Are Kids Still Allowed To Order Entrees Off The Adult CS Menu On Dining Plan?

[lynninpa]

Dining Plan Question: When we were at WDW last August, my DS 8 was allowed to order entrees off all of the adult menus at CS meals in the parks, even when there was a kid's menu. Just asking anyone who has been there recently if this is still true or not.

 

[lynninpa]

Anyone?

 

[beth_cam]

Dining plan rules state that Children must order off the childrens menu if available - this is listed with both table and counter service.

 

[Pedler]

Kids are required to order from the kids menu. Having said that we did end up getting some adult CS meals for the kids. For example at Pizzafari we got 3 adult CS Pizza meals for the 4 of us. The credits are not differentiated based on adult or kids but are all pooled together. The primary reason we did this some times was not to scam the system as our kids would in general prefer the kids meals at most places but because for the most part the kids menus at CS places is not what you would normally expect at a fast food place. For example when we were there in August neither Pizzafari or Pizza Planet had kids pizzas on the menu. It has been mentioned on this board that it was due to Adults ordering the kids meals and Disney putting a stop to it but it is still a bit strange to take a kid to Pizza Planet and not to have a kids meal option that included a Pizza of some sort.

 

[lynninpa]

The credits are not differentiated based on adult or kids but are all pooled together.

Ok, I am either confused or stupid...but just what does the above quote mean? Hmmmm...I hear you all laughing.... Hey, stop laughing!
For example...2 adults and 1 child get to order 3 adult entrees. Doesn't that mean that there will be one less adult entree available after that? Ohhh....I am so confused. me--->:
Can someone simply explain the above quote as if explaining it to a 3 year old? Yeah, yeah...I still hear you laughing

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

Not laughing. (Just smiling because you have missed all the raging debates up to this point. )

As of right now, Disney does not differentiate between adult and child credits. So technically if you wanted to order ALL adult meals or ALL kids' meals the system won't catch it because it isn't set up that way. When the system was first introduced I was worried that I wouldn't be able to keep track, but it turns out it doesn't matter!

We were there in October and DS got an adult CS meal twice. I really don't think the CS CM's care if a child orders an adult meal. It is a bigger deal at TS - there they DO require you to order off the kids menu for kids. Not to get into the ethics of the whole thing, but I think you can still order an adult CS for your child.

 

[beth_cam]

Just to add a bit to help answer lynn 2 adults and 1 child go for 5 days...that SHOULD be 10 adult ts, 10 adult cs 10 adult snacks, 5 child ts, 5 child cs, 5 child snacks. But all your plan ACTUALLY shows is 15 ts, 15 snacks, 15 cs. And yes there have been very heated debates about how those should be used.

Lol had to edit this...reread and laughted at myself. also after all the debates I should have known better than to use the word should. a better way to have put it was to say "as taken by lynn's post she would expect that there would be 10 adult and 5 child of everything, when what is actually listed is 15 of everything". I wasnt trying to imply any rights or wrongs, give advice on how the plan works or how to use it or create any debates. I was simply clarifying/adding addtional info to the previous posters response. GEEZE

 

[salmoneous]

Just to add a bit to help answer lynn 2 adults and 1 child go for 5 days...that SHOULD be 10 adult ts, 10 adult cs 10 adult snacks, 5 child ts, 5 child cs, 5 child snacks. But all your plan ACTUALLY shows is 15 ts, 15 snacks, 15 child.

Just to give you a 10-second version of the raging debate, the "SHOULD" above represents what many mebers of *this forum* think is how the plan should work. There is no evidence that it represents what *Disney* thinks is how the plan should work (other than the people who (a) find it obvious you can't pay a child's price and get an adult meal, even though the rules never say that and are specifically set up to allow you to do so, and (b) that anyone who doesn't see the obvious fact is a lying thief.)

And just to answer the OP, the rules are clear that if you are getting a meal for your child and there is a children's menu, they have to order off that menu. That rule is not always enforced with CP credits.

 

[DisneyMomx7]

We were there in January and yes kids were allowed to order off the adult menu at counter service restaurants. We were at Columbia Harbor House and my kids wanted chicken strips - they didn't have these on the kids menu so I ordered to adult chicken strips platters for the three kids to share and nobody questioned it.

 

[pedro2112]

there are two seperate issues. The OP's issue has nothing to do with "child" v. "adult" credits. She simply stated that in her last trip her child was able to order off of the adult menu when using a CS credit. She wants to know if she can still do this. The answer is "maybe." She shouldn't have been able to do this last time because it is a black and white stated rule. Your KTTW card's have the number of Adults and Children in your party listed on the front, so if a CM wants to follow the stated rules, they can deny this request. However, as is clear from posters' reports, some CMs do allow this despite the rule.

The issue as to how things "should" be if certain posters created their own meal plan (rather than the one Disney created), is irrelevant to what the OP wants to know.

 

[vatmark]

We did this as well at Columbia Harbour house and Pizzafari. I thought it was totally ridiculous that Pizzafari did not have pizza on the childrens menu. I wasn't trying to scam anyone.

Annie

 

[gigi1313]

the lady in front of us on line at mexico CS were not permitted to order 3A meals, because her card stated 2A/2C... no way, no how!

my card, ironically, stated 2A/0C and i was *not* allowed to order 3 meals (dd, 11yo and i wanted to split the nachos in addition to our meal and were willing to use a CS credit to do it)... it ended up becoming a big raging debate between the CM and i, with me explaining that if i wanted to order all *TEN* of my CS meals at that very window all at once, i was so entitled... she absolutely refused/disagreed... a manager was finally brought in and said i was right... so we got our nachos and the heartburn to go w/them

 

[diznyfanatic]

the lady in front of us on line at mexico CS were not permitted to order 3A meals, because her card stated 2A/2C... no way, no how!

my card, ironically, stated 2A/0C and i was *not* allowed to order 3 meals (dd, 11yo and i wanted to split the nachos in addition to our meal and were willing to use a CS credit to do it)... it ended up becoming a big raging debate between the CM and i, with me explaining that if i wanted to order all *TEN* of my CS meals at that very window all at once, i was so entitled... she absolutely refused/disagreed... a manager was finally brought in and said i was right... so we got our nachos and the heartburn to go w/them

Bolding mine. THIS is what upsets me more than anything else about the Dining Plan. I am more than happy to abide by any and all rules. Just make sure you know, and have communicated, those rules.

In the first place, guests should never, ever be caught in the middle of an internal corporate debate of how the DP is supposed to be implemented. This is not a new plan. It's been out there for well over a year, yet there appears to be as much, or more, confusion over its use.

In the second place, non-management employees should be hardcore trained that IF an issue arises from the Dining Plan or any other guest related issue that can't be dealt with easily, they are to immediately get a manager involved, and to never stand there and argue in some type of power play with the guest. It's bad for everyone when this happens. Bad for the guest, bad for Disney image, and bad for all of the other guests who are having to stand there and wait while it's resolved.

Dining Plan guests, in fact ALL package guests, have handed over a large sum of money to PREPAY their entire vacation to which Disney has had access to the funds for at least 45 days and are earning a tidy sum of interest on, thereby fulfulling the guests part of the agreement.

There appears to be a huge gap, as there often is in many companies, between what the marketing and sales people promise and how to handle it operationally. Disney needs to do whatever it takes to bridge this gap internally to remove the guest from the debate and ensure the smooth fulfillment of their end of the agreement.