A little dissapointed in Disney's dining

[SmallWorld71]

That sounds like my DD14. She was the same way at that age. She is going with us in May and is currently trying to convince me that she NEEDS to do the Chef's Table at V&A's with us. She was furious that we went last Feb without her. DH told her, "Then you NEED to get a job to pay for it!"

We actually are planning on taking her next October after the cruise for her sixteenth birthday present. She is such a foodie.

This will be my boys once they figure out that there are fancier dining options at Disney. I see my brother, who is a wonderful chef, struggle to find something other than breakfast foods that his kids will eat and I thank my lucky stars that my kids are not super picky. I makes traveling a lot easier. We are planning a trip with my niece and nephew for sometime in the next year or so and I have no idea where we are going to eat.

 

[jodifla]

And for all the folks who don't like the kids menus (and they are pretty lousy): Here's what you need to do: Write WDW and complain about it! Unless they hear about it, OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER again, they are not inclined to change it.

That the King of Kids entertainment can't get a decent kids menu together when Chili's, Applebees, McDonalds, etc. etc. can is just ridiculous, and THEY NEED TO BE REMINDED OF IT CONSTANTLY!

 

[PEANUT1]

I just returned from 12 days on the DDP...I had NO problems with any of the menues. I also don't let my 3 year old dictate what she eats at home. She eats what she is given.

 

[lookingforward]

I think the new kids healthy menus were implemented with the best of intentions....BUT they took it a little too far.

You can make kid friendly food the healthy way..for example: breaded chicken strips or nuggets that are baked as opposed to fried...

I agree with lowering the fat calories but kids NEED a little fat in their diets for good health.

They should offer one or two "healthy meals" along with traditional favorites. Let the PARENTS dictate their children's diets. My child loves sushi, salads and veggies. She also loves chicken nuggets, mac and cheese and pasta. Can't she have both?

 

[momtoBrandon&Jacob]

I just returned from 12 days on the DDP...I had NO problems with any of the menues. I also don't let my 3 year old dictate what she eats at home. She eats what she is given.

Ummm...not sure what the reason is for your rudeness and sarcasm, but I don't see anything in any of the other posts that the parents here let their kids "dictate" to them what they eat. They were simply stating some facts about the lack of choices on the kids menus. Have a great day!

 

[first_time_diser]

I guess I don't know what everyone is talking about here. When I have looked at the kids menus online, they seem to be full of kid junk like fried potato products, burgers, chicken tenders, mac and cheese, PB and J. I am actually appauled that Disney hasn't done more with kid dining seeing as they tend to be the market of choice.

I guess I just taught my 3yr daughter to enjoy healthier foods. She would rather have avacado and cucumber pita sammies than chicken nuggets any day of the week. Healthy foods can taste really good- even to kids if they are prepared with kid taste in mind. I was planning to have my dd share off of my plate mostly b/c she just shouldn't eat so poorly. She will need lots of energy and won't feel good eating french fries twice a day.

 

[PEANUT1]

Ummm...not sure what the reason is for your rudeness and sarcasm, but I don't see anything in any of the other posts that the parents here let their kids "dictate" to them what they eat. They were simply stating some facts about the lack of choices on the kids menus. Have a great day!

not trying to be rude or sarcastic...simply saying that my daughter eats what I give her and I felt the menu choices were good. I liked that I could choose fries sometimes and grapes sometimes. I also saw lots of places with chicken fingers mac and cheese. I did find it funny that some pizza places didn't have pizza on the kids menu.

 

[lookingforward]

I guess I don't know what everyone is talking about here. When I have looked at the kids menus online, they seem to be full of kid junk like fried potato products, burgers, chicken tenders, mac and cheese, PB and J. I am actually appauled that Disney hasn't done more with kid dining seeing as they tend to be the market of choice.

I guess I just taught my 3yr daughter to enjoy healthier foods. She would rather have avacado and cucumber pita sammies than chicken nuggets any day of the week. Healthy foods can taste really good- even to kids if they are prepared with kid taste in mind. I was planning to have my dd share off of my plate mostly b/c she just shouldn't eat so poorly. She will need lots of energy and won't feel good eating french fries twice a day.

My daughter loves healthy foods too. And we eat them at home in a concerted effort to teach her good habits. However, she also enjoys kid food, and I don't really see how chicken nuggets are so much worse than avacodo and cucumber snacks. Chicken has a good portion of protein too which is a crucial part of a childs diet. I am not trying to be snotty, just trying to point out that not all "kid" food is bad if you mix it with good choices....like chicken nuggets and cucumbers/carrots with ranch dressing and fresh fruit. What exactly is not healthy about that? (okay...make that low fat ranch dressing

 

[mom*to*2*princesses]

My kids aren't picky eaters and are pretty adventurous when it comes to eating. They were so bored by their lack of choices over the course of our 8 day vacation. I wouldn't want to eat grapes, carrots, or applesauce at every lunch and dinner for 8 days. I wouldn't call PB&J uncrustables extremely healthy, either. And the desserts didn't help - they were very uninspired. That's it in a nutshell--uninspiring.

