3 year olds-to pay or not to pay?

[dana1003]

ok before everyone jumps down my throat let me explain myself...we will be in wdw in oct w/3 year old twins..it doesnt make any sense to me to make them pay for a kids meal when i know they are not going to eat all of it. i dont want to waste food. they barely eat a shared kids meal so to me this seems wasteful and unresponsible. there are 4 adults going and i think between all of us thats enough food. the age range of 3-9 is pretty broad. you cant compare at 3 years olds appetite with that of a nine year old.anyone else agree?

 

[J and R's mom]

Are you talking about purchasing (or not purchasing, rather) a dining plan for them since neither of them would eat enough to justify the cost? Or are you talking about not paying for them at a restaurant that has a buffet that you would be paying cash for?

Either way, I understand not wanting to pay for two them, especially since neither of them will eat enough to justify it. But will they be happy with the adult food? As long as you steer clear of the items on the children's buffets and don't get any more food than you normally would if you were just ordering for yourselves, then there is no harm done.

 

[erikthewise]

This is only an issue at fixed price meals, including character meals.

At a menu restaurant, just order what you want. If you want to order one children's meal, or none, and share among yourselves, that's fine.

At a fixed price meal, you pay according to age, not according to appetite. If you don't like the rules, don't go. For a child's meal at a character meal, you pay a lot more for the entertainment than for the food.

If you feel like you're not getting a good value, again you don't have to go. But remember your twins will be 9 someday, and you can come back then for a better deal.

 

[tluvstink]

As long as you don't go to a buffet or family style meal there isn't a problem. But if you plan on character meals the dining plan might be a good value for the twins.. Either way have fun

Terri

 

[dana1003]

This is only an issue at fixed price meals, including character meals.

At a menu restaurant, just order what you want. If you want to order one children's meal, or none, and share among yourselves, that's fine.

At a fixed price meal, you pay according to age, not according to appetite. If you don't like the rules, don't go. For a child's meal at a character meal, you pay a lot more for the entertainment than for the food.

If you feel like you're not getting a good value, again you don't have to go. But remember your twins will be 9 someday, and you can come back then for a better deal.

im talking about a character meal and honestly i dont think its the entertainment we're paying for..we can see characters all over the park..we happen to like the food at some of these places and paying the extra 25 is ridiculous..let them kick me out if they dont like my choice.

 

[IWISHFORDISNEY]

I dont understand how you are going to do this. If you book your room with the dining plan included they will count on the ressies as children. Hence you have to purchase the tickets/plan for them. If you just go to the restaurant (no plan) the server will ask their age. I have never known a buffet to let the child eat for free when they are of charging age. Most servers will ask the child how old they are. My son (2) gets this all the time because he is so big for his age. When they realize he still talks baby gibberish they beleive me that he just turned 2. I guess I dont get your point kick me out if you want. Either you choose to eat there or you dont.

 

[asmarykay]

If you have already decided how you feel on the subject (obviously - pretty stongly) - then why ask others opinion? It seems like you are just trying to get justification for what is obviously outside the boundries.

At a buffet or character dining experience - you will be charged per the age of each person attending. You could lie about the age of your twins - but that is clearly not the right thing to do.

 

[dana1003]

staying offsite, not getting dining plan.my choice.
no more replies..this is ridiculous.unsubscribing.

 

[casaazul]

Weird ... asks a question, doesn't like the answer... Sorry, but we don't make the rules at Disney, Disney does.

We were just trying to help.

On a happy note.... here's a pretty photo.....

Enjoy!

 

[Hodder]

If you have already decided how you feel on the subject (obviously - pretty stongly) - then why ask others opinion? It seems like you are just trying to get justification for what is obviously outside the boundries.

At a buffet or character dining experience - you will be charged per the age of each person attending. You could lie about the age of your twins - but that is clearly not the right thing to do.

I agree, why ask the question? Anyway OP unsubscribed what does that tell you.... I want to ask a question but unless you are going to agree with me or tell me what I want to hear then don't answer...my response don't ask questions, just do what youa re going to do cause not gonna justify you breaking rules so you can feel better about yourself.

 

[tiggersmom2]

im talking about a character meal and honestly i dont think its the entertainment we're paying for..we can see characters all over the park..we happen to like the food at some of these places and paying the extra 25 is ridiculous..let them kick me out if they dont like my choice.

I think you should just stick to CS restaurants and get your entertainment in the parks. Seriously, if 25 dollars is that big of an issue and that big of a strain on your budget..... you might want to rethink your WDW vacation altogether and go to someplace like six flags or something. Just a thought.

