It has not been a fun week for Disneyana fans who enjoy putting on the feed bag.
First came word out of Anaheim that because some portly passengers have been causing “The Happiest Cruise That Ever Sailed” (i.e. Disneyland‘s “it’s a small world” attraction) to regularly run aground, the Imagineers are now being forced to fix this Fantasyland favorite.
Then came the news out of Orlando that — as of January 1st — an 18% gratuity will automatically be added to the bill of anyone who uses their Disney Dining Experience card while they’re eating out at that resort. And given that the only real incentive for signing up for the DDE program is that their membership card then supposedly gets you a 20% discount at most sit-down restaurants at WDW … Well, as you might imagine, people who are expecting to get a 20% discount on dinner aren’t all that thrilled to find an 18% gratuity automatically tacked onto their tab.
But let’s face it, folks. The two problems that I’ve just described will only impact a relatively small group of guests. By that I mean: California’s morbidly obese as well as those Central Florida residents who are signed up for the Disney Dining Experience program. As for the rest of us … Our visits to these theme parks will remain unchanged.
Unless — of course — you want to take into account that “holiday premium” that Mickey will soon be quietly tacking onto your dinner tab. Should you decide to dine at any of Disney World’s all-you-can-eat restaurants next week.
I’m serious, folks. Starting this Sunday, November 18 and then stretching all the way through ’til Saturday, November 24th, WDW is bumping up the price of buffet-style dining at on-property eateries like the Crystal Palace in the Magic Kingdom and Boma over at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge by at least $4.00 per-person.
“What’s the deal with this new ‘holiday premium’ ?,” you ask. Well, to be honest, this sort of thing has been going on at other popular tourist destinations for decades now. In that — at the height of the busy season — restaurants will typically raise their prices. So that they can then make the maximum amount of money off of that huge seasonal influx of people.
And Disney … For years now, they’ve been resisting the “holiday premium” idea. Mostly out of concern that some WDW guests might then accuse them of seasonal price gouging. Of deliberately taking advantage of those tourists who have no choice but to visit their resorts & theme parks during the busiest times of year.
But now … Well, you’ve got the Walt Disney Company spending over $2 billion to overhaul California Adventure as well as build that new resort in Hawaii. And the money to pay for these pricey new projects has to come from somewhere.
Now what’s really angering some Disneyana fans is how sneaky the Mouse has been about the way it rolled out this “holiday premium” price hike. Take — for example — what would happen if you were to call WDW’s reservation hotline and then arrange to eat at Chef Mickey’s over at the Contemporary on November 24th. They’d then tell you that the per-person cost for dining on that date at that restaurant would be $32.99.
Mind you, what Disney’s reservation agents won’t tell you that — were you to shift this dinner reservation over to November 25th — the price of your meal at Chef Mickey’s would then drop to $28.99 per-person. Which is why Mouse House managers hope that most Disney World visitors don’t ever learn about this day-to-day change in price.
FYI The week around Thanksgiving isn’t the only time of year that Mickey plans on instituting “holiday premium” pricing at its on-property buffets. Starting on December 16th and then extending straight through ’til January 5th, 2008, Disney will also be ratcheting up prices for Christmas & New Years. And let’s not forget about Easter, when the price of all-you-can-eat dining will hop up to “holiday premium” levels between March 16th and the 29th.
Mind you, the Mouse doesn’t really get greedy ’til the 2008 Memorial Day weekend. Starting on May 25th and then stretching all the way through to July 5th, Disney has designated that entire six-week-long stretch as a “holiday premium” period. Meaning that WDW will be raising the per-person price on all on-property buffets right up until the Fourth of July weekend.
Why For? Because (To borrow the punchline of that hoary old joke about why male dogs licks themselves you-know-where) they can.
Seriously, folks. The folks who handle Food & Beverage at that resort know that the weeks that I just listed are typically the ones where the largest number of tourists come on down to Disney World. And once these folks get on-property … Well, they’re got to eat sometime. So why not take advantage of those huge seasonal crowds by tacking a “holiday premium” onto the price of dining at one of WDW’s all-you-eat eateries?
But what do you folks think? Is it really okay for the Walt Disney Company to raise the money that it needs for refurb / expansion projects by then making WDW guests pay “holiday premium” prices whenever they want to dine at one of that resort’s buffets during the busiest times of year? Or have you grown tired of Mickey always finding brand-new ways to get his three-fingered hands into your wallet?
Your thoughts?