Anyone hate paying adult price for their 10 year old?

[LeahA]

I understand that a 10 year old is considered an adult at the theme parks. My ds is tall enough to go on every ride and totally enjoys doing so. I'm having a hard time picking restaurants. I know my ds, and he would definitely want to eat what his little brothers are eating. Can he still order off the kids menu at 10? I know the buffet's are way to costly, when considering now that I have my dh, ds, and myself and 2 more children. I really hope he can still order off the kids menu, because some of the restaurant's adult entree's he would not eat.

 

[dodukes]

I dont see why they wouldnt let him order. Are you going to be on the dining plan? BEcause technically he is an adult so you could add another meal and use his credits and just pay for the kids meal.

But i think it may depend onthe server and restaurants but i cant imagine theyd give you a hard time.

 

[4mykids]

OMG, yes, it does bother me to have anyone under 13 to have to pay adult prices. This is why we have never done the DDP (until Labor Day when it is free!). My DD still eats off the kid's menu, and she is 13. She is a chicken nugget fanatic. I always ask if she can order, and no one has ever asked how old she is. I'm not trying to get something for nothing; just trying to get my DD to eat. I have always given her correct age when making ADRs. I am sure she will try to order off the kid's menu when we have free DDP!

 

[LoriZH]

Actually I love paying full adult prices for my 10 year olds, especially since I have twins NAWT!

Drives me crazy, but then again, the kid meals are so full of fat and are really lousy I would rather see them eat off the adult menu. I know at counter service you can order children's meals no problem and I highly doubt they'll bust ya chops over ordering off the kids menu at sit downs.

 

[MickeyNicki]

I hated paying that kind of money for my then 10 year old niece, she barely eats anything but since it was her first trip we did the Princess Breakfast and Chef Mickeys dinner and DH ate enough to cover her cost too!

 

[I Run Long]

I think they should have a rate for kids, junior and adults. That being said, my DS11 is much taller than me (granted I'm only 5'1") and he can eat as much as a small nation I think I should be able to eat off the kids menu since that is about the size of my appetite - of course chickens nuggets and mac & cheese just aren't my thing. Also, I prefer an alcoholic drink so I guess I can't have everything.

 

[missypie]

My DDs are 11 and 14...they will be 12 and 15 at the time of our next trip and I bet that most of the time, even the 15 year old will order off the kids' menu. She is VERY picky and eats close to nothing. Of course, at LTT dinner and Akershus lunch we'll pay for them as adults, and Disney will make a lot of money off of them!

 

[Christine]

I remember the year we went and my son was 10 years old. Now, I don't have a problem with paying the adult prices for him at the parks. He is able to take full advantage of every ride.

However, the dining prices REALLY peeved me. At 10, most kids still don't have a huge appetite. Most of them still eat off the kids part of the buffets. We had to change our dining style that year because it was such a waste paying adult prices for the buffets. We did a lot more table service options and he was able to order off the kid's menus at these.

 

[G's mommy]

My son is 11 and was able to order off the kids menu everywhere we ate. At buffets, character dining, and family-style, he was charged the adult price, but could choose the kid's offerings. Yes, it peeves me very much to pay $30 for mac and cheese and two chicken tenders! The age used to be under 12 for dining even when the tickets were 10 and up. I agree about having a junior price for the 10-13 age group.

 

[PA Princess]

We will be at Disney in 9 days with 11 and 12 year old boys. We will have the free ddp. The 12 year old will happily eat from the adult menu, but I am sure that the 11 year old will want to eat from the kids menu at times. I am assuming this will not be a problem...food is free and he wants less, so less cost for Disney. I am pretty sure last year both boys at times ordered off the kid menu and it was not a problem. I guess if that is the extent of our problems in Disney, we are pretty lucky

 

[lynninpa]

Guess I am in the minority here. My DS10 is thrilled to be now ordering off the "adult" menu when we go to Disney. Don't get me wrong-every now and then he wants mac & cheese and chicken nuggets. Yet for the most part, he enjoys what is considered "adult food" so much more. I'm happy-a goat cheese appy and grilled salmon with no sauces is quite healthy as well as what he is happy with.

 

[Disney Hot Mama]

My son is 11 and was able to order off the kids menu everywhere we ate. At buffets, character dining, and family-style, he was charged the adult price, but could choose the kid's offerings. Yes, it peeves me very much to pay $30 for mac and cheese and two chicken tenders! The age used to be under 12 for dining even when the tickets were 10 and up. I agree about having a junior price for the 10-13 age group.

My son who is 11 was able to order off the kids menu at all locations too. We just said 2 adults and 2 kids and were never questioned. The only place that was different was O'Hana's and I did make the reservation for him as an adult but knowing he would never eat enough for an adult price. I asked when we were seated if there was anything they could do about this and they let me speak with a manager and then charged me for a kids meal... He really didn't eat enough to go over a kids menu so I didn't feel like I was ripping Disney off or being dishonest either.

Now next year when he is 12 will be a differet story..... I am sure his appetite will have increases since he will be a pre-teen... though he doesn't eat much yet...

 

[LeahA]

I appreciate your responses. I really have to think about our dining options this year. No buffets, no charachter meals, which is good, it will save us some money. As he gets older I'm sure he will want to try some more new things and then I'll pay the money.

 

[Kimmumum]

When my oldest was 10, 11 and 12 (he is not 13) he often ordered off of the kids meal and MANY servers only charged the kids meal prices. He has always looked his age. We never tried to get away with anything it is just that he isn't a big eater. If you don't make a big deal about it and just order what your child wants we have never had a problem. Now my 9 year old is a big eater and always wants to eat off of the adult meal. I guess it all equals out in the end.

 

[Stitchfans]

Yes it did bother me. As a matter of fact it will still bother me now even though DD is 13. She doesn't eat much. I tell myself we are on vacation so just pay what they are charging and get on with it, and have fun.

 

[bullet875]

It bothers me too that I can't get a junior or child price for my 12 year old. He takes medication that severely decreases his appetite and we just end up wasting food if we can't take it back tot he hotel with us.

Didn't WDW used to offer junior park admission prices and children's meals that ran to age 12?

 

[missypie]

Yes it did bother me. As a matter of fact it will still bother me now even though DD is 13. She doesn't eat much. I tell myself we are on vacation so just pay what they are charging and get on with it, and have fun.

Sounds like me. When my kids DO order of the adult menu, I'll have to make myself not care about all the food going to waste.

 

[nluvwithmickey]

Well I would NEVER pay for DDP for my 11 year old DD. She is just too picky. And now with the 2008 changes coming to DDP, we will just eat out of pocket. No more DDP for ANY of us ...unless it is ever offered for free again!

We have been lucky enough to get free DDP twice so if DD is really picky and doesn't eat much, at least it's free. In March, we paid for our own meals and found we ate much less (and felt better too!).