How Much..

We don't have a problem with the food prices. We think they are not too bad compared to prices you would pay at a ballpark or concert. I agree that a few items may be expensive but they are a business and have to make money in order to keep open.
My DH and I share plates a lot of times esp at quick service because they are big portions. Neither of us are huge eaters. We graze on small meals all day. So that isn't a problem for us.
The bottom line for us is we know we will pay more but it is Disney. And we don't mind because the food is so good! Plus, we're at Disney!!

I didn't think the food prices were any worse than any other tourism type thing. We did the DDP and we learned it was a lot more food than we normally eat. So since we are only going to be in Disneyland for a couple of days this summer, DH and I already talked about paying out of pocket this time. We usually eat very light during the day and have one substantial meal a day, so I really think with the amount of food that we received, we will just pay for counter service lunch, and split one. Both of us left half our food most of the time anyway.

I do think the difference between the food at Disney and let's say, your example, a concert or event is the quantity. We went and watched Supercross at a huge arena this weekend, and it was $9.00 for a cheesesteak that was maybe 4" long. I could have eaten three of them! So I think for the quantity of food, the price is reasonable for a venue.

But you don't have too.

Agreed, Bygones!
No need to dwell

Yes agree Vettelover and Kristen...Let's put it to bed...

Honestly, Disney prices for both food and souvenirs are cheaper then our local amusement park so I was pleasantly surprised. Yes, it's expensive, but most other venues I've been in have been worse when it comes to food prices. Heck, our movie theater in town charged me almost $4 for a bottle of water! I suck it up, budget for it, and then don't stress while I'm there because it's vacation!

I guess it depends on where you live or where you dine but we do not find Disneys food prices much different than what we pay here.

Well a cheese burger at my local Turkish takeaway,and it's a double 1/4 lb ( 1/2 lb ) costs me PS3.00..That's $4.80..

It's all relative. I mean, some people may see the prices as being too expensive and the portions being too large that they may split an entree. Others feel the portions are smaller but are overpriced, meaning it's not enough food.

I do think overall, it is expensive compared to the prices of my local restaurants. But being a popular tourist destination compared to a small town, perhaps there is some rationale behind it though some may argue the prices aren't worth it. So there are glaring differences but I mean, if it's food I'll never get in my hometown, I don't think I'll mind but if it's something I can get easily in my neck of the woods like pizza, burgers or fries, yeah, I may stay away because of price and not trying to kid myself into thinking that Disney's version of a burger or pizza pie will be miles better because it's theme park food when all is said and done. Then again, every once in a while, a craving overrules everything so price doesn't matter as long as it's not too expensive. But for the most part, for me, price does matter because it's a lot of money you're taking out of your pocket and you want to feel justified and satisfied spending it. If not, you're left with a bitter taste in your mouth both literally and figuratively.

I've been to New York many times and believe me, the food is probably even more expensive there compared to Disney World! (Although to be fair, NYC has 8.875% sales tax, compared to 7% sales tax in Disney, though the All-Star resorts have 6.5% sales tax.) Personally, I feel that sporting venues are probably the worst offenders for expensive food in terms of tourist attractions. I mean, 5-6 bucks for a water? Come on! And you can't bring any water into the stadium, as well. At least with Disney, you can bring your own outside food. Minor league sports have more reasonable concession prices from what I understand and cheaper tickets, as well. Just my two cents.

I don't think the prices for most of the quick service food is too expensive, for what you get. My husband and I are LUCKY enough to go to Disney world 30-35 days a year. Which is awesome, but it would get really expensive if we ate all of our meals in the parks, all of those days. When we are at Disney world, food is just a means to an end, for us. We don't really care what we eat. We just want it to taste good and be quick so we can go, Go, GO!

