A little dissapointed in Disney's dining

[hsmamato2]

Yuck....I'm never going to use the dining plan,I never have anyway,but we like to order what we want....for many years i've usually had the kids split a larger adult menu meal most places anyway-as I thought that kids meals everywhere were pretty boring(and overpriced)
I'd rather order the 1/2 chicken meal with mashed potatoes and veggies to split than 2 icky kid cheeseburger meals that are gross.....but I'd be upset too if all my kid wanted on a vacation was nuggets,and was forced into ordering stuff they hated- it IS a vacation after all...
and with all due respect to the parent of the healthy 3 year old......from an "older" parent....give it a few years! Kids are pretty easy to please before they realize there's a whole world of delicious junk food to be had.....
(and my kids have to eat what I give them too..but at WDW, they love it b/c it means more choices than normal,part of the joy of vacation)

 

[Belle5]

I just have to laugh at the "picky eaters" vs. "I teach my kids to eat" thing. As a mom to six sons, I can tell you that my 21 year old and my 4 year old (oldest and youngest) are my "picky" eaters. My 19 yo and my 10 year old are my super adventurous eaters (eating sushi w/ wasabi at 5 yo, etc.) The 15 and 17 year old are in between with some digestive limitations on the 17 year old. I can honestly say, that while the kids can be and should be encouraged to try new things, they are born picky (possibly sensory or digestive issues) or born adventurous. Parents should take almost no "credit" for adventurous eaters--they are a GIFT! Now, you can force (or encourage) your children to try new things and they probably will...and they will LEARN to try things (I have several of those) but those truly adventurous eaters...

My DS4 will be "stretched" next month and probably will be more "negative" about his WDW experience than his brothers were at his age because they were able to have lots of chicken fingers, etc. Oh, well... maybe he will LEARN to try new things. At home, he takes a bite or two of scary stuff and then we will give him some of his comfort food. I am not sure we will have access to that "reward" food there.

 

[Magpie]

Yuck....I'm never going to use the dining plan,I never have anyway,but we like to order what we want....for many years i've usually had the kids split a larger adult menu meal most places anyway-as I thought that kids meals everywhere were pretty boring(and overpriced)
I'd rather order the 1/2 chicken meal with mashed potatoes and veggies to split than 2 icky kid cheeseburger meals that are gross.....but I'd be upset too if all my kid wanted on a vacation was nuggets,and was forced into ordering stuff they hated- it IS a vacation after all...
and with all due respect to the parent of the healthy 3 year old......from an "older" parent....give it a few years! Kids are pretty easy to please before they realize there's a whole world of delicious junk food to be had.....
(and my kids have to eat what I give them too..but at WDW, they love it b/c it means more choices than normal,part of the joy of vacation)

Just gotta say, that's not written in stone! One of my kids is picky, the other turned out to be a real foodie. I don't take any credit for this, but he'd opt for a sliced raw green pepper over an apple any day of the week. And he skips the dip!

He's almost ten, and he gets very annoyed with commercials that imply that kids won't drink milk unless it's got chocolate in it, or that you have to somehow trick children into eating healthy. I point out to him that a lot of kids are like that, and he says, "That's because everyone expects us to be like that! Kids can like good food, too!" He thinks adults underestimate kids, and he feels like they're patronizing him when they make his ketchup green, and mold his meat into cute shapes.

So I'm just saying, that lady's three year old may never want that delicious junk food! It's really hard to tell with kids. My 11yo daughter loves chicken nuggets and fries. My son would rather have sushi and sweet potato strings - he says chicken nuggets taste gross. I actually had to stop him from filling his sister in on exactly how they make them, after he watched Supersize Me.

We're doing buffets, so everyone should be happy.

