Sometimes, friends, it’s best to look before you buy…
Case in point: I’ve always enjoyed spying this charming snack cart hosted by Via Napoli in the Italy Pavilion whenever it comes out (sometimes it’s tucked away in less busy seasons). It’s affectionately known as the “Donkey Cart,” ‘cuz… well, DONKEY!
Stand in Epcot’s Italy
For a small stand with limited selections, the artwork is also pretty great. Seriously, you should check it out.
Italy Snack Stand Artwork
Italy Snack Stand Artwork
But, back to my story… I always check out the menu here whenever the donkey makes an appearance, because it changes frequently. It’s offered everything from gelato to pizelles (Italian waffle cookies) in the past, but on this trip — while the gelato showed up again — the selection of drinks had expanded a bit. One of the inclusions was an Italian Fruit Soda for $4.25.
Italy Snack Stand menu
Not knowing exactly what it was, I asked about it, thinking maybe it was something akin to a hand-poured Italian Cream Soda. The Cast Member kindly showed me. And here it is…
Italian Fruit Soda
Hmm… . Now, I know for a fact that the Sanpellegrino Sparkling Blood Orange is both tasty and refreshing. But is it $4.25 for 11.15 fluid ounces worth of tasty and refreshing? Probably not when you can find the same thing elsewhere for much cheaper (e.g. a 6-pack at Wal-Mart costs $4.98, or 24 cans on Amazon.com for $16.97).
I know that pricing at Disney is always a sensitive topic (and that’s putting it mildly). But often you have a chance first to learn about what you’re getting before you make your purchase. So the moral of my story is, if you can’t see the item, be sure to learn a little more about it before buying. Cast Members are friendly and helpful, and — as the saying goes — it never hurts to ask!
Maybe a can of Sanpellegrino is worth $4.25 for you — I love the stuff, too — but I would have preferred a little more truth in advertising on the signage. At least with a $2.50 bottle of Coke the menu reads, “Coke,” instead of “Locally bottled, sweet carbonated soda” or something that would make me think, “Ooh, what’s that! It sounds interesting and unique!” Needless to say, I ended up not purchasing the Italian Fruit Soda.
Are there any “unseen” items at Disney World that you are curious about? Please let us know with a comment!
Our handy (and portable!) ebook guides make sure you get the best deals and can plan a vacation of a lifetime.
Well AL, you know how it goes…
You always pay more for fancy names especially ones that look foreign and most people can’t pronounce.
I learned this the hard way with Vitamin Water meaning the Zero line and artificial sweeteners!
The pricing at Disney is ridiculous. You should do a piece titled ‘is there anything at Disney which would be good value in the real world?’ You wouldn’t run out of ink!!
Wow! That’s shockingly expensive! (This flavour of Sanpellegrino is my husband’s favourite, although I prefer their grapefruit flavour.) We usually buy a case of 24 cans of this from our local Costco (in the UK) for £15, which works out to less than a dollar a can!!
This is exactly why I always carry packets of sugar-free flavoured drinks powders around with me when in Disney, so we can just top up bottles of water from the fountains and then add our own flavours. Much more hydrating than something fizzy and full of sugar! (Sorry, soapbox rant over ….)
I agree Carolyn. When I saw the price of one piece of candy and some of the cupcakes, I couldn’t believe it. But, people pay it, so it will continue. Sometimes I wonder if they make the prices so high in hopes that it will encourage people to get their dining plans.?.?
I like it when they have product samples out so you can see what you are getting. I agree that WDW is overpriced but that’s to be expected. They’ve got a captive audience. At least they’re fine with visitors bringing snacks & beverages into the parks. I always take a bottle of water & just refill it all day at the drinking fountain as I don’t mind the taste of the water (it’s not that much worse than the water where I live and I can’t stand Dasani).
After one of our trips many years ago, I did find something that was actually cheaper at Disney. Back when Disney Quest still had Cheesecake Factory as the restaurant, I’d bought several goodies to go back to the hotel with me. Well a few weeks later we were at Woodfield Mall in Schaumberg IL (suburb of Chicago) and I wanted to grab my mom a piece of cheesecake to bring home. Stupid thing was $2 more per slice than at WDW! I couldn’t believe it, thought Disney would be way more expensive.