Dlx Dining plan rules for 10 year old?

[sbdis]

Hi, I have not been on boards for quite a while. It's nice to be back. My question is:

My brother, 10 year old niece and myself are going to Disney in July. I've been many times however, my brother has not been in over 15 years and this will be my niece's first visit. We are doing the Deluxe dining. I've done is many times and it is worth it to me. My brother does not want to pay out of pocket at all for meals. He wants everything paid for in advance. Because my niece is considered an adult regarding dining, I absolutely realize Deluxe is way too much for her. However, we plan on doing a lot of nice table service including signatures and Cinderella's Castle. This is why I will probably leave her on the Deluxe plan.

My question is, will all the restaurants allow her to get a child's meal in some instances where there is nothing that appeals to her on the adult menu. Or, get a child's appetizer and adult entrée. Basically, mix between child options and adult?

 

[Disneypro1]

Yes. You can get a child’s meal at any restaurant. We have done this all the time. As for me. I get kids meals frequently. As it fills me up. Even on the dining plan I can’t see any issues ordering kids menu. If the server isn’t sure. Just ask for his/her boss. They’ll make it right.

 

[kaytieeldr]

This is why I will probably leave her on the Deluxe plan.

Just general information: you don't have a choice. Dining Plans are all or none.

My question is, will all the restaurants allow her to get a child's meal in some instances where there is nothing that appeals to her on the adult menu. Or, get a child's appetizer and adult entrée. Basically, mix between child options and adult?

It will depend on the restaurant, but typically they woulð provide an adult-size portion of a kids' menu item. Ask before ordering,.

 

[siren0119]

IIRC in terms of credits, the adult and "child" credits are pooled together on the Deluxe plan, so there isn't really a distinction between who orders from what menu.

 

[sbdis]

Great information! Also, I like the idea of asking for an adult portion of a child's menu item.

 

[sbdis]

siren0119, I didn't realize that everyone in the group had to get same plan. Good to know, because I kept going back and forth as to maybe getting the basic plan for her and deluxe for me and my brother. N

 

[siren0119]

siren0119, I didn't realize that everyone in the group had to get same plan. Good to know, because I kept going back and forth as to maybe getting the basic plan for her and deluxe for me and my brother. N

Yeah everyone in the same room has to be on the same plan, dining is assigned by room not by individual. The only way you could have people on separate plans would be if you have separate room reservations.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Yeah everyone in the same room has to be on the same plan, dining is assigned by room not by individual. The only way you could have people on separate plans would be if you have separate room reservations.

Which wouldn't work for the OP, because you can't put a ten year old in a room by themselves

 

[siren0119]

Which wouldn't work for the OP, because you can't put a ten year old in a room by themselves

If one adult were assigned to each room, it would. It means paying for two separate rooms which might be more problematic, but putting two on the regular DDP and one on the DxDDP would give a little bit of flexibility to using credits. I believe it has been confirmed that most Disney restaurants will allow DxDDP credits to be used on people not staying in the room with the person the credits are assigned to.

 

[sharonabe]

I believe it has been confirmed that most Disney restaurants will allow DxDDP credits to be used on people not staying in the room with the person the credits are assigned to.

Actually, there have been several reports this year of people NOT being able to use credits on people not on their plan. This is definitely still up in the air for right now.

 

[sbdis]

I will have my own room/package under a separate reservation and my brother and niece will have their own room/package (reservations said we can link dining and FP's). I've only travelled with my son and husband previously, so this arrangement is new. I appreciate the info!

 

[sharonabe]

I will have my own room/package under a separate reservation and my brother and niece will have their own room/package (reservations said we can link dining and FP's). I've only travelled with my son and husband previously, so this arrangement is new. I appreciate the info!

This could work for you. You could put the regular DDP on YOUR room and use those credits for your niece at any of the buffet, prix fix or more expensive places. Then either pay OOP for any true kid's meals she eats or use the other DxDDP credits to fill in. It would take some creative planning and math to make it work, but as long as all of you are eating together, you should be fine. You would then have some QS credits to use, but you can use them for all of you at a QS meal or two.

 

[sbdis]

This could work for you. You could put the regular DDP on YOUR room and use those credits for your niece at any of the buffet, prix fix or more expensive places. Then either pay OOP for any true kid's meals she eats or use the other DxDDP credits to fill in. It would take some creative planning and math to make it work, but as long as all of you are eating together, you should be fine. You would then have some QS credits to use, but you can use them for all of you at a QS meal or two.

That could work, I'd like to help my brother save some money, but he says he just wants to make it easy and it's ok for her to have the deluxe plan. I don't think he can truly appreciate how much food is on the deluxe plan, lol. I think as long as restaurants will work with us regarding my niece's choices such as preparation without a lot of sauces and things young children don't eat very often, it will work out. I feel a little pressure because he told me to just make reservations where I want because he would have no idea what to choose.