 

[Magpie]

I just have to laugh at the "picky eaters" vs. "I teach my kids to eat" thing. As a mom to six sons, I can tell you that my 21 year old and my 4 year old (oldest and youngest) are my "picky" eaters. My 19 yo and my 10 year old are my super adventurous eaters (eating sushi w/ wasabi at 5 yo, etc.) The 15 and 17 year old are in between with some digestive limitations on the 17 year old. I can honestly say, that while the kids can be and should be encouraged to try new things, they are born picky (possibly sensory or digestive issues) or born adventurous. Parents should take almost no "credit" for adventurous eaters--they are a GIFT! Now, you can force (or encourage) your children to try new things and they probably will...and they will LEARN to try things (I have several of those) but those truly adventurous eaters...

My DS4 will be "stretched" next month and probably will be more "negative" about his WDW experience than his brothers were at his age because they were able to have lots of chicken fingers, etc. Oh, well... maybe he will LEARN to try new things. At home, he takes a bite or two of scary stuff and then we will give him some of his comfort food. I am not sure we will have access to that "reward" food there.

Agreeing completely! Except in our case, the one child with digestive/medical issues related to food is our adventurous eater. And that's a blessing because it means we have many more options for feeding him than we'd otherwise have. It's really nice to be able to buy him a hunk of Camembert cheese and see his eyes light up like I've just given him a chocolate bar. If he'd been born picky on top of his diet restrictions, it'd have been very sad for all of us.

I think your DS4 will have a fine time at WDW, even if he does find it hard to find food he likes. There's so much more that goes on than just eating! We let our dd pick off our plates, and trade for food she liked better.

Honestly... I'm hoping the children's section at the buffets are open to everyone, because my DD11 would be in heaven if every meal was applesauce and cold chicken. I'd like to just buy her stuff off the children's menu the entire time we're there (we're not on the dining plan).

 

[mama4]

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)

I would love it if they did this. My kids are very different in their eating habits so it would be hard to buy one adult meal for them to share but they would both (ds 5 and ds3) prefer items from the adult menu in most restaurants. Well, ds 5 just will not eat the stuff that WAS on the kids menu except for pizza- no pbj, mac n cheese, chic nuggets, grilled cheese, fries, hot dogs. Ds 3 WILL eat these things but not everyday and PBJ (my only salvation) he wants to be on whole wheat bread like at home-not an Uncrustable (he likes the crust). They will eat the chilled chicken or wraps and they do like carrots and fruit but not EVERYDAY. They also like salad including cole slaw and yogurt and those are never offered as a kids side. Overall, they both do better with a variety-they like things like tacos (or any variation-nachos,burritos, etc.), pasta (but not spaghetti and nothing canned- they like tortellini & penne with pesto), all kinds of fish & other seafood (I couldn't believe they don't have fish on the kids menu at Columbia HH at MK), deli or roll-up sandwiches, chinese (again- they only have PBJ or mac n cheese at Tom Terrace noodle station ), steak (lots of places around here offer a child sized steak-do TS do this at WDW?), tuna sandwiches, rotisserie chicken-stuff like that. I think what it comes down to is that they need a MUCH broader selection for children and they need to put the "kids foods" back on the menu. I don't mind the kids stuff being there because I won't have to fight to keep my kids from eating it everyday- they probably wouldn't ever ask for these kids foods if there was other choices. But there is absolutely NOTHING wrong with families letting their kids eat "what they want" off the menus when on vacation- or for that matter, letting them continue eating like they do at home. They should have the choice and A LOT of kids want those "kids foods". How dissapointing it must be for a kid craving pizza to go to PIZZAFARI and not see it on their menu. And how strange.....
Ultimately, I'd love to be able to say (for example)"I'd like the childs portion of the Mediterranean wrap with couscous and lentil salad at Tangierine Cafe" or "Grilled Mahi at Coral Reef" because I know ds 5 would love these- and then ds 3 would gladly eat grilled chicken and couscous or something similar--- but I can't see that happening. Usually what we do is order ds5 a meal he barely touches and then he eats half of my or his dads meal. Btw, this is one reason I'm looking forward to staying in a condo with a kitchen next trip. We will take lunch to the parks sometimes and might even prepare a meal or two at "home." Good luck everybody! I know it can be frustrating but hopefully we can all find a way to deal with it until WDW figures something else out.

