Ordering off the Children's Menu-revisited

[mericletwins]

I searched through old threads and read quite a lot about this, but there isn't really much that is recent. We are planning on going in August with our then 14DD, 14DS and our 13DS. I know that they are adults in Disney eyes and for the most part they are pretty adventurous eaters, however there will be times that they just won't be hungry enough to eat an adult meal. We will not be using the DDP, so credits are not an issue. Does anyone have any recent experience with someone that is older ordering off the children's menu?

If it is going to be a huge hassle we could have them split meals, but then we have to go through the hassle of having them agree on a meal. Is it possible to just order an appetizer in a TS restaurant? Is that frowned upon? The restaurants I'm particularly interested in are the Flying Fish, Yachtsman, Narcoossees and Artist Point, but I haven't made ADRs yet, so that may not be where we end up.

 

[lililoo12]

a lot of times I eat like a bird and just order an appetizer as my dinner. It is not frowned upon. ordering off the kids menu TS is though if they are not 9 and under. splitting meals also isnt an issue unless of course it is like a skillet you have to be charged for two just like a buffet

 

[BEASLYBOO]

If you are paying out of pocket and not doing buffets, it should not be an issue! We eat at a great many TS restaurants, Raglands, Le Cellier, Via Napoli, BOG, Chefs,...... and all allowed our picky 11-12 young ladies to order from the kids menu at the kids price. The only resistance we faced at Thanksgiving came from Marrakesh, and I told the waiter it shouldn't matter we weren't on the DDP and if it was a problem we would all eat elsewhere, and he said OK! With 5 adult dinners and a bottle of wine, and 2 kid dinners he knew where is bread was buttered!

 

[MariMouse]

We were just there in December and we did not have a problem at all! All the waiters were fine with it. I have two teenager girls who are very picky, light eaters. We had the Dining Plan but paid out-of-pocket for kids meals at some TS meals and then used the extra credits for meals that needed 2 TS credits. It actually worked very well for us.

 

[ttintagel]

There are no guarantees, but as long as you're paying OOP most restaurants will accommodate you.

 

[stargazertechie]

There are no guarantees, but as long as you're paying OOP most restaurants will accommodate you.

I don't see why a restaurant would frown upon using an adult TS or CS credit for a child's meal- that's more money in Disney's pocket.

The other way around though (Using a child's TS or CS credit for an adult meal) doesn't fly

 

[ttintagel]

I don't see why a restaurant would frown upon using an adult TS or CS credit for a child's meal- that's more money in Disney's pocket.

Because it makes their bookkeeping harder. When you're feeding thousands of people a day, those little bits of extra work add up.

 

[MinnieGirl33]

. We are planning on going in August with our then 14DD, 14DS and our 13DS. I know that they are adults in Disney eyes and for the most part they are pretty adventurous eaters, however there will be times that they just won't be hungry enough to eat an adult meal.

This is a concept I just can't wrap my brain around... OK, maybe for a girl but teenage boys not being hungry enough???

As long as you are paying out of pocket you can absolutely order an appy as your entree. Sometimes all we do is order drinks & a few appys. Never been an issue.

 

[kiddisney]

it shouldn't be a problem - i'm here now & have ordered off the appy menu for lunch & dinner (more appealing) and have also ordered off the kids menu - and if they said they wouldn't let me - then i wouldn't order anything - and let everyone else eat - and go o/s & get a snack - and they wouldn't get any tip from my meal - so it's in their best interest in letting you order - if you weren't going to get anything anyway

 

[SleepyatDVC]

I have an DD11 and DD14. DH wants to try Todd English's Blue Zoo this trip. Looking at the menus, it didn't look like the kids will like anything off the adult menu.

DD14 has gotten very adventurous but she still wants to know exactly WHAT she is ordering and eating. Heck, I won't even know what I'm ordering even with the description. Lol. Hate to order a $40+ entree that she won't touch. DD11, alas, is still a pasta and chicken strips without any sauce kind of girl. Sigh.

