Dining Plan for Picky 14 Year Old

[donnajz]

My DD and I are planning a trip to Disney and I'm trying to decide whether I should purchase the Dining Plan. We went in 2005 and had the free dining plan which worked out fine, but I understand some changes were made in 2007. My DD constantly eats chicken strips, so whenever we went to a table service restaurant, she would order from the kids menu (she doesn't eat big portions). I was thinking of purchasing the Dining Plan because she'd be able to order from the kids menu and use a TS credit but after reading some threads I'm not sure that will work anymore. I have 2 questions: 1) Even though she is 14, can she still order from the kids menu and use 1 adult TS credit? 2) If we don't purchase the dining plan, can she order from the kids menu...and how would we be charged since she's over the age limit?
Thanks for your help!

 

[goofy4tink]

When we were in WDW in Oct we were on the DDP. My dd turned 13 on that trip. Obviously, we got her an adult DDP. She is ridiculously picky about eating. I don't know how she manages to stay healthy. She has always been able to eat whatever she wants...even from the children's menu. Nobody has questioned her choices. If it were reversed, and you had an 8 y/o that you had gotten the DDP for, but wanted to have the child order off the adult menu, well then I could see where they might have an issue..pay $14.00 for kids stuff, but order adult things..that's not going to fly. But, you are paying top dollar to begin with, so I can't see where they would have an issue with it. You are paying $38.00 but only eating $12.00 worth of food....that would work from Disney's point of view I'm sure!!!

 

[jakenjess]

We had no problem ordering kids meals for our 11 YO DS, and a couple of times we paid out of pocket. At Le Cellier our server wasn't sure we could do that and she checked and came back and said it was fine.

 

[jamounger]

My 12 yo can be picky but she does eat steak so every meal she got steak, they cooked it without the sauces and gave her plain mashed potatoes or baked potatoes. You can ask them not to season or fancy up the foods too.

 

[The Sweetness]

Jam it sounds like your DD and mine (15) are on the same diet

 

[dbk1029]

I believe that most TS places will make an adult size portion of a kids menu item if you are an adult and want something off the kids menu. I could be incorrect though.

 

[thunderbird1]

1) Even though she is 14, can she still order from the kids menu and use 1 adult TS credit?

Probably. No one can say for sure, since it's up to the individual restaurants and even those can vary from day to day. But Disney is very accomodating, and they would almost certainly let her order off the children's menu, probably even giving her an "adult" sized portion. What some teens do is order an adult appetizer, child entree and adult dessert, since the kids' apps and desserts are pretty limited.

2) If we don't purchase the dining plan, can she order from the kids menu...and how would we be charged since she's over the age limit?

Probably (see above). She would likely be charged more, since they'd likely give her a larger serving.

A couple of things to keep in mind. Most CS places no longer have chicken strips on the kids' menus, so she'd have to order off the adult menu to get those anyway. And if you do any buffets (nearly all, if not all, of which have chicken strips), she'll be charged as an adult, too. So if you plan on eating one TS meal a day, the DDP would almost certainly be a good deal for you, even if she orders several entrees off the kids' menus. Good luck!