Children's Dinner Menu's

[cneiniowa]

Can someone that has been to Disney and used the dining plan please advise me what our daughter will be eating at most of the restaurants. From the look of the menu's Mac and Cheese, Chicken Nuggets, appear to be the staple. This seems like what she will be eating for the counter service meals? I'm I missing something.

Much Thanks.

 

[disprincess2002]

That is true for most counter service places. Which is why I tend to share w/ dd. For table service we try buffets and enjoy coral reef and le cellier. Coral reef has fish and le cellier has steak on the kid's menu.

It does seem like overall Disney could use more variety for the kids!
MY DD has never gone hungry.

 

[squirrel]

I know my niece ate: Salmon (fish of the day), Pasta with sauce and I think chicken-not sure about that one.

We split CS meals at Cosmic Rays and Flame Tree-chicken meals.

 

[SuzieN]

The kids meals at WDW generally stink! I have noticed that there is not much difference between the CS and TS meals. Also, the portions are tiny, so if you have an older child (7-9) be prepared to share your meal with them as well. We have done a lot of buffets with our kids for just that reason. Can't wait till my DD is old enough to order off the adult menu (3 more years)!

 

[tmcddodd]

After seeing the poor choices of food in the kids menu and thanks to other posts on this board I changed my son on our reservation from an 8 yr old to a 10 yr old. Because my trip 9/30 to 10/09 is during the free dining I only had to pay the difference in park hopper tickets aprox $37. Money well spent for 10 days and now I do not have to give up or share my meals with him! The travel agent I worked with was a DisneyWorld specialist and said it would not be a problem.
If I had not read about doing that on this board I would never have thought of it.This board rocks! I read it multiple times a day.

 

[WAHMto5]

I do have to say that we have done the dining plan for quite a few times now and this last trip (last week), my kids were SICK of the same meals and especially the desserts (ice cream) every night! I also have to say that the sizes have become much smaller on the kids, there was no way my kids could have shared. I think we would have done more buffets as well if I would have known about these changes

 

[brymolmom]

We've done it a couple times with few issues. It is possible to cut down on the 'same old' with planning. I study the menus and select places that have the best variety of kids choices (might do a place with chicken nuggets one day and pizza the next). Plus for TS places - there are a TON of options. Grilled chicken, broiled fish, steak, all the buffets are fabulous with kids - they can get a kids option PLUS a salad and/or fruit and some adult things too - WHAT A DEAL! Plus the food courts at the resorts tend to have great variety - burger, stir fry, nuggets, tukey sandwich, pasta. We tend to use lots of our CS credits there.

Places that I focus on:
Sunshine Seasons in EPCOT
Food Court at POP
Wolfgang Puck Express
Main St Bakery
any of the countries in EPCOT - but Mexico is one of our favorites

Or another alternative is to use kids credits on breakfasts - yummy.

When we hit each of these places, then we do the 'regular' places with pizza or nuggets only 2 or 3 times during the trip. My kids definitely do not get sick of the same food on the trip.

Just do your homework - check all the menus carefully!

 

[Ariel8676]

For the most part the children's menus stink..When we used to buy the DDP we would try to do buffets or family style dining. My girls do love Beirgarten and Kona cafe (they LOVE mahi mahi). Its not a good fit for our family because my kids like regular food, they really don't eat chicken nuggets and Mac and cheese everyday of their lives..lol.

 

[Dizneydaz]

We too have shared meals with my DD9 while on DDP and it's worked out fine for us. This year, DD will be turning 10 during our trip so she'll now be an adult and have full choice of meals. That being said, she'll probably want to order a few of the kid's meals (she loves chicken nuggets and doesn't get to have them very often) and when she does I will pay OOP and save the credit.

Many of the TS restuarant have varied choices. For example Kona Cafe offers kid's these 2 complete meals-

Grilled Fish of the Day served with whole-grain pilaf, veggies, and yogurt parfait $7.59

Grilled Chicken Strips with macaroni topped with marinara sauce and mozzarella, served with veggies and fruit salad $7.59 My DD really likes this one.

My DD was allowed to order whichever 2 sides she wanted with above meals.

As well as the complete meal they offer Kid's Picks that so they can put it together they way they want it. And notice that if the kid's pick this option, they get an appetizer, unlike us adults.

Kids' Picks
Choice of 1 appetizer, 1 entree and 1 dessert - $7.59

Appetizers-Chicken Noodle Soup OR Garden Salad

Entrees-Hot Dog OR Hamburger OR Macaroni and Cheese

And if you eat at one of the signature (2TS) options, the choices are even better. For example at Grand Californian

Appetizer-Romaine Salad - Buttermilk Ranch Dressing and Sourdough Croutons $4.00

Entrees
Housemade Macaroni and Cheese - $7.00 or
Roasted Salmon with Basmati Rice and seasonal vegetables $8.00 or
Oak Fired Rib Steakwith Yukon gold potatoes and seasonal vegetables $11.00 or
Grilled Chicken Breastwith Yukon gold potatoes and seasonal vegetables $9.00 or
Homemade Whole wheat Pizza with Provolone Cheese - $8.00

DESSERT - $3.00
Crisped Rice Sushi Plate
Chocolate Pudding with Whipped Cream
Vanilla Bean Ice Cream with Chocolate Fudge Sauce

All meals with choice of 1% milk, bottled water or juice

Granted, it's harder at CS to get better choices but we frequently shared 2 adult meals between the 3 of us (DM, DD, and myself).

