Corkage fees at WDW restaurants...

[jiminyfan]

Good Day,

Does anyone know if the corkage fees vary based on restaurant or level of restaurant? I know that AP has a $15, has anyone inquired at others places.

I have some bottles I would like to take with me on my next vacation as I think they will pair nicely with a few of the dishes I plan on ordering, but want ot make sure it is allowed at all WDW restaurants.

Thanks

 

[Hootch]

by restaurant, usually $15 - $25. But some restaurants, last I heard including CG, did not allow bottles brought in. I would call Disney Dining. If you can't get a good answer, which is possible, I would call the resort.

 

[BGK]

Flying Fish is $20 per bottle. I brought three bottles on New Year's Eve and there was no problem whatsoever, as none of them were on their wine list.

 

[jiminyfan]

The ones I am planning to bring will definitely not be on their wine lists.

Compared to the prices they charge for similar wines, $20 is a deal.

Thanks again.

 

[TheRustyScupper]

The ones I am planning to bring will definitely not be on their wine lists.

1) If this is so, then the trip and all the lostling would be bad for the wine.
2) Fine wines do not take well to movement, like a long journey.
3) That is why you cannot get great wines on cruise ships.
4) Too much movement.

 

[coopersmom]

I was told today by Disney IPO that the Disney restaurants do allow for outside wine to be brought in, as long as it's not on a restaurant's current wine list (a little tricky, as they're not always posted), and the corkage fee was the price of lowest cost bottle on the list. I was told this is for all Disney resort/park restaurants that serve wine. (Obviously no wine in Magic Kingdom.)

If accurate, that would make it NOT such a good deal at all, since few of the nicer restaurants have anything available for less than $35 or $40.

Was it your experience that Artist Point (one of the restaurants we are scheduled to dine at) had a $15 or $20 fee? That could make a difference in what we buy/bring. I'd rather have a nice bottle of something we like that retails for $40, and pay a $25 fee, rather than get a $90 restaurant bottle that retails for $30.

Shula's, by the way, did say $25 flat fee, as long as it's not on their list (which looks relatively expansive, but hardly all inclusive).

As wine lovers we have found that most high end restaurants don't advertise, but do allow, you to bring your own, if you ask. It's something we've done more and more, since as our tastes have refined a bit when it comes to vino, we can rarely afford something we'll really love at restaurant prices, and wine does tend to "make" a meal for us. We also eat at home more often and have our son go out, instead of us, much less expensive to pay for a night out for the little one, than for ourselves.

 

[nytimez]

1) If this is so, then the trip and all the lostling would be bad for the wine.
2) Fine wines do not take well to movement, like a long journey.
3) That is why you cannot get great wines on cruise ships.
4) Too much movement.

That's real interesting -- I didn't know any of this. I'm not much of a wine drinker... more of a beer guy (but I love a good sangria).

Just curious: How is wine brought in from places like Chile and S. Africa and France and all -- are they transported in some special way (apart from the obvious care any glass bottle shipment would require)?

 

[msjprincess]

As wine lovers we have found that most high end restaurants don't advertise, but do allow, you to bring your own, if you ask. It's something we've done more and more, since as our tastes have refined a bit when it comes to vino, we can rarely afford something we'll really love at restaurant prices, and wine does tend to "make" a meal for us. We also eat at home more often and have our son go out, instead of us, much less expensive to pay for a night out for the little one, than for ourselves.

Your son goes out to dinner by himself while you stay home? How old is he?

 

[coopersmom]

Your son goes out to dinner by himself while you stay home? How old is he?

He's 3. We just send him out in the yard with a piece of dry toast and water bottle. Is that wrong?

Kidding, obviously ... We send him out with our sitter (a family friend now in her 20s, who I actually babysat for many moons ago) for a "kid's night" which is much cheaper than a grown-up night out. He gets to do things like go to a park or indoor play place and then get pizza or chicken nuggets--which we otherwise never allow--and we get a quiet evening at home. I like to cook, so I make a nice meal, open a nice bottle of wine ... and we save about $200 off the cost of fine dining experience at a restaurant. Sitter costs the same and my son loves going out on "dates." (My husband once told him mommy and daddy were having a date when we went out, so that's what he calls it when he goes out too.)

Even cheaper, we also sometimes do an exchange with our next door neighbors who have a son the same age. We'll take theirs one night and have the boys do something fun (movie night, etc.) while they get some alone time and then another night they'll have them both. When we're done we just walk next door to claim our little one. Very convenient and the kids love it too.

