Do you have to pay for a 3 year old at buffet if you bring your own food?

[KAA1972]

Ok, I feel like I should know the answer to this question but I don't.... We've been to Disney numerous times -- probably at least 15 times since our daughter was born -- but January will be our first time to go to WDW after she turns 3. We are not on Disney Dining Plan and we will be paying cash for our meals. We have TIW and we are seasonal passholders. However, we will be bringing DD's food with us to the buffets -- Chef Mickey, Tusker House, etc. Do we have to pay for DD if she won't be eating any of the food on the buffet? She won't be eating anything -- I mean, not even a piece of bread or a cracker from the buffet. Of course, both hubby and I will be eating. I wasn't sure how Disney would view this... I had a friend who suggested to pass her off as a two year old since it will only be a few days after her 3rd birthday -- but I'm just not into that. We will be buying her a park ticket for admissions.

I'm assuming we don't have to purchase a meal for her at other restaurants that don't have buffets -- such as Le Cellier. But, I wasn't sure about the buffet restaurants. Has anyone had any experiences with children that don't eat at buffets and aren't on DDP??

Thanks!

 

[3Minnies1Mickey]

You will have to pay for her even if she doesn't eat. They have no way of controlling "non-eaters" at a buffet.

 

[weHEARTmickey]

You will have to pay for her even if she doesn't eat. They have no way of controlling "non-eaters" at a buffet.

yep

 

[somethingblue]

As frustrating as this can be for a lot of families, the consensus is that you still have to pay "for the experience" regardless of whether or not she eats anything.

 

[aubriee]

It's mainly the experience with the characters that you are paying for. The food at Chef Mickey's sucks. Yes, you will have to pay for her to experience those characters.

 

[TDC Nala]

First off, buffets may not allow you to bring in your own food. It is possible they will for a small child. We have one report by an adult who was not permitted to bring food into Garden Grill, a family style, fixed price restaurant. However, this was an adult who wanted to bring in outside food, not a parent who wanted to feed a child.

Second, the general rule at a restaurant that charges per person is that everyone at the table over the age of 2 pays. If this is a character meal, I would guess they will ask you to pay anyway, because the experience goes beyond the food. If it is just a buffet, again, they may make an exception for a small child, but that's not the general policy.

Even if you were on DDP you would likely have to spend a credit for her to even be at the table at a character meal.

 

[Tricia1972]

I agree with the others that you'll have to pay at the buffet. Partly because it's the experience and partly because it's your choice to bring in other food (and as TDC Nala said, it's possible that they won't allow you to bring in food for your daughter to any of the restaurants)

Not sure the reason why you are bringing your own food, but if it's due to allergies or sensory issues, Disney is fantastic at working with you to make sure you get food that is safe for your daughter. (I'm figuring that since you're paying for the food, you may as well eat there if you can.)

 

[dixonsontour]

Anyway of bringing it forward a few days so she is 2 on your first day - she will be 2 all trip in disney's eyes and free even if she turns 3 later in your trip.

If you do end up paying you will be in the position of alot of parents of young children at character buffets - my 4 yr old didn't eat at all at Cape May and it was still worth the cost (well DDP credit!)

 

[Ava]

Anyway of bringing it forward a few days so she is 2 on your first day - she will be 2 all trip in disney's eyes and free even if she turns 3 later in your trip.

Ditto to this. You say it will only be a few days after she turns 3; if you can move your trip up by those few days so she is still 2 on your first day, you will not have to pay for her for the whole trip even if she turns 3 on the second day.

If she is 3 for the whole of your trip, you will have to pay for her at the buffets. As others have said, if the reason you are bringing your own food is due to allergies or sensory issues, Disney is great at accommodating guests' food needs. Contact the restaurants you will be visiting a couple weeks before your trip and see what they can do for you. If they have advance notice, they can get special ingredients (gluten-free, dairy-free, etc) to make something for your DD.

 

[DebbieB]

One time I was there with friends and one friend did not want to eat, just sit with us. They charged her a "character fee". At the time it was around $5.

 

[clanmcculloch]

This has come up numerous times on the disABILITIES! board in reference to people who can not eat anything by mouth (they're totally tube fed). Obviously they're not eating anything because they are physically incapable. The official Disney policy on this is that you have to pay for every person at the table. There have been exceptions made by managers when the person is seen not eating and this is where the "entertainment fees" come in rather than full price, but this is not official policy and the restaurant is not required to charge the lower price. There's no harm in asking if you have to pay since she won't eat but the restaurant does have the right to say yes you have to pay. If you're given a reduced charge then consider it pixie dust. Go in expecting to have to pay full price.

 

[RMulieri]

You will be charged.

 

[TDC Nala]

One time I was there with friends and one friend did not want to eat, just sit with us. They charged her a "character fee". At the time it was around $5.

This was done some years ago. At this time it's no longer done, and the restaurants charge in full for anyone at the table age 3 or over. The reason being, it was not possible for the servers to "police" the table and make sure the non-paying person didn't eat anything.

As mentioned above there have been examples where someone wasn't charged. I would expect to be charged. Especially if it's just that the child doesn't want what's being served as opposed to is unable to eat anything.

 

[LittleStinkerbelle]

I think you will be charged. I remember back when LTT had characters at dinner there was some sort of entertainment charge that non-eaters could pay. But I don't remember every seeing that mentioned for other character meals.

 

[KAA1972]

My daughter has sensory issues -- she will not eat in public under any circumstances. We have to feed her either in our hotel room or in a nursing room at Disney-- sometimes she will eat in her stroller if we pull the sunshade over her. Luckily, we've figured out how to manage this quite well at WDW and can usually get her to eat at the Baby Care Centers with no problems. Usually, we bring a few crackers in with us to the restaurants -- just in case she takes a bite but in all of our trips to Disney, I have never seen her take a bite of her food at a restaurant. I don't mind paying for the Character Meals -- she does enjoy the experience but I guess it won't hurt to ask the manager if we could just pay a character fee. Either way, I'm sure it will be fine and we will have a good time. I'll have to read up on the Disabilities board to see if anyone else has had experiences with this issue. But, I totally understand the policy. It's only fair to charge everyone over three -- especially with everything that goes on at character meals. We will go expecting to pay and if something changes then I'm sure I'll manage to spend the money some place else at WDW At least the price for a child's buffet with the TIW discount isn't too outrageous -- by Disney standards.

I am assuming that we won't be obligated to purchase her a meal at non-buffet TS meals, correct?

Thanks for the advice!!!

 

[somethingblue]

No, at non buffet TS meals you will not be forced to order anything for her or to pay for something you didn't order.

Hope you guys have a fantastic trip!

 

[TDC Nala]

It really depends on what you mean by non-buffet.

At the all you can eat family style restaurants like 'Ohana or Garden Grill, at fixed price restaurants like Akershus or CRT, and at dinner shows, you will probably be charged.

 

[KAA1972]

It really depends on what you mean by non-buffet.

At the all you can eat family style restaurants like 'Ohana or Garden Grill, at fixed price restaurants like Akershus or CRT, and at dinner shows, you will probably be charged.

Sorry, for the confusion -- I was referring to restaurants such as La Hacienda, Tony's, Le Cellier, etc. I still consider Ohana, Garden Grill and Akershus to be buffet-type -- even through they are really family style. I meant to specify restaurants that have a menu where each person can select their entree.