Children's meals for young teenagers at Signature restaurants?

[MelaBella]

We will have two 13 yearl old girls in our party and will not be on the DDP. As you can imagine, they do not eat a lot of food and are not exactly adventurous eaters. That said, I don't want to feed them hambugers and pizza for 10 days. Some of the Signature restaurants I'm considering offer things like roasted chicken or steak with vegetables on their children's menus. Will our girls be able to order from these items from the children's menus even though they are Disney adults and the restaurants offer adults chicken and steak entrees? The adult versions would not be to their liking do the "fancy" sauces and sides.

 

[mom2rtk]

Probably not, although this might vary by location. More than likely, they will offer to make up an adult size portion of the child items..... and charge you an adult price. We paid $60 for chicken nuggets at CRT.

 

[minniebeth]

We will have two 13 yearl old girls in our party and will not be on the DDP. As you can imagine, they do not eat a lot of food and are not exactly adventurous eaters. That said, I don't want to feed them hambugers and pizza for 10 days. Some of the Signature restaurants I'm considering offer things like roasted chicken or steak with vegetables on their children's menus. Will our girls be able to order from these items from the children's menus even though they are Disney adults and the restaurants offer adults chicken and steak entrees? The adult versions would not be to their liking do the "fancy" sauces and sides.

I can only tell you what our experience was with several Signature restaurants were rather than what "policy" is~

I have a DD14 and we've eaten at Citricos, Jiko, California Grill most recently.
At Citricos, there was nothing on the menu she really cared for and she does have some food allergies. The chef accomodated her by making her a pasta dish (simple). He did not charge her a full price adult meal, but it wasn't a child's meal price either. I want to say it was in the $12-$14 price range.

At Jiko, she had a flatbread adapted to her likes, and yes, they did charge full price. For a salad, she just wanted a plain salad, not all the stuff on it that was on the menu. Again, they accomodated her, and again, priced the salad somewhere in the middle of the regular menu and a child's portion.

California Grill they accomodated her needs/preferences but charged her full adult menu price.

We were not on a dining plan when we dined at these Signatures~

We've been to many non-Signature restaurants as well and she has asked for child menu items. She was given those items but a larger portion charged as an adult price.
Sometimes on the Ddp, sometimes not....

Just our experiences...

 

[laughinplace199]

DD12 & DS10 often ordered off the kids menu on our last trip. We ate at 2 Signatures on that trip (Artist Point & Brown Derby), but they had no issues with the kids ordering off the kids menu. We also ate at some non-signature places like GF Cafe, Sci Fi, & Olivia's with no problems ordering kids meals. Of course, at buffets like CP and TH, we paid the adult price for them.

 

[jjsdad]

We have in the past (flying fish this past summer) gone to a signature with my ds3 and ds11 and paid OOP for the boys and used ddp credits for our meals. DS11 ordered off of the childrens menu so this was not a problem at all.

 

[ccgirl]

Most of the time, it says on the kids menu what age the menu if for. They trust the parent to be truthful while ordering from it. (not saying you wouldn't be)

I know very few restaurants, even outside of WDW, where a 13 year old would be considered acceptable to order from the child menu. Most of the time, it is for children 12 and under.

Most of the signature restaurants will make "adult" portions of the items on the children's menu.

ETA: Looking at the menus I found:
For Guests 9 and under

So, no the 13 year old should not be ordering from the children's menu. Are there people that order from the children's menu when their children are not 9 or under? Sure, unfortunately there will always be people who feel the rules are not applicable to them.

 

[SpinTheWorld]

I was a server at Le Cellier, so I can weigh in on 'policy' here.

Disney would like servers to adhere to the recommended ages on the kids menu, regardless of if you're on the dining plan or not. It's policy to not serve a kids meal dish to anybody over 10 years old - and certainly I know more than a few people get in trouble for this 'violation'.

With that being said, you'll find it will be at the servers discretion. Because you're not using DDP, you're not really 'restricted' by credits, so some servers may let you order whatever you wish. More than not, you'll find they will say no - mainly because they want the extra $$ on the bill.

The good news is that most dishes on menus can be customized to your girls' taste. Usually you can just get simple protein/fries or protein/veg sans fancy sauces etc.

Hope that helps.

* Jeremy
www.spinstheworld.com

 

[MelaBella]

Thank you for the responses. If they can get an adult sized portions of a child's meal, that will be fine. Of course, could we order an adult size portion of a child's meal and have them split it? Again, they could never eat that much. It just seems like a waste of food and money to take them with us to these meals.

 

[SpinTheWorld]

Thank you for the responses. If they can get an adult sized portions of a child's meal, that will be fine. Of course, could we order an adult size portion of a child's meal and have them split it? Again, they could never eat that much. It just seems like a waste of food and money to take them with us to these meals.

It's true, it could be a waste of both. That could tack on $50-$60 to your check total. Splitting is always an option - most signature restaurants will not charge a split fee either, which is nice.

*Jeremy
www.spinstheworld.com

 

[goofyintoronto]

We will have two 13 yearl old girls in our party and will not be on the DDP. As you can imagine, they do not eat a lot of food and are not exactly adventurous eaters. That said, I don't want to feed them hambugers and pizza for 10 days. Some of the Signature restaurants I'm considering offer things like roasted chicken or steak with vegetables on their children's menus. Will our girls be able to order from these items from the children's menus even though they are Disney adults and the restaurants offer adults chicken and steak entrees? The adult versions would not be to their liking do the "fancy" sauces and sides.