We will not being doing the dining plan again. No way.

 

[jenniferma]

I sort of think the opposite way-- in terms of the dining plans-- my DH wants to consider the deluxe plan for our next trip..

we have the pickiest eater (DD4) and find that buffets work so well with her-- lots of fresh fruit and kid friendly options IMO. We are actually much better off at TS restaurants than CS.. because if we take her to a McDonalds she eats-- french fries. So we don't eat at McDonalds for this very reason (besides the fact that I can't do fried stuff due to gallbladder issues)

To the posters above that don't have picky kids-- you are so lucky ! We have one that will try pretty much anything-- loves calamari, clam chowder etc.. but still doesn't like the red meat or grilled chicken.

Be glad you don't have to deal with these issues! I never thought it would be this difficult and I guess I should have nipped it in the bud years ago? but even if I would have tried.. I still think she has issues with food.

have a great day everyone- jen

 

[Tinkerspell]

I guess I have mutant kids too because they could care less about chicken fingers. We had to book buffets so that DS8 could have his shrimp, salmon and mahi mahi. There was no way he was going to be happy with pizza or pasta while his brother was chowing on the yummy adult options. (Although DD4 was lured to the dark side by all the mac & cheese and ice cream and forgot that she eats a good variety at home.) I will agree that the kids choices are very limited though. I find the food courts have a good variety of CS choices for kids.

This sounds like my daughter! Last year she was on the kid's DDP and let me tell you, she was NOT happy that she was getting stuck with the kids menu when the rest of the family was chowing on steak, ribs, duck and lamb. Not happy one bit. (Now bear in mind, the girl normally begs for chicken nuggets on a daily basis.) She was so happy to be on the adult version this year she practically danced.

 

[disneygirl29]

My kids will eat pretty much anything you put in front of them (you never be able to tell that they have such healthy appetites as they are so slim and slight-- lol) they will eat fruit, veggies, well rounded meals, and they will eat chicken fingers, pizza, burgers and fries, just as easily-- we pick places that allow them to have some choices... to me it is all about balance... we are eatting at coral reef-- which offers mahi mahi in the kids meal, and my kids will love that, san angels inn which has Quesadilla and my kids love those with chicken, Garden grill which they can eat from the family style platter there with turkey or flank steak and the best sweet butter and bread and steamed veggies.. yummy...or choose the kids selection---cp and 1900 which are both buffets so the kids really LOVE those places, as the selection is wonderful, we also are eating at Teppan Eto-- where it is basically just smaller portions of the adult menu and kona which is ok...

the good part is that we have a 12 and 13yr old who are on the adult plan, plus 3 adults (my mom, myself and my sister) so we also share and everyone tries a little of everyones meal-- part of the fun of DDP trying things we maybe wouldn't normally try... so we all eat well... and like I said all within balance... if they want a burger or chicken fingers that is fine as long as for lunch they had something pretty good... or that all week they haven't had burgers and fries... the ddp for the kids is great because they like to be able to choose what they want and notbe concerned about price etc... they feel pretty grown up! we love because it is usually a pretty great deal (we would spend that much out of pocket without the plan, but not do a TS each night-- so we eat better (healthier) with the plan... although on the flip side we eat more (ugh) and meals take longer!lol!

It is vacation so I let the kids drink pop if they want (usually they don't) and they have snack and treats lol! it is only 8 days out of the year....

 

[deelam]

I guess I don't know what everyone is talking about here. When I have looked at the kids menus online, they seem to be full of kid junk like fried potato products, burgers, chicken tenders, mac and cheese, PB and J. I am actually appauled that Disney hasn't done more with kid dining seeing as they tend to be the market of choice.

I guess I just taught my 3yr daughter to enjoy healthier foods. She would rather have avacado and cucumber pita sammies than chicken nuggets any day of the week. Healthy foods can taste really good- even to kids if they are prepared with kid taste in mind. I was planning to have my dd share off of my plate mostly b/c she just shouldn't eat so poorly. She will need lots of energy and won't feel good eating french fries twice a day.

It's great that your kids like healthy stuff. My kids eat very little. My older one does not eat red meat, only chicken. He didn't like the non breaded version that was offered. And the lack of choices had him eating french fries mostly.

I was a little suprised that french fries came with my 4 year olds mac & cheese at sci fi.That really isn't healthy.

