Dining Plan with a 10 year old

[GrammyJudy]

I am thinking it is ridiculous to do the dining plan with a 10yr old who is charged as an adult...what do you think? Now that been said I think the kids menus are boring and redundant. We are planning on paying OOP this trip...many meals can be shared and there are side dishes like the delicious mac n cheese at Le Cellier that he can pick if he wants. Also we sometimes all geta counter seervice kids meal for lunch as it is plenty of food and saves money. Disney is for families and kids and their meals for kids are one of their downfalls...who wants chicken nuggets every night...why not just smaller portions than an adult.

 

[Pumbaa_]

I am so confused

first you say the kids meals are boring and redundant (i agree!) but then say you often all get kids meals to save money

it is what it is - for the dining plan kids meals are cheap and meat many needs

your 10 yo now has full reign of the meals but are too expensive (again, I agree, but it is what it is)

so I am not exactly sure what the main vent/question is

 

[TDC Nala]

If the dining plan doesn't fit your party, you don't have to get it - it's an option, nothing more. Part of the reason the kids meals are what they are is because the kid's dining plan is so inexpensive.

And IMHO Disney is NOT just for families and kids. Every time I see that...

 

[jojomoore]

In my opinion the dining plan is not appropriate when your children are between the ages of 9 and 12. We visited WDW last November. We were on the DDP. My DD and DDBFF were both 9 yrs old at the time and both complained often that there was not enough selection of food on the kids menu, especially at CS restaurants. This year they will both be 10 and I know that there are times they will want to eat from kids menus and times that they will want to eat from adult menu. I know I will pay adult price for buffets. There is absolutely no way i would purchase the DDP for our next trip because of their age. I can't restrict them to adult or to the kids menu. Based on our eating habits, I don't think I would save any money by purchasing DDP over paying OOP I really hate being told what I can and cannot order because I prepaid. It makes me feel Also, in my opinion, if you are not a dessert eater or a snack eater, then the dining plan really doesn't save you money. And the way i see it, I can eat at more TS meals in stead of CS meals without it costing more. For example, If i purchased DDP for next trip (all adult meals),i would have 7 TS, 7CS, 7 snacks per person. However, based on how we normally eat for the same price we can eat 10 TS meals, and 4 CS meals and one snack per day with my DD and DDbff having a choice between kids and adult meals.

 

[dd50]

Last year we tried the dining plan (paid) and my 15 and 12 year old didn't eat much and most of the time would have rather had a kids meal but not all the time. At the buffets they took a few bites and went to get ice cream. I could have saved a lot of money just buying ice cream instead of the plan. It didn't work for us. We don't usually get desserts after dinner but do like a snack later in the day. Last year we didn't even snack because it seemed it was almost time to eat again. They also didn't like the time away from the parks every day but didn't mind it once in a while.

 

[MPHARJ]

I think every child is different, my 9 almost 10 year old is a big eater, he is almost taller then I am. We are doing the DxDP this year and I paid to have him as an adult. Last year he was eating the same thing every day and it wasn't enough for him. I have it planned that we are only eating twice a day which isn't unusual for us none of us are big breakfast eaters, but I am happy that he will have a much bigger variety to choose from this year. We could have paid OOP, however we wouldn't have eaten at all of the places we will get to this year. I don't enjoy CS and in the middle of July have no desire to search for a table, and will enjoy the time to sit and relax. I like to have everything paid for ahead of time, as a single parent I have to plan ahead for these things and it just makes it easier on me. So every one has to go with what works best for them and their children and I know my son is thrilled to be able to not have a scoop of ice cream for dessert every night. Just my opinion and our choice.

 

[Tauwillow]

We were there last summer with our, then, 10 year old daughter on the DDxP. She LOVED having access to the adult menu and made very adventurous choices that she otherwise might not have.

She didn't often eat the entire meal, but we all had fun sharing each others dishes and more often than not, there wasn't much waste. (also great if someone didn't like what they chose, we just swapped plates!)

We are all seriously looking forward to the DDxp again on our next trip!

 

[shopn24seven]

My dd is 10 and zooms in on ONE thing and ONE thing only on the menus...
MAC N CHEESE. LOL.

She made such a BIG deal being old enough for the ADULT Menu and only wants MAC N CHEESE.

 

[ReneeA]

My 8 year old son is almost 5' tall(only weighs 68 pounds...gotta get some meat on that kid) - he out eats me on a daily basis. He's starving all the time and eats adult style meals and adult sized portions. I paid to upgrade him to an adult for our upcoming trip, because kids meals are not going to work for him.

My 7 year old DD, however, will probably want to eat kid's meals until she's 19. All kids are individual.

 

[dave 2]

My boys will be 10 and 12 for our trip next march and are wondering if it is worth it. They are finicky eaters and my 12 yr old would rather eat off the kids' menu. Is it possible to purchase 2 adult DDP and pay OOP for the kids? (from what I read it seems possible but not 100% sure).
Thanks

 

[worm761]

My boys will be 10 and 12 for our trip next march and are wondering if it is worth it. They are finicky eaters and my 12 yr old would rather eat off the kids' menu. Is it possible to purchase 2 adult DDP and pay OOP for the kids? (from what I read it seems possible but not 100% sure).
Thanks

Sorry Dave but everyone has to be on the same plan in the room.

We had the DDP last year and loved it. DS sometimes ordered adult meals and sometimes kids meals. Even though he was an adult on the DDP, he was allowed to order kids meals where he wanted it. At the end of the trip, we still came out ahead on cost.

 

[dave 2]

Ok thanks. We used it our 1st time in 2008 and loved it especially ordering without looking at the prices. Our 2nd time at xmas we stayed off site but the few times we paid OOP, WOW!(Teppan Edo and O'Hana) I wished we had it.

I guess if we want a truly stress free vacation, it's the way to go.

 

[maxiesmom]

All kids are individual.

Yep. And that is why the dining plan works for some families, but not others. If it doesn't work for you, don't get it. It is that simple. There is no way for Disney to have a plan that works for every family all of the time.

 

[catne]

most places will let your kids order anything off the kids menu, regardless of whether they are "Disney" adults or not...you'll be charged for an adult meal, of course...but they generally make the portion adult-sized, too. Like the mac & cheese off the kids menu comes out as a full plate.

And, for those that don't want to use adult credits to get the 9 & 10 yr olds chicken nuggets...Don't. Pay OOP for the kids meals, and use the extra adult credits to go to signature restaurants. Or add extra table service meals to your adult plans (and just continue to pay OOP for the kids)

 

[Nafinegar]

I think it really depends upon the children. For us the plan makes the most sense, but we will need to modify it occasionally. I have twin DS's (10). One will out eat any adult at the table and will most likely want some of the more sophisticated plates available. The other 10 YO will prefer to have bread, bread, more bread and something rather bland. Our third son DS7 will probably want more variety than the kids plan - BUT I am counting on sharing plates with the carbohydrate loving 10 YO and supplementing DS7's desserts with some of mine (I don't need one every meal.)

So, all in all it added up to a savings for us, but we need to get creative. I didn't think about the fact that we might be able to pay OOP for some of the adult meals for one DS10 - that might make sense for us since DH and I are going to California Grill......new thoughts of tweaking the plan!

 

[GrammyJudy]

Thanks for all the input. I think we have decided to go OOP because we also have a very active 2 year coming who may not tolerate a lot of TS meals so we need to be flexible. Will plan a couple of TS though as it will be celebrating my DS birthday and my 65th Birthday!