Prices Increased on Hundreds of Food Items at Disney World
Walt Disney World has kicked off 2022 in style, increasing prices on tons of food items around the parks, resorts, and Disney Springs. These include pretzels, popcorn, burgers, hot dogs, bottled beverages, Dole Whips, Mickey Mouse ice cream, beer, cocktails, and more. This post shares a sampling of the price jumps, plus our commentary about why this is happening and whether these price trends are sustainable in the long term.
Unlike past price bumps that impact outdoor vending carts or counter service spots or table service restaurants or bars, these are fairly widespread–everywhere from the kiosks at Typhoon Lagoon to the drink menu at California Grill has been impacted. In fact, hundreds in the headline is no exaggeration–if anything, it’s underselling the scope and scale of this increase.
There’s a strong possibility that over 1,000 menu items have had their prices increased as of January 2022. Unfortunately, there’s no comprehensive way of tracking the before and after of every single menu, so we’re not quite sure. However, virtually every menu I’ve checked has been impacted–this is the most sweeping food price increase in the last couple of years.
Some items at outdoor vending carts only increased by $.25 to $.50. Others increased by more, with Dole Whips up by $1 and many alcoholic beverages doing the same. Many appetizers and entrees at table service restaurants are up by $2 to $3, with burgers and other meats at counter service restaurants up by $.50 to $1.
If you’re visiting Walt Disney World soon, plan to increase your dining budget by about $1 per item. While some things didn’t increase at all and others are only up by $.25, that’s still about the average when you factor in the many entrees that jumped by $2 or $3.
This shouldn’t come as a huge surprise. Anyone who has stepped foot in a grocery store in the last several months knows that the cost of food is increasing. The cost of meat, poultry, fish, and eggs in particular has all skyrocketed. The USDA tracks a breakdown by food type in its Food Price Outlook page (towards the bottom there’s a spreadsheet with percentage changes over the last 3 years).
Per Bloomberg consensus data forecasting, consumer prices likely surged by 7.1% in December. That’s up even further from November’s 6.8% year-over-year rate, which had been the fastest pace in 39 years–since June 1982.
It should go without saying, but businesses attempt to pass higher costs on to consumers. This is clearly what’s happening at grocery stores, and explains the entirety of higher “food at home” prices on the CPI. However, you might notice that “food away from home” has not increased in lockstep with its grocery store counterpart. Whereas the latter is up by 6.4%, the former is up by 5.8%. This is despite higher labor costs and the industry still in the midst of a recovery from 2020.
One potential explanation for this is trepidation among restaurants about their ability to pass on higher prices to consumers without seeing a corresponding drop in demand. Of course, many do–especially lower margin locations that simply are not economically viable otherwise.
However, not every restaurant or other business has the ability to simply pass on higher input costs to consumers, across-the-board. In fact, you might recall that during Disney’s fourth quarter earnings call, CFO Christine McCarthy was asked about the impact of inflation on Walt Disney World.
She started by saying this was a question that’s on the minds of every CFO and senior management team running companies in the United States, noting that Disney is watching inflationary pressures and trying to manage them.
In addition to raising prices, McCarthy discussed managing costs: “We can adjust suppliers. We can substitute products. We can cut portion sizes, which is probably good for some people’s waistlines. We can look at pricing where necessary. We aren’t going to go just straight across and increase prices.”
“We’re going to try to get the algorithm right to cut where we can and not necessarily do things the same way. We’re producing technology to produce some of the operating cost. That gives us to absorb some inflation. We’re trying to use our heads here to come up with a way to kind of mitigate some of the challenges that we have.”
Even prior to McCarthy’s infamous “waistline” comments, we had noticed that portion sizes have become noticeably smaller post-reopening, with quality cuts along with them. There are a number of restaurants where this has been noticeable, and it has gotten so bad at Flame Tree BBQ that we rarely dine there anymore. (That’s just one specific example of many.)
The point is that Walt Disney World is not just increasing prices. They are reducing portions, decreasing quality, and raising prices. Obviously all three of those things aren’t happening on every single item (kind of difficult to reduce the size or quality of a 20 ounce bottle of Coke!), but they’re making these “adjustments” wherever possible.
