Counter Service Kids Menus Are Really Limited!

[gigi1313]

i had posted this on another thread a week or three ago... here's some info on more healthy/unique offerings at some wdw restaurants...

let's see... some places that offer better/different choices for kids CS meals:

flame tree has chicken wings
tusker house has drumstick meal

abc commissary has fish&chips and veggie noodle stir-fry
backlot has chilled chicken & veggies w/carrots/ranch dip, applesauce
flatbread grill has a grilled chicken wrap or chicken drumstick w/rice/beans

electric umbrellas has turkey/cheese pinwheels
liberty inn has grilled chicken on romaine w/crackers
lotus blossom has beef fried rice and egg roll
tempura kiko has chicken or shrimp tempura style w/veggies
yakitori house has terriyaki chicken
yorkshire county fish house has fish & chips

casey's has corn dog nuggets
columbia harbor has cold grilled chicken and cheese w/fruit
cosmic rays has chicken noodle soup, chicken garden salad and corn dog nuggets
pecos bills has beans & franks and chilled chicken w/carrots/celery

the resort food courts also offer kids' meals that are not standard fare (i.e. chicken nuggets, hot dog, burger, mac/cheese) such as:
all-stars offer pasta/meatball and grilled cheese, baked chicken, roast turkey
mara has rotisserie chicken
beach club marketplace offers ham/cheese wrap
everything pop offers sloppy joe, chicken noodle soup and veggie lo mein
roaring fork has bbq chicken basket

in addition to the chicken fingers, mac/cheese, hot dog, hamburger options i found the following places that offer better/different choices for kids TS meals:

quite a few places have have grilled chicken (off the top of my head: 50s PTC, LeCellier, SciFi
LeCellier and Flying Fish (among others) have steak
Mama Melrose has chicken parm and calzone
Coral Reef offers a grilled mahi
Akershus has a turkey/cheese roll-up
Chefs de France have great offerings (chicken, beef and fish)
CRT has "minor domo" (a smaller version of their popular Major Domo
LTT (at lunch) has salmon, turkey or corn dogs
Shutters at CBR offers kids' prime rib
WCC has the all-you-care-to-eat skillet
9 Dragons, Teppanyaki, SanAngel all have ethnic options

and of course, all food at the buffet and all-you-care-to-eat restaurants are available to the children, they don't have to take from the chicken nugget/mac&cheese section only...

happy eating...

 

[disneyjunkie]

I repeatedly read about the huge portions (I have never been before), which I believed until I started looking at the picture thread. Nothing there looks "huge", but quite the opposite. Could someone clarify what they consider "huge"?

Here's a picture of the meal I ordered from Tuskers House during our last trip. The meal also included a slice of cake and a large drink.(we were on the dining pla.)
Most of that food went in the trash. It was just too much. It may not look like much, but it was.

 

[kcrew]

Here's a picture of the meal I ordered from Tuskers House during our last trip. The meal also included a slice of cake and a large drink.(we were on the dining pla.)
Most of that food went in the trash. It was just too much. It may not look like much, but it was.

Yes, I will acknowledge that as large! What is that, half a chicken? That probably would be a little hefty for lunch, especially in the heat! In that case I can see sharing would be viable.

What happened to your son's (I assume?) picture with Stitch?

 

[janets]

let's see... some places that offer better/different choices for kids CS meals:

flame tree has chicken wings
tusker house has drumstick meal

abc commissary has fish&chips and veggie noodle stir-fry
backlot has chilled chicken & veggies w/carrots/ranch dip, applesauce
flatbread grill has a grilled chicken wrap or chicken drumstick w/rice/beans

electric umbrellas has turkey/cheese pinwheels
liberty inn has grilled chicken on romaine w/crackers
lotus blossom has beef fried rice and egg roll
tempura kiko has chicken or shrimp tempura style w/veggies
yakitori house has terriyaki chicken
yorkshire county fish house has fish & chips