In any case, the Blue Zoo's children's menu offers a lot for both of them to choose from that isn't just nuggets and pasta. Anyone with first hand experience of having older kids order from the kiddie menu there?

TIA!

 

[robinb]

We ate at Jiko in December and asked for a kids menu for my 13-year old DD. They had no problem giving one to her. She ended up ordering a special vegetarian item from the adult menu.

If your kids are actually hungry but not adventurous, I have heard that many places will make an adult portion of kids meals.

 

[baler31]

I have an DD11 and DD14. DH wants to try Todd English's Blue Zoo this trip. Looking at the menus, it didn't look like the kids will like anything off the adult menu.

DD14 has gotten very adventurous but she still wants to know exactly WHAT she is ordering and eating. Heck, I won't even know what I'm ordering even with the description. Lol. Hate to order a $40+ entree that she won't touch. DD11, alas, is still a pasta and chicken strips without any sauce kind of girl. Sigh.

In any case, the Blue Zoo's children's menu offers a lot for both of them to choose from that isn't just nuggets and pasta. Anyone with first hand experience of having older kids order from the kiddie menu there?

TIA!

I have been with friends where the older children ordered from the children's menu and don't recall them even questioning it.

My kids actually like various kinds of fish and they always try something new there and just get them to grill it without a lot of the sauces etc.

 

[disnut8]

Disney is no different from the outside world. Just went to trivia last night and ordered an appetizer of clams. Husband ordered the appetizer of sausage bits. Not a blink of an eye.

Why would Disney be any different?

 

[nkereina]

Disney is no different from the outside world. Just went to trivia last night and ordered an appetizer of clams. Husband ordered the appetizer of sausage bits. Not a blink of an eye.

Why would Disney be any different?

Because the outside world doesn't view children 10 and older as adults, and the outside world doesn't have adult and child table service credits. OP's question is a pretty common one

 

[jakenjess]

We've had one restaurant at Disney refuse to let our over-10 YO order off the children's menu, and that was Tutto Italia. This was a couple years ago, so maybe they've changed their policy since then. Have never had a problem anywhere else.

 

[disnut1149]

Hi
I'm an adult and have ordered from the children's menu, but paid OOP. No problem!!

 

[budafam]

I have a very picky DH and he has ordered off the children's menu with no issues. They might charge "more" than the children's price because the portion is a bit bigger (meant for an adult) but it was the same type of food offered on the children's menu.

 

[mericletwins]

I have a very picky DH and he has ordered off the children's menu with no issues. They might charge "more" than the children's price because the portion is a bit bigger (meant for an adult) but it was the same type of food offered on the children's menu.

Our reasoning for ordering off the children's menu wouldn't be pickiness, but rather portion size. My kids are pretty good eaters. They will eat, fish, lamb, veal, venison, shellfish, etc along with the standard pork, chicken and beef. Some days we will snack through Epcot and then they won't be hungry enough for an adult sized meal when we get to the restaurant, so on those days, a child's portion would definitely work out better for us.

 

[frannn]

We eat out every Saturday. DD10 always orders a kid's meal and most of it ends up wrapped up or thrown out. It would be in our best interests to pay for a few kid's meals OOP and use the leftover credits for a couple extra TS meals. She usually goes for the pizza, nuggets, etc, so at least I know she'll eat!

 

[robinb]

Our reasoning for ordering off the children's menu wouldn't be pickiness, but rather portion size. My kids are pretty good eaters. They will eat, fish, lamb, veal, venison, shellfish, etc along with the standard pork, chicken and beef. Some days we will snack through Epcot and then they won't be hungry enough for an adult sized meal when we get to the restaurant, so on those days, a child's portion would definitely work out better for us.

Just be aware that the kids meals are not all that exciting. They are, for the most part, plain kid food.

We eat out every Saturday. DD10 always orders a kid's meal and most of it ends up wrapped up or thrown out. It would be in our best interests to pay for a few kid's meals OOP and use the leftover credits for a couple extra TS meals. She usually goes for the pizza, nuggets, etc, so at least I know she'll eat!

That's exactly what we did when my DD was 10 and we were on the DDP.