 

[dcgrumpy]

staying offsite, not getting dining plan.my choice.
no more replies..this is ridiculous.unsubscribing.

alrighty then

 

[tluvstink]

Well for the record I feel the OPs pain. The first time we took my DDs to WDW they were 3 & 6. I wanted to go to a character meal but didn't feel like they would eat enough. And truth be told they weren't interested in meeting the characters. Crazy I know So for that trip we had one TS dinner at San Angel Inn and stuck with CS for the rest of the trip. And yes folks we had a great time!
Out next trip they were older and we had the dining plan. We did two character meals and had a blast. At that point they wanted to meet the characters and get autographs.
I guess the point I'm trying to make is if the kids don't care about the characters it's not worth it. Let them see the characters in the parks and go to restaurants that serve better food and will allow you to share. Just my opinion.

Terri

 

[kaytieeldr]

im talking about a character meal and honestly i dont think its the entertainment we're paying for..we can see characters all over the park..we happen to like the food at some of these places and paying the extra 25 is ridiculous..let them kick me out if they dont like my choice.

I'm betting the OP is still reading this thread (despite unsubscribing ), so...

It doesn't matter what the GUEST thinks about the cost or entertainment factor of a meal. What matters is how DISNEY categorizes it. By choosing to bring a child to a meal with a fixed price, the Guest agrees to pay the cost of a meal for that child. Bring two children, pay for two meals, etc.

Next thing you know, Guests are going to want to bring three-year-olds to the Hoop-De-Doo Revue or the Luau for free...

i dont want to waste food. they barely eat a shared kids meal so to me this seems wasteful and unresponsible. there are 4 adults going and i think between all of us thats enough food.

And at a restaurant with individual or a la carte pricing, no problem. But EVERY Guest age three or above is required to PAY for food at buffets or family-style meals. Period. You don't like the policy, don't patronize the restaurant.

 

[dcgrumpy]

ok before everyone jumps down my throat let me explain myself...we will be in wdw in oct w/3 year old twins..it doesnt make any sense to me to make them pay for a kids meal when i know they are not going to eat all of it. i dont want to waste food. they barely eat a shared kids meal so to me this seems wasteful and unresponsible. there are 4 adults going and i think between all of us thats enough food. the age range of 3-9 is pretty broad. you cant compare at 3 years olds appetite with that of a nine year old.anyone else agree?

im talking about a character meal and honestly i dont think its the entertainment we're paying for..we can see characters all over the park..we happen to like the food at some of these places and paying the extra 25 is ridiculous..let them kick me out if they dont like my choice.

How is it wasteful? At a character meal you choose how much food to put on yur plate.

 

[GOOFY4DONALD]

I can understand how upsetting this can be. My DD9 (will be 10) barely eats enough to keep a bird alive but I still pay for an adult meal. My DD7, if hungry enough, can eat more than an adult. So I guess it does balance out but it is still upsetting. That be said these are the rules and they are not just Disney rules. We have a large chain buffet that charges by the age. My 9 year old pays the most (of my kids) and eats the least. There have been times that I refused to pay for her to eat so little...I went somewhere else.

 

[GOOFY4DONALD]

How is it wasteful? At a character meal you choose how much food to put on yur plate.

This is why I love buffets for little kids. Sometimes my DS wants to eat only melon and crackers. Sometimes he wants steak...if he is happy with what he is eating the meal is that much better for the rest of us.

 

[ldo]

Unless they are under 3, you have to pay per head at character meals--she can do what she wants, but I can't imagine that they won't charge her. Is anyone honestly paying $20+ for eggs and waffles, no, it's the character "entertainment."

 

[MichiganMomto4]

ok before everyone jumps down my throat let me explain myself...we will be in wdw in oct w/3 year old twins..it doesnt make any sense to me to make them pay for a kids meal when i know they are not going to eat all of it.

On that same theory why pay for park tickets when you know they won't be able to ride half the rides?? (insert sarcasm).

Disney sets it's prices, age limits and rules because THEY CAN. If you don't like it, go somewhere else.

I'm not thrilled that my 10 year old DD is considered an adult at Disney either but they tell me she is according to them. I bet she eats a lot less than the OPs twins combined.

 

[LisaNJ25]

You pay.... We check in on my daughters 3rd birthday and we are paying for her. If you have lite eating do you stop at 4, 5, 6? Does it stink buying my dd a ticket when if I checked in 1 day earlier she would of been free for everything?? yes.. But the rules are in place. I also had to buy her a $30 ticket for the pirate and princess party which I am sure she will sleep though lol