 

[rookie2]

I have three very adventurous eating boys (10, 8, &5) I was very disappointed in the CS meals last year. How many times do they expect a kid to eat chicken nuggets? I wish they would incorporate the restaurant style into the children’s meals (Pizzafari, offer pizza). Luckily I had looked up the menus before we left and knew that buffets were going to best suit our family. There is no way my boys would have watched me eat food from Boma while they had Chicken tenders . The one night we went to Kona café and my boys ordered the grilled chicken, it was absolutely awful, no seasoning at all, & very bland. This year we will only be eating at buffets. Also since our oldest is now on the adult plan he can share his CS with one of his brothers.
Outraged parents unite call, write or e-mail Disney.

 

[debaudrn]

I find this topic amusing every time it comes up. I have 3 kids 14, 17 and 20. I totally agree with the poster who said that kids are born willing to try or picky. I did the same with all 3 of mine. Offered choices from different meats, veggies and "kid" food. All would try two or three bites of new foods. My youngest lived on PB and J for 3 years with the occaisional mac and cheese (but only Kraft) thrown in. Middle one has loved broccoli since she was 2. Oldest- she orders mac and cheese, chicken nuggets and grilled cheese still! She will order a steak or chicken occaisionally, pasta with sauce on the side too! Go figure. As long as they eat something I'm generally happy.
Deb

 

[Belle5]

I have a theory as to why places like Pizzafari stopped offering pizza for kids. Too may adults were ordering off the kids menu to save money. I think they have started offering foods that adults are not going to order such as PBJ (uncrustables) and tiny portions of cold grilled chicken. BTW, I am not referring to just Pizzafari with my examples. I have been on these boards for years and remember countless reports of folks always ordering the kids meals at the CS places. I really think this was a strategic move on WDW part to limit how many adults would order off the kids menus, thus costing WDW profit loss.

 

[Tiger926]

Very interesting discussion. Here are my thoughts:

1) New research is showing that food pickiness is genetic, as well as learned.

2) Kids can only eat what is available to them - if you serve junk food at home and go to McDonald's often, you've introduced them to this type of eating. My 4 year old can't do the groceries by herself, so she has learned to eat the grow food that we buy. Modelling is really important in regards to food issues.

3) U.S. food is full of additives & chemicals in order to make your kids addicted - they crave fat & sugar as that is what our bodies do with these types of foods, so some kids may be incapable of adapting their diets to more healthy options as this is all they know.

4) Everyone knows that U.S. has the highest obesity rates & for the first time in history, you may outlive your children; therefore, Disney should be offering more healthy food choices for this reason alone.

That being said, I always find it funny when parents complain that all their kids will eat is junk food & so Disney should serve more of that, when it was more than likely the parents who introduced this food to them in the first place.

In response to the OP, we too find the kids' meals inadequate in some cases because there is not a lot of variety - not all kids want peanut butter & jelly (our DD4 has never had it), or mushy mac and cheese. There should be a variety of foods to suit all eating types - it's not fair for those who allow their kids to eat unhealthy food demand that's all that is served, just like it wouldn't be fair for me with a healthy eater child to demand all veggies, grilled chicken & soup on the menu. We eat all TS meals, and so we love the variety at buffets (my daughter doesn't eat traditional kid food), but do struggle at many other TS meals due to lack of variety - CRT is one of them, for example.

Perhaps Disney can do more to add more variety to their kids' meals, but, I also think parents need to do a better job of introducing their kids to different options besides McDonald's hamburgers or chicken nuggets, so that kids are able to adapt in situations where there may not be a ton of food variety available to them, such as on vacation.

Happy eating to all, Tiger

 

[micmacmissy]

I also think parents need to do a better job of introducing their kids to different options besides McDonald's hamburgers or chicken nuggets, so that kids are able to adapt in situations where there may not be a ton of food variety available to them, such as on vacation.

I agree with most of your points except that one. My children eat the meals that I serve at home; I do not cook 2 dinners a night so they can eat "kid" food. I introduce them to all different kinds of food.

