The DW KidsMeals suck

[JustAGirl]

I went to allears.net to check out the kids meals and they are all the same . My kids will eventually get tired of a week full of hamburgers, pizza and nuggets . They should atleast add some normal items like meatloaf and roasted turkey with mashed potatoes.....This is DW and they have such a limited menu ?? Needless to say I got the QS plan and were gonna have alot of kids meals credits leftover because ill have to buy another adult meals out of pocket ...and i saw a pic of some of the complete kids meals they have at the restaurants and the grilled chicken , macaroni with sauce and cheese looked gross very bland looking.

 

[JennHales]

ITA!!!

I will never understand why a restaurant can't just make a Kid size portion of everything on their menu.

When we eat out my kids always order off the adult menu then split it.
Jen

 

[ms_missy66]

I think you'll be more satisified than you think when you get there. Yeah, there are several locations with the typical kid fare, but others have more choices - especially Epcot's World Showcase.

I kind of think, for WDW, that this is a no-win situation. If they make the kid menu too adultish, folks complain that there's nothing typical for their cild to eat. If they offer several childish choices, folks complain it's the same old crap.

 

[Cedarmom]

Some suggestions:

Casey's. They have no kid's menu so the kiddos can order whatever they want. I highly recommend the corndog nuggets.

Earl of Sandwich (in downtown disney). They have a kid's menu but we were told the kiddos could order whatever they wanted both times we ate there.

Pizza planet (in HS). Yes, pizza, but my kids thought it was very good.

We also tended to get the uncrustables a lot. They really, really like pbjs.

We did a lot of buffets on the regular dining plan to avoid the problem, but it would have been fine on the QS plan as well with some planning.

 

[deerhart]

there are no kid's meal counter service credits on your dining plan. All the counter service credits are one big giant pile. Therefore, your kids can order off either the adult or kid's menu.

Both my kid's ordered off the adult or kids menu for our CS meals (they are both under 9) at will and we had no problems. I know other people have done this before as well.

 

[WDWjen]

I am leaving in 10 days - this will help me out with my son who is 8 and eats like he is 18! I was under the impression that kids 9 and under had to order from the kids menu?

Now that i think about it, usually at counter service we sit with the kids and get a table and one of the adults (usually my dh) goes up to the counter to order. So he could order anything??

 

[deerhart]

yup the only place you HAVE to order off the kids menu is sit down service tables. At qs and buffets kids can eat whatever they want.

I expect both my kids will order qs off the adult menu this year for the desserts!

 

[Ava]

 

[mybabesuz]

At a lot of the TS restaurants you can request kids size portions of meals.
Of course there are the buffets...
Don't forget after 9 kids are considered adults at Disney...
We have NEVER been told that the kids couldn't get something they asked for.
CS menus however are limited but you can find more if you know where to look.
Pizza, chicken nuggets, baked chicken, PB&J, Hot Dogs, Hamburgers, Mac n Cheese, Salad with chicken, pasta, make your own subs and sweet and sour chicken, Fries...
Is there something you are looking for in particular?

 

[mybabesuz]

I am leaving in 10 days - this will help me out with my son who is 8 and eats like he is 18! I was under the impression that kids 9 and under had to order from the kids menu?

Now that i think about it, usually at counter service we sit with the kids and get a table and one of the adults (usually my dh) goes up to the counter to order. So he could order anything??

Just a heads up to you...
If your KTW card says 2 Adults and 2 Children they will not let you get 3 or 4 adult meals at one time.
You and DH can each get in a line and each get 2 adult meals but not all at the same time...

 

[deerhart]

Our key to the world said 2 adult 2 kids and we ordered 4 adult meals all at once last year. We also ordered 3 adult and 1 kid, 2 adult 2 kid, etc...

 

[ms_missy66]

Last year as in 2008? I ask because there were no restrictions on QS kids meals until 2009. Now there are, most definitely, restrictions. You have equal number of kids meals and adult meals, except in cases where the QS has no kid options. Hope that helps.

Again OP, I'm betting you'll be fine.

