anyone "aged up" a child on free dining to get the adult plan?

[emmamc252]

Hi, don't know if anyone can help.
We are looking at the free dining offer available at the moment for 2015.
DH is keen to go for it but I have major reservations.

My issue is that if went to a restaurant normally DH and I would order whatever and we would get either an appetiser or a salad or something and we would all kind of share. Now on the dining plan dd would be getting their own meals instead of this.
OK so whats my problem with this, I get it!
My problem is that I'm one of those annoying mums who do not like my kids eating junk. If she wants to have chicken nuggets every now and then fine but we will be in WDW for 2 weeks and I am sorry but the kids menu options are diabolical in most cases.
I know that you can check out menus and plan around where serves meals that are ok for them, I'm not just talking about "healthy" though, even the healthy options tend to be bland and boring! It just does not make me happy at all. for a few nights sure, for 2 weeks, hell no!

so i've been researching it and have come across quite a few americans who "age up" their kids so that they get the adults dining plans.
I can't find any specific info on it from a UK perspective.
I am more than happy to pay the extra £20 to get DD an adult pass instead of a childs so that she can choose from the adults menus. BUT my worry is that upon check in when they see she is 3 and not 10 are they going to stop us and make her have a kids pass and meals?

DH really wants to do it this way but I am really not willing to unless she can have an adult plan and choose from the adults menus.

any advice.

 

[2Tiggies]

I used to 'age up' DD before she was 10. Never as young as 3 though. We don't normally have junk in the house either. At 6 and 7, we were fine with the kids menus though. DD doesn't like nuggets, has never eaten a hot dog and doesn't eat burgers. So you get the picture.

There is nothing stopping you from upgrading her. I do think you may end up wasting a lot of food though. Even as a tween now, with a better appetite than mine, we never get through a CS meal. TS is a little different though. If she is an adventurous eater she might enjoy eating the same as you and the TS portions are not as big as the CS ones.

Buffets go a long way to solving this if you are doing character meals because the kids are not restricted to eating from the kids table. I don't think my daughter really took anything much, if anything at all, from the children's section of the buffet.

Sharing is also perfectly fine among a family on the DDP; it's sharing with guests not on your reservation that is taboo by Disney's rules so again, you would be fine if you wanted to share with her.

Lastly, I also found that by doing a bit of homework and finding out where to go for meals, the children's options are not that bad at all. We would typically go somewhere that served a salad on the kids menu and share it as an appetizer and then share my main.

I don't know if any of that helps you with your decision. I can't report any experience of upgrading such a young child, nor do I recall reading reports of anyone who upgraded a little one of that age, but that's not to say nobody has and I am not aware of any rules against it.

 

[scoobydooby]

Really I don't think the adult meals are at all suitable for a three year old, even an adventurous eater. Quite apart from anything else it would be far too much food so just as unhealthy potentially or at least a huge waste of food. I'm here with my 12 year old and she hasn't managed to come near to finishing an adult meal all week. I also suggest buffets as a potential solution. All restaurants now have a kids healthy check option as well. CS is easier, if you can be bothered to research it properly there's a lot of choice that isn't burgers and nuggets, especially at Epcot and AK (food carts). Just as an aside, the adult meals are not necessarily healthy anyway.

 

[Elise79]

I have a nearly 6 year old and I have never bothered to age her up for DDP purposes.

At home our. DD eats what we do however when we are on holiday I will within reason let her choose what she wants to eat. TS meals are easy as almost all have grilled chicken and fish as options. She also likes pasta which there is quite often.

One of her favourites is Teppan Edo where the kids meals is small portion of the adult meal.

We also do a fair few character meals which she can eat anything at.

When on the standard DDP don't forget it won't just be extra for ticket each meal you will have to tip on the adult price rather than a kids meal price.

In all honestly, I would leave her as a child. If you want to but an extra salad or whatever then you can just pay OOP but it is only 2 weeks and with a bit of pre-planning it shouldn't be an issue.

While there is nothing to stop you upgrading as long as you don't book flight inclusive I would be wary as park entry could be an issue - adult tickets require a fingerprint by the holder and what the chances of a 3 year old getting it right every time?