Unfortunately, neither of these things happen all that often. Four or five times a year, tops. Even rarer as my son gets older (and we do too) are the early-to-bed nights that leave my husband and I with a little free time. We've found that the earlier our son goes to bed, the earlier we go to bed. If we make it to 10 PM, we're doing pretty good these days.

 

[nytimez]

He's 3. We just send him out in the yard with a piece of dry toast and water bottle. Is that wrong?

That's so wrong. You should at least put a little butter on the toast.

 

[LiberalPrincess]

1) If this is so, then the trip and all the lostling would be bad for the wine.
2) Fine wines do not take well to movement, like a long journey.
3) That is why you cannot get great wines on cruise ships.
4) Too much movement.

This is the craziest post I have read on the Boards. The majority of the most expensive wines in the world travel by ship to various countries. On my last cruise, I had a Château Margaux that changed the way I looked at wine. The movement didn't seem to hurt. Oenophiles everywhere are baffled by your post. Maybe cheap wine doesn't travel well, but the good stuff does. I would think about changing cruise lines, not the wine.

 

[hentob]

Kidding, obviously ... We send him out with our sitter (a family friend now in her 20s, who I actually babysat for many moons ago) for a "kid's night" which is much cheaper than a grown-up night out.

Smart lady

This is the craziest post I have read on the Boards. The majority of the most expensive wines in the world travel by ship to various countries. On my last cruise, I had a Château Margaux that changed the way I looked at wine. The movement didn't seem to hurt. Oenophiles everywhere are baffled by your post. Maybe cheap wine doesn't travel well, but the good stuff does. I would think about changing cruise lines, not the wine.

 

[havoc315]

I was told today by Disney IPO that the Disney restaurants do allow for outside wine to be brought in, as long as it's not on a restaurant's current wine list (a little tricky, as they're not always posted), and the corkage fee was the price of lowest cost bottle on the list. I was told this is for all Disney resort/park restaurants that serve wine. (Obviously no wine in Magic Kingdom.)

If accurate, that would make it NOT such a good deal at all, since few of the nicer restaurants have anything available for less than $35 or $40.

Was it your experience that Artist Point (one of the restaurants we are scheduled to dine at) had a $15 or $20 fee? That could make a difference in what we buy/bring. I'd rather have a nice bottle of something we like that retails for $40, and pay a $25 fee, rather than get a $90 restaurant bottle that retails for $30.

Shula's, by the way, did say $25 flat fee, as long as it's not on their list (which looks relatively expansive, but hardly all inclusive).

As wine lovers we have found that most high end restaurants don't advertise, but do allow, you to bring your own, if you ask. It's something we've done more and more, since as our tastes have refined a bit when it comes to vino, we can rarely afford something we'll really love at restaurant prices, and wine does tend to "make" a meal for us. We also eat at home more often and have our son go out, instead of us, much less expensive to pay for a night out for the little one, than for ourselves.

We just had a night like this with another family. All kids played upstairs, while grownups had Chateau Lynch Bages with Leg of Lamb and sides.

 

[TheRustyScupper]

LiberalPrincess:
. . . Alas, wine knowledge is a tough thing to gain.
. . . Or, statements like yours below would not be made.

This is the craziest post I have read on the Boards
. . . without facts, this is an unwise remark

On my last cruise, I had a Château Margaux that changed the way I looked at wine.
. . . Château Margeaux makes three different levels of wine
. . . maybe you had one of their other brands
. . . a lesser Château Margeaux wine that the cruise line wouldn't mind serving

Oenophiles everywhere are baffled by your post.
. . . please name names
. . . or, name places included within "everywhere"

Maybe cheap wine doesn't travel well, but the good stuff does.
The majority of the most expensive wines in the world travel by ship to various countries.
. . . actually, the finest wines travel via air freight
. . . cheap wine goes via boat
. . . see below, under Château Margeaux quotes, as to why

I would think about changing cruise lines, not the wine.
. . . the most exclusive cruise lines do not serve the best wines
. . . wines cannot stand the movement
. . . nor can they rest long enough after movement to be served

Let's see what Château Margeaux has to say on their own website:

• find our wines like the sober atmosphere, peaceful and friendly rocked their first two years. They resent the excesses, abrupt changes, all that human life has sometimes folly and inconstancy.
• for the rest, our wines are like us, they age better and last longer in calm and serenity, they do not like moves, fear the noise and vibration, leaking air currents.
• bottle shock may occur from the wine shaking within the bottle as it is moved. If opened too soon, a loss of flavor may result. To prevent this, be sure to allow the bottles to rest at your destination at least seven days for every day your shipment is in transit.