However, when go on vacation, it's nice to know there are some "safe" options that they will like. It is nice to see the fallback pasta/pizza/burger/chicken nuggets on the menu. Vacation at WDW is not the time to experiment with young kids and eating--I'd rather have them eat what they like, so they're full and can enjoy the day. WDW is geared towards families, so I fully expect the kid food options to be there.

When I take my kids to Italy or Nova Scotia, I promise you, I don't complain that chicken nuggets aren't on the menu. But this is Disney, after all! They have to cater to families with young kids!

 

[Bork]

My son isn't a terribly picky eater, but he has allergies to egg, dairy, and peanuts. It's disappointing to see mac & cheese and PBJ on so many of the kid's menus. And how many kids want salad and cold chicken?

I know the sitdown places can make special foods for kids with allergies, but we don't want to do that every meal. I guess we'll be studying the menus. And we'll probably let him share our meals.

I agree with everyone who wishes the kids meal's would follow the adult meals more. The Biergarten and Yakatori look interesting because the kids meal's are similar to the adult meals. Wish more places did this.

 

[Tiger926]

I agree with most of your points except that one. My children eat the meals that I serve at home; I do not cook 2 dinners a night so they can eat "kid" food. I introduce them to all different kinds of food.

However, when go on vacation, it's nice to know there are some "safe" options that they will like. It is nice to see the fallback pasta/pizza/burger/chicken nuggets on the menu. Vacation at WDW is not the time to experiment with young kids and eating--I'd rather have them eat what they like, so they're full and can enjoy the day. WDW is geared towards families, so I fully expect the kid food options to be there.

When I take my kids to Italy or Nova Scotia, I promise you, I don't complain that chicken nuggets aren't on the menu. But this is Disney, after all! They have to cater to families with young kids!

The problem is though, that what is a 'safe' item to you, may not be to another child. My daughter loves chicken nuggets or bites as we call them, but they are made of white meat and baked, not fried - a very healthy version of the unhealthy versions at McDonald's etc. We don't eat grease, junk food, etc., so my daughter would not eat a fried up chicken nugget either, and that is fine by me as it more than likely wouldn't agree with her anyway. But, since she loves chicken, there are many other chicken options available to her, and this is what I'm talking about. If your kids will only eat chicken nuggets, than I wouldn't say they are chicken eaters and you will more than likely have issues when eating out, but, if they eat many chicken dishes like my daughter - soup, grilled chicken, kebobs, roasted chicken, etc., then eating another chicken item shouldn't be too much of an issue, KWIM.

Tiger

 

[Luvamouse]

I get a little miffed when I read so many critical or 'knowing' postings here when it comes to picky eaters. You can put the food in front of a child, but only they can choose whether or not to eat it. Period. Both of my DD's were offered all of the same food choices growing up. We eat virtually every type of food dining out and a huge variety at home. I raise organic beef and have a large garden. I also raise chickens (for eggs only) and we have finally given up on raising turkeys-- they stink to high heaven! We absolutely have snack food in the house, not a lot, but we have it. Most I have made from scratch and some is pre-packaged for school snacks or portion control.

My DD7 has never eaten meat. Never. She smells it and just puts it down. One day she asked me where meat comes from. I told her animals. She then said, "Don't they have to kill them to get it?" Yes, I said. No discussion, that was the end of that. She has never asked again and probably won't eat it ever. She will live. I call her a pasta-dairian. She will eat a 1/2 dozen veggies, rice, pasta, fruits, cheese and yogurt. PB is her primary protein source. She never fusses or complains when there is nothing she likes. She will go hungry. Since she is a cooperative, helpful child at home and on our farm with chores, schoolwork, etc., I choose to pick my battles. If it means I bring a PB (no jelly) sandwich as a meal to a steak barbecue-- I do it. I don't even mind buying the ticket. I can count on her to eat whatever foods are available that she usually eats, she'll never embarass us. BTW-- her pediatrician says it is fine and she is healthy-- that is the most important thing.