casey's has corn dog nuggets
columbia harbor has cold grilled chicken and cheese w/fruit
cosmic rays has chicken noodle soup, chicken garden salad and corn dog nuggets
pecos bills has beans & franks and chilled chicken w/carrots/celery

the resort food courts also offer kids' meals that are not standard fare (i.e. chicken nuggets, hot dog, burger, mac/cheese) such as:
all-stars offer pasta/meatball and grilled cheese, baked chicken, roast turkey
mara has rotisserie chicken
beach club marketplace offers ham/cheese wrap
everything pop offers sloppy joe, chicken noodle soup and veggie lo mein
roaring fork has bbq chicken basket

in addition to the chicken fingers, mac/cheese, hot dog, hamburger options i found the following places that offer better/different choices for kids TS meals:

quite a few places have have grilled chicken (off the top of my head: 50s PTC, LeCellier, SciFi
LeCellier and Flying Fish (among others) have steak
Mama Melrose has chicken parm and calzone
Coral Reef offers a grilled mahi
Akershus has a turkey/cheese roll-up
Chefs de France have great offerings (chicken, beef and fish)
CRT has "minor domo" (a smaller version of their popular Major Domo
LTT (at lunch) has salmon, turkey or corn dogs
Shutters at CBR offers kids' prime rib
WCC has the all-you-care-to-eat skillet
9 Dragons, Teppanyaki, SanAngel all have ethnic options

and of course, all food at the buffet and all-you-care-to-eat restaurants are available to the children, they don't have to take from the chicken nugget/mac&cheese section only...

happy eating...

Gigi, I'm not looking for the "alternative" healthier options. Perhaps that makes me a bad mom but frankly, my ds8, while a good eater, is not a wide varied eater. He likes burgers, chicken fingers, m&c, the occasional steak. He will not, under almost any circumstances, eat a baked chicken leg, chilled chicken pieces, will never, ever eat pb&j (no one in my house does, me included), doesn't really care for fish. So many of these alternative choices, while sounding very varied and interesting to some, frankly leave me with very few options for my kid.

Now of course, you might then say, well the DDP is not for you. But the problem is not with child v. adult credits. It's with the choices themselves. Why is it that when I go to a place that is considered a "burger joint" there is no kid burger? I go to Burger King, Wendy's, McD and they all offer a child sized burger. Why is the pizza restaurant not offering a kid sized pizza? I go to Pizza Hut and they offer an individual kid pizza as a choice. Why is it that there is no kid sized rib option? I go to TGI Friday's and they offer a kids rib meal.

So many restaurants in the "real world" can manage to offer a child sized portion of their "specialty". Why can't WDW? Now some might say, well, look over the menus and find someplace that serves something that you will all enjoy. Not generally possible and most of us know that. Is there any rhyme or reason to my having to go to Tangeriene Cafe for a kid pizza or burger? What sort of sense does that make when I should be able to get something like that at Pecos Bill or Pizzafari. Some might say, well order the adult burger (or double) burger option and split it. We often do that, but then (if you follow the new thinking that you cannot use kids credits for adult meals), we'll be left w/ kids credits that we can't use. Also, I don't want him eating something so large...I prefer that he have the smaller portion in front of him or believe me, he'll manage to eat the adult size and that's even more unhealthy (he can manage it, believe me, but he doesn't need it).

While I appreciate the effort that goes into offering healthy options to families who don't want to spend a week feeding their kids less wholesome food, I also wish they would offer more standardized fare (burgers or pizza or even chicken fingers) for those of us with kids who have more "simple" tastes. And in the meantime, I work hard to get ds8 to try different foods. I do that at home, in a more controlled environment. WDW is not the place to do that, IMHO.

 

[meshmar]

That's probably what DMom and I will split for lunch on our AK day. Add in an extra drink and dessert OOP and we will both be stuffed on 1 CS credit.

 

[Merriwind]

I find the servings quite large and have no problem sharing with DD8. If we were at a burger place with no kids burger and she really wanted one, I would order a burger platter for myself and share it with her. If we were still hungry, the expanded snack offerings could add an extra side or dessert of many CS items. Wouldn't that help with your dilemma?

