10 year old who doesn't eat much

[disneydave2003]

We will be traveling with a 10 year old who doesn't eat much ALL. we don't even think she'll eat much off the kids menu. anyway, I know adult prices at meals start at age 10 and we are not on ddp so there are a couple of ?'s:


-can she order off kids menu and pay kid price if she does order off kid menu?
-will she have to pay adult price at Ohana dinner and character buffets?
-when we order, do they ask the child's age? Do we tell the child's age as we order? How does it work when not on ddp?

 

[TDC Nala]

Most if not all a la carte restaurants do not care if your child is 10 and you are ordering a children's menu meal. There've been some incidents where servers said you couldn't do it. I remember the Plaza restaurant and Yak & Yeti mentioned.

will she have to pay adult price at Ohana dinner and character buffets?

Yes. At any buffet, family style or fixed price restaurant where there is a per person charge instead of a la carte menu ordering, she will be under adult pricing.

when we order, do they ask the child's age? Do we tell the child's age as we order? How does it work when not on ddp?

No idea if anyone will ask the child's age. Maybe they will, maybe they won't.

 

[crashbb]

If not on the DDP, she can order from the children's menu (and pay that price) at most restaurants (there are some reports not this not being allowed and some restaurants).

She does have to pay the adult price at any buffet and 'Ohana.

 

[TDC Nala]

Deleting posts that suggest breaking Disney's age rules by saying your child is younger than they are. Unless you are at a buffet there should be no reason for doing that, and Disney's rules are 10 and up are adults at fixed price restaurants, no matter how much they will eat. If that's what this thread turns out to be about doing, it'll need to be closed.

 

[Altoqueenkelly]

I dont see where it would be an issue at all if she orders off of the childrens menu, most places outside of Disney offer childrens menus to all children 12 and under.

I see that you would have to pay adult pricing when going to a buffet tho, really no way around that one unless you lie and that is a horrible lesson to teach your child not to mention against the rules!!!

 

[3Minnies1Mickey]

-when we order, do they ask the child's age? Do we tell the child's age as we order? How does it work when not on ddp?

I can't say specifically for WDW, but in Disneyland they do ask the ages of the children at buffets (how many 3-9, how many under 3.....).

 

[jdisnut]

In your situation, it seems wise for you to avoid buffet and family-style meals altogether! Unless you lie about your child's age -- something I certainly would not condone -- you will have to pay the adult price at places like 'Ohana. At traditional table-service locations, you should have absolutely no problem ordering off the children's menu for your daughter. There are plenty of kids her age that are still uncomfortable with the "grown-up" menu, and Disney will certainly accommodate them.

 

[smiths02]

At places that are not buffets or AYCE...you could also share food or order her an appetizer as her meal if they refuse to do kids meals.

 

[pixarmom]

I can't say specifically for WDW, but in Disneyland they do ask the ages of the children at buffets (how many 3-9, how many under 3.....).

In our experience, they do the same at WDW. If we already entered their ages online for our ADR, they usually confirm the ages when we check in for fixed-price meals (like Ohana and Garden Grill) and buffets. We have a pre-schooler in addition to two pre-teen "Disney adults" so they bring out both the regular and kids' items at Ohana and Garden Grill. But the CMs always tell us that we can have more of the kids' items if our pre-teens want them.

We've done four WDW trips and one DL trip in the past year with two TS ADRs per day. One of our pre-teens ordered from the children's menu at every TS meal with no problems. Sometimes, the CM will offer our pre-teen boys both menus.

As mentioned, however, posters occasionally report an exception. Our pre-teen son ordered from the Yak and Yeti kids' menu in February, so I wonder if it's not any particular restaurant's official policy but just the CM.

P.S. With pre-teen "Disney adults," we select our buffets and fixed price meals more carefully now. We still do Garden Grill for dinner because the boys enjoy the characters and it's a family tradition, but that's the only fixed price dinner still in our rotation. Our other fixed price meals are breakfasts at Ohana, Tusker House and/or Cape May because breakfast is a better value for us right now.