 

[rdaky]

Just throwing this out there... the DDP is very expensive and if there is a good chance that she will be ordering kids meals, I would not want to pay an adult price for her to be on that plan. But if he's ok with overspending, then I guess you can just not worry about it.

 

[Disneypro1]

Just throwing this out there... the DDP is very expensive and if there is a good chance that she will be ordering kids meals, I would not want to pay an adult price for her to be on that plan. But if he's ok with overspending, then I guess you can just not worry about it.

Thats why we NEVER do a dining plan...to get your monies worth you HAVE to eat alot....Use it or lose it. If we pay cash...We may eat a light meal or all of us get kids meals...So, in the end, the dining plan is great if you KNOW you will eat every credit worth. Every snack..etc. Really, we are further ahead to just pay as we go...alot further ahead. And, take the 20% room code discount..which we ALWAYS get.

 

[rdaky]

Thats why we NEVER do a dining plan...to get your monies worth you HAVE to eat alot....Use it or lose it. If we pay cash...We may eat a light meal or all of us get kids meals...So, in the end, the dining plan is great if you KNOW you will eat every credit worth. Every snack..etc. Really, we are further ahead to just pay as we go...alot further ahead. And, take the 20% room code discount..which we ALWAYS get.

We don't find the dining plan to be worth it, either. Even eating at several table services including Cinderellas Royal Table, it still always comes out cheaper for us to pay out of pocket. Plus, if you have so much food that you're throwing half of it away because you stuffed yourself at your previous meal, that's not really saving money, either. Deluxe dining plan is $116 per day for a 10 year old.

 

[NYCgrrl]

Thats why we NEVER do a dining plan...to get your monies worth you HAVE to eat alot....Use it or lose it. If we pay cash...We may eat a light meal or all of us get kids meals...So, in the end, the dining plan is great if you KNOW you will eat every credit worth. Every snack..etc. Really, we are further ahead to just pay as we go...alot further ahead. And, take the 20% room code discount..which we ALWAYS get.

I don't agree you have to eat a lot on the deluxe dining plan but you do need to choose where you will eat with wisdom and forethought.
So far we've always done the dining plan when traveling with 1 or more Disney adults AKA older children. I've found they don't have the same eating schedule as we, as adults anywhere do. We eat appetizers even at home although they are rarely protein laden like chicken wings or a fried something. We rarely eat snacks but kiddos do on a regular basis. As adults, our breakfasts are mostly Continental in style and then we don't eat again until an early dinner; this is not the way the growing children we travel with eat: they want 2 light breakfasts (hobbits) maybe lunch yet certainly dinner. So when we visit WDW with kiddos we always get the deluxe dining plan to accommodate our love of 2 credit TS restaurants. When we are traveling w/o the kiddos we find that eating OOP is a better financial deal for us.
There are no absolutes from my POV just knowing who you are dining with and making financial choices accordingly.
Do the math, know what your party likes to eat, and choose the manner of paying that makes the most sense for you.

 

[JustCallMeMommy]

When DD was 10 at Disney, she loved getting to pick from the adult menu. Given the freedom to chose kids or adult options, she only picked a kid’s meal once. We paid out of pocket for that meal and applied those credits to another meal (you could also convert to snack credits - not the best choice price-wise, but it sounds like convenience is your party’s motivating factor).

 

[Disneypro1]

We don't find the dining plan to be worth it, either. Even eating at several table services including Cinderellas Royal Table, it still always comes out cheaper for us to pay out of pocket. Plus, if you have so much food that you're throwing half of it away because you stuffed yourself at your previous meal, that's not really saving money, either. Deluxe dining plan is $116 per day for a 10 year old.

Yep, if you love gluttony....Get the dining plan lol if you eat normally, I would not.
It almost ALWAYS comes out cheaper to NOT do the dining plan. Unless you EAT EVERYmeal and snack...etc. Alot of folks DO get kids meals and they are filling. Just have to see what is best for each family.

 

[Nancyg56]

Yep, if you love gluttony....Get the dining plan lol if you eat normally, I would not.
It almost ALWAYS comes out cheaper to NOT do the dining plan. Unless you EAT EVERYmeal and snack...etc. Alot of folks DO get kids meals and they are filling. Just have to see what is best for each family.

WOW!!! Gluttony?????? Perhaps you mean it comes out cheaper for YOU to skip a dining plan, however it may not for others, and those of us who choose a plan do not need to be rolling down Main Street like an Ooompa Loompa to get the value. I do not always purchase the DxDDP, however when I have my family has found it to be a good value. WE book our meals before choosing a plan,tend to enjoy signature dining and character meals, and have always allowed our kids to order off of the adult menus even as a child. This was especially helpful when we took the two little ones on our street with us. They ordered adult meals most of the week, which is how they eat at home, and we booked a slew of expensive character meals, both for breakfast and dinner, depending on the day.


Perhaps it would be more helpful to suggest how to cost out the plans vs OOP, rather than to not only dismiss them out of hand and then insult people by tellinghem their way is gluttonous.