8 year old foodie on the dining plan. Suggestions?

[elleavon]

On our last 2 trips, we've paid $20 or so to have my DD's free dining upgraded to adult status. With our current package, that would cost $170, so she's going to be a child this year. I wouldn't call her a food snob, but she's an adventurous eater , and doesn't want to be eating chicken nuggets and PB&J while her parents dine on a variety of ethnic food, steaks, and seafood. We have several buffets on our to-do list, so I think she will mostly have the same choices we have.
This is what I'm considering for our 8 TS meals:
Teppan Edo (not exactly a buffet, but they should let her eat grown up food, right?)
Crystal Palace
Biergarten
Ohana
Cape May Cafe (This says they have a "kids buffet." Does she HAVE to eat from that or can she gorge herself on steamer clams like the rest of us?
Marrakesh (Our favorite. If the kid's menu doesn't tempt her, I'll pay OOP for her meal.)
Sanaa
Chefs de France
The 3 non-buffet choices all have interesting kid's menu choices.
For quick service, we will look into places that have no kid's menus, or just split our 2 adult choices 3 ways, taking her "kid's" item for a snack for later.
Anyone have any other suggestions? Has anyone found anything "special" on the kid's menus anywhere?

 

[Ava]

At all buffets she can eat anything she wants from the offerings. She won't be limited to the "kids buffet."

Our favorite QS option with no kids menu was Boulangerie Pattisserie in France. DD5 got the quiche florentine and had her pick of any of the desserts in the case.

 

[davedmaine]

Why are you even on the dining plan? You're not doing your wallet any favors and it sounds like a major inconvenience to you. Even if it's free dining, you'd be better off with a room discount.

 

[elleavon]

We have the dining plan through a stay/play/dine package. I have crunched numbers both ways, and we are NOT better off with a room only discount. We enjoy the dining plan, and are happy to have it. I'm just trying to find ways to maximize my daughter's dining enjoyment.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

Upgrade her on the reservation to a 10 year old.

 

[elleavon]

It costs $170 more for her to be a 10 year old. In the past, when it was $20, I upgraded her. I don't think it's worth $170 this time, especially when we have so many buffets planned.
I know what I'm paying for our dining plans. I was just hoping someone had noticed something on a kid's menu somewhere that we might find interesting and could look into.

 

[elleavon]

At all buffets she can eat anything she wants from the offerings. She won't be limited to the "kids buffet."

Our favorite QS option with no kids menu was Boulangerie Pattisserie in France. DD5 got the quiche florentine and had her pick of any of the desserts in the case.

Thank you, Ava! That was the kind of advice I was looking for.

 

[figment_jii]

Teppan Edo (not exactly a buffet, but they should let her eat grown up food, right?)

Teppan Edo is not a buffet and it has a menu. So I would assume that if you're going to use a kids credit for her there, she'd have to order from the children's menu.
http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/dining/diningdetail.cfm?restaurant.id=95

 

[elleavon]

Teppan Edo is not a buffet and it has a menu. So I would assume that if you're going to use a kids credit for her there, she'd have to order from the children's menu.
http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/dining/diningdetail.cfm?restaurant.id=95

Got it, thanks! The kid's menu is the same kind of food as the adults. I'm guessing the children's food is prepared on the teppan grill with the adults'.

 

[Ava]

Thank you, Ava! That was the kind of advice I was looking for.

You're welcome. We're a family of vegetarians, so we sought out the menus that are more than just chicken nuggets & burgers.

The QS lunch at Be Our Guest has a lot of good choices on the kids menu. The only negative is that the kids can't choose one of the specialty cupcakes as their dessert. (We used a snack credit there to get DD5 her own cupcake.)

Sunshine Seasons at Epcot is another good one.

 

[plutolovr]

We have the dining plan through a stay/play/dine package. I have crunched numbers both ways, and we are NOT better off with a room only discount. We enjoy the dining plan, and are happy to have it. I'm just trying to find ways to maximize my daughter's dining enjoyment.

If you have Stay, Play and Dine, then everyone should be paying the child's price for the dining plan, no? It should not cost you anything extra.

 

[elleavon]

If you have Stay, Play and Dine, then everyone should be paying the child's price for the dining plan, no? It should not cost you anything extra.

That's what I thought too! But apparently, that's not "exactly" how they're calculating the discount this year.

 

[FigmentFinder]

I would share 2 adult credits at CS. Two big meals and 2 desserts should be enough to share. Then you can save the CS credit for breakfast.

 

[smiths02]

I haven't personally eaten at these places, but several of the value and moderate resorts appear to have kids meals that are smaller versions of adult meals.

Not anything fancy, but, for example, POR has the following in the food court
Freshly Sliced Beef - with Roasted Potatoes and Vegetables(Dinner only) $6.99
Freshly Sliced Ham - with Roasted Potatoes and Vegetables(Dinner only) $6.99
Freshly Sliced Turkey - with Roasted Potatoes and Vegetables (Dinner only) $6.99

Using the kid credit for breakfast or snacks is also a good option.


(As far as package price, are you staying in a value and getting the DDP? I wonder if you age her up if you have to pay the ticket price and the price to upgrade from QSDP to DDP?)

 

[JoyW]

That's what I thought too! But apparently, that's not "exactly" how they're calculating the discount this year.

We upgraded two of our kids' ages last year with the free dining promotion, and it was simply the cost of the child to adult ticket upgrade. This version of SPD is definitely different, though. I checked yesterday to see how much it would be to have them on the adult plan and it was a $300 difference. If they don't have enough food, they can share mine.

 

[elleavon]

We upgraded two of our kids' ages last year with the free dining promotion, and it was simply the cost of the child to adult ticket upgrade. This version of SPD is definitely different, though. I checked yesterday to see how much it would be to have them on the adult plan and it was a $300 difference. If they don't have enough food, they can share mine.

I concur! We always have plenty of food. And $170 (or $300 in your case!) buys a lot of extra sides and/or Mickey ice cream bars...
We already had a lot of buffets on our to-do list, and CS should be little or no issue. We usually only get 2 CS meals (for the 3 of us) at a time because the portions are so ample.

 

[JaimeK]

I'm sad that so many restaurants' kids meals are so out of line with the adult menu. I GET making "safe" options for picky kids but can't there be more options for adventurous eaters also?
We've booked a lot of buffets for our upcoming trip. Seemed the best way to get some variety of food options.

 

[maxiesmom]

It costs $170 more for her to be a 10 year old. In the past, when it was $20, I upgraded her. I don't think it's worth $170 this time, especially when we have so many buffets planned.
I know what I'm paying for our dining plans. I was just hoping someone had noticed something on a kid's menu somewhere that we might find interesting and could look into.

If she likes fish, my niece loves the salmon over at the Grand Floridian Cafe. And the decor seems to appeal to her not so inner princess too!

 

[elleavon]

We have looked over some menus and I think we're all pretty excited about what we can all find to eat. There may be a few times Hannah can't have the sophisticated choices she wants, but for the most part, we will all be satisfied. We have several buffets we want to try this time. The next time we go, Hannah will probably be a Disney "adult" so we won't have a choice about child's menu vs. adult.

 

[Figmentmommy]

Got it, thanks! The kid's menu is the same kind of food as the adults. I'm guessing the children's food is prepared on the teppan grill with the adults'.

Yes. Items from the children's menu are similar to the adult menu and are prepared the same. This restaurant has become a family fave - we have two very big and adventurous eaters who definitely prefer to eat adult type food- even when they were very young. Sounds like this kind of meal will work for you too! Enjoy!