Dining and age considered 'adult'

[kpgclark]

I'm annoyed. I think it is a little ridiculous that the age cutoff for kid's meals is 9. My 10yo daughter and even my 13yo son do not eat much at all. I'm mad that they won't be able to order children's meals or eat at the buffets at the kid's price. I really think Disney should reconsider the age cutoffs for that. Why can't kids order smaller meals if they don't want to eat gigantic adult portions????

 

[welovewdw]

Our 16 yo son eats the kids meals sometimes at restaurants because he eats like 4 foods - if none of them are available on the adult menu. (our other children eat normally - I have no idea why he eats like that, but he's been that picky since birth) I always apologize and offer to pay an adult price for the chicken nuggets or whatever, but they've never charged me more and have always served him. So my point is (rather longwinded LOL) they can still order from the children's menu - I have never lied, just ask if it's ok, never had anyone say "sorry he's too old" - they're very accomodating.

 

[kpgclark]

That is a good point. I don't think they'd do that at breakfast buffets or when we have dinner at Boma though.

 

[welovewdw]

Yep you're right - we always pay for adult price for him at Boma's and Chef Mickey's - and believe me, he doesn't eat any adult foods

I know what you mean, too - our 9 yo's birthday is in July (while we're at WDW!) She definitely doesn't eat adult portions (although she does eat normal food thankfully!) At least this year, we get the benefit of a child pass for the last year - I think her AP is upgraded when she turns 10. (and next renewal, she's a "Disney Adult")

 

[eddieras]

i agree- its horrible that they charge full adult price for a 10 year old. they are very liberal on the regular sit down restaurants if you order off the child's menu- but the buffets are full adult price. i would mind a graduate rate - say $18.99 for 10 -14 yrs or so. i think that' would be fairer. tho i'm sure you'd find a 14 year old who could pack it i!!

 

[hippiechicken]

what if you turn 10 during your stay??
Do you pay for some child buffets, then the rest adult??
How does it work on the DDP?

 

[solferino]

what if you turn 10 during your stay??
Do you pay for some child buffets, then the rest adult??
How does it work on the DDP?

They use the age on the day of check-in.

 

[auntie]

I'm sure my son was 10( or even 11) and I just ordered for him from the childrens menu if he liked those selections better. I know we have been to the Beach Club when he was 11 and still had the kid price at the Cape May Cafe. No one asked for his ID. Of course this was before the Dining Plan.(which I now love!...and find a good value) I would imagine that if you are using the plan it would go by the ages that are indicated when booking the reservation. No getting around that. I think that's why there is a period of time, where kids are not really eating adult meals, but being charged adult prices..and the plan is probably not as good a value as when they are a bit older. Don't worry ...in a few years it will be working in your favor. Mine is 15 now..and it was a great value!

 

[NMW]

I'm sure my son was 10( or even 11) and I just ordered for him from the childrens menu if he liked those selections better. I know we have been to the Beach Club when he was 11 and still had the kid price at the Cape May Cafe. No one asked for his ID. Of course this was before the Dining Plan.(which I now love!...and find a good value) I would imagine that if you are using the plan it would go by the ages that are indicated when booking the reservation. No getting around that. I think that's why there is a period of time, where kids are not really eating adult meals, but being charged adult prices..and the plan is probably not as good a value as when they are a bit older. Don't worry ...in a few years it will be working in your favor. Mine is 15 now..and it was a great value!

Yeah, but now they ask the kids ages every time you make an ADR. Plus, many times they are tied to the ressie, which also has their ages. When i did OOP meals not using the DDP, my 10 year old son was charged the adult price at all our character breakfasts. They had his age when we checked in at the restaurant. He eats lots of adult foods though, so it didn't matter to us.

 

[deedeetoo]

I agree this is a problem. My dd will be turning 9 next month and she weighs about 48 lbs. We will be OK for this year, but its ridiculous that next year this tiny little thing will be charged adult prices. We like buffets because of the characters and the selection, but its outrageous to pay adult prices for someone so small. She is still sitting in a booster seat in the car because she is so small but Disney thinks she's almost an adult. I wish there was some sort of size cut off instead.

 

[auntie]

Yeah, but now they ask the kids ages every time you make an ADR. Plus, many times they are tied to the ressie, which also has their ages. When i did OOP meals not using the DDP, my 10 year old son was charged the adult price at all our character breakfasts. They had his age when we checked in at the restaurant. He eats lots of adult foods though, so it didn't matter to us.

Didn't relize they ask the ages when you make an ADR..I do remember this trip they did ask if there were any kids(because I wasn't even sure I was taking the DDP when I made the ADR's)...and because mine aren't under 10...I just said "no kids". I am thinking I could have easily just have said..I'm not sure yet. You can make ADR's without being on the dining plan..they don't have to know you are even staying in a Disney resort. Most of my ADR's were made prior to our switching to the plan. I just told them when we showed up at the restaurant that we were on the Dining Plan.
Of course if you have booked a package..then it's tied to the reservation, and there's no way around it. If you book a room only..I think you might have a bit of wiggle room if you made your ADR's and just didn't mention their ages until you get there.