 

[Magpie]

I sort of think the opposite way-- in terms of the dining plans-- my DH wants to consider the deluxe plan for our next trip..

we have the pickiest eater (DD4) and find that buffets work so well with her-- lots of fresh fruit and kid friendly options IMO. We are actually much better off at TS restaurants than CS.. because if we take her to a McDonalds she eats-- french fries. So we don't eat at McDonalds for this very reason (besides the fact that I can't do fried stuff due to gallbladder issues)

To the posters above that don't have picky kids-- you are so lucky ! We have one that will try pretty much anything-- loves calamari, clam chowder etc.. but still doesn't like the red meat or grilled chicken.

Be glad you don't have to deal with these issues! I never thought it would be this difficult and I guess I should have nipped it in the bud years ago? but even if I would have tried.. I still think she has issues with food.

have a great day everyone- jen

I have one who will eat anything you put in front of him, and one who was incredibly picky - she once burst into tears at the sight of a strawberry birthday cake because she only liked chocolate! And just because Someone up there has a sense of humor, the "eats anything" kid has hypoglycemia and isn't allowed to eat anything he wants.

So, what your kid eats and doesn't eat isn't really a reflection of parenting, I don't think.

On the other hand, you'd be surprised how adventurous even the pickiest eater might become after a full day at the theme parks. Disney was our breakthrough moment for our daughter who finally agree to *try* a hamburger, because she was hungry and there were no other options, and announced that maybe meat wasn't so awful after all. She spent the whole trip eating like a bird, but I was doing my happy dance because she was finally trying things she'd never touched before. Even the repetition was good, because after sampling the same food five days in a row, she gradually began to think it might be edible.

Now I've got a kid who will actually eat veggies, chicken and red meat!

So, yeah - your dd may seem impossible right now, but there is hope for picky eaters. Keep offering her choices, insist she try everything on her plate once without complaint (good table manners was a BIG issue in our house!) and teach her to politely say, "No thank you, can I have some a roll instead?" And if a meal or two consists of just one thing - like apple slices, or fries, or bread, don't sweat it.

 

[abolanwoski]

my son eats a lot of things that other kids his age would never dream of eating, so I find the kids menu disappointing in other ways. He (and I) get sick of seeing menu after menu of "kid" food.

Healthy in and of itself isn't a bad thing, it is the lack of variety and options that is frustrating. Last trip I hated that we could only get chicken fingers, hamburger,etc. at most places for him.

I wish the kids menu would better reflect adult menus, just smaller portions

Here, here. I go to different restaurants every day, but more poor kiddo gets the same, stale choices twice daily for a week? Yuck! Why not just offer what's on the grown up menu, only smaller (with some "kid" foods for the ones that want chicken fingers every day)

 

[deelam]

I have to agree with the above posting, the kids get almost the same boring food choices at all the restaurants. I realize that the dining plan is cheap, but I would be willing to pay more for better choices.They were so glad to leave Disney to get normal food.

 

[lizzyb]

I wasn't too happy with either. I dont think I will book on the dining plan again.

 

[G8RFAN]

My son is a picky eater. Chicken - fried or grilled, pasta with tomato sauce, rice, pizza are some of the few things he likes to eat. He hates any sandwiches or burgers and so far hasn't acquired a taste for fish. So, for the most part we are ok with the children's menu as they usually have something he will like. The exception is when you are somewhere with very limited choices. When we were at Disney's WW of Sports a couple of weeks ago, I realized how limited the menu was with the closing of the All Stars restaurant. I couldn't find anything that DS wanted to eat except a mixed fruit cup and fries after looking at the concessions at the stadium and in the Milk House.

 

[sherabby]

I couldn't agree with you MORE! Our DD6 isn't terribly picky-- but hates grilled chicken. I noticed while looking through the menus that many places had either grilled chicken or a hunk of red meat (another non-winner for my kids).

I actually decided a few of the TS restaurants we couldn't eat at due to the children's menus.

I am not usually a buffet lover, but this is one reason we love them at WDW.

Jen

We ate at the backlot cafe in MGM and my son was forced to eat cold grilled chicken off the kids menu. He has food allergies and the cashier would not work with us at all. He ended up eating my meal and I suffered with the cold chicken dish. It was pretty gross for an adult let alone a child. I don't know why it was cold either?

 

[flyingw/tink]

Went in June of 2006 with 5 of my nieces and nephews and several of the restaurants we went to on DDP allowed the kids to order from the Adult menu even though they were on the Kids plan. I am going back in May with my DD4 and had not been concerned until I read this thread. She's a pretty healthy eater but if you give her a choice she like many other children would eat chicken tenders every night of the week. Are they real sticklers now about children ordering from the children's menu or has anyone else found that some restaurants, or should I say some servers, are willing to bend on this?