I am blessed with an older DD who eats nearly anything-- but I still can't get her to try sushi! Same house, same foods, same everything-- except they are 2 different children. If you are able to get/coerce/force you child to eat whatever you put in front of them, that is truly wonderful. It pains me to see her love the smell of garlic and chicken cooking but refuse to try it--but I don't want to set her up for problems later on. For me, it is not worth proving anything and offering, suggesting, tasting-- just don't work. Kids are just like all of us adults-- we are all different as they are. (I will admit I am seeking counseling due to her dislike of chocolate...what kind of a mom am I???)

To get back to the original intent of this post-- the kids menus don't work well for many of the kids but for very diverse reasons. Even though my DD has such a limited variety of foods she'll eat, I am all for Disney offering kids meals that reflect the foods served at the individual restaurants along with a couple of blander-- pasta w/w-out sauce, chicken grilled or fried, PBJ for others. All the parents with great suggestions should e-mail Disney to give them something to work with.

OK, now that I have made probably my 1st 'irritated with people' post, I'll go back to enjoying the truly wonderful DIS boards--thanks

 

[hsmamato2]

Just gotta say, that's not written in stone! One of my kids is picky, the other turned out to be a real foodie.

Oh...I agree! both my kids have their moments, but one LOVES sweet things (think organic maple syrup on just about any food)
And the other disdains sweet stuff for mostly spicy,savory foods....
I was just saying as a mom,it was easy to feed them what I wanted (mostly) when they were small,but once they realized those organic rice cakes they were eating for a snack didn't really compare in taste to ...say..a Mickey bar..... KWIM?

 

[Magpie]

I get a little miffed when I read so many critical or 'knowing' postings here when it comes to picky eaters. You can put the food in front of a child, but only they can choose whether or not to eat it. Period. (snipped for space)

I just have to say, that's not how it works in our house. I have a picky eater, too. When she was small, she didn't like meat. At all. And yeah, she'd go hungry rather than eat something she didn't like.

So the rule in our house is that the child can stand beside me while I'm serving the food. He or she can have as large or as small a portion of the different foods as they like. So, if it's steak, mashed cauliflower and green beans on the menu, then my DD11 might choose as little as a mouthful of steak, three or four green beans and a huge heaping helping of cauliflower. But the deal is, she has to eat everything on her plate. Even if she doesn't like it. It's not going to kill her to chew and swallow one tiny cube of beef. Research has shown that it can take many exposures to a particular food before a child learns to tolerate it.

It has taken years, but gradually her food choices are expanding. There's been breakthroughs, like when she discovered she liked fish. She hated them for years, and then one day commented that the grilled salmon wasn't too bad. And then took a slighter larger portion next time. And a year later she was happily eating almost any kind of fish.

I think being a picky eater is something she can work to overcome, with patience, encouragement and support.

 

[crisi]

I found the menus to be pretty much the same. We saw plenty of breaded chicken nuggets on kids CS menus - plenty of french fries (although they were the small print option, along with pop). Disney CS kid menus have always been limited, we thought there were MORE choices this year than in the past. I'd been primed by these board for my kids to get a lot of applesauce and grilled chicken - they didn't see grilled chicken all week.

For sit down, we always found at least one thing on the menu that our picky eater would eat. There was always something in the "obvious kid food" - plus choices for more adventerous eating. Which was great - my picky eater tried mahi mahi one night. (She mostly drank the mango smoothy - but she TRIED the mahi mahi).

 

[hipchickie]

I just have to say, that's not how it works in our house. I have a picky eater, too. When she was small, she didn't like meat. At all. And yeah, she'd go hungry rather than eat something she didn't like.

So the rule in our house is that the child can stand beside me while I'm serving the food. He or she can have as large or as small a portion of the different foods as they like. So, if it's steak, mashed cauliflower and green beans on the menu, then my DD11 might choose as little as a mouthful of steak, three or four green beans and a huge heaping helping of cauliflower. But the deal is, she has to eat everything on her plate. Even if she doesn't like it. It's not going to kill her to chew and swallow one tiny cube of beef. Research has shown that it can take many exposures to a particular food before a child learns to tolerate it.