While it’s clear now that Walt Disney World is going to try to pass on some of those costs to consumers, it’s erroneous to assume that this was an inevitability, or that Disney prices are predicated upon its costs. After years of increases, menu prices are wholly divorced from input costs.
As we’ve said before, Walt Disney World charges what the market will bear, increasing prices not at the rate of inflation or because its costs are rising at a commensurate level, but because they can. Walt Disney World is an extremely savvy and sophisticated business that maximizes profits to the greatest degree economically feasible. It’s not as if they have been “holding back” and could’ve unilaterally increased prices even more prior to this.
Presumably, Disney waited so long to increase food prices because there was internal uncertainty as to how consumers would react. Not in terms of vocal complaints or outrage on social media, but behaviorally. If the extra $.50 here or $2 there causes more people to balk at impulse snack purchases, buying more booze, or even eating another table service meal, it could be counterproductive.
These items are all profitable even pre-price increase, so it’s not as if Disney “needs” to institute them in order to remain economically viable. It’s more a matter of wanting to maintain its margins without seeing reduced demand. Now that consumers are accustomed to the impacts of inflation on food, perhaps Disney felt that would give them cover to raise prices–that people would more easily accept the prices as out of Disney’s control or commonplace in the market. It’s likely that many guests will shrug off this news, numb to headlines about inflation or skyrocketing food costs.
In the near-term, it’ll be interesting to see what impact this has on guest spending. One relevant consideration here is that Walt Disney World’s dining capacity is still not back to 100%. This disproportionately impacts table service restaurants, where Advance Dining Reservations have been in short supply for much of the last year. (I’m actually somewhat surprised Disney didn’t capitalize on the previous supply-demand imbalance, and raise prices on table service menus months ago.)
Even absent price increases, that trend may not have continued as before. The busy holiday season is over and even if the next couple of months don’t end up being a typical winter off-season, they almost certainly won’t be as busy as the last two months. As things continue to normalize—the labor market, household savings, and supply chains—there could be less of an issue with all of this, anyway. For their part, many economists are forecasting food prices to stabilize in 2022.
Anyone reading Walt Disney World planning resources is likely aware of having groceries delivered to Walt Disney World resorts at a reasonable cost and can avoid at least part of this price increase by bringing their own snacks to the parks. You’ll still get hit by the price increases at table service restaurants, but the amount you save should more than offset that increase.
On the spectrum of things that are significant or important to a Walt Disney World vacation, pretty much anything sold at outdoor vending carts is on the super low end. These aren’t iconic meals, snacks, desserts, or specialty beverages that only Disney does. That’s even true of churros and Mickey-shaped novelty snacks, all of which have comparable counterparts at Costco. Pack your own snacks and allocate your dining budget towards food that’s actually unique and delicious.
Eventually, this could catch-up to and be self-defeating for Walt Disney World. To be sure, they’ll reap some short term revenue gains by charging a bit more for various foods. Guests may balk at prices for some unnecessary purchases, but not everything or everyone. The people who are already at Walt Disney World are largely a captive audience.
However, these decisions also have long term ramifications that can far outweigh the immediate gain of the current quarter. The biggest consequence of this and every recent price hike will eventually be in terms of perception. We’ve mentioned this before in the past, but there’s a cumulative impact of these increases. Even if this is not borne out right away, they do take a toll on guests and change how people view Walt Disney World’s value proposition.
It’s unlikely that many people will cancel their Walt Disney World vacation upon reading this news. If the end of free FastPass, Disney’s Magical Express, etc. wasn’t the straw that broke the camel’s back, this probably won’t be, either. Rather, this is yet another gradual annoyance about Walt Disney World nickel and diming guests, the cumulative impact of which eventually changes behavior.