HTH.

 

[Coparm]

After seeing the poor choices of food in the kids menu and thanks to other posts on this board I changed my son on our reservation from an 8 yr old to a 10 yr old. Because my trip 9/30 to 10/09 is during the free dining I only had to pay the difference in park hopper tickets aprox $37. Money well spent for 10 days and now I do not have to give up or share my meals with him! The travel agent I worked with was a DisneyWorld specialist and said it would not be a problem.
If I had not read about doing that on this board I would never have thought of it.This board rocks! I read it multiple times a day.

I have done this exact same thing for my DD6 for September going free dining, she is a steak lover and this means she can have her own, not eat mine! Its also enabled me to choose to pay OOP for some of the meals where she will be a child e.g. the buffets and then I'm using her TS credits for myself, this way we actually get more meals. This works as there's just the 2 of us going.

 

[enchantingodin]

I agree this does take some planning so the kids don't get sick of the same ol thing every time. My eldest is a vegetarian to boot - even more fun for me. I have read many times on these boards where parents asked for a child size portion of whatever was on the adult menu at CS places. And in most cases the CM just gave them the adult platter instead. Not that I'm trying to encourage abuse of the system, just sharing info. I'm guessing the reason they did it that way was because for them it was just easier to put in an adult platter than to try to force the system to understand kids meal with a different entree.

Have a fun trip!

 

[buzzmom3]

I have done this exact same thing for my DD6 for September going free dining, she is a steak lover and this means she can have her own, not eat mine! Its also enabled me to choose to pay OOP for some of the meals where she will be a child e.g. the buffets and then I'm using her TS credits for myself, this way we actually get more meals. This works as there's just the 2 of us going.

How did you do this? I would be willing to do this with my DS but I already booked. Can I just call Disney and say I want to change him to an adult?

 

[cneiniowa]

Thanks to everyone for the great advice! I appreciate the wisdom and feedback.

 

[tmcddodd]

How did you do this? I would be willing to do this with my DS but I already booked. Can I just call Disney and say I want to change him to an adult?

I had it booked already and changed my sons (he is 8) age to 10. My son is a pretty healthy eater and would not enjoy eating the limited selection for 10 days. The travel agent did it for me after asking her in an email. Because it is during free dining I only had to pay the difference in park hopper tickets. It was about $37. Well worth not having to share meals or me eating some kids meals during our 10 day trip. We may even save on meals because we could share more adult meals.

 

[Stormhawk]

We also upgraded the young lady traveling with us to an adult (though she's only 9) so she wasn't on the more limited meal options. She's learned to be a very adventerous and varied eater, so nuggets and dogs for a week really would take from her (and our) enjoyment.

Hopefully, if Disney monitors some of these boards (or recieves enough complaints) they will note a general desire for them to improve this component of their package.

 

[buzzmom3]

Thanks for the information! I called Disney, explained my 7 yr old would not be happy with the limited choices and they allowed me to change his age to 10. I paid to upgrade his ticket and we are set for September. This is such a relief for me!

 

[momofbcs]

I have an 8 year old boy who eats more than I do (and hes only 74lbs at 5' tall- he's freakishly tall lol) but I dont want to put him on the adult plan for free dining when in 6 months when we go back and he will be just 9 I will have to pay the difference in the kid and adult price since Disney keeps all the info on ages etc.

Cause seriously the boy can pack it in- unlike his twin who eats like a bird.

 

[WhitGB]

I understand they keep records of the kids ages but I am sure some of the people who have changed ages with their TA or Disney have traveled before, would the kids ages not have previously been in the system? Are we assuming that once we increase their age to Adult ticket/dining status they are stuck there?

I am not trying to trick the system, but I have future cruises booked and will Disney start to change the ages for the cruise too? That would mix up the kids clubs...

Just a question since I am also thinking of changing my DD in future years.

Thanks.

 

[Dizneydaz]

I too thought they kep up to date on kid's ages but when I made our ressies in April for Sept. the CM I talked to thought my DD was only 4. She's turning 10 in Sept. This surprised me as i thought their system would automatically update kid's ages. This will be her 10th trip to WDW. Last time there she was almost 9. So I'm not sure they keep track of that info.

Luckily for me DD will be 10 so she can have a full choice of meals and sharing between the 3 of us will be even easier. The times when she wants a kid's meal I'll just pay OOP and keep the credit. Since I only bought a one day base tix the extra cost to have her be an adult for the whole trip isn't that much. We are actually arriving on the 12th but her birthday is on the 19th. Luckily I have many days left on her 10 day, PH, no exp., with plusses we bought last year.

 

[buzzmom3]

I had to update my son's age this year as well, Disney had him down as 5 instead of 7. I was not looking to trick anyone either. I asked the CM up front if I could do and told him why I wanted to change his name. Apparently, it's not an uncommon request.