Enjoy!

 

[disneyjunkie]

What happened to your son's (I assume?) picture with Stitch?

My picture was too large so one of the moderators deleted it.
I tried to resize, but it didn't work.

As soon as I figure out how to post a picture that fits the DIS guidelines I'll add it to my signature.

Couldn't the burger problem be solved by ordering a double burger for the adult? You could then pay OOP for an extra bun to make an extra burger.

 

[gigi1313]

i was just offering those lists that i had compiled a week or two ago to help anyone w/a similar (many said their children had adult tastes) dilemma... i figured since i did the work and the thread was going that way, i'd throw it out there... however, i'm sorry it does not help you...

my suggestion to you is to simply ASK for what you want, even if you do not see it on the menu... it's very possible that a CS restaurant can and will be able to accommodate your request... disney, by nature, is very accommodating as they are the gold standard in customer service... and even if they say no, it doesn't hurt to ask... (another suggestion which has been very successful for us w/ds' food allergies is to eat a little "off" time... i.e. an earlier or later lunch, not during the ultimate rush)

i hope that helps and wish you luck... my guess is that you will be pleasantly surprised

 

[Blue62]

Didn't they pull the pizza from the Pizzafari kid’s menu because people were taking advantage of the last meal plan?

I agree with gigi1313, if the dining plan doesn't work for your family, then don't book it.

As for myself.... that is what I am trying to determine, hence my concern over the CS children's menus. I agree with gigi too, but we gotta investigate it to figure out if its going to work.

 

[Lizzybee]

Yeah our problem with the kids' choices is my DD8 loves WDW chicken strips...not the nuggets, the strips. That's just not a CS option for kids, which I think is bizarre. I guess I'll have to choose CS that have kids meals I'll eat and chicken strips for DD8 and DS12. I did notice on AllEars.net menus section that Toy Story Pizza Planet doesn't have a kids menu listed so if there isn't one then a child should be able to order an individual pizza there. I dunno, I guess it will work but will require more planning. We may share some meals so I guess we can get some breakfasts with the left over credits or something. So maybe the healthier "different" alternatives on the kids menu will help this mom who may eat from the kids menus to balance out credits. Columbia House may work out great for us, chilled chicken, grapes and cheese sound good to me especially on a hot day and the kids can share a meal if they get the Chicken/Fish combo w/fries. DD8 loves chicken, DS12 loves fish.

 

[frayedend]

So now I have a few questions. First I'd like to say that I am not at all bothered by the folks posting that you shouldn't try to get adult CS for the kids. And while some posts may have seemed a bit nasty, they were merely voicing a strong opinion and I didn't take anything too personally
I think more people on these boards are pro-profit for Disney, must be a lot of stockholders And don't worry, that one share of Disney Stock Certificate hanging on your wall won't decrease too much in value if my kid eats an adult burger

So I have some questions... I see a lot of the kids menu items listed in various posts. So...

What the heck is Chilled Chicken?

Most of the CS posts don't mention chicken nuggets. Do the kids meals offer the chicken nuggets (Yeah I try to get them to eat healthy, but it's vacation and if nuggets are available then they'll eat them. I was under the impression that the only choice was Chilled Chicken, hence my first question).

And now one more question on the Table Service... Do they include one soda and charge for refills or do they keep filling it? (now don't get all in a tizzy here, I'm not trying to get free drinks. I'm just curious.) The reason I ask is to find out if I'll get a bill for like one or two sodas at the end. I drink way too much Coke

 

[LizinSTL]

So now I have a few questions. First I'd like to say that I am not at all bothered by the folks posting that you shouldn't try to get adult CS for the kids. And while some posts may have seemed a bit nasty, they were merely voicing a strong opinion and I didn't take anything too personally
I think more people on these boards are pro-profit for Disney, must be a lot of stockholders And don't worry, that one share of Disney Stock Certificate hanging on your wall won't decrease too much in value if my kid eats an adult burger

So I have some questions... I see a lot of the kids menu items listed in various posts. So...