Right now, visitors wear “Most Expensive Day Ever” (among countless other designs) Etsy shirts half in jest, while still visiting Walt Disney World. They’re willing to laugh off the expensive nature of a Walt Disney World vacation as they are comfortable with their personal economic circumstances and the overall cost of the trip, even if grumbling about it. That won’t always be the case–but we’ll spare you further commentary about Disney’s perception and reputation problem. For years, we’ve been saying this is a long-term liability; given that it has yet to catch up to Disney, maybe it never will.
Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!
Your Thoughts
What do you think of these and other recent price increases at Walt Disney World? Think this is a natural consequence of inflation, or another example of Disney getting more greedy? Will these price increases impact your plans for future vacations? Do you agree or disagree with our commentary? Think there will be long-term consequences for Walt Disney World resulting from its pricing trends the last few years? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
Tom, Just a thought. I was reading about recent cancellations for the Galactic star cruiser, which may or may not have something to do with the pandemic but also overpricing along with underwhelming marketing.
Disney may be looking at big losses on this investment if it turns out to be a bust and this could also be one of the reasons for all of the cost cutting and price increases.
We have 2 trips planned for April/May and another in September and with these price increases we’ll be doing some cost cutting of our own. Having breakfast in our room, bringing snacks and water to the parks and only quick service meals with maybe 1 nice table service meal for my birthday.
No more Genie+ for us and maybe only one or two Lightening Lanes.
Things will still be more expensive but we won’t be utilizing everything they offer any more.
Something tells me Walt would manage things differently. Shame.
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There are definitely issues with Galactic Starcruiser bookings and cancellations (we’ve covered those elsewhere), and it does seem like that’s only getting worse.
However, I don’t think there’s any connection between the two. Disney charges what the market will bear–most consumers aren’t walking up to an outdoor vending kiosk, seeing a higher price for Coke, and saying, “I’m okay with this because their new Star Wars hotel is seeing cancellations.” Maybe some super fans are doing that, but the vast majority of visitors are not.
More likely is the company believes people will accept/excuse it because of inflation.
Again this is another thing Disney is doing to make up for lost revenue over the past 2 years plus, in case you haven’t noticed inflation is up over 5.5% because the US decided to just print a lot of money with no backing, which means prices increase because the dollar loses value!! That being said with the current prices, believe you me, Disney is watching the bottom line. They know they can get away with it because currently people will pay whatever they post with it be the 50th at WDW plus revenge travel still occurring, especially from overseas. Most importantly they know no matter what they do and who’s feelings they hurt they can introduce a deal in the future and all the naysayers will come crawling back because “they couldn’t pass up that deal/special/discount/etc.” Beyond all of that they will always have their loyal Florida Annual Passholders to prey upon!!
I agree with most of your points about pent-up demand and loyal Florida residents (also: there are a lot more of those now than ever before!), but not the line about ‘naysayers crawling back.’ There are definitely a lot of fans who have scaled back their visits to Walt Disney World but still follow Disney news.
However, that’s not the norm. Most lost goodwill is gone for good–people move on with their lives, interests, and hobbies.
Some people have made comments about “what will Disney do in the future to get people back that have left because of all the price hikes”? Well, Disney will just have a fabulous sale like the did mid 2000’s. Buy 4 nights get 3 nights free or something close to that. The thing is with all the price hikes it won’t be a “sale”. The price will still be higher than the average increase but people will think they are getting a great deal. People will come back in droves.
I remember that buy 4, get 3 deal–it was glorious! We also had a friend doing the College Program at that time, and the friends & family deals they had access to were crazy: 60% off PLUS Free Dining.
We’ve been going to Disney as a family for nearly 20 years now. We have been DVC members for 15. After our trip this past November -just after the Genie+ launch) I told my wife that was pretty much done. She agreed. We’ll continue to utilize the DVC resorts, because that is what we are invested in. We are under no obligation to stay in one AND drop a ton of money at the parks. We’ll probably Uber to Universal instead.