It has taken years, but gradually her food choices are expanding. There's been breakthroughs, like when she discovered she liked fish. She hated them for years, and then one day commented that the grilled salmon wasn't too bad. And then took a slighter larger portion next time. And a year later she was happily eating almost any kind of fish.

I think being a picky eater is something she can work to overcome, with patience, encouragement and support.

slightly OT, but just wanted to mention to you that many times a child is labeled "picky" due to an aversion to certain foods, and is later found to have an intolerance to them - they avoid the food because subconciously they know it makes them feel unwell.

I feel lucky to have a child that is not "picky", but at the same time, I would never force a child to eat something they do not want. Not eating meat isn't going to kill anyone either (and research shows may actually prolong thier life in the long run due to decreased heart disease)

 

[Luvamouse]

He or she can have as large or as small a portion of the different foods as they like. But the deal is, she has to eat everything on her plate. Even if she doesn't like it. It's not going to kill her to chew and swallow one tiny cube of beef. Research has shown that it can take many exposures to a particular food before a child learns to tolerate it.

With all due respect, there is no way to get a child to place the food in their mouth, chew and swallow without 1) their agreeing to it 2) you placing it in forceably 3) threatening them in some way or 4) using some other form of coercion. I refuse to control my child in this way, although I fully agree with you about continued exposure to new foods, etc. and I like your approach to it very much. After 7 years with my child, I have a pretty good idea how far to go. But I will never punish her for refusing to try a food and without punishment as a recourse for not trying it, I haven't got much bargaining power. My bargaining chip is to simply make it all smell great and for us to enjoy it so much that she wants it also...it's worked more than once! I think it is hard to understand until you have a child who truly will not try new foods--especially when the ones they enjoy are not unhealthy at all--just limited.

As some have posted her at the DIS boards, perhaps exposure to new foods at WDW will encourage her to try them.

 

[Ashley Kees]

Very interesting discussion. Here are my thoughts:

1) New research is showing that food pickiness is genetic, as well as learned.

2) Kids can only eat what is available to them - if you serve junk food at home and go to McDonald's often, you've introduced them to this type of eating. My 4 year old can't do the groceries by herself, so she has learned to eat the grow food that we buy. Modelling is really important in regards to food issues.

3) U.S. food is full of additives & chemicals in order to make your kids addicted - they crave fat & sugar as that is what our bodies do with these types of foods, so some kids may be incapable of adapting their diets to more healthy options as this is all they know.

4) Everyone knows that U.S. has the highest obesity rates & for the first time in history, you may outlive your children; therefore, Disney should be offering more healthy food choices for this reason alone.

That being said, I always find it funny when parents complain that all their kids will eat is junk food & so Disney should serve more of that, when it was more than likely the parents who introduced this food to them in the first place.

In response to the OP, we too find the kids' meals inadequate in some cases because there is not a lot of variety - not all kids want peanut butter & jelly (our DD4 has never had it), or mushy mac and cheese. There should be a variety of foods to suit all eating types - it's not fair for those who allow their kids to eat unhealthy food demand that's all that is served, just like it wouldn't be fair for me with a healthy eater child to demand all veggies, grilled chicken & soup on the menu. We eat all TS meals, and so we love the variety at buffets (my daughter doesn't eat traditional kid food), but do struggle at many other TS meals due to lack of variety - CRT is one of them, for example.

Perhaps Disney can do more to add more variety to their kids' meals, but, I also think parents need to do a better job of introducing their kids to different options besides McDonald's hamburgers or chicken nuggets, so that kids are able to adapt in situations where there may not be a ton of food variety available to them, such as on vacation.

Happy eating to all, Tiger

Here here!! I agree with every point you make!

 

[hsmamato2]

Too may adults were ordering off the kids menu to save money. I really think this was a strategic move on WDW part to limit how many adults would order off the kids menus, thus costing WDW profit loss.

now that would be too sad if it were true... I usually order a 'kids' meal at Cs places, it generally has enough to fill me- if I can't do that-then we order an adult choice and split it,so either way,it's not a big money maker.....but then again,i like grilled chicken and grapes.....