10/11 yr old ordering off childs menu

aussiegirls

DIS Veteran
Joined
May 7, 2009
Messages
912
Hi all

I know that this has been done to death but for the life of me I can't find the answer by doing a search.

My DD will be 10 yrs old (turning 11) during our trip. I know that she is classified as an adult. I know that when we are going to buffets and "per person" type places to eat she will have to pay the adult price and I am happy to pay that for her.

My question is, if we go to other sit down restaurants such as Blue Bayou, HOB, Rainforest Cafe, Carnation Cafe etc, will she be allowed to order off the kids menu? The thing is she is so tiny, she rarely will even finish a kids meal. In fact I am sure that if they didn't ask directly they would not even think that she was 10 yrs old (maybe 7 or 8).

So will she be allowed to order kids meals off menus, or will she be expected to eat an adult meal everywhere we go?

Thanks

xxx
 
My 12 y/o is very small and a SUPER picky eater. Most times he won't eat in the park except for the snack foods. He was able to order off of the kids menu with no problems. About the only thing he will eat is mac n cheese and PBJ. He loves the PBJ Platter at Carnation Cafe.

FYI: We had a very nice CM who changed him at Ariels from adult to child. I had simply asked if he would be allowed to order off of the kids menu as he would not like anything on the adults menu for our WOC dinner. I wasn't asking to pay the child's price, but that is what she did.
 
My then 16yo daughter was able to get the PBJ painters palate at Carnation during our last trip.
 
My 14 year old nephew ordered off the kids menu last April without a problem.
 

My 28 yr old disabled daughter ordered off the childs menu at the BB without any problem. Just ask for the kids menu and you'll be fine.
 
My DD10 and DD14 have both ordered from the kids menus. It's never been a problem except at the BB, the server got rude with me when I told him she preferred a child's menu. He said she couldn't do that, so I said "fine, she won't eat then, we will get her something somewhere else when we are done" and he said "well I'll let you do it but you can't TELL me because I can get into trouble". Which I don't think was true, he just wanted us to follow the "rules". lol So just don't tell them how old your child is, just ask for a kids menu and you should be fine.
At CO we asked if DD14 (then 13) could order off the kids menu as there was nothing on the adult menu she would eat, the server said "of course, and if she wants a larger portion she can order an adult portion of the kids menu offerings, it's double the portion for the double the price". I said "I don't think she can eat that much, she isn't a big eater at all" and that was fine too, it was not a problem at all for DD to order whatever she wanted. :) FTR, DD14 is tiny, she wears a 00 jean and she's just about 5' tall. :)
 
I was wondering about this too--since my dd is turning 10 this month (just in time to be a 'Disney adult' on our Thanksgiving trip)...I'm bracing myself for the bill at the Thanksgiving buffet (it seems lame to have to pay it when your kid eats enough for a small bird LOL)

When we go to counter service meals though she'll want the kids meals so I hope it won't be a problem *fingers crossed*
 
I was wondering about this too--since my dd is turning 10 this month (just in time to be a 'Disney adult' on our Thanksgiving trip)...I'm bracing myself for the bill at the Thanksgiving buffet (it seems lame to have to pay it when your kid eats enough for a small bird LOL)

When we go to counter service meals though she'll want the kids meals so I hope it won't be a problem *fingers crossed*

Counter service definitely won't be a problem. I've ordered kids meals for myself at CS places. Regular sit-down restaurants (non-buffets) also shouldn't be a problem but I suppose it might depend on the server.
 
I have had a different experience at Storytellers. We went for dinner so they don't have a buffet. The server came up and asked a general question about how old my son was so we told him 10 so he said he had to order off the adult menu. At Blue Bayou, we had to also order off the adult menu for him. Ordering counter service kids meals is no problem but when you are ordering table service and your child looks 10, you may have to order off the adult menu.
 
Thanks so much for your help guys.

I guess the thing I wonder is if they will bother asking me how old she is, because she definately does not look 10. Although I think that if I make ressies then when I am booking they ask details such as how many adults/kids and how old they are. I am not sure if they then pass this info onto the restaurants though.

I suppose if they won't let her order of the kids menu then another alternative would be for me to share a meal with her. As I understand it most places will allow people to share (although I am aware that some charge for this), so if they refuse to allow her to order of the kids menu maybe I just won't buy anything at all for her. I guess it all will come down to, do they want to make some money from her buy selling me a kids meal, or would they rather enforce "rules" and make no money from her because she will end up sharing :confused3

xxx
 
My 13 yo DD always orders off of the kids menu! We have always asked first and never had a problem. Even at Blue Bayou, no problem. I guess it would depend on the server. My kids are super picky and rarely like any of the adult meals except maybe filet mignon! LOL!
 
Thanks so much for your help guys.

I guess the thing I wonder is if they will bother asking me how old she is, because she definately does not look 10. Although I think that if I make ressies then when I am booking they ask details such as how many adults/kids and how old they are. I am not sure if they then pass this info onto the restaurants though.

I suppose if they won't let her order of the kids menu then another alternative would be for me to share a meal with her. As I understand it most places will allow people to share (although I am aware that some charge for this), so if they refuse to allow her to order of the kids menu maybe I just won't buy anything at all for her. I guess it all will come down to, do they want to make some money from her buy selling me a kids meal, or would they rather enforce "rules" and make no money from her because she will end up sharing :confused3

xxx

As I mentioned before, my 14 year old nephew (and his 11 year old brother) ordererd off the kids menu everywhere we went: Storytellers, Jazz Kitchen, Rainforest, etc. So I really do think it depends on the server. I think if they don't automatically give your DD a kid's menu just ask for one and most likely they'll bring it without asking any questions.

Also, I did want to mention that if your DD ends up sharing with you, don't ask them to split the food for you. I know the BB will charge you if you ask them to split it (I think you get extra sides this way though) but if you just ask for an extra plate and split it yourself then there's no extra charge.
 
Actually, we have split meals at a number of the Disney restaurants. The only one that I have ever seen mentioned for the split charge fee is the Blue Bayou. We just split a salad at the carnation cafe last week and they did not charge us for any split fee, for instance and they split it in the kitchen for us. When we went to the Blue Bayou, I ordered the kids the Monte Cristo from the adult menu as they are teens and can't order from the kids menu but didn't order anything for me. I intended to eat some of my son's sandwich but didn't want to pay the split charge fee. The waiter later brought me an extra bowl for some of the gumbo and a small plate for the sandwich as he saw me tasting my son's soup. He didn't charge me for a split plate fee as they didn't split it in the kitchen. I know if you pay the fee, you both get a bowl of gumbo so I think that you may get a little bit more of gumbo that way and they split the plate of food in the kitchen. Anyway, hope this helps.
 
The split plate fee applies at BB & CO, I've not seen it posted elsewhere. however when you ask for an extra plate and split it yourself you are not charged the fee.
We did not have any problems at all ordering for DD14 (then 13 and she did not look under 10 at all) at Storytellers from the kids' menu. As I said we did initially have a problem at BB but when I said we wouldn't order the server changed his mind pretty fast and let her order from the kids' menu and we had no problems at all ordering from the kids' menu at CO or CC. At AG she wanted the tri-tip so we gladly paid the adult price for her. We've never had any kinds of issues ordering her ( or ME) a kids' meal at CS places. :)
 
With CS restaurants there shouldn't be a problem. I just came back from DL on Sunday, and during my time there at Kids meals at different CS without any questions as I"m a small eater. I would say that the Plaza Inn has the best KM and Rancho do Zocalo the worst. Redd Rockets Pizza Port had the smallest portions, but it was good anyway.
 


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