We visited with extended family (12 of us) during the week between Christmas and New Years and I have to say we had a really fun and magical trip. I came in with very low expectations since I knew the crowds would be crazy. We managed to do all 4 parks in 2 days! We did all the big headliners including Slinky Dog (rope dropped early entry), Smugglers Run, ROTR (ILL), Flight of Passage, Exp Everest, Mine Train, Space Mountain (kids went 3 times in a row during extended evening hours at midnight!), and Frozen. The safari was an unexpected highlight and Indiana Jones was a surprise hit with my family. Watching the fireworks at MK with my whole family was a beautiful moment, and we also got a really nice family portrait from Photopass. I think it was a special trip that we will all remember. We did miss Ratatouille, even though we paid for the ILL, because it broke down, which was a disappointment. We only did QS food with outdoor seating because we were avoiding indoor dining and didn’t notice a significant difference in quality or price. I guess we’re suckers and will continue to go despite the annoying price increases, and that’s what Disney is banking on. We’ve done vacations all over the world, including Disney cruises and stays at Aulani, but the kids still have the most fun at Disney World. Btw we also went to Discovery Cove and paid over $200/pp for entrance! Granted food was included but I found that to be a very expensive day as well! (And no roller coasters or fireworks!)
That’s great to hear! For what it’s worth, while there are an increasing number of annoyances, we still have a fantastic time when we’re actually *at* the parks or resorts. I suspect the same is true for many commenters here, even those with complaints.
Part of it, for me at least, is holding Disney to their own high standards of service and quality. They still do plenty of amazing things, it’s just some of the nickel & diming and other questionable practices that really bother me. But I’m not actively thinking about all of that while at the parks–I’m just having fun.
The prices at WDW have been a rip off from the start. Hopefully, guests will buy less and WDW will lose revenue.
Disney has become “FOR THE RICH” and “a once-in-a lifetime, if Ever” place. I LOVE Disney World but the Magic is gone when you have to scrape for years to afford to go and still scrape when you return home to pay the credit card off for just eating. We went to Disney Springs this Fall and found NOTHING but sticker shock – the stores are Rodeo Drive priced – the big Disney Market store was barren of everything we liked to buy – no kitchen items, wallets, purses, not even sweatshirts! I feel we can spend our vacation $$ elsewhere on destinations we make our own ‘Magic’. I don’t need a mouse with an elephant’s size appetite for my hard earned money to show my family a great time – it’s time to turn our back on Disney – it’s not worth the money – plain and simple
I truly believe all of this will catch up with Disney and maybe in the not – so distant future. I agree with Christina above. For many years, my family has visited Disney World at least once, if not 2-3 times a year. We never stayed at the deluxe resorts, but we did many of the after hours events, desert parties- and with grandkids along, spent a good bit of money. We have a Princess Run trip planned next month. I will not be using our annual passes that were purchased over a year ago. We will buy – at most – tickets for 2-3 days and save our annual passes in hopes that Disney wakes up. And we’re only doing this because the registration fees are not refundable and this is my grandson’s first RunDusney event. I have already canceled the reservations we had for a big family trip in May and another trip that was booked for October.
I think more and more Disney fans are going to be voting with their pocketbooks. And I find myself sharing my frustration with friends that ask about Disney trips. I just don’t feel comfortable encouraging friends to visit Disney when the value and the Magic are dwindling away.
Tom, keep up the good work. I still enjoy your blogs very much!
Bingo!!! I can eat at a gourmet white tablecloth restaurant for the prices they charge at Disney and get higher quality food, better service, better ambiance and larger portions. Disney thinks too highly of themselves.
Tom, would love to hear more about where you’ve felt qualified has declined.
I can live with the price increases and the portion sizes decreasing. But the decline in quality would be a big deal to me. Food is one of the highlights of my trips to Disney but that won’t be the case if the food isn’t enjoyable. Hope this component will remain contained to a few select places and not become an across the board trend.
Hi Tom,
You mentioned that you rarely go to Flame Tree BBQ anymore – are there any other formerly favorite places that you’re now skipping over? We’re planning to go this spring, and want to know if we should change any plans – especially for counter service.
France and Norway bakeries, Regal Eagle BBQ, Katsura Grill, Docking Bay 7, Ronto Roasters, Baseline Taphouse, Sa’atuli Canteen are all places I want to try after strong recommendations on your site.