NOTE: Among other investments, we own a significant interest in a fine dining restaurant. Our sommelier is very careful about wines, handling and storage. On-board ships, the most expensive cruise lines DO NOT offer the best wines, due to the movement of the wine in the bottle during sailing. Most ships will not risk vintages with average costs of $350-$1,438 per bottle, not counting some vintages that can sell for $6,000-$11,000 per bottle. In fact, Seabourn, probably the most luxurious cruise line, only serves the lower tier Château Margeaux wines (at $158 per bottle, per their wine list), N'est-ce pas?

 

[TheRustyScupper]

Just curious: How is wine brought in from places like Chile and S. Africa and France and all -- are they transported in some special way (apart from the obvious care any glass bottle shipment would require)?

1) Most of the finest Chilean wines are shipped is via air freight.
2) Lesser Chilean wines (not meaning bad, just lesser priced) are shipped via boat
. . . shipping ports mainly Visviri
. . . unloading ports (in USA) mainly Portland and Seatle

 

[phorsenuf]

It was a $20 cork charge at Sanaa when we were there last week. We passed as the bottle itself wasn't even that much.

 

[hermione8]

I don't know which is more entertaining. The pretentious drunks arguing about who knows more about wine, or the lady who won't let her kid eat pizza unless he's out with a babysitter while she stays home and drinks.

 

[coopersmom]

I don't know which is more entertaining. The pretentious drunks arguing about who knows more about wine, or the lady who won't let her kid eat pizza unless he's out with a babysitter while she stays home and drinks.

Neither I nor my family eat fast or processed food. I'm not super strict about it, but we try to eat fresh, local and organic whenever possible, so we rarely eat out at all and I make 90 percent of our meals from scratch, including the occasional pizza. (I've always enjoyed cooking, so this is not a huge chore.) Therefore, my son thinks it's a rare treat to go to one of the places with a play place.

Not that I really care what anyone else thinks of my parenting choices, but I don't "stay home and drink," I have a little time with my husband, including some wine with dinner, and then maybe we watch a movie. Hardly 'Parents Gone Wild.' Not sure why you found attempting to provide healthy meals for my family and time for my marriage, "entertaining." (Or, if not odd you think that, because, to each their own, odd at least that you'd bother to post it.)

As we're currently planning an expensive trip to Disney World (why I'm on these boards) nice meals out just aren't in the budget right now. We already have a freezer full of meat and a decent wine cellar so staying in and making a "nice" meal is a lot more economically feasible for us than going out and having a pricey fine dining experience. Obviously, other people's tastes and lifestyles may vary, but for us it's a really enjoyable evening and my son has a great time too.

To get back on topic regarding corkage fees at Walt Disney World, after discovering this thread, I called two restaurants we were planning on visiting personally and was told conflicting information from what I received from the concierge office. Some restaurants don't allow outside bottles to be brought in at all (California Grill) and Artist Point charges a $20 corkage fee (wine must not be among their current offerings).

 

[chartle]

I was told today by Disney IPO that the Disney restaurants do allow for outside wine to be brought in, as long as it's not on a restaurant's current wine list (a little tricky, as they're not always posted), and the corkage fee was the price of lowest cost bottle on the list. I was told this is for all Disney resort/park restaurants that serve wine. (Obviously no wine in Magic Kingdom.)

Since you can't bring alcohol or glass into a park, I'm assuming you can only bring wine into a non park TS not a park TS.

 

[nytimez]

Neither I nor my family eat fast or processed food. I'm not super strict about it, but we try to eat fresh, local and organic whenever possible, so we rarely eat out at all and I make 90 percent of our meals from scratch, including the occasional pizza. (I've always enjoyed cooking, so this is not a huge chore.) Therefore, my son thinks it's a rare treat to go to one of the places with a play place.

I admire this. There's something seriously wrong with anyone who would mock you for it.

And I don't think you need to justify or explain it to anyone, let alone a message board troll with 16 posts in 18 months.

In any case, I wish I had that kind of time and dedication. I try to limit fast food to once a week -- and sometimes fail even in that small goal.