dairy intolerance, it's normally me), and it made for an amazingly cheap time ($350 in groceries and alcohol plus $361 in restaurant costs for 7 days for 5 Disney adults and 1 Disney child....or just about $20ish/day/person)...

If I'd have paid every day, I'd have choked on the $5 side waffle fries that might satisfy 1 person for a snack...and the $11 only slightly bigger than personal sized pizza...but with paying for just the one day, it didn't faze me...although we still did do the counter service free water, b/c I only ignore so much...

PS - There was one item in BGW that was an AMAZING value, cheaper than any restaurant around me, and exceptionally delicious per the family members who ate it (being dairy-free, I could not)...but I won't post it just in case BGW decides to read this post and raise its price...

 

[Donna M]

I would love to see some posts about what are the worst value meals. Just put the meal or item here, not that WDW has high prices and character meals are expensive, everyone already knows that. And stop picking on the OP, she's had enough!

It was a good question that got shot down!

 

[sharonabe]

The kids meal wasnt even brought up until around post 30. Im sure that was not the reason it went in a different direction. I also made it clear that I was on the DP and IF I were paying OOP, it would be $$$ for a stack of pancakes. My last question in my original post was what to look out for if I were ever paying OOP.

It went off the rails because you used the word "value." Everyone will have a different definition for value. You valued having your trip prepaid more than you value a reasonably priced meal. That's okay.

To answer your question about if you ever pay OOP, you'll want to avoid all character meals, and probably BoG breakfast and dinner.

 

[kaytieeldr]

I also made it clear that I was on the DP and IF I were paying OOP, it would be $$$ for a stack of pancakes.

.
I guess value is subjective. A typical stack of pancakes, no. But that stack, with any sides, and characters? Equivalent value to pretty much any character breakfast.

There was no choice as TaF. All meals were $40.

In all seriousness, you might want to send a screenshot of the menu price and email that and your receipt image to Disney wdw.guest.communications@disneyworld.com. I get that prices are subject to change, but a company that posts its prices online should show updated pricing.

 

[robinb]

We had one night with the DxDDP in August. I commend you for making it though a week! We were stuffed in two days!

The worst value for us was the $75 steak at California Grill. IMO, it's not worth paying OOP for. We *did* have the DxDDP so, from the DDP, it was an OK value. We pad $77 for it and also received a $16 appetizer, a $16 cocktail plus a $16 dessert plus taxes. So, we received a $131 meal for $77.

 

[bowtie7]

$7.99 for a tiny cup of soft serve at all star movies food court

 

[Chrelaine]

I thought the $15 bowl of Fruit Loops at BOG was ridiculous. No characters there for breakfast to justify the price. My husband's breakfast for $28 when the same meal is 11.49 everywhere else was pretty crazy as well. We were on DDP but we will never go to BOG again with or without the plan. Way too chaotic and incredibly overpriced. The atmosphere just doesn't make up for it for us. We liked Trattoria al Forno and ignored the cost because of the characters you don't see elsewhere. While I enjoyed the meal very much, I wouldn't have paid for it out of pocket.