DDP with 10 year old?

[Tina G]

We will be taking a trip to Disney in May. Our party will include 4 adults (two parents and two grandparents) and our daughter who turns 10 in April. I am undecided about the DDP. DD is very petite and is the size of an average 8 year old and also is a light and picky eater. The childrens plan is perfect for her in the amount/types of food and the price. However, due to her age we would have to pay the adult price for her. A couple of questions:

1. Do the servers routinely ask the children their ages before they order? So if we decide to pay OOP, could she still order off the kids menu even though many of them say ages 3-9?

2. If we take the DDP, can we regularly order only 4 meals (TS or CS) and share with DD so as to save one credit per meal to use at a later time? Of course I know we cannot do this at buffets.

3. Has anyone else had experience with kids who just miss the cutoff age for the childrens plan and any suggestions on the best way to handle it? Thanks for any input!

 

[Pumbaa_]

have you considered not doing the dining plan since it doesn't seem to work for you now that she is considered an adult on the plan?

 

[Tina G]

Yes, that is what I am leaning toward right now. Or just having the grandparents take the plan as they are on a separate reservation and it may work out for them.

We've been to Disney twice before, in 2004 and 2007. We didn't do the dining plan either time as we are not big eaters and we didn't want to have to deal with the hassle. But I know that it can be a money saver a lot of the time so I don't want to dismiss it, especially if we can possibly share meals and then use the extra adult credits toward the extra meals that we would be paying OOP for anyway.

 

[taliategan]

Yes, that is what I am leaning toward right now. Or just having the grandparents take the plan as they are on a separate reservation and it may work out for them.

We've been to Disney twice before, in 2004 and 2007. We didn't do the dining plan either time as we are not big eaters and we didn't want to have to deal with the hassle. But I know that it can be a money saver a lot of the time so I don't want to dismiss it, especially if we can possibly share meals and then use the extra adult credits toward the extra meals that we would be paying OOP for anyway.

Sharing meals with CS locations is no problem. You can always order less than the number in your party, and it is easy to use the extra credits at a later time. I believe you can do it at non-buffet TS locations, but it may be more difficult to later use. You may need to make an extra ADR later in your trip to use the unused TS credits. The DDP is a lot food, IMO, for light eaters and you may find out that if you do not use some the credits for your daughter earlier in the trip, that these credits may end up not being used at all.

 

[mom22bless]

You can try the Quick Service DIning Plan then pay OOP for TS meals.

 

[Tricia1972]

What you're proposing is no problem at all. You don't even need to lie about her age. Just let the server know you are ordering and paying for her out of pocket and the others will be using DDP credits.

My concern is that you imply that you're all light eaters. The DDP is not usually a money saver for light eaters. If you would normally order and share 4 entrees and 4 desserts then you can save money on the DDP.

If you're ordering 4 entrees and 4 desserts only because you can on the plan - then you may not be saving a lot of money. Especially if you would normally want to order 4 entrees and 1 dessert to share.

It can be a great deal, but doesn't work for everyone. Take a look at what you would order if money were no object. Do a little math and see how the plan works for you.

You may want to look at at least one signature for the group (if you have enough extra credits from your DD)

 

[pbharris4]

We did the DP when DD was 10 and other DD had just turned 3 (so we got hit by DD becoming a "Disney adult" going up from child price and also other DD was no longer free. I did it because my DD have expensive tastes..love filet mignon, crab, shrimp, crab legs, etc. Well, my 10 yo mostly ate from kid's menus the whole time with the exception of the filet mignon at Kona Cafe. While we are by no means light/picky eaters, we don't gorge ourselves either. It was ALOT of food. We go in June and with all the water you drink because your hot and the heat itself..you don't eat as much.

We decided not to do the DP this past year and see how it worked out. I felt it worked out much better.

Anyone can order from the kids menu except buffets. I think the DP may be too much food for you.

 

[TDC Nala]

I would not have any idea why it would be necessary to lie about your child's age in order to purchase a children's menu meal. I used to buy CS kids' meals for myself and I am 44.

If you are going to purchase a child's menu meal for her and pay for it with an adult credit (which you can do), make sure the server or cashier knows what kind of credit you are paying with.

 

[Tina G]

I would not have any idea why it would be necessary to lie about your child's age in order to purchase a children's menu meal. I used to buy CS kids' meals for myself and I am 44.

I have no intention of lying about her age. And I am not concerned about quick service places as I know they don't care who they are selling kids meals to. It's the table service meals I am concerned about. I would absolutely not use DDP adult credits to pay for kids menu meals. That would make no sense as they are at most, $7.50. So assuming that we are not doing the DDP and are just paying OOP for all meals, will my 10 year old DD be able to order from the childrens menu at table service restaurants? That's why I am wondering if they ask kids their ages. Because if they ask her age and she says 10, will they not allow her to order off the kids menu even if we are paying OOP, since the menu states ages 3-9?

I am fairly certain that the DDP will not be a value for us on this trip. Since DD will count as an adult and we are generally light eaters, paying OOP will probably make the most sense. Hopefully DD will be able to order from the childrens menu at most places. When we do quick service, we will order 4 meals and she will share. At TS restaurants, if she can order a kids meal great, if not we will share with her. Buffets will be the only issue. We usually do 2 breakfast buffets and 2-3 dinner buffets. I guess we'll see what happens. If they ask her age, we'll end up paying the adult price for her. Since she's petite, they may assume she's 9 or under and may not even ask.


Thanks for the help!

 

[TDC Nala]

They apparently don't care at TS restaurants either, unless it's a buffet or all-you-can-eat meal. A 10 year old would not be permitted to pay a child's price for a buffet. At a-la-carte restaurants, just ask for a childrens' menu meal and make sure your server knows you are paying for it with cash and not dining credits.

If you are doing a lot of buffets you may want to stick with the dining plan as your 10 year old will pay adult prices at all of those. And you might be asked her age at buffets.

 

[warriorboy648]

We are in a similiar situation. I plan on ordering off the children's menu and paying for it. We will then have some extra adult meals and at some point will probably do a 2 service meal.

I also am going to try to send you a PM.