How Much Have WDW Table Service Prices Increased in 10 Years?
Recently, I wrote about 10 year price increases in WDW snacks. Now I’m back with a look at WDW table service price increases over the past ten years.
The comparisons here were chosen because I found a stash of, um, purloined, menus from two trips at the end of 2009. One of the first things to note is that while some menu items have stayed constant over the past decade, at several restaurants the food offerings have almost completely turned over. That’s both a good thing and a bad thing. Chefs should be innovating and using new ingredients to meet the needs of the current guest, but it may mean that your favorite item from a trip long ago does not exist any more. When I’m comparing prices, I’m doing so with the most equivalent menu item now available.
Note: All the large menu photos below are pictures of menus from meals I had at Walt Disney World in late 2009. The screenshots with uniform type on a white background are all from today’s menu listings on TouringPlans.com.
Beaches & Cream at the Yacht & Beach Club resorts
Beaches & Cream provides my easiest points of comparison because the menu today is largely the same as it was during 2009.
Ten years ago, the Beaches & Cream classic, the Kitchen Sink, cost $21.99. Today it is $34.00, a 55% increase. The Fudge Brownie Mudslide was $7.99 and is now $11.00, a 38% bump.
Moving on to savory items, the 2009 chili was $6.99. Today’s chili is $9.00, or 29% more.
The 2009 veggie burger was $7.99; today it is $17.00 – a 113% bump. A single burger was $8.99, now it is also $17.00 – an 89% increase. The onion rings were $5.99 and are now $7.00, a modest 17% hike.
Le Cellier at the Canada pavilion at Epcot
The Canadian Cheddar Cheese Soup is one of the few menu items that are exactly the same from ten years ago. In 2009 the price for a bowl was $6.99, the rate now is $12.00, about 72% more.
The filet mignon is described slightly differently now, but it’s a similar dish, selling for $34.99 in 2009 and for $59.00 today – 69% more.
Mac & Cheese was $4.99 in 2009 and is $11.00 now, a 120% increase.
The Magical Star cocktail listed for $10.25 in 2009 and is now $13.75 – 34% more.
Kona Cafe at the Polynesian Village resort
Very few items from 2009 remain on the dinner menu at Kona Cafe today. Among the few that are still around, pot stickers (though the current are pork and the old version was duck) were $7.49 and are now $10.00, up 34%.
The crab cakes were $10.49 and are now $15.00, up 43%.
Strip steak was $27.99 and is now $42, a 50% jump.
50’s Prime Time Cafe at Disney’s Hollywood Studios
The 50’s Prime Time dishes have new names for the same things. We don’t know why the meatloaf used to be Dad’s recipe, but is now Cousin Megan’s; we do know that the price is up.
The 2009 meatloaf was $14.99, it is now $20, up 33%.
Pot roast was $16.99 and is now $23, a 35% boost.
From the beverage menu, Grandma’s Picnic Punch was $10.25 and is now $13.50, up 32%.
The Hollywood Brown Derby at Disney’s Hollywood Studios
The Nutty Irishman drink was $9.25 in 2009 and is now $12.50, a 35% increase.
The Cognac and Grand Marnier Flights are now drastically increased, with the cognac listed at $20.00 in 2009 and $90.00 now, and the Grand Marnier listed at $26.00 in 2009 and $46.00 now, increases of 350% and 77% respectively.
Overall
Not surprisingly, table service food prices have gone up over the past 10 years. Some increase are as little as 17% and some are over 300%, with many falling in the 30-60% range. The actual rate of inflation during this time was about 19%.
How do those price jumps compare with the 10-year change in park admission ticket prices? The August 2009 adult one-park ticket price was $75. At the time, all dates were priced the same. Today, one-day park admission rates vary. For visits in August 2019, the rates are $109, $117, or $125 depending on your exact entry date. At $109, you’re looking at a price hike of 45% over 2009, at $117 that’s 56% more than 2009, and at $125 that’s 67% more.
Ticket prices have gone up, but you’re not imagining it if you think other prices are taking a big hit on your wallet as well. And yes, Disney World food prices and ticket prices are both going up at a rate higher than inflation.
EDIT: Thank you to the readers who aptly pointed out that this English major had not had nearly enough coffee when initially working out the percentage increases. The increase rates have now been corrected. I will now keep my hands and feet away from the math for the remainder of our journey.
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Not sure who is in charge of editing the menus on Touring Plans, but the correct term is “LumP crab cake” NOT “LumB crab cake”. I note that this error occurs anywhere lump should be used.
Thank you for this. I love this kind of information 😀
I should have participated in these increases:
DIS stock in 2009 about $20/share… today $135/share.
Wonder where it will be 10 years from now?
What is not shown here is the size change or quality of food. The value could even be worse (or better not likely) than stated.
How do the prices of the Disney Dining Plan compare? That would also be interesting.
Doing a little looking online, Hennessy Paradis is about nearly substantially more expensive than Courvoisier XO, so that might justify the 350% increase in the cost of the cognac flight at Brown Derby. With that said, these increases (that far outpace the rate of inflation) are a means of increasing the perceived value of the dining plan and free dining promotion.
*Hennessy Paradis is substantially more expensive
#wherestheeditbuttonwhenyouneedit
I would be interested to see a similar article comparing some of the hotel rates from 10 or so years ago to now. I know I seem to be starting to think some of the moderates are now going for rates I paid at a deluxe years ago. This series of articles has been interesting. We all know prices go up, but the comparisons make me say, “wow”.
I agree! We stayed at the Polynesian several years ago and when I looked at the prices recently I about had a heart attack! I would love to see the trends by resort. ( I don’t think they’ve all increased at the same rate ).
Thanks to all the folks who caught the math problems. Fixed it! Now chugging a latte and stepping far, far away from the calculator.
It’s all good! Keep up the great work… Thesevarticles are really interesting!
Interesting to see the prices differences, but I don’t think a single one of your percentages are calculated correctly.
To figure out the % increase, try this:
previous_price * percent_increase = current_price
to get the percent increase
percent_increase = current_price / previous price
For “The Cognac and Grand Marnier Flights are now drastically increased, with the cognac listed at $20.00 in 2009 and $90.00 now, and the Grand Marnier listed at $26.00 in 2009 and $46.00 now, increases of 77% and 43% respectively.”
It should actually be
“The Cognac and Grand Marnier Flights are now drastically increased, with the cognac listed at $20.00 in 2009 and $90.00 now, and the Grand Marnier listed at $26.00 in 2009 and $46.00 now, increases of 450% and 177% respectively.”
You calculations seem to follow
percent_increase = 1 – (previous_price / current_price)
Ugh, messed up my own math percent increase would be 1 – current_price / previous_price
so 350% and 77%
I math good
The formula you should be using is (2019 price – 2009 price) / 2009 price. Percentage increases are much higher than stated in the article.
Thanks for posting this! I always find it interesting how much prices have gone up, wondering whether it’s my imagination or not. I think your math is off on the percentage increases, though. For instance, the veggie burger at Beaches and Cream is more than twice what it was in 2009. Twice the cost would be a 100% increase, so that works out to 113%, while the single burger increase works out to 89%. So the percentage increases are actually much larger than the inflation percentage.