Recently Disney made some big price increases on Walt Disney World snacks at many quick service locations throughout property including: Mickey Pretzels, Churros, Re-fillable Mugs, and Alcoholic Drinks.
Price increases at Walt Disney World on snacks and food are normal, and Disney usually does an all-around snack price increase in October, so we’re not surprised. In this post we are going to break down some of the latest price increases around Walt Disney World to food, snacks and other items.
Which Snacks Increased in Price?:
We looked back at some old menus of quick service locations around Disney World, then looked at the updated prices on the Disney World website to make a comparison and see just how much the damage was.
What exactly went up in price? Some of the price increases in Disney World include:
- Resort Re-fillable Mugs: was $18.99, now $19.99
- Popcorn: was $4.69, now $4.99
- Churros: was $5.89, now $6.19
- Mickey Pretzels: was $6.59, now $6.79 (prices differ as high as $7.25)
- Cream Cheese Pretzels: was $6.59, now $6.79
- Mickey Ice Cream Bar/Other Ice Cream Bars: was $5.39, now $5.69
- and Many Alcoholic Drinks
We checked out menus from other parks outside the Magic Kingdom and the resort hotels, and some menus reflected these changes, with some not having updated the new price changes totally. We expect that to be fixed shortly.
Alcoholic drink prices increases looked to be across property with drinks like margaritas, beer, hard root beer floats and the like going up between $1-2 per drink.
For example, over at Pongu Pongu in Disney’s Animal Kingdom, prices for all alcoholic drinks across the board went up including:
- Draft Beer: was $10.25, now $10.50
- Rum Blossom: was $13.25, now $15.00
- Mo’ara Margarita: was $13.25, now $15.00
Here are the old prices:
Over at Epic Eats in Disney’s Hollywood Studios it was similar with the prices increasing on all alcoholic drinks:
- Barq’s Hard Root Beer Float: was $12.75, now $14.00
- Bud Light Draft: was $8.00, now $8.25
- Samuel Adams Seasonal: was $9.75, now $10.00
- Rum Island Breeze: was $11.50, now $13.00
here is the old menu:
All around property we saw the price of chocolate milk go up from $3.79 to $4.19. For example here is the new Spyglass Grill menu in Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort:
and it’s not only snacks, but the price for refillable mugs jumped from $18.99 to $19.99 which is now reflected online:
What do the Latest Price Increases Mean?
Yes it’s true that this is a seasonal price increase, and there were mixed results across the board. Some things got hit a lot harder than others. For example alcohol got hit the hardest with a 13% increase on most mixed drinks. I understand the 0.25 cent increase on beer which is a lot more reasonable, but 13% on drinks that were already overpriced is a bit much.
I can’t imagine what people would do if Disney World ever got rid of the free ice water in a cup at quick service locations, people will riot.
With big projects underway across Walt Disney World, a underwhelming start to Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, and cast member wage increases happening not too long ago, I understand the company’s pressure to preform for stock holders and investors.
On the other hand to see the huge jumps in price across the board this year in ticket prices twice, Annual Passes, overnight parking costs, and Disney Dining Plan increases is a bit disappointing to say the least.
This price increase isn’t going to make a huge difference in the short-term as raising the prices $1 or so on various snack items isn’t going to stop the family of four who is already dropping thousands on their vacation. If you want a Mickey Pretzel, the fact that it went up a few cents isn’t going to stop you.
However Disney can afford to raise the prices right now because the people are coming through the turnstiles, but they need to tred carefully here, as they could find themselves with a drop in attendance numbers if it continues too much.
Already in both Disneyland and Walt Disney World they haven’t been seeing the giant crowds they were expecting for Galaxy’s Edge (due to a number of reasons not all related to price), but our economic state could change at any time and all these families who once had a bunch of disposable income, might not any more.
Even the families that do go to Disney World now often times have to be on such a strict budget, that they can’t enjoy as many of the snacks or drinks that they would like. Being able to take advantage of special deals like the Disney free dining promotion becomes even more important now.
If the attendance continues to slip, there’s also the risk of all those awesome projects on the horizon for Disney World either get axed or get their budgets greatly reduced, which again is bad for the fans.
I’m not saying this is the end of the world and again the steam train that is Disney is going to most likely keep chugging along full speed ahead, but I hope in the near future the leadership within the company starts to take notice that a big part of its biggest fans are being squeezed out, not being able to afford a Disney vacation nearly as much as they would like, and some not at all.
I love this company and don’t want to see negative side effects happen down the road, and I definitely want their biggest supporters like all of you to be able to keep coming back to the place you love so much.
Let’s hope that Disney gets what’s going on and appreciates the people that made this place turn into what it is today.
We’ll continue to update you on any more price increases around Walt Disney World if and when that happens and which snacks have been affected so keep checking back for more updates…
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Your Thoughts:
I want to know what you think about the Big Price Increase on Walt Disney World Snacks…
- Does this affect your travel plans to Walt Disney World?
- What can be done to keep prices down?
Let us know in the comments section below!
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Meet the Author of Ziggy Knows Disney!
Large fountain beverages were $3.79.
Pretty sad to think in 1971 you got a ticket for $3.50 and today they want that for a bottle of water! I can buy an entire case of Dasani water for $4.49!
when you put it like that, it’s insane!!
That was nearly 50 years ago……..
They need to stop increasing everything. It’s getting to expensive for some people. Like me.
It seems like Disney is sinking an awful lot of $$$$ into projects (like GE) and they’re not seeing the anticipated returns. Someone recently pointed out that there are a lot of Disney fans and a lot of Star Wars fans. The problem is there aren’t enough people who are both, and willing to shell out big bucks for a special trip for one ride. I just got back from taking my 3 nieces a week ago, and if their parents tried to take them they wouldn’t have been able to afford it. 😕 Prices there seem to be edging out lower middle class to middle class young families, who should really be their target market. Something tells me Uncle Walt wouldn’t be too happy about that.
With every price increase, the less I spend and buy there. When soda prices went up $1 last year, I no longer buy drinks at the parks. I also don’t bother buying any shirts or souvenirs any more. I also cut down on table service dining as well. So Disney is losing money on me, and most likely on many others as well.
Disney wants to make money, but just doesn’t get it, and sadly, never will. They don’t realize that the more they raise prices, people can’t afford it, and will go and spend less than they used to.
The straw that broke the camel’s back has finally hit for me with the alcohol beverages. I used to cringe at their drink prices but did usually buy a few during a visit. Insanity! I’m a local and DVC member. I’ll wait until I get back to the villa for a glass of wine at the end of the day.