 

[emmamc252]

Thanks for the replies. We will have a just turned 2 little Boy too who will also be sharing our meals.
It's not just about healthy ness it's about a distinct lack of choice on the kids menus.
Also becAuse we are going with other family (18 of us in total) we won't have full control over where we eat. We won't be together all the time but quite a bit!
If it was just us I'd prob plan and I get there's going to be a lot wasted but I think it'd work better for us.
I know we're going Cali grill one night and she will see sushi and no matter what the options she will want that!

 

[disneyholic family]

Thanks for the replies. We will have a just turned 2 little Boy too who will also be sharing our meals.
It's not just about healthy ness it's about a distinct lack of choice on the kids menus.
Also becAuse we are going with other family (18 of us in total) we won't have full control over where we eat. We won't be together all the time but quite a bit!
If it was just us I'd prob plan and I get there's going to be a lot wasted but I think it'd work better for us.
I know we're going Cali grill one night and she will see sushi and no matter what the options she will want that!

i think i'm with you on this one. My kids are now 29 and 27, so it's a tad difficult to remember what they ate so many years ago.
but as i recall, DD really didn't like kid food. She was very adventurous and liked good adult food, even as a toddler (it's harder for me to remember what DS liked or didn't like).
So i doubt she would have been able to handle 2 weeks of nuggets and hot dogs.

on the other hand, i probably would have just shared my food with her as there is way too much food for me as it is.

on the third hand, i might have upgraded, as DH eats a ton (he's skinny, but 6'7" tall and really can pack it in).
So i might have upgraded DD, let her eat whatever she wanted and then DH would have finished the rest (he's the great garbage can of the family - nothing goes to waste - and darn it, he's skinny...i just hate it... )
but that might have been what we would have done - upgrade her and let DH finish what she didn't eat.
of course, that only applies to non-buffet restaurants.
but we tend to avoid buffets, except for 1 or 2 character meals.

 

[chmurf]

I've just upgraded our DS to adult (he'll be 7.5 when we go)

It was an easy decision since we went for Deluxe and had the DDP, so only had to pay extra for the tickets

If we had stuck to our original plans of going to POR, I probably wouldn't have booked him as a 10 years old (making him an adult on the DDP) because the cost would have outweighed the benefits.

But if we can have it for free, let's have it.

I would just react on some replies here :

An adult meal may not be fully suitable (appealing) to a 3 years old, that's what some say. But being an adult on the DDP does not mean that you HAVE to order from the adult's meal. You can order adult sized kids offerings.
Only kids are restricted to ordering off the kids menu, adults are not restricted to the adult's menu

and since it's free, then it's not more expensive to order mac&cheese than to order a filet mignon

Of course, there will be the tip. You might pay $4 or $5 more with 1 more "adult". But how much of a difference is that when you have to pay extra for some salad or other items (as Elise79 suggested) in case your kid just want's something "different" than the usual kid's offerings ?

TBH, even if my kid still orders everything off the kid's menu on our next trip, the $4 extra per meal in tip is a small price to pay to allow him to choose anything he likes in case he wants to try something "new".
It's about giving him opportunities, since there is a very small extra cost (since we already have free DDP)

But in the end, and I think that was your real question : there is nothing in Disney's policies to prevent you from upgrading a child to adult.

 

[Elise79]

I've just upgraded our DS to adult (he'll be 7.5 when we go)

It was an easy decision since we went for Deluxe and had the DDP, so only had to pay extra for the tickets

If we had stuck to our original plans of going to POR, I probably wouldn't have booked him as a 10 years old (making him an adult on the DDP) because the cost would have outweighed the benefits.

But if we can have it for free, let's have it.

I would just react on some replies here :

An adult meal may not be fully suitable (appealing) to a 3 years old, that's what some say. But being an adult on the DDP does not mean that you HAVE to order from the adult's meal. You can order adult sized kids offerings.
Only kids are restricted to ordering off the kids menu, adults are not restricted to the adult's menu

and since it's free, then it's not more expensive to order mac&cheese than to order a filet mignon

Of course, there will be the tip. You might pay $4 or $5 more with 1 more "adult". But how much of a difference is that when you have to pay extra for some salad or other items (as Elise79 suggested) in case your kid just want's something "different" than the usual kid's offerings ?

