Confused - gluten free "kid"/and tipping when GF on DxDp

[Disneynut5]

We are going to Disney in December (3-12). I am gluten free and so is my 10 year old son. I know he is an adult under the dining plan (we are going deluxe with all sit down meals). Will the chefs offer him kid food (allergy free chicken, burgers with GF buns, etc) or will they make him adult menu food.

Also, how do they charge you for tipping purposes if the item is not on the menu? I want to estimate for tips but with GF I have no idea what our charges will be. It does not matter what they charge since we are on the Deluxe plan and it will be covered, but for tipping it does. If I feel that we are overcharged because we have GF items, then I will reduce the tip accordingly. It is not like our waiter has to do much extra because we are gluten free so if there is a substantial overcharge for GF then I will tip based on a normal meal price.

Does any of this make sense? Help, I can not seem to find answers to these questions anywhere on Dis.

 

[Pamlur]

edited because I do understand what you are saying, after all.

And can't help because I haven't been in your shoes.

 

[itradehilton]

My DS and DH are GF and we had the DxDDP and we were never charged anything extra for the GF food. The menu price was what was reflected on the receipt. Since my DS loves many foods and he only ate off the adult menu, he just didn't finish his meals.

 

[Mrsjvb]

what do you mean, not on the menu?

if you order a GF burger meal you will be charged the same price as the regular burger meal listed on the menu. if you order a chicken dish without certain ingredients due to allergies to mushrooms you pay the same price as if it were covered in fungus sauce. they aren't going to charge you more just cuz the bun costs more than the regular one.

or are you asking about going to restaurant A that has no chicken dish on the menu but you ask for a plain breast with steamed veggies and french fries? assuming it can be accommodated, you can expect to pay approximately the same price as a close match that is on the menu.. perhaps the salmon dish instead.

you can always call dining or special needs and talk to a CM to find out if there is a 'base price' charged for totally off the wall requests.

for buffets, no love.. they will be more than happy to show you what edible but you won' t get a discount if half the foods are off limits.

 

[Disneynut5]

Okay, I think I get it now. I guess if my son wants allergy free chicken (that would be a kids item) then they would just charge for an adult chicken meal and give him a bit more since he is an adult on the meal plan. That seems simple enough. But it does make it a bit hard to estimate our tips since places like California Grill really do not have things like chicken or kid foods on the adult menu, it is hard to know what they will offer to cook for my son and how much it will be. Other places I can get a better idea.

Our tips should be double what they were last time since we had two kids then and now have 4 "adult" diners. Wish Disney would make the kids price up to 12 years of age, not 9 and up! My son is such a tiny eater, I will tell them that so they don't waste food and make him mountains of it!

 

[DCDisney]

They often will just come out and tell you what items from the menu they can or can't do GF. So if he's working off the adult menu they'll say you can have x, y, or z plus if you leave off the sauce you could also have a, b, or c. Seeing that he's a kid they may also say that they have GF chicken tenders, mac and cheese, etc. If he picks a kid item the charge on your bill may be the kids price or double that for a bigger portion. It really just depends. They'll still charge an adult credit though. For tipping if they charge for a kid for my tween I just guesstimate tip based on $20 instead. In some cases they will just come out and ask what do you want which sometimes makes it harder so it's good if he has a favorite food response. I usually say grilled fish or steak with salad if they just ask what I want.

 

[brown1442]

We were never upcharged for gluten free items on the dining plan... it was just a meal credit. Even when my son (who was 4 at the time) CLEARLY got adult portions and quality. I really don't think Disney is out to "get" anyone with their food offerings... in fact they went WAY above and beyond to accommodate.

Examples... like I said my son was 4 (almost 5) when we went and at Ohana he was given a bowl of 10 season rubbed chicken wings, small (6 inch long) skewers of shrimp, steak, and pork, a bowl of rice, a bowl of broccoli, and a half of pineapple with 3 scoops of rice ice cream AND GF brownies for dessert. All of that for a "kids" credit.

