2 year old at a buffet?

[Harmonysmomma]

We have been there 2x and never had any problems.

 

[ryanshana]

Did I just get lucky?

We went in Sept & Dec. DS 26mo & 29 mo; other DS 10 mo & 13 mo. We went to in sept chef mickey, play and vine (breakfast), hoop dee doop, luau, tuskar's & ohana in Sept 08 and in Dec 08 we went to crystal palace & play and vine (lunch). Not once did we get charged for our children. While the younger one did eat off my plate my oldest got his own plate and his pick of anything at the buffets. When we were at Crystal Palace I even asked if he had to stick to what was marked as Children's Choices. CM said no he can get anything. When the bill came we were asked if we were on the ddp we would say yes but DSs were under 2. Ok. Never ever got charge.

However, I believed I got charged for their milks and juices.

Also everywhere else non buffet I did have to pay for a kid's meal.

now you all got me worried for my next trip!

 

[TeresaG]

We went when my DS was 2yrs old and never had a problem with him getting his own plates at Crystal Palace or Chef Mickeys. They even gave him his own drink with no charge.

At Ohana they even brought him out his own kids meal without charging us. I felt pretty bad about that since he ended up eating mostly salad and noodles and not his mac and cheese, but we were treated very well for having a 2yr old not on the DDP.

 

[3SillyKids]

What about bringing in a toddler plate from home? The whole visual of this is pretty funny with twins. No way would I put food on a table or a placemat, all the juices mixing together & running all over the table, my little ones are gross enough as it is that would be a nightmare lol

 

[Disneychix]

We went to CP, Chef Mickey's and Boma last Sept with a 19 month old. He did have his own plate (although I think I gave him a little plate from the kids side!) and I brought his own cup of milk in with us. He sat in his highchair the whole meal. We weren't charged at any of these place.
We are going back in March and DS will be 26 months. I am scared now that he may look older and they might try to charge us at CP. I guess I'll be paying close attention to the bill.

 

[Tricia1972]

I just went through this post and 18 people report no problems in multiple trips, and only two people state that they've had issues. One specifically at specific buffets, and one who wasn't specific.

If I were going with a toddler (which I will be in January 2010) I would NOT worry about being charged.

In all of the threads like this (and there's usually one every few weeks), no others have posted ever having an issue, and even on this thread where some have had issues - they are still in the minority.

 

[mmorris72]

We were just in disneyworld this past December and we had 2 kids under the age of 3 and we weren't charged for any of our buffets or drinks.

Michele

 

[lillykat]

We had our 15 month old at Chef Mickey's, Ohana, and crystal palace end of Sept 2008/beginning of Oct 2008. All three places she had her own plate (we ordered her grilled cheese and fries at Ohana) and she got milk with each meal and dessert at Ohana and not once were we charged anything for her.

We did order her meals off the children's menu at the other sit down restaurants (non buffet, non family style) and there she was charged for food and her milk as we expected.

Our server told us at the three places above that children under 3 eat free. I do believe however they can charge for drinks but they didn't.

 

[aceys_h0ney]

We had no problems at Crystal Palace or Ohana. At Crystal Palace the waitress even specifically told us that our baby would eat free since she was under two and to fix her anything she would like. I do not understand the logic behind the plate thing, you are paying for the food and the child is eating the food not the plate. Sounds like some people at Disney were majorly confused or in a bad mood.

 

[Braxtonsmom03]

Sueellen,
I have a question for you?....
I read that you were able to change your child to 3 on your reservation so that she could enjoy a meal without the "harrasment" also I'm guessing that she also got her own cs? I was wondering can you do this no matter what your childs age is(of course under 3) I only ask becuase when we go in September my nephew will almost be 3 and he's a big eater along with the fact that I will have almost 2 yr old twins and would rather them "count" so they can enjoy cs and ts other then buffetts without having to pay out of pocket.... BUT, we are going during the hopefully free dinning period and I'm wondering if I change my reservation now to show their age as older if that will affect me since they will be getting everything for free????

Any advice anyone??????

Thank you

 

[RMulieri]

Sueellen,
I have a question for you?....
I read that you were able to change your child to 3 on your reservation so that she could enjoy a meal without the "harrasment" also I'm guessing that she also got her own cs? I was wondering can you do this no matter what your childs age is(of course under 3) I only ask becuase when we go in September my nephew will almost be 3 and he's a big eater along with the fact that I will have almost 2 yr old twins and would rather them "count" so they can enjoy cs and ts other then buffetts without having to pay out of pocket.... BUT, we are going during the hopefully free dinning period and I'm wondering if I change my reservation now to show their age as older if that will affect me since they will be getting everything for free????

Any advice anyone??????