 

[mybabesuz]

I have heard that they are getting stricter about it.
Some CMs won't let you do it anymore.

 

[deerhart]

Last year as in 2008? I ask because there were no restrictions on QS kids meals until 2009. Now there are, most definitely, restrictions. You have equal number of kids meals and adult meals, except in cases where the QS has no kid options. Hope that helps.

Again OP, I'm betting you'll be fine.

no last year as in August 2009.

 

[Mouse House Mama]

ITA!!!

I will never understand why a restaurant can't just make a Kid size portion of everything on their menu.

When we eat out my kids always order off the adult menu then split it.
Jen

Thank you!!!!!!! We always say this! Chicken nuggets are nice once in while for lunch but my kids like regular food. I don't know why they don't just offer smaller portions either.

 

[ncmickeyluvr]

I'm really, really, really not trying to stir up controversy....but let me tell you my experience. DS does not eat like a normal 7 yr old...he would never eat normal DW "kid" fare. Last year was the first time we used the dining plan. The first day, I asked a CM at a cs place if there was any way ds could get a small portion of the adult offering. The CM TOLD ME TO ORDER HIM WHATEVER HE WANTED. I didn't try and cheat the system....I just did what the employee told me to. The next day, I again explained to the CM ...at a different place... our situation and was told to do the same thing. All week we did the same thing and only 1 time were we told no.....and that time I ate the kids meal and gave mine to ds. I never tried to "cheat" the system....Disney's awesome customer service came through and saved the day....that's not wrong IMHO.

Btw...I predicted we would have problems with ts and made adr's at only buffet/table service so it wouldn't be an issue.

This year it won't matter because dd is 10 and will ONLY order off of the kid's menu.

 

[bumbershoot]

I would dump the meal plan in your situation. Since ordering adult meals is actually not part of the plan (as evidenced by the threads on the dining board that are shut down when conversations about it are started, b/c it's against disney rules), you cannot bet that you'll be able to do that. So if the kids like food that is found on the non-kid's meals menus, just cancel the dining plan and pay OOP for everyone. People can share and no one will be forced to eat food they don't want to eat.

 

[brockash]

I'm really, really, really not trying to stir up controversy....but let me tell you my experience. DS does not eat like a normal 7 yr old...he would never eat normal DW "kid" fare. Last year was the first time we used the dining plan. The first day, I asked a CM at a cs place if there was any way ds could get a small portion of the adult offering. The CM TOLD ME TO ORDER HIM WHATEVER HE WANTED. I didn't try and cheat the system....I just did what the employee told me to. The next day, I again explained to the CM ...at a different place... our situation and was told to do the same thing. All week we did the same thing and only 1 time were we told no.....and that time I ate the kids meal and gave mine to ds. I never tried to "cheat" the system....Disney's awesome customer service came through and saved the day....that's not wrong IMHO.

Btw...I predicted we would have problems with ts and made adr's at only buffet/table service so it wouldn't be an issue.

This year it won't matter because dd is 10 and will ONLY order off of the kid's menu.

I had this same exact situation last year (Sept. 2009) only we were never told no. I never asked at the TS places, because we did a lot of buffets and it was never an issue, but we did this at at least 70% of the cs places and each time the CM's told us to order whatever meal we wanted.

 

[waltsgirl]

We were just there in Dec 2009 and had 4 adults and 2 children on the meal plan and showing on our cards. We had no issues ordering only adult meals anywhere we went.

 

[Zeebs]

You think they are bad at WDW you should try Disneyland Paris, I was looking at the menus there and at one of the places, where it is mainly mexican food. The kids choice is a hot dog or a sandwhich???????

I agree offer a half portion for half the price it can't be that hard to do.

We ate mainly at buffets on our visit as then the kids could eat normally.

I know the kids are on holiday and my kids will eat fries until the cows come home if you let them. But they also like vege, pasta with something on it other than butter, rice they love rice.

From memory we had quite a nice meal at Coral reef it was fish which was liked by the kids.

Kirsten