My DS11 has ordered from the kids menu at Cali Grill and they asked no questions at all. And he looks older than his age cause he's quite tall. Also, I know of a couple of adults who even ordered from the kids menu and didnt have an issue. So i really think your girls will be fine.

Thank you for the responses. If they can get an adult sized portions of a child's meal, that will be fine. Of course, could we order an adult size portion of a child's meal and have them split it? Again, they could never eat that much. It just seems like a waste of food and money to take them with us to these meals.

Thats another option. The girls can definitely share an adult meal if need be.

 

[Pixiedust34]

A spin-off question...........My 14 yo dd would like to order a kid's meal at La Hacienda. We'll be on the DDP. She will order adult entrees at every other restaurant, but at this one place the adult menu isn't appealing to her.

Does anyone have experience with a teen ordering a child's meal with an adult credit at La Hacienda?

 

[SpinTheWorld]

A spin-off question...........My 14 yo dd would like to order a kid's meal at La Hacienda. We'll be on the DDP. She will order adult entrees at every other restaurant, but at this one place the adult menu isn't appealing to her.

Does anyone have experience with a teen ordering a child's meal with an adult credit at La Hacienda?

You may stand a wee chance if you pay CASH for the kids meal. Your server would have to split the check - everything included in the plan, and the kids meal.

 

[minniebeth]

A spin-off question...........My 14 yo dd would like to order a kid's meal at La Hacienda. We'll be on the DDP. She will order adult entrees at every other restaurant, but at this one place the adult menu isn't appealing to her.

Does anyone have experience with a teen ordering a child's meal with an adult credit at La Hacienda?

No experience at La Hacienda specifically, but my kids on the DDP have ordered from the kids' menu from many other restaurants...they just give you an "adult" sized portion, usually double of what a kids' sized meal would be and charge their adult credit.

 

[MelaBella]

Thanks, Jeremy. An extra $50 to $60 wouldn't so bad, but I'm looking at California Grill and Narcoose's. An adult steak there is $47. So, $100+ if we have to order two full price adult entrees for the girls. If they could split the entree and the kitchen will make it kid friendly, then I could live with that.

It's true, it could be a waste of both. That could tack on $50-$60 to your check total. Splitting is always an option - most signature restaurants will not charge a split fee either, which is nice.

*Jeremy
www.spinstheworld.com

 

[SpinTheWorld]

Thanks, Jeremy. An extra $50 to $60 wouldn't so bad, but I'm looking at California Grill and Narcoose's. An adult steak there is $47. So, $100+ if we have to order two full price adult entrees for the girls. If they could split the entree and the kitchen will make it kid friendly, then I could live with that.

California Grill is great for that kind of thing. If you end up there, ask to sit with Lisa. She is one of the most thoughtful and magnificent servers on Disney property. I know both places pride themselves on really fresh produce, which comes from a farm in Plant City, Florida. No telling what they'll have when you arrive, but it will be great. So they can for sure make a steak/fresh veg dish nice, simple and REALLY tasty.

Consider Citricos as well. Chef Philip is, in my opinion, the best and most passionate Chef at Disney World and will surely make something incredible, simple and tasty for your girls. Can not say enough great things about this place. Hands down my favorite restaurant at WDW.

*Jeremy
www.spinstheworld.com

 

[ccgirl]

Thank you for the responses. If they can get an adult sized portions of a child's meal, that will be fine. Of course, could we order an adult size portion of a child's meal and have them split it? Again, they could never eat that much. It just seems like a waste of food and money to take them with us to these meals.

Splitting is an option. WHen paying cash, often my DD and DS split an adult meal as they are pretty adventurous eaters. SOmetimes my DH and myself even split an entree if we have had appetizers.

Some restaurants *may* charge a split plate fee but I can't remember any that do.

Again, policy is the the children's menu is for children ages 9 and younger. Have people gotten away with other ages; absolutely.

 

[Beamer97]

ugh we are eating at LeCellier in Sept.. i was planning on getting DD who will have just turned 12 a kids menu...there is no way she can eat all that food... I am not sure I can... Will they let her and I split an adult meal?

 

[ccgirl]

ugh we are eating at LeCellier in Sept.. i was planning on getting DD who will have just turned 12 a kids menu...there is no way she can eat all that food... I am not sure I can... Will they let her and I split an adult meal?

YEs. LeCellier does allow split plates.

However, I don't remember there being all that much food that I would have split. Maybe they have increased their portion sizes though.

 

[MelaBella]

I will do that. I just checked out your blog/website and bookmarked it.

Thanks!

California Grill is great for that kind of thing. If you end up there, ask to sit with Lisa. She is one of the most thoughtful and magnificent servers on Disney property. I know both places pride themselves on really fresh produce, which comes from a farm in Plant City, Florida. No telling what they'll have when you arrive, but it will be great. So they can for sure make a steak/fresh veg dish nice, simple and REALLY tasty.

Consider Citricos as well. Chef Philip is, in my opinion, the best and most passionate Chef at Disney World and will surely make something incredible, simple and tasty for your girls. Can not say enough great things about this place. Hands down my favorite restaurant at WDW.

*Jeremy
www.spinstheworld.com

 

[Beamer97]

well to be honest i am not thirlled about going there. it's DH... I don't eat steak and dd is a picky eater.. .I was thinking we could share the chicken dish...