 

[scrapbookmomma74]

I was under the impression that you don't have to have everyone in your party on the dining plan. If that is the case, you could just get the dining plan for you and your husband, and share food with her or order her something small and pay out of pocket for it.
The only issue with that is you would have to avoid buffets. My husband and I have found that many of the counter meals are large enough for us to share as well, so you might have extra counter meal credits if you do that.
Good luck!

 

[crashbb]

I was under the impression that you don't have to have everyone in your party on the dining plan. If that is the case, you could just get the dining plan for you and your husband, and share food with her or order her something small and pay out of pocket for it.
The only issue with that is you would have to avoid buffets. My husband and I have found that many of the counter meals are large enough for us to share as well, so you might have extra counter meal credits if you do that.
Good luck!

Unless things have changed very recently, everyone in the room needs to be on the same package (i.e. you either all have the plan or none of you have the plan).

 

[jc040404]

I can't say specifically for WDW, but in Disneyland they do ask the ages of the children at buffets (how many 3-9, how many under 3.....).

Everytime we've checked into a buffet meal at WDW, we've been asked or they confirm whatever was entered when the ADR was made. "2 adults, one infant, and one child?" kind of question. We never use the DDP.

 

[LilyWDW]

Unless things have changed very recently, everyone in the room needs to be on the same package (i.e. you either all have the plan or none of you have the plan).

That is correct. Everyone in the room will need to have the same package. This includes tickets and dining plan.

They will ask the age at all you can eat and buffets. So anyone over 10 will have to pay as an adult. There is no getting around it without breaking the rules set forth by Disney.

 

[TDC Nala]

I was under the impression that you don't have to have everyone in your party on the dining plan.

Not sure where that impression came from, but it is not correct. Everyone registered on a room reservation, age 3 or over, must have the dining plan if the party wants it. It's all or nothing with the dining plan.

 

[MomofKatie]

We have a 12 year old who until very recently has had a very small appetite. We used to do lots of character meals, but since she became a Disney "adult", we have not eaten at any buffets or family style restaurants. We figure until she is old enough to make it worth the adult price, we will stick with places where we can order off the menu. Luckily, she doesn't care too much about character meals anymore, so we can get away with waiting a few more years until we go back to Disney buffets.

 

[Donald is #1]

I'm reading these posts with interest since I will be taking my very picky 12 year old niece in August. My sister and I spent a long time picking out some TS meals that my niece and I can do since I would prefer not to eat all CS meals. We did find something for each day. However, my niece may be ordering off of the kids menu at times. If she does order off of the kids menu, I may end up ordering two meals for her since the amount of food in the kids meals is a bit small for her.

 

[TDC Nala]

Some restaurants will do a larger portion of a kids' meal and charge more for it. Ask at the restaurant.

 

[Donald is #1]

Some restaurants will do a larger portion of a kids' meal and charge more for it. Ask at the restaurant.

Awesome, thanks for the suggestion! My niece is probably 5' 7'' and definitely has an adult appetite.

 

[kmedina]

My son does not eat very much at any particular meal either. He tends to eat very small portions many times a day. We went to DisneyWorld right after he turned 3. I usually do not take him to under 3 buffets back home (since I am not really a fan of buffets anyway and do not like to pay for someone who does not really eat). I had no problem taking him to buffets at DisneyWorld, since we bought the deluxe plan (even though I will not buy the plan if he still eats very little at age 10, since it makes him an adult at $78.99 instead of a kid at $21.99 a day).

I would suggest you try to avoid buffets and family style meals this trip, so you do not leave with buyer's remorse. If there is one you must try like 'Ohanas or Chef Mickey's, just try to limit it to one or two. Table service restaurants do not typically ask the age of the kid before ordering a kid's meal. If they do, I would answer honestly. They will probably still allow her to order the kid's meal.

 

[tobs2]

On our last trip my son only ate chicken strip or nuggets.
good luck