 

[lyzziesmom]

Heck, I'm an extremely picky adult and I sometimes order off the kids' menu. If you are at a buffet you will be charged according to your age, but at any other restaurant you will be charged accordign to what you order. Of course the DDP does change things a bit, so I'm not talking about that - that's a whole 'nother can of worms.

 

[SallyfromDE]

I guess you need to draw the line somewhere.

 

[Tess'smom]

I agree this is a problem. My dd will be turning 9 next month and she weighs about 48 lbs. We will be OK for this year, but its ridiculous that next year this tiny little thing will be charged adult prices. We like buffets because of the characters and the selection, but its outrageous to pay adult prices for someone so small. She is still sitting in a booster seat in the car because she is so small but Disney thinks she's almost an adult. I wish there was some sort of size cut off instead.

I agree that that 10 years old is too young to be considered not a child anymore for meal plans, however, size cut off is a very tricky thing. My DD is extremely tall for her age. I don't think that would be fair to penalize us because she is a tall child. Age limits are more fair and equitable.

 

[n2mm]

I feel your pain, but nothing we can do about it. When the age changed a couple of summers ago, I had all of my ADRs set for my mid-July trip with our then 10 year old grandson. He was considered a kid when making my ADRs, so a month before we were to arrive Disney changed the age. He became an adult overnight. Lots of folks on the boards and a disney dining assured us that they would still honor that ADR since it was made prior to the rule change....Let me say one word....NOT. For the buffets I had booked (Chef Mickey and Cape May) we asked at the podium the day before (staying at BC) and told them the situation and they told us we WOULD be charged as an adult for him, no matter when we made the ADR. So we canceled all buffets for that trip. He was a nugget guy and just couldn't justify a buffet for him. We did order kids meals at the TS locations, sometimes having to pay the sur-charge then, (since the rules changed, most places were trying to enforce it....it has relaxed now). THe only ADR we got to keep was the one at HDDR. I had booked and paid for it before the rule changed and was told that they would still honor it, so that was good. (Of course that was the last time we did a dinner show.)

To the OP: you can still get your kids the kids meals at TS locations. The CMs there are very good about it. They still offer my grandson both the adult and kids menus when we check in and he's taller than I am. Since we use the DDP for most trips now, he has managed to find stuff to eat, but his meals are usually steak now, but he subs the fancy veggies and potatoes for french fries. We eat at Disney alot (about 50 meals a year) and find that most places are very accommodating to your request. If your child doesn't like the way an item is prepared (sauce on the filet), they will put is on the side (grandson does this alot). Don't hestitate to ask.

 

[DisneyWisher]

When we go to Sci-Fi, DD14 always orders from the kids menu. Not because she can't eat an adult size cheeseburger, its because she doesn't like the bun on the adult cheese burger. Never had a problem. Personally we don't do many buffets, I just don't care for beef thats cooked with wine. We do go to the 1900 Park Fare breakfast. We love that, less crowded than Chef Mickey's with a big selection. But I just don't think using a DDP credit is worth it. I'd rather pay out of pocket. That $19.00 plus tax and tip credit is better used at
Concourse Steak house or ESPN Club.

 

[Colleen27]

I see both sides of this one - I have a 9 year old who will be thrilled to be an adult when it comes to dining. We're going back just before he turns 10, but he'll be ordering as an adult this trip. And on the other extreme, I have a 39 lb 5 year old who eats like a bird and can't even finish a kids' meal at most sit down restaurants. Paying adult prices for her at 10 will almost certainly be a colossal waste of money.

 

[SmallWorld71]

There is definitely no easy answer to this one. My eleven year old step-son is only 2 inches shorter than me, weighs 127 pounds (very solid from all his sports) and can easily eat more than my husband or me.

DS8 on the other hand is very small for his age. However, he thinks the kids menus stink and wishes he could order off the adult menu. For that reason, we end up with a lot of buffets so he can get shrimp and steak.

DD4 - Her eating depends on her mood that day. Some days she is a great eater, some days she eats like a bird.

Since every family has a different scenario, I think the only thing we can all do is know our family and see which dining options are the best for our family.
Happy Eating!

 

[makinorlando]

We have greatly reduced the number of times we go over to the parks or resorts just for the heck of it to enjoy a character meal now that DD turned 10.

Last year I had made a goal to do all of the character meals before she turned 10 for that very reason. Neither of us eat enough at the meals to pay adult price for both of us - even with the DDE discount!

 

[Luv2Roam]

that really is a hard one though. It is like ANY person. Some will eat very light, while others don't. Seniors quite often don't eat as much (as example) someone in their 30's. But they don't have senior prices either. And then you get into those with diet restrictions (whether self imposed or not).
I agree 9 is pretty young for an adult. But at least you know it up front and can plan accordingly. I imagine there are some pre teens who eat like a horse, and some like a bird.