We can all pay the pricing game. I still have a great time at Disney, but the slate of recent changes have me reworking my future WDW plans in a way that I’ll save money. Will we stay on site on our next trip? It looks like it’s time to try Universal, or at most rent DVC points. Will we eat on site? Yes, but only for a special meal and we’ll do what we’ve never done before – venture off site and do a grocery delivery. We’ll spend less, and less specifically at Disney. Full 7-day week of Disney parks? Nope, just 3 days, with rest/resort days/Discovery Cove or Universal in-between. Genie+ add-on? Not needed and we’ll just rope drop and stay till close, since we’ll have more downtime in between our days. In a weird way, I almost appreciate some of the poor long-term pricing decisions WDW has made. I now have enough reasons to make a change, and feel good about the changes I’m making rather than feeling like I’m missing out. I’m excited about the plan for our next trip!
What made Disneyland work when Walt Disney first built it was that it was “the happiest place on earth” . And it delivered. Those original experiences built a company that provided an experience that people wanted to hold on to and repeat.
It appears that current management has completely forgot is that pricing is a factor in the “experience” of Disney. Generally more expensive does not equate to something being a better experience.
Sorry for all of my typos lol. I really need to proofread my responses better next time. Hopefully you all get the gist of my comment.
We have a trip to Disney planned for July, and staying in Disney property. We’re considering canceling because of RIDICULOUS prices on everything! Pay more, get less. Walt Disney’s vision was parks for everyone, not just people with money. So disappointing.
This will be our 4th trip in the last 6 years. We haven’t been since right before Covid hit. We are a one child family so the price hikes don’t affect us nearly as much as a family with 2, 3 + children it definitely hurts. I really feel strongly that the fact that all of this has happened in a year’s time snd not gradually. They abruptly took away fast pass as well as so many helpful advantages to staying in property at the very same time they are raising prices on everything. I don’t think it’s a strategic move on there part as they are seeming to be moving away from that special “you’re a part of the family” feel you get there and moving towards you are just a $ to us.
On the way home from a Disney trip now. I was aware of the price increases (didn’t truly appreciate the vast scope of increases until we were on property) and end to fast pass (oh the headaches of the new app system; aside from the additional cost). We are within driving distance so no magical express needed. Our perception has certainly shifted after this trip. We have 3 kiddos and have been to Disney throughout their childhoods. We are now looking at other destinations. This trip was the one that “broke the straw on the camels back” for us. You highlighted our issues so well! Quality and amount of food was down, price up. Merchandise cost up item selection, variety, and quality down. That is not to say we did not have a great trip we did but when you look at the total cost of the trip and the overall quality of the trip…….. Thanks for the insights and articles you share.
Tom, it would be very helpful if you could post captions to your food photos. Looks like lots of good food pictured above – but what are they? Where do we find these meals?
I would LOVE to read your further commentary about Disney’s perception and reputation problem, Tom. BTW, it will catch up with them eventually. Those losing the Disney magic can’t pass it on to their kids or their grandkids.
We actually spend less on food every time this happens. I haven’t had a Mickey pretzel that wasn’t included in a party ticket in…years. I stopped buying mouse ears (which I used to collect) when they went over $24. We bought our last bubble wand last year.
Here is the thing though if Mickey Bars were $3 I would buy 5 of them for my family. They are almost $6 so we will skip them and get a large sundae or mini kitchen sink for $3 per serving.
We used to drink more at Food & Wine now we maybe split a drink.
I get that per guest spending is up and that’s all they care about at the earnings call but it doesn’t tell the whole story. I’d spend a lot more if Disney made it easy (like Amazon does, I always accidentally buy too much on Amazon because it’s easy abs doesn’t seem like a lot per transaction, which is also how I spend too much at Food & Wine, but even then we don’t eat a full dinner’s worth we snack and get Taco Bell on the way home). I get sticker shock too easily and simply walk away from high prices up front. Also when table service dinner gets up to around $75 a plate I get picky. For that kind of price the meal better be immaculate and Disney just doesn’t provide that kind of dining experience. They try to have a premium price tag without premium service.