TBH, even if my kid still orders everything off the kid's menu on our next trip, the $4 extra per meal in tip is a small price to pay to allow him to choose anything he likes in case he wants to try something "new".
It's about giving him opportunities, since there is a very small extra cost (since we already have free DDP)

But in the end, and I think that was your real question : there is nothing in Disney's policies to prevent you from upgrading a child to adult.

Our DD has been to Disney a lot so I am well used to the kids menus. We are talking about a 3 year old - not an older child. I can understand upgrading 8 and 9 year olds as they may want bigger portions. The 3 year old doesn't want big portions or kid food.

If we were to have upgraded DD it would have costs us far more than any benefit we would have got. Most of the kids meals are under $10 - most adult meals (Entree, dessert & drink) come to $40 - that a $6 extra tip every single time.

She will be 6 this year when we go and 7 next year. We are there 16 nights - we will eat offsite a couple of nights due to be being out and about but I can bet that will be the only extra food I will have to buy for her. Besides the $100 odd dollars I have saved in tips will more than cover it.

She likes that she now has the freedom to read the menus and pick herself and she is on holiday so I am not going to dictate to her what she can and can't eat. She knows she is allowed anything - she loves Steak but there is no way she could eat a whole adult one so the kids size will be fine.

I can only think of a couple of restaurants that we have eaten at that the only options have been the typical fast food and I think Disney have now made sure all restaurants have a least one healthy meal.

If anything CS meals are probably the worse for kids than TS but the portions are so big we can easily share especially as they throw a dessert at you with every meal!

Disney do allow it however I still think upgrading a 3 year old is just not necessary plus I wouldn't want to have to explain to the gate CM every time the 3 year old couldn't do the finger scan.

 

[2Tiggies]

I wouldn't want to have to explain to the gate CM every time the 3 year old couldn't do the finger scan.

This is a very valid point.

OP have you short listed your restaurants/booked them already? Have you had a look at the menus? While I agree there was a time when kids offerings (more so CS than TS) were less than wonderful, they have made some marked improvements both in terms of variety and quality and you might find paying out of pocket for the occasional appetizer for her is more convenient and cost effective.

 

[Minniesgal]

I agree the adult means probably wouldn't suit a 3 year old. My 14 year old struggled the first time on the adult menu and he couldn't finish anything that was put in front of him. Wouldn't you be better with the kids plan and if you couldn't find suitable options where you go sharing things with her off your plate as well. We find the kids meals are not all chicken nuggets and hot dogs there are many other options as well.

 

[Elise79]

This is a very valid point.

OP have you short listed your restaurants/booked them already? Have you had a look at the menus? While I agree there was a time when kids offerings (more so CS than TS) were less than wonderful, they have made some marked improvements both in terms of variety and quality and you might find paying out of pocket for the occasional appetizer for her is more convenient and cost effective.

Another point worth noting is that on the DDP they will not let you have an appitizer instead of a main under any circumstances.

 

[wilma-bride]

OP, dare I say it but perhaps the dining plan just won't suit your family. Everybody thinks the free dining plan is this great deal and, for some, it probably is. But, to be perfectly honest, you might be better off booking things separately. Depending when you go, if a room only discount was available, it could work out a lot cheaper than having to buy 14-day tickets for everybody in your group (bar the 2 year old) and pay tips on the 3 adult meals you will be getting if you upgrade your 3 year old. Without the dining plan, you will be free to order whatever you'd like and share meals with your children freely.

My 11 year old son has a very healthy appetite and is one of the most adventurous eaters I have ever met (he will literally try pretty much anything) but we still share meals the majority of the time as an adult meal is still far too large for him. For many reasons, the dining plan doesn't suit our family and it sounds like it probably doesn't suit yours either. There is no shame in that, just look at the alternative options.

 

[DLPDreams]

I have two children who will be 7 & 10 at our visit. I did think about upgrading the younger one but decided against it - I am quite happy for her to have the odd chicken nugget etc (although we don't at home, she eats (or doesn't!) what we are having). I am happy to do this for a few days/nights on and off but don't want her eating them the whole time - she actually prefers veggies to meat anyway so I think I'd struggle her eating the 'standard' kids fayre every day. So, my plan....

The thing that swung it for me, my 10 year old will not be able to finish her 'adult' portion so they can share their meals if they like. We quite often do this on holiday in other places, so can't see why it is different in WDW.

