Fyi

[ChipNDale]

someone suggested above that this is to kinda get people to go for the dining plan.... that isnt fair if thats what thier doing for people with ap's who arnt getting pachages there for are not eligible for the dining plan. Personally i would love to do the dining plan since my future husband wants to eat at a lot of big table restarants. but since were staying with his parents in thier anual pass room we are not getting a pachage he and i are just getting myw tickets

I fully thought that once they started doing the dining plan and then after they just giving it away. That prices would no longer matter in fact it would be in disney's best interest to increase all prices to make the dining plan even more of a value. This would cause more people to stay onsite. With this dining plan they can and will charge what ever they want, beccause they will get what they want and anyone not on the plan will just pay if they want to eat and well you are going to eat at somepoint.

-ChipNDale

 

[maxaroni]

My plans weren't so much trying to sidestep the system as it was to pay what I consider to be a fair price to what was ordered and eaten. For arguments sake, take the free out of the dining plan for a moment. Our family with DS11 and DD8 were going to go to WDW this late August-early September regardless, and were planning to book with the dining option. DS qualified as an adult and would be charged $35/day as would my wife and I. Ds is an extremely picky and light eater. This being the case why should I expect him to order off the adult menu, and with an appetizer and dessert to boot. The food would just go to waste.

My plan was to pay OOP for DS and have him order off the child's menu along with DD. Then we would use the saved TS credits to use towards a Signature dining experience. Why should this be wrong? Wouldn't I have been paying the adult price, and thus be entitled to use it for an adult purpose.

It just so happens to just prior to booking our trip through our TA that Disney came out with the free dining offer. Why should this change anything. Just IMHO.

Now I figure to do what I want to do, I will feed DS at a counter service place so he can have his burger, or chicken fingers, PBJ, etc., and then he goes in with us to the restaurant of our choice and while DW, DD, and I order our regular meals he can just drink my non-alcoholic beverage and have a dessert . I don't feel by doing this we would be keeping the table from someone waiting to eat as we would not be lingering over just coffee and dessert.

This was our idea, too. We only have one child, therefore, 2 kids couldn't share. If dh or I are going to share with ds, we are then needing to get something he will eat. I guess that will work, providing we get PLAIN chicken, with NOTHING on it. I'm not trying to cheat the system but ds eats chicken fingers and burgers at home and many times,it's off the kids menu. DS can eat from the adult menu once in awhile but adding the appetizer and dessert, no way...lots of food going to waste. He can dine on kids chicken fingers for a week and be happy.

 

[mlwear]

If Disney wants to fix this "loop hole" that allows parents to save up childrens meals to use as adult meals, then I think they should be able to show the credits that are for kids and the credits that are for adults (incl. kids over 10-- the ones that paid $35/day). I can see how it is unfair to hold on to the under 10's credits and use them for adults (pay $10 for CS, TS and a snack and using it for an adult is probably not fair), but if I want to pay OOP for my 10 year old on a buffet or whatever he qualifies for age wise on a kid menu and use his adult credit later, there shouldn't be a problem. They are getting their money the same. If I didn't buy the plan I would pay OOP, since I did buy the plan I am using adult credits for adult meals. Does that make any sense?

 

[Acklander]

So your saying if a parent has a pickey eater they should get cheated out of a table service..

How are you cheated out of a table service? I'm saying that if you have a picky eater you can choose to eat at a counter service where you know you can order off the child's menu and pay the price listed on the menu board; or you can sit at a table service and pay the price that the restaurant charges for a child's meal. You make the decision based on what works for you and your family; just like the restaurant makes choices based on their business. The fact is, that serving some one a chicken finger meal in a table service restaurant has a higher overhead than serving someone a chicken finger meal in a counter service restaurant. You may get the exact same meal at either place, but the counter service meal is based on a quick in and out with a paper plate; and the table service meal requires someone to seat you, someone to serve you, someone to wash the dishes and taking up table space for an hour. For the most part, what is charged for a child's meal in a table service restaurant doesn't make money. Restaurants will charge the cheap price for the child, knowing that they're going to make money off the adults. If the restaurant has the occasional teen or adult that's a picky eater and wants to eat off the children's menu, it probably wouldn't matter. Then you get to these forums where thousands and thousands of people are reading - if you want to save money, just order off the childs menu, or order one burger with an extra bun and split it between two people, or you only need to order one entree to split between two adults, if you complain about the service, the food or the whatever they'll throw in a free dessert which can be shared by the whole table because we're not big eaters anyway - and so on and so forth. As this catches on, all the sudden the restaurant isn't making money so therefore has to make decisions.
Now if I owned a table service restaurant, and it wasn't making a profit, which should I do? Raise the prices on the adult menu which is already making a profit; raise the prices on the children's menu which isn't making a profit; or maybe just compromise and raise the prices for the teens and adults who are eating off the non-profit children's menu?
Your opinion is that anyone under the age of 18 should be able to eat off the childrens menu since they aren't legal adults. Interesting concept, but this isn't a legal issue - it's a business - and businesses are REQUIRED to make a profit. Usually if a business is successful and making good money, changes aren't made. The number one rule in business is don't mess with success. If you start to see changes in procedures, there is usually a reason. Personally, I don't know what the reason is, maybe it's financial, maybe there have been abuses, maybe it's just because they're busy, and find that they're turning away lots of business each night while the tables are filled up with people who are eating hot dogs. Who knows, but for whatever reason some of the table service restaurants have started to charge double for teens and adults eating off the kid's menus. Now that those changes have been put into place you make your decisions. If the money you spend is worth it - you go; if it's not worth it, you go elsewhere.

 

[mlwear]

Acklander--I won't quote your whole post. but I agree completely and that is what I tried to say before (either this thread or another) you just put it better.
Besides, I have been to quite a few places that serve chicken fingers and burgers as adult meals -- a larger portion. Not all do, but if someone is a picky eater, I guess they could check menus to find one. This is what my sis does.
It is a kids menu. Under 18? That would mean a minors menu? If you are driving a car, you aren't a kid anymore. I think 12 years should be the max. cut off for a kids menu. I know it stinks. My DS is 10 now, Disney World aside, he wants to order from the adult menu more an more and I cringe as it sure increases the bill, but that's just what happens when our kiddos grow up.

 

[Angelgirl13202]

im sorry i see your point your right 18 is a bit high..... I stand corrected

 

[novastar]

Perhaps the age change is to counter weight the free dining plan promotion by slightly over charging a lot of guests to make up a bit of cash.