Can you share???

[bicker]

I think Sammie's point is that you can order salads and fruit as your appetizer and desssert, thereby setting a good example for your daughter.

Furthermore, in our society, children (and adults) are constantly bombarded by opportunities for excess -- friends' parties, family event celebrations, etc. In recognition of that, I can relate from my own personal experience, that having a plateful of food and learning how to eat only a reasonable amount and leave the rest is an essential skill that all children (and adults) must learn, especially in light of the childhood (and adult) obesity epidemic that has afflicted this nation.

 

[disneymom2one]

I think Sammie's point is that you can order salads and fruit as your appetizer and desssert, thereby setting a good example for your daughter.

Furthermore, in our society, children (and adults) are constantly bombarded by opportunities for excess -- friends' parties, family event celebrations, etc. In recognition of that, I can relate from my own personal experience, that having a plateful of food and learning how to eat only a reasonable amount and leave the rest is an essential skill that all children (and adults) must learn, especially in light of the childhood (and adult) obesity epidemic that has afflicted this nation.

Of course. And in our home, she can ALWAYS leave food on her plate - and does with our blessing. I do think though that ordering an excess of food that we know we won't eat isn't something we want to encourage either. We eat out a lot at home and as she grows into not eating kids' meals anymore we've had to really teach her to think about what she orders. Eating out is expensive and we don't want needless waste. Although at WDW we're covered with the dining plan I'm still not sure I want to encourage her to order more than she can (or needs to) eat. It's really not "free" (when we're going) and I don't see the point of changing our eating habits on vacation (given that we visit WDW three or four times a year). I do agree with you that we have an epidemic of obesity. I've struggled with it but up to now my daughter hasn't. I think it's partly good genes but also partly because we've raised her in a way to think about food more as fuel than a special treat. It's 11+ years of teaching "eat when you're hungry and stop when you're full". We also preach (or try to) good spending habits -to not waste. That's somewhat hard to do because we'd rather have her waste food than eat more than she needs to. So the solution when we eat out is just not to order more than we're comfortable eating. We still don't routinely finish everything on our plates. I guess I'm trying to say that I agree with your point but I do additionally think we have to teach our kids to not order more than they should to begin with.

 

[ILVPOOH]

For us it's because we eat healthy. We don't need three appetizers, entrees, and desserts at each meal. It's a waste of food and a horrible example for our eleven year old.

I'm guessing you used your snack credits on water. I'm only kidding. It's good that you and your family eat healthy. I know I have to do better at home. Although we were pretty good on vacation. We would all get our own meal, but split appetizers and desserts. Sometimes we even skipped the dessert. I also had the bread basket removed from the table so it didn't tempt us.

 

[bicker]

I do think though that ordering an excess of food that we know we won't eat isn't something we want to encourage either.

I see no compelling interest in this. We're not running out of food. Indeed, one of the bigger problem our society faces is that farms need more business, not less business. So you cannot "waste food" -- you can only "waste money" and in this case, you're not charged extra, and the food is already paid for.

If the price is the same, and we can enjoy greater variety (and you can overcome the damaging social conditioning we've had to "clean your plate"), then I see ordering extra as a good thing.

 

[disneymom2one]

I see no compelling interest in this. We're not running out of food. Indeed, one of the bigger problem our society faces is that farms need more business, not less business. So you cannot "waste food" -- you can only "waste money" and in this case, you're not charged extra, and the food is already paid for.

If the price is the same, and we can enjoy greater variety (and you can overcome the damaging social conditioning we've had to "clean your plate"), then I see ordering extra as a good thing.

I agree. But (and please keep in mind we're three "adults") it actually is a waste of credits which in turn is a waste of money. Assuming we don't do preplated or buffets or for simplicity 2 credit meals, we can get more food by using 2 credits per meal rather than 3. I don't think this is unethical because our child isn't a child by Disney's criteria so there's no worry about the whole using a child's credit as an adult's. If we have 18 TS credits and we use 2 per meal rather than 6 that means we can actually eat 9 meals versus 6.

For my very practical math professor husband that's the only way the dining plan even makes sense for us. When we decided to do it we had to compare what we would spend at TS restaurants versus what the plan would give us. In our "normal" visits to WDW we typically now order 2 adult meals and an appetizer. Our daughter munches on the appetizer (which we have brought out with the meal typically) and then also shares off our plates. Sometimes we also order one dessert. So ordering 2 entrees, appetizers, and desserts at least begins to approximate our "normal" eating habits.

I'm really in agreement with you probably more than it looks like. I read more than I post here but I've been around a long time and it's rare that I don't completely agree with what you post.

 

[bicker]

I agree. But (and please keep in mind we're three "adults") it actually is a waste of credits which in turn is a waste of money. Assuming we don't do preplated or buffets or for simplicity 2 credit meals, we can get more food by using 2 credits per meal rather than 3. I don't think this is unethical because our child isn't a child by Disney's criteria so there's no worry about the whole using a child's credit as an adult's.

I agree. I thought your issue was that it was "too much food" and therefore you were inclined against the Dining Plan on "heathfulness" grounds, rather than inclined towards the Dining Plan, with (legal) sharing, as a means of having more of your meals covered by the plan. Sorry for my confusion.