Have to say my eldest is a very good eater and adventurous, but at 3, I don't think I would have upgraded her. Simply would have let her share mine/DH's food as there is plenty to go around, or do buffets etc where I can help her choose.

 

[crabbie1]

Totally agree I would not upgrade a 3 year old but thats my personal choice. There are plenty of choices without paying the extra plus the added tip. My DD was 8 when I put her as an adult but we too never ate all the TS and even ended up paying oop for the appetiser as rarely ate desserts. To us although free is not worth it but entirely your choice.

 

[LeaversOnTour]

I wouldn't bother upgrading either for a 3 year old. I would be inclined to either buy her an adult meal if she really didn't want anything or let her share.

You could then use the child credit not used for your son when there were things on the menu they would eat. We did this a couple of times with our 2 eldest girls who are only 18 months apart.

The CM's didn't seem to mind and certainly we were never told it wasn't an option.

We aren't everyday nugget eaters either but for 2 weeks, even if they wanted to eat them everyday, which they would never do I wouldn't be overly concerned. I would rather they ate something they would enjoy and actually eat then choose something "healthy" not eat it and end up eating my dinner anyway

 

[emmamc252]

Thanks for the replies.
I understand what people are saying regarding the portions but I'm not expecting her to eat it, I'd prob ask for a smaller portion but I do want her to have choices of food she enjoys, key word being CHOICE. Most adult menus I can see 2 or 3 things I would choose between, as people have said there may be 1 option she would be ok with, well I wouldn't be happy with that for me so why is that ok for her? That's not choice.
Dd and I also eat mainly fish as our protein, Dh is a total carnivore and we are in no way vegetarian (we have a roast every Sunday) but we just enjoy seafood.
We will also have ds with us who will be nearly 2 who will also be sharing off my plate. I know portions are big but if mines being split 3 ways (Dh likes his food and he would share if he had to but he'd prefer they just have their own meals) that's not a huge meal for 3! And like someone said buying a salad to make it go further seems daft when the tip is like an extra $5 and an extra £20 overall

also because we are traveling as a big group I cannot control every where we go.
At the moment the restaurants we plan on are

1900pf or askerhaus
Hollywood and vine
Crystal palace
Backyard BBQ
(Buffets so all fine.)
Sanaa - great kids menu a and sure if we asked for one of the curry sauces they'd add it fine
California grill - grilled chicken? Who gets excited by that! She will see the sushi bar and she will want that end of discussion.
Kona cafe - not bad kids menu but again there's sushi, there's scallops which she loves and ahi tuna, all of which she would prefer to rather plain sounding "grilled fish or shrimp" I'm. to saying it's bad but there's just a total lack of flavour, sauces, etc.
Rfc or T. rex - err yeah, let's just leave that menu alone shall we, not my choice but when going as a group you have to be willing to go wherever! Salads and salmon on the adult menu. Let's not discuss the childrens offerings.
50"s prime time- wow grilled fish of the day with pilaf rice AGAIN!
(This is what I mean, it's fine for 3-6 nights but all the menus look the same so for 16 nights just ugh!)
Via Napoli(plan to pay oop and get giant pizzas to share)
Teppan edo - she'd have the shrimp off the kids but she'd prefer the scallops!
Be our guest - our old friend grilled fish with pilaf rice! AGAIN! Or grilled chicken again! Who eats a piece of grilled chicken with no sauce? Or adults she can have, salmon, scallops, etc.
House of blues - let's not discuss the kids menu here, she loves my jambalaya and yes it's spicy!

To be honest even if we were going on our own and I could hand pick restaurants there is very little variety and flavour in the kids menus.
I understand they have to cater for everyone and maybe were the oddballs but I do feel in our case if dd could order from the adults menu it would make her trip and ours more enjoyable. So with the info given that's what I think we will be doing.
As for the magic band entry I'm sure she's capable of placing a finger on a scanner! I think my son could do that and he's 1!

 

[2Tiggies]

I think you've made your decision.

Looking at your line up of restaurants, at least half of them have a kids menu you feel would be ok. With the extra you are going to pay for park ticket and tips on the (much more) expensive adult portions, is it not to pay OOP for her for those ones and just get her the sides she would eat? I don't know how much she actually eats. I also had a 3 year old with very adult tastes because she ate what I ate. End of. However she ate like a bird so it was no issue to share my food with her and order a side portion of salad or appetizer to bulk up the meal just in case.