Then at Le Cellier he was given apples and cinnamon, a gluten free roll, 2 full chicken breasts beautifully seasons (and delicious might I add... I ate some after my steak it was that good), rice, broccoli, cantaloupe, and then fresh sorbet.

Mama Melrose subbed GF pasta for his spaghetti with no upcharge. Caseys provided GF hotdog buns for no extra.

He ate like a king!! All for the normal kid charges.

 

[Disneynut5]

I am just so used to large upcharges in our town for GF foods when we dine out. I was not sure how Disney handled that. Good to know that the dining plan will cover it all.

Thanks everyone. I feel better now.

 

[Mrsjvb]

I am just so used to large upcharges in our town for GF foods when we dine out. I was not sure how Disney handled that. Good to know that the dining plan will cover it all.

Thanks everyone. I feel better now.

really?! wow. I know grocery items run more expensive but it surprises me that restaurants charge extra if you order a GF roll on your burger. bad enough they charge for cheese or adding chicken or shrimp to a salad

 

[WheeledTraveler]

I am just so used to large upcharges in our town for GF foods when we dine out. I was not sure how Disney handled that. Good to know that the dining plan will cover it all.

Thanks everyone. I feel better now.

From what other posters have said in the past, if you are on the dining plan you won't be up-charged.

However, if you are paying out of pocket (I know not relevant to the OP, but I want to make sure it's clear), there are items where you are up-charged for gluten-free or other allergy related foods (but I can't remember if there's a way to really know ahead of time where/what will be up-charged other than I know I've read complaints about pizza costs). I'm not gluten free and the last time I was at WDW with someone with allergies we were able to order things off the regular menu with slight alterations rather than any of the allergy-specific foods.

 

[dzorn]

really?! wow. I know grocery items run more expensive but it surprises me that restaurants charge extra if you order a GF roll on your burger. bad enough they charge for cheese or adding chicken or shrimp to a salad

I would expect nothing less. Gluten free pizza and rolls and such cost double if not triple the cost of simalar gluten items. I pay 7.99 for a pack of 4 plain rollsat home plain sandwich bread is 6.19 for a small loaf. I do not blame the restaurants for wanting to make a profit. I would rather they charge me appropriately then decide the cost was to much and stop carring them.

OP we were never upcharged for gluten free on the dining plan but paying cash it may be a different price.

Denise in MI

 

[Traveliz]

I would expect nothing less. Gluten free pizza and rolls and such cost double if not triple the cost of simalar gluten items. I pay 7.99 for a pack of 4 plain rollsat home plain sandwich bread is 6.19 for a small loaf. I do not blame the restaurants for wanting to make a profit. I would rather they charge me appropriately then decide the cost was to much and stop carring them.

OP we were never upcharged for gluten free on the dining plan but paying cash it may be a different price.

Denise in MI

We have a condo in Windermere and visit frequently. My gf husband has never been charged differently for his food. We don't have the dining plan as we go home to sleep. Now I did read awhile back where the pizza places were but I don't think we have been there since anyway.

Liz

 

[clanmcculloch]

Here's how it's always worked for us. When they prepare something for you that is not on the menu and not even close to anything on the menu, they'll ring it into the computer as something that seems to be a similiar price point. It seems to vary quite a bit from day to day and by chef as to how things get rung up. We ate at Captain's Grille for lunch on 8/17 and got allergy chicken tenders with fries plus apple juice for DD11 and we were charged for a hamburger meal. We at at the same place for dinner the following day and she ordered the exact same thing but we were charged for a kid's meal even though the portion was bigger the second time. I even questioned the waitress about it not being enough and she said that's what the chef told her to do. We were paying OOP, not using a dining plan. I don't know if they would have rung things up differently or not if we were using a dining plan.

I'd budget for the most expensive possible equivalents and then if/when things are rung up cheaper then consider it a bonus.