DDP and kids that like to eat the good stuff

[Temair]

We are planning our trip to disney and are planning on doing the dining plan again. Last time in 2005 we were able to get adult meals for our DD to eat. I've heard that this has since changed and kids can only get kids meals. MY DD loves to eat what everyone else is eating and does not like corndogs, chicken strips or hamburgers. Are the kids choices still the same old boring kids meals or do they have other choices. Would my only choice be to pay for her as a 10 yr old and get the adult meals? Any advice would be great.

 

[all4fun]

I think I found an answer to this question HERE on the DDP forum.

If she is definitely more adventurous diner than most kids, I'd see if you can put her on your plan as a 10yr old, otherwise, your options for dining may be limited. You may want to check out the menus on http://www.allearsnet.com/din/dining.htm where you can see what is offered to kids. We found on our last trip that the kids menus seemed to be standardized across the board (same stuff everywhere). I don't know if that has changed since last fall though. Here's a photo of a "typical" kids menu that is posted on allears: http://www.allearsnet.com/menu/kids.jpg

hth

 

[Temair]

I looked at the restaurants we are thinking about and discoverd all but Le Celier is buffet style. So I think we will be okay with sticking with the child ticket. Thanks

 

[Princess Roo]

I was also going to suggest going heavy on the buffet TS meals. And maybe you could share your meals at other places, if you don't mind some mac&cheese for yourself

From what I understand, to get the adults dining plan for her, in addition to paying the adult DDP fee you also would need to purchase an additional adult park ticket (either to use for her or to save for a later date).

 

[Temair]

Interesting thing is its only $40 difference for a child ticket vs adult ticket. And with free dining it may be worth the $40 extra dollars.

 

[SharpMomOfTwo]

My only suggestion is to keep it as the kids ticket, then share your meals. She can have half of yours or your DH's, and you can have half of her kids meal. Thats probally what we will do with our kids, and they will only be 2 and 3 when we go!!

 

[Wendybird55]

Princess Roo is right about the park tickets. Your DDP is attached to your Park tickets - and from what I was told and understand if you buy an adult DDP for your child you will also have to buy an adult park ticket - which can be considerably more money.

Although he'll be 2 and I can share with him, I'm not thrilled with the children's menus for my son as well. He likes grilled or roasted chicken better than fried chicken fingers and prefers yams and carrots to french fries or mac & cheese. And what about vegetables - most children's meals don't include them. So I am planning lots of buffets and family style meals where there are more choices for my son.
Le Cellier and Coral Reef are the only 2 we're going to that are not buffet or family style and I think Le Cellier has a steak on the kids menu.

I do think Disney should offer a bit more variety on their children's menu. Though many kids prefer hot dogs, pizza and chicken fingers, some kids don't.

 

[Temair]

Ticket cost for Adult 6 day MYW w ph is $280, child $240. So $40 difference and if we get free dining there is no addiotnal cost there. And I don't think Disney would complain that I wanted to pay for an adult ticket rather than a child.

Without free dining it would not be worth it as the dining is a lot more expensive for adults than child.

 

[mickey&minniealways]

You didn't mention where you are staying. If you are a dvc member or renting from one you can get the DDP without getting park tickets. Many dvc members go more then once a year and get annual passes so attatching DDP to an annual pass would be difficult.

 

[Omma]

I hadn't even thought about this. My DS is going to want the "grown-up" food. (The child would eat sushi every meal if we let him.) I may have to share mine w/ him and save some child credits for a snack for all of them. And buffets are a good idea. I'm going to go review my ADR's right now. Although, I'm sure there isn't much wiggle room to change them as busy as the world is going to be the week we are going.

 

[trivial]

It's a shame that Disney doesn't offer better food choices for kids. They should require that their restaurants have several healthy food choices (things more inventive/sophisticated than salads or carrot sticks) for kids along with the less healthy, boring fast food choices.

Buffets are a great idea, although it's a bit of a disappointing option if you weren't already planning to visit them.

 

[NotUrsula]

They should require that their restaurants have several healthy food choices (things more inventive/sophisticated than salads or carrot sticks) for kids along with the less healthy, boring fast food choices.

Not to start a debate on the definition of "healthy", but WDW did do this, which is how we ended up with something close to hospital food on the kids menus. "Kids menu" food has to be cheap to justify the pricing, and bland appears to be how the menu program people defined "healthy". I don't think that opening that particular can of worms again would get any significantly better choices.