How does your 2 year old eat? Another thing you could do is share with your 3 year old and let the 2 year old eat the food you order with the kids credits for her.

It's just a thought.

 

[MrRomance]

Hi, don't know if anyone can help.
We are looking at the free dining offer available at the moment for 2015.
DH is keen to go for it but I have major reservations.

My issue is that if went to a restaurant normally DH and I would order whatever and we would get either an appetiser or a salad or something and we would all kind of share. Now on the dining plan dd would be getting their own meals instead of this.
OK so whats my problem with this, I get it!
My problem is that I'm one of those annoying mums who do not like my kids eating junk. If she wants to have chicken nuggets every now and then fine but we will be in WDW for 2 weeks and I am sorry but the kids menu options are diabolical in most cases.
I know that you can check out menus and plan around where serves meals that are ok for them, I'm not just talking about "healthy" though, even the healthy options tend to be bland and boring! It just does not make me happy at all. for a few nights sure, for 2 weeks, hell no!

so i've been researching it and have come across quite a few americans who "age up" their kids so that they get the adults dining plans.
I can't find any specific info on it from a UK perspective.
I am more than happy to pay the extra £20 to get DD an adult pass instead of a childs so that she can choose from the adults menus. BUT my worry is that upon check in when they see she is 3 and not 10 are they going to stop us and make her have a kids pass and meals?

DH really wants to do it this way but I am really not willing to unless she can have an adult plan and choose from the adults menus.

any advice.

Our daughter turned 10 in March, she has always had the kids plan until this year but she will not eat "kid food". Like you, we don't do junk food and she has very expensive taste (prefers Salmon or Filet Steak). I know this isn't strictly legit but we never used her CS meals as kids meals. I would order adult meals and share them with her.

In terms of the table service, there are plenty of options where there are good healthy meals for kids. Obviously, you have the buffet type restaurants, but we have always managed to find "real food" on the menu for her.

If you age up a 3 year old will be blatantly obvious to CMs and to be honest, I think you'll be wasting money (and food) by doing it.

 

[chmurf]

If you age up a 3 year old will be blatantly obvious to CMs

Trying to sneak a 12 years old on a child's ticket would be noticed by CMs (not that most of them would do anything about it)

But in this case OP will be paying more than is required.
A CM might say something about it, but that would probably be considered as "bad show".

 

[emmamc252]

we are looking at april 2015 so my son who will be just under 2 then is only 12 months now but he is HUGE! (seriously he weighs 30lb! DD only weighs 31!) he eats like crazy, generally bigger portions than dd can manage. he hasn't taken baby food since he was like 7 months old.
I have absolutely no problem saying he is very advanced in terms of his eating because I'm not a braggy parent because DD was the OPPOSITE! DD would NOT EAT SOLID FOOD until she turned 2! SERIOUSLY! She lived on milk and just refused food! She was a nightmare with it! wouldn't sit at the table because why would you when you have zero intrest in any food, she wouldn't eat ANYTHING! Genuinley I may sound like a health nut in this post and I am very happy with her eating now but I would literally give her chocolate, pasta, baby food, ice cream I didn't care as long as she would actually put food in her mouth! Which she very rarely did! She gagged on everything and still chokes on stuff whereas DS just somehow knows what to do! he can sit and eat an apple not cut up!
DD just decided one day to eat food and since then has eaten everything. she was just over 2! Lots of people used to say she was a "fussy eater" she wasn't, she just wouldn't eat anything!
Anyway, I just wanted to share that because I don't want to sound like someone who thinks my kids are perfect, they aren't! I know this and fully awknowledge it!
But yes, DS will, I imagine be more than happy to eat as much food as we put infront of him, he is a hungry beast!

I don't think I'd trust him with an adults meal, he'd scoff the lot!

I guess i'm kinda thinking him, me and dd will all share the 2 adults meals. ALthough now someones put it in my head I can totally envisage DS being one who wants his own dinner so maybe he could use the childrens credits. hadn't thought of that!
Its very hard to make all these decisions a full year in advance, with kids this young who really knows what they will be like in honesty!
Do think DS having the kids meals may be a valid option though. DD would prob quite happily share with me, she always does now.