It amazes me how many folks in this great big world don’t understand the true meaning of value.  They talk about value as if it’s a noun form of the word “cheap”.  I hear it all the time, “California Grill isn’t a very good value”.  What?  Which California Grill did you go to?  Just talking about it has me so upset; I’m ending sentences with prepositions.  It leaves me as cold as Sci-Fi’s side items.  So, I’d like to take a few minutes to define the term as it relates to dining, especially when your chef is a mouse.  

 “Because it’s the best”, Edward Lewis would say when asked why he stayed on the top floor of the Beverly Wilshire or sat in the balcony for La Traviata even though he was afraid of heights.  Is that value, spending lots of money for the best?  I’ve been in the balcony for La Traviata, give me center row five, thanks.  On the other end of the spectrum, as mentioned before, should the “cheap is good” philosophy reign supreme?  How about the value menu at the local fast food joint?  Don’t even get me started on these guys.  Oops, too late.  McDonald’s is bad enough for you to begin with, but the “value choices” are out for blood.  There’s not a low cost and healthy option within two dollars of the Value Menu.  “Give us a dollar and we’ll give you heart disease.”  That’s a heck of a value.  

Warren Buffet, one of the richest men in America, once said, “the price is what you pay; value is what you get”.  In a nutshell, that quote sums it up nicely.  In fact, I could just start using that for my tagline and scrap this article completely, but I still have notes.  Truth is, value is different for everyone.  There are lots of people to whom it doesn’t matter how good the Sonoma Goat Cheese Ravioli tastes, they’re never going to spend the money it takes to eat at California Grill.  That’s fine.  Just because a place is a great value, it doesn’t mean everyone can afford to indulge.  For instance, ‘Ohana, Le Cellier, and Boma make it onto the top of the favorites list for many.  At both of these restaurants, you can get great food (usually) and good service (sometimes) at what is a reasonable price for Disney.  However, it’s not possible to select a restaurant as a leader in value if the consistency isn’t there.  
So, what’s the best value at Disney?  It’s whatever you feel you get the greatest combination of quality, service, and atmosphere for the money you spend, every time.

James E Resciniti (Natazu)
 Chef de Cuisine, Mouse-aid.com