What the heck is Chilled Chicken?

Most of the CS posts don't mention chicken nuggets. Do the kids meals offer the chicken nuggets (Yeah I try to get them to eat healthy, but it's vacation and if nuggets are available then they'll eat them. I was under the impression that the only choice was Chilled Chicken, hence my first question).

And now one more question on the Table Service... Do they include one soda and charge for refills or do they keep filling it? (now don't get all in a tizzy here, I'm not trying to get free drinks. I'm just curious.) The reason I ask is to find out if I'll get a bill for like one or two sodas at the end. I drink way too much Coke

We had free refills on soft drinks when we used the ddp at table service restaurants.

The Pop food court had chicken nuggets for kids (blech) or chicken strips for adults. I don't recall seeing "chicken nuggets" for a kids option anyplace else we ate. Our CS meals were Pecos Bills, Tusker house, Wolfgang puck express, blizzard beach, and Pop.

 

[Stimpy]

Chilled Chicken is just that.... cold grilled chicken pieces. (My DS hated them cold but he's a picky eater to begin with )

To the person who mentioned paying OOP for a hamburger bun, is that really possible? I never knew you could do that! Just curious, how much does that cost? Thanks for the tip!

As for the DDP, I agree the child menus are extremely lacking...esp the burger/no kids burger, pizza/no kids pizza etc. DS would eat mac & cheese every meal if he could but PB&J, hot dogs, pizza are all out for him. We actually will be lucky in that my DS is a very picky eater and hates most "kids foods" but my DD who is only 2 and "free" will eat everything. I can use DS's credits for her if needed.

 

[bluejasmine]

I believe that this thread is not about anyone trying to complain about the dining plan or rip it off its basically about the simple fact that the childrens menu is not offering what it should for our children. Its ridiculous that at Pecos Bills children cant get a burger or Pizzafari doesnt offer kids pizza. I am a HUGE WDW fan and a fan of the dining plan but I believe the kids menus in all of WDW needs an overhaul. Im not asking for gourmet just the normal burger or pizza in certain places and a little more variety in others. A mini version of whats on the adult menu would be nice. I say lets get together write a petition and get it changed..

 

[gigi1313]

frayedend... the menu choices i posted above were only the "different" "not standard fare" listings... i omitted the chicken nuggets, hot dogs, mac/cheese type choices...

 

[pperfectmom]

I guess if the rumors spreading do come to pass and Disney separates the child and adult credits, I will have to just get a new plan. My DD is only 3, but has very adult tastes. We will probably just share our adult CS meals with DD and DS for lunch or dinner options and use the child credits for breakfast only. I'm not holding my breath for any real change anytime soon, however. We'll see!

 

[Chrisypoo]

Chilled Chicken is just that.... cold grilled chicken pieces. (My DS hated them cold but he's a picky eater to begin with )

I'm with your son on this one..that sounds nasty!

But to add to the thread, I agree about the kid's meals selection. I for one am very happy that my son will be 10 on our next trip...I don't think he'd eat a piece of chilled chicken or chicken nugget if I paid him

I think the only problem we might have is he doesn't like his food to touch (and ok, I'll admit, I'm not too fond of it either)...and it seems to be the current "style" in food presentation to pile everything up in one stack and then pour a sauce on or around the whole thing. Though I suppose that we wouldn't be the first family to request a 'no touch' plate

 

[english rose 47]

I read somewhere on the Dis that you can buy an extra bun for $1 So I figure the double cheeseburger meals become 2 , will save c.s for last dayor breakfast other days

 

[MHopkins2]

Chilled Chicken is just that.... cold grilled chicken pieces. (My DS hated them cold but he's a picky eater to begin with )

Am I the only person who thinks that sounds awesome, particularly on a hot park day?

 

[disneyjunkie]

Am I the only person who thinks that sounds awesome, particularly on a hot park day?

You're not alone. I love cold chicken