I've always thought that the simplest way to handle this would be to create another "adult" tier for 1/2 portions, and let restaurants mark their regular menu to show the entrees that could be served in those portions. Some dishes are easy to split, and some are not.

 

[trivial]

Not to start a debate on the definition of "healthy", but WDW did do this, which is how we ended up with something close to hospital food on the kids menus. "Kids menu" food has to be cheap to justify the pricing, and bland appears to be how the menu program people defined "healthy". I don't think that opening that particular can of worms again would get any significantly better choices.

The issue does seem to be the definition of the word, and it sounds like Disney did a poor job. I wouldn't think a tasty, healthy kids meal has to be any more expensive than fried-from-frozen chicken fingers, etc. I think a large part of the problem is lack of imagination, but that probably has more to do with the majority of kids and what their parents feed them than anything.

 

[_queenie_]

I hadn't even thought about this. My DS is going to want the "grown-up" food. (The child would eat sushi every meal if we let him.)

It's good to hear that my kids aren't crazy!

It amazes me what they'll try (though they still won't eat basic things like applesauce), rabbit, venison, you name it. Last month when we were out to eat I swear our waitress almost had a heart attack when my DD3.5 ordered escargot!

Those of you who have children with "sophisticated" palates as well must also be familiar with comments like "Honey, you know what that is, right?"

 

[brymolmom]

My experience with the kids' DDP is that with careful planning - you will be ok. My kids do like occassional burger and nuggetts - so we did have those once or twice - but no need to do so at all if you care not to. My kids had grilled chicken, pasta, a couple of buffets, fish, and like I said one burger and one fried chicken.

I think anyone who says there aren't enough kids options just isn't doing enough research. It's out there - just look. Now, you MIGHT be saying that the options aren't what your child prefers - and that is likely the case for a lot of people, adults and kids alike - not just your kids. If so, then your family might not be right for the DDP.

 

[Omma]

It's good to hear that my kids aren't crazy!

It amazes me what they'll try (though they still won't eat basic things like applesauce), rabbit, venison, you name it. Last month when we were out to eat I swear our waitress almost had a heart attack when my DD3.5 ordered escargot!

Those of you who have children with "sophisticated" palates as well must also be familiar with comments like "Honey, you know what that is, right?"

All of my kids were born in Korea. We adopted the girls when they were each only 4 mos old but our son was a waiting child and came up when he was 3 yrs old. A couple of months after he was home he kept talking about an octopus. I thought he wanted to see one so I showed him a picture on the computer and he said, "YUM!" I about died when I realized he wanted to EAT one! And he really does love octopus.

 

[DawnM]

I have an 8 and 10 year old. At Disney the 10 year old will be considered an adult anyway, but the truth is that my 8 year old eats MORE than my 10 year old! In fact, he eats more than I do!

We haven't done the DDP yet, but we do typically just get 3 adult meals and split them between the 5 of us. There is no way I can (or should) be eating all that food!

dawn

 

[taitai]

That is the reason we are not doing the DDP. I have three preschoolers who eat what we eat....salmon, sushi, salads, all their veggies, etc. I have never fed them "kid food" and so they are simply not used to it. I just couldn't figure out a way to feed them what they are used to eating while on the dining plan. I was making too many crazy choices (restaurants we weren't really interested in or were not convenient to where we were going to be) in order to feed them. Obviously, they are not going to die if they ate chicken fingers or fries but it isn't what they are used to eating and I figure we are going to stress them enough with all the over stimulation of the parks and slightly altered sleep schedule. I didn't need to push my luck by feeding them fried foods and empty carbs. Not worth the huge meltdown potential plus they just won't have the energy they are going to need if they are eating junk.

So, even though it is costing us a bit more, I opted off the DDP.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

taitai

 

[EnchantedPrincess]

When we were there last year, the only time they kept track of the credits by adults and child are all the table services. We used our table service on buffets, so our 2 and 4 yo were able to eat whatever they wanted from the buffet. As far as using the quick service credit, they didn't keep track of the number of adults and children's meal...just the total quick service credits available, so we were able to use the quick service credit on the regular menu, instead of limited to the children's menu.

 

[Temair]

Our plans are to go Sept 19 to 28 during the free dining. We will stay at AS Movies.