dining with FA and paying OOP

[cosmicdaisy]

It may just be because this is new territory that I have questions.... Our next trip my DD will be a Disney adult. On previous trips, I can hardly remember a TS meal where she ate off the menu. We also were always on the dining plan.

I'm just curious how, if we are not eating at a buffet, how her meal will be charged. Especially if she is having something not regularly on the menu.

 

[lanejudy]

If what they prepare is a regular menu item but cooked differently (no sauce, etc.) then expect it to be priced like the regular item. There is an upcharge of about $2 I believe for the specialty "allergy" foods - allergy mac-n-cheese versus the regular brand, based on the regular menu item.

Enjoy your vacation!

 

[cosmicdaisy]

Thank you for that info, I didn't know about the $2 upcharge either.

I still wonder about off menu items. One trip she ate salmon everywhere. It wasn't on every menu. I'm budgeting high, and I'm fine not knowing until, but definitely piqued my curiosity.

 

[mistysue]

It's hard to tell if it's completely off menu. Even the $2 upcharge type of thing is a *sometimes* rule, not across the board, so maybe you will get lucky with pricing. You may want to look into what places with salmon are charging for it, and count on them charging you something around there. If I recall, I think adult fish tends to be high ($25-30?) while the kid's meals get the same fish (a bit smaller) for $8 or so. Fried fish may be less if that's an option. If she can have chicken or pork you may want to steer her that way for the adult menu.
Can you plan around places where she likes menu items that would be altered?

He still gets kid's meals, but the only place that charged us more for DS's allergy meal on our last trip was Kouzzina- and we went to a LOT of places. We were in town 12 days and ate TS about twice per day, many of his items weren't on the menu either.

 

[clanmcculloch]

The "upcharge" is not presented as an upcharge. The special premade allergy foods are entered into the computer as the allergy specific items and they ring up at a higher price than the standard menu items.

Typically, if ordering off menu, the chef will instruct the server as to how to ring up the meal. In my experience, they usually find something with the same protein/major ingredient and ring it up as that menu item.

 

[DCDisney]

At table service we were just charged for the most similar item steak, fish, pasta, etc. Even if they gave me extra sides they usually didn't charge for it--if asked what I wanted I like to have a green veggie and lots of the meals at WDW just have a starch. At counter service on the DDP they never charged the upcharge but paying cash they do. So if I was allergic to the side that came with something and they subbed fries for me I'd be charged for the entree and fries. Breakfast platters could get pricey with too many subs Occasionally I'd get a bigger portion so even when I felt overcharged at times I felt like over the whole trip it balanced out.

 

[jlr9882]

Thanks for all this info. We will be on the DDP for 7 days in July, and I know that he wouldn't be charged any extra for his food then. That is what we love about the DDP. My son is 6 and has over 20 allergies including most meats, so most of the kid's menu is off limits to him. He was able to order anything he needed to be safe, and wasn't charged extra. We added 2 days to our trip, but paying OOP for those days. One will be mostly likely dinner at Trails End. We will also be doing qs breakfast for some allergy friendly mickey waffles, and that is where I was wondering how much it will cost him.

 

[DCDisney]

We tried Trail's End this year after a few great experiences at HDDR. I was very pleased and had lots of options--I have many allergies but not the tough ones like glute, dairy, and eggs. The chef was a bit scattered and after he took some time to look some things up and think he came back and took something away but I was 99.9% sure it was OK anyway (soy allergy is confusing as certain types are OK for me). They were great though. There was not a safe dessert for mebut I love the sweet fresh cornbread so that was fine with me. The cake from hoop is OK for me but I didn't want o be too demanding

 

[cosmicdaisy]

This is definitely great information and thank you for all the replies!

I have one that is slowly coming out of his picky eaterness, and my DD with the allergy that will eat almost anything. They both have large appetites but there is a slim possibility the picky eater may be on his adhd medication. (but hopefully not)

That possibility, plus DD being a Disney adult now and that we are staying at the cabins and planning to fix more meals ourselves, has me uninterested in the DDP. We are planning two TS experiences. So good to know I will just need to add a bit extra for budgeting.

This also makes me realize how hassle free the dining plan is with a FA. It is even better than I realized it was on trips when we've used the plan.

 

[cosmicdaisy]

deleted

 

[cosmicdaisy]

Posted in triplicate

 

[jlr9882]

This also makes me realize how hassle free the dining plan is with a FA. It is even better than I realized it was on trips when we've used the plan.

There was a couple of times that while on the dining plan, there wasn't anything my my son to eat at qs service places. When we went to Flame Tree to eat, the manager walked me over to Yak and Yeti. There was nothing he could eat at either the qs or ts there either. So the manager went to Tusker House and brought back loads of food for my son to eat. He felt bad that we had to "wait" on his food, so he didn't even take one of his qs credits. At MK, there was nothing that he could eat, so the head manager went over to Columbia House and brought back 2 meals for him. He wasn't sure which one my son would like better, and wanted to make sure he had plenty to eat. That was only 1 qs credit for my son.

 

[grimgrningghost]

I had heard about the up charge before our trip last September but in actuality my allergy meals were the same or cheaper. The only time I was charged something different than regular menu price was at Pecos Bills when I ordered the allergy chicken tenders. My receipt says they charged me 5.69 for special diet chicken strips and 2.79 for a side of fries. That makes my total 8.48. My husband ordered the regular chicken nuggets with fries and his total was 8.69. I was surprised and pleased. Most my other meals just involved substituting or removing bread or ingredients so they were normal prices.

 

[wendow]

We paid OOP for meals this past September and were never charged anymore for my ds to get the allergy-friendly foods like the chicken tenders. He ate them several times and we were just charged the same as the kid's chicken nuggets. I'm not sure how that would have looked with a child old enough to order from the adult menu though.