Borderline Birthday

[all4fun]

I agree with the pp's that this is not "borderline" and you should abide by Disney's rules. I wanted to say though, we have a child that is "beyond" picky when it comes to eating - used to have oral aversion issues and we are still working on widening his palatte although he is a hundred times better about eating now. Even though he would barely eat anything when he was three, we still felt that DDP was totally worth it for our family. DH and crunched the numbers after we got home and we saved a few hundred dollars on just our meals, so it was worth it. Now it may not be worth it for a 10yr old that won't touch anything on his plate, but you may want to actually crunch the numbers before you write of the idea of ddp for your family. You can get pretty up to date pricing off the menus on allearsnet.com to get an idea how much you would pay out of pocket and then compare it to your DDP cost.

hth

 

[CRZY4DIS]

All good, moral advice. Thanks. Nice to see honest people out there still. I am a DVC member. We are only staying 8 days. AP is out, doesn't make sense. We won't visit again for another two years. I am not a FL resident so no breaks there. The 10 year old will eat on the plan because I did research last night and found that Disney looks like it depleted their children's meals somewhat and he will eat steaks and chicken. DDP works for us. I sat and tallied it up with and without and it made sense with the DDP. We like to experience the nice restaurants on vacation. Some don't, that's fine. I still feel a "junior in between" price should be available -- so if any of you are Disney employees undercover, can I suggest that without getting flamed?

 

[poohfriend]

All good, moral advice. Thanks. Nice to see honest people out there still. I am a DVC member. We are only staying 8 days. AP is out, doesn't make sense. We won't visit again for another two years. I am not a FL resident so no breaks there. The 10 year old will eat on the plan because I did research last night and found that Disney looks like it depleted their children's meals somewhat and he will eat steaks and chicken. DDP works for us. I sat and tallied it up with and without and it made sense with the DDP. We like to experience the nice restaurants on vacation. Some don't, that's fine. I still feel a "junior in between" price should be available -- so if any of you are Disney employees undercover, can I suggest that without getting flamed?

No flames, just opinions.

I also think the dining plan should allow some flexibility. If you have a 10 year old that eats like a 6 year old, you should be able to buy the child's meals (and you can when paying out of pocket!). (Disney would not loose money on this.) The problem is that sometimes a 10 year old eats like a 16 year old! Then the parents are paying $10 a day for a child to eat $60 of Disney food. The rules are there for a reason, but it seems like the 10 year old (and sometimes even older) are a little bit of a sticky-wicket!

And really if there weren't so many character buffets the 10 year old could be limited to just child's choices. Sometimes they don't eat like an adult, but get charged that way.

To my way of thinking the tickets make sense. Most 10 year olds are tall enough to take advantage of the headline rides. Dining doesn't always work out so simply.

 

[CincyMouse]

I have another "borderline" question. My DD will be 2 on the arrival date, and turn 3 on day 2 of a 7 night trip. Is it acceptable to say she is 2 for park tickets and dining plan, or do I notify them of the birthday, and buy her tickets and dining for the remainder of the days? She is too small (under 40")for many rides and doesn't eat a thing. The trip got pushed back due to my DH's job, and I wasn't thinking about the birthday when I changed the dates. If Disney does allow me to consider her 2 for the duration, does she get anything special on her birthday?

 

[dementia412]

Yes she is 2 for the ticket and dinning (which means usually she eats off your plate) but she won't get the free birthday ticket or anything like that. You should still be able to go get her a free birthday button at the resort though.

 

[DawnM]

The truth is.....I don't even eat an adult portion per day and I am 42. But that is one reason I would never do the dining plan!

Now my 9 year old can eat me under the table!

So, this isn't a rule based on how much you eat, it is a rule based on age.

Dawn

 

[lil mermaid]

I have a boy who is borderline on the 9-10 cusp when we go to Disney in August. He will have been 10 for a month. Do I use the age 9 for tickets and dining plan because there is NO WAY he will eat all the food on a regular plate?

My sister is having the same issue with her 2 to 3 year old. He will have turned 3 a month before the trip.

Any suggestions?

Is there any way you can take your trip before their birthdays??

 

[LisaNJ25]

My daughter is turning 10 aug 19th. We are planning on going the following week. She will be considered an adult for the trip. Sucks big time since now were will be family of 4 adults and 2 kids. I wont have her lie. She is excited about turning 'double digits" If free dinning isnt offered we wont be taking the trip.

I had my other daughter turn 3 the day we checked back in for free dinning in 2007 and we paid for her park ticket.