So to save money, I've gotten pretty creative with our meals. We usually pack our own breakfast(usually coffee and a large muffin) and I also bring a few small snacks, and our own water, for during the day. We will get one large QS meal and split it for lunch, and maybe a snack or two the rest of the day~or four or five snacks if we are at the World Showcase

Since we always have our own car, we'll drive to a restaurant and get our dinner outside the parks. Most nights we grab a quick dinner (i.e., pizza, kfc, even Mcdonald's some nights) and we eat it in our hotel.

A lot of a person's perspective on food prices has to do with where they live.

I won't speak for our international friends because the exchange rate has such a huge influence on how relatively expensive something is. We lived in the metro Washington DC area for 3 years and relative to the cost to eat at a sandwich shop or sit-down restaurant there, Disney food is very reasonably priced. In the city, I could easily spend $8-10 at a sandwich shop and $80-100 including tip for a nice sit-down experience meal. Based on those prices, food at Disney is cheap for a vacation destination where you are a captive audience.

Now we live in south central PA where I grew up and when I go to lunch with my dad, he's unhappy if he pays more than $6 for lunch. The nicest and most expensive restaurant in town is probably the new Japanese Steak House and that never tops $60 for us for dinner.

Because we have experienced living elsewhere and spending more money to eat the same kind of food on a regular basis, I am tolerant of the Disney (price) difference. (I'm expecting my dad's take on the situation to be somewhat different when we go in April because he has lived in Hanover all his life and sometimes it really shows.) I'm fairly conservative in that I limit my appetizers & restaurant desserts and I typically order water with my meal so I don't have to pay for a drink, but it's not because I consider the food to be horrifically overpriced. I just don't value the additional options enough to pay for them. I also search out the cheapest restaurants because if I keep my cost per trip down, I can go to Disney more frequently!

Well on some level am with Alicemouse..however when I go to Disney (usually every 2 years) I always take the dinning plan. Because when I go I want to order whatever I want and not look at the prices of the meal. At home (south of Boston) am terrible when we go to a restaurant I will always look at the prices first so for me that is why I always take the Disney dining plan (1QS, 1 TS) and it has always worked out. Last year I was fortunate to go to Disney on my 'off' year and we (4 adults) and we ate at Narcoosee's and i ordered the most expensive meal...not because it was but because I was on the meal plan and could and that was what I truly wanted.

As a regular visitor to DLP I have no idea where he ate that it cost 19.00Euro for a burger. The most expensive CS meal deals are 15.00Euro and that includes burger, fries, drink and a dessert. Even at TS Annette's burgers are great and nowhere near that price.
I know plenty of people have been to DLP and don't like it, that's there prerogative but I do get sick of inaccurate information being spread about it.

I agree I feel that Disney food is relative to the surroundings. Trust me I went to a hockey with my niece in Pittsburgh in November at the Consol Energy Center and our fast food meal for both of us was $35.00.

Disney food is expensive, sure, but it's about the same as the major league baseball stadium I practically live at throughout baseball season (Turner Field) for equal - if not better - food. Quick service speaking, that is. Table service (not signature) seems a little more expensive than most good sit down restaurants around Atlanta, but nothing too extravagant. But considering I'm also paying for the convenience of eating at what is basically an entertainment venue/event... I'm willing to pay the slightly inflated prices.

I've no idea what restaurant at Disneyland Paris he had the burger..He told me that was what he was charged..Maybe it came with fries,I don't know..He had a great time but that was his only gripe...Personally I think us Brits get better value with the American dollar compared to the Euro..

Erm, you made a bit of a miscalculation there... 18GBP is not $11, it's about $30

Karen we ate burgers that were best part of 20 (with fries) at Annette's but it has to be said, they were damn good burgers

ETA, we have been to DLP a lot, think it's over 15 times now and you cannot deny how expensive the food is there, but that's more to do with the exchange rate between the pound and the euro.

Could I eat less expensively elsewhere? Yes, but I like it inside the bubble and I'm willing to pay the price. Besides, it's not any different at a pro-game or other tourist activity. I've even looked at taking drink boxes and snacks and DH says, "It's vacation. Don't worry about it." So, I don't.