Thank you

If they are 3 for the dining plan, then they are also 3 for park tickets and will require them.You can not get away with only increasing their age just for the dining plan, even if it is free since prk tickets are required( at leasta 1 day per person)

 

[MayzDisney4]

We have always had a toddler with their own plate and were never charged for the meal because they had a plate in front of them.

 

[Iott Family]

I just went through this post and 18 people report no problems in multiple trips, and only two people state that they've had issues. One specifically at specific buffets, and one who wasn't specific.

If I were going with a toddler (which I will be in January 2010) I would NOT worry about being charged.

In all of the threads like this (and there's usually one every few weeks), no others have posted ever having an issue, and even on this thread where some have had issues - they are still in the minority.

I think Tricia said it best. Dont panic ladies. OP had a bad experience but its not typical or a commonly encountered issue. In the lasy 5 years of WDW vacation we have had atleast one under 3 and have eaten at buffets, TS and CS and never had any issues. If you make ressies for a child not yet 3 but you say they are 3 you will be charged and you will have to pay for ticket admission into the parks. Why complicate your life this way? Chances are in your favor that if your child is under 3 you wont be charged at buffets if your child has their own plate of food. Heck, our last visit in Oct 2007 we had breakie at CP and our server told us to grab an apple, banana or muffin on our way out for a mid morning snack. We were a party of 8 with 4 kids one 3 and one a year old and the other two 9 and 10 1/2. No issues.

 

[Suellen]

We are AP holders so we didn't have tickets with our room period. So changing her age didn't effect that.

I am NOT saying that every place will charge you ~ I am saying be prepared that there will be the occasional CM who is going to interpret the rules exactly as they are written and you may be charged. Pay attention to your bill when you get it ~ pay attention to your TS meals ~ because even though they state you can't share ~ at CS we were charged an adult meal for the children's meal we ordered and asked to have charged to our room ~ even though there was no child on our meal plan.

I am just sharing what happened to me ~ what I was told by GS.

Be prepared, pay attention, know the rules before you try to argue your point with the CM and you won't have a problem.

We happened to run into two CM on that same trip that charged us. It cost me 159$ to add her for 8 nights for the next trip and it was WORTH it for us. That is all I am saying. No need to panic.

 

[carmie3377]

We've been three times with DS2 - 9 mos, 21 months, and 2.5 years. The buffets/all you care to eat we've done were CP, CM, Boma, and CRT and NOT once were we charged even though he had his own plate. They even brought him a drink for free - without us asking. Even at CRT where they serve you your food, the server just brought out his plate and indicated that since he was under 3, it would be free.

 

[Faldred]

DS3, when he was 13 months old (the last time we went), got his own plate/drink/etc. at Hollywood & Vine for free. (And actually, it was the one time all trip he actually ate anything of note.)

This was OOP, as we weren't on any dining plan (staying offsite).

 

[hoosiergirl7]

We only took DS once when he was under the age of 3 and were never charged for anything he ate at buffets. Now that he's 5 we pay for everything!!

And I don't get this whole paying for a plate thing if you want to give your child food from your plate and not put it on the table. We never had issues with that either.

 

[Suellen]

yeah I am lying.

Maybe I have the receipts someplace and I can scan them along with her birth certificate to prove it to you.

Now I wish they had replied through email instead of a phone call.

 

[Tricia1972]

yeah I am lying.

Maybe I have the receipts someplace and I can scan them along with her birth certificate to prove it to you.

Now I wish they had replied through email instead of a phone call.

Nobody has accused you of lying, I hope you don't feel that way. In fact one other person has said that something similar happened to them.

Mostly people here are reporting that this hasn't ever happened to them and assuring others that though this mistake happened for you, it's quite rare.

I think so many are reporting their positive experiences at buffets because of the strong reaction to what happened to you. Several people were going to go to Walmart to buy special items to make buffets possible for them and bring their own plates to buffets to avoid charges. That seems like an extreme step for many to take because of two isolated incidents.

Your advice to watch receipts is good. It's also good that others can share their positive experiences at Disney buffets, which thankfully sound much more common than the shoddy treatment you received.

 

[Suellen]

I certainly do feel that way ~ and as though my experience has been minimized.

The rules CLEARLY state that the child MUST share from an Adults Plate. That is rule ~ if you don't follow it ~ then you should be prepared to pay.

Good luck to everyone ~ hope you don't have to pay ~ but when I go this time now that I understand the rules explained to me by the CM ~ I am going to follow what it says and feed my 21 month old off my plate. I will not be making her her own plate at the buffet since that is not what is supposed to be free. Since she is a bird I won't buy her a dining plan like I did with my older child who does eat a lot.

JMHO and what I now understand to be the right thing to do.