Sure, Disney food prices are high. So are the food prices at the Universal parks, and at Hersheypark, and at Busch Gardens, and at the local Renaissance Fair, and at every major sports/entertainment stadium or arena I've ever visited either to see a game or to see a concert. It's still easier than taking time away from whatever I'm doing to find a less expensive off-site option.

I honestly don't think the prices are that bad. When my DH and I go out for dinner, we usually spend between $60 -$100 on our meal. (We avoid chains like the plaque!) I think the prices are comparable to most major US cities....

Now....the price of beer on the Disney Fantasy...that's something else son!

I've always thought that the prices at Disney were reasonable based on where we were. A signature meal with drinks and dessert costs us about the same for a nice dinner out here at home. Up until recently, the exchange between the Canadian and US dollar didn't make much of a difference, but it's now adding about 10-12 cents on the dollar. But we still don't let that worry us too much as we are on vacation and have factored in the meal expense. We usually balance the more expensive meals with more reasonable ones, so it's balances out in the end.

I just looked up the menus of two of our favorite places here at home. For burgers we love going to Redstone American Grill. Their price for a burger and fries is $13.50. I also almost always have a salad with my meal, their price for a side Caesar Salad is $7.50. Drinks are not included. We do not have many burgers in Disney so I honestly do not know how much they are. These burgers would have to be compared to a table service place though. One of our favorite places to go that would compare to a Disney Signature restaurant is the Farmers Daughter. There we pay around $8 for a salad and the filet I usually get is $42. I think that is very close to Disney prices. So, it really does depend on where you live as to what you find expensive as far as dining out goes.

I don't find the WDW food prices shocking, but that's compared to NYC prices, in my case. A burger and fries at a mid-range diner here is $11 plus whatever else you want (drinks, dessert). A good large pizza can be $20. Even if I stop at McDonalds or Wendy's, I'm looking at $10. A 16 Oz. bottle of soda is about $2 here. Pretty comparable to WDW, on the whole.

Yes...Spot on...Just testing you...Maybe he was over charged or maybe he was telling me fibs..I think because he's used to paying under PS4.00 in this country and three times as much in France...A bit like filling my car up with petrol ( gas ) in this country then filling it up in Athens..My pal in Greece complains monthly about the Euro..

My dad and DW go to Paris a lot, at least once a year, they came with us to DLP for a few days last year and they didn't feel it was any more expensive than eating in Paris, and were happy with the quality and quantity of the food, we took them to Agrabah Cafe, Walts and Cafe Fantasia so a broad spectrum of prices. Maybe it's not just the Disney bit, which we expect to pay more for, it's also because it's classed as Paris and the exchange rate (which is significantly better now than it was last year). Not been to Annette's in years, weren't impressed last time, so really can't remember the cost of burgers, but don't remember them being anything close to 20Euro, if they are I will stick with my favourite buffet restaurants, much better value to be had at La Grange and the roast beef is to die for! I can get all you can eat 3 courses and a soft drink for 28Euro

Ditto! This is why we take the plan too. When our sons are with us, Disney is losing money - trust me!

We take the dining plan so that I don't worry about the price. At home if I see menus prices I start doing a mental shopping list to figure out the cost of me doing it myself. That makes it hard to relax and enjoy most meals. But really the disney prices are comparable to the theater or sports venues. And as others have mentioned if you want to pack a lunch or snacks disney is fine with it. The counter service places will give you free ice water and I know of no other venues that will do that instead of making you buy a bottle of water or pointing you toward a fountain. Just a simple kindness. We don't do much alcohol drinking at Disney as it's a sure way to dehydration but the prices seem ok there as well.

We have done the dining plan as well so ,that part of our trip is already taken care of. But I agree that they are not too far off from any other venue of this type. Sporting events are just as expensive. As long as we plan ahead and budget, the sticker price of things aren't that much of a shock