DxDP: Saving one Credit (aka worried my son will starve)

[texaslady22]

We are a family of 4, 2a 2c (7 & 4) going on the DxDP for 3 nights next month.

My son (7) has food aversion issues. Story in brackets below if you're interested.

[As a child, he was hospitalized over 11 times before we learned his body cannot process all fruits, most vegetables, fructose, lactose, and soy. He's since grown out of some of these malabsorption issues, but he still has SEVERE food aversions because food put him in the hospital so many times. We tried food aversion therapy but it was just so distressing to him we realized it wasn't worth it.]

Here are things he eats: chicken, eggs, steak, chicken nuggets or strips, some dinner rolls & crackers. At home, most of his diet is steak. I buy 5 steaks a week just for him. Sometimes we can get a thick hamburger patty and cut it up and call it steak. (Aside: We just had a total nutrition check and everything was great except his calcium levels. Somehow, his body manages just fine).

Anyway, I found the following restaurants we're going to have steak on the kid's menu:
Coral Reef
Be our Guest

At other places, I only see steak on the ADULT menu:
Rainforest Cafe
Tony's Town Square

(By the way, I really hate steak because we eat it so often).

So here's my question. I'm a little worried that he'll get hungry later that night, as just protein goes through him fairly quickly (he eats fairly often).

At Rainforest Cafe on the DxDP, for instance, we could order 2 ADULT meals (one a burger, one a steak) and only 1 Kid's Meal for our daughter. I could give my son the steak and my husband and I could share the other adult meal (plus 2 appetizer), right? Then we could use the extra credit for a Counter Service dinner that evening (chicken strips) if he feels hungry again, correct?

My husband and I think sharing 1 adult entree and 2 appetizers (plus dessert) seems like plenty of food. Wouldn't it be?

 

[Lisa F]

A couple of things here. At MOST places your son can order off the adult menu. The only one I am not sure of is RFC because they are not disney operated... but I just took my very picky 8 year old to Disney on the DxDDP and he ate a lot of steak. We ate at CR and he got the kid's steak there because we had the candlelight processional package and he had to order off the kid menu because it was a kid package, but it was a lot of steak (and it was good). They do also have an adult steak as well which if you are not on any dinner package they should let him order. At Tony's Town Square they should let him order off the adult menu as well. So that should maybe help a bit with him being hungry later, if he gets a better portion in him at the meal (maybe? lol. mine eats what he feels like when he feels like it and that is it).

To answer your question, I would think sharing an adult meal and two adult appetizers would be PLENTY of food. I did 4 nights of DxDDP and most of the time was pretty full after having an appetizer to myself... half a meal would have been just fine. I shared 1 DxDDP credit with my son at Sci Fi - shared an app, the steak, each had a shake, and it was a nice meal - we left full but not TOO full and were hungry again by the time dinner rolled around. Also I am guessing if the above list is truly exhaustive of what your son will eat then you will have the sides from his meal as well. The one thing I am not sure about is how non-disney restaurants like RFC handle it... I know at Via Napoli they will NOT allow sharing on the DDP and hopefully someone else can weigh in about RFC. But any Disney owned restaurant they will NOT have a problem with this.

That said, CS meals are not a great use of DxDDP credits. But if you find yourself with too many, at least get the adult meal - you can definitely order off the adult menu with kid CS credits whether deluxe or regular. Where else are you going? you have 9 credits per person and only listed 4 places. the portions of meat can be very skimpy on the kid meals, especially if it is a mickey check meal, because they need to keep it at a certain caloric level with everything together. I would look into getting him the adult steak wherever you go especially if he won't eat any sides and just some rolls.

 

[texaslady22]

Thank you so much! I just needed someone to confirm this was reasonable.

I am hoping that they let him get an adult steak with the DxDP, but if not I'm sure my husband and I will be able to share...2 appetizers, 1 entree, and the sides from the adult steak meal will be PLENTY of food (plus dessert).

Our restaurants include:
Tusker House buffet (??)
Rainforest Cafe (adult steak)
Hollywood & Vine buffet (??)
Sci-Fi Dine In (adult steak)
Ohana breakfast (eggs & biscuits)
Tony's Town Square (adult steak)
Be Our Guest (steak on kid's and adult meal)
Garden Grill Breakfast (eggs & bacon)
Coral Reef (steak on kid's & adult)

Related question: We have 2 buffets, Tusker House & Hollywood and Vine. We did these a few years ago and my son didn't starve to death. I'm guessing they'll either have chicken nuggets or some sort of chicken option OR something beef enough that we can call steak. At the very least, he'll eat dinner rolls. It will all be great! It will all be fine. It's going to be okay.

(It's so hard to travel with a child with food issues. Don't get me started on when my son got so weak on a cruise ship after not eating for 3 days that we got a cab to drive us through McDonalds in Jamaica).

 

[Srbright]

A couple of things here. At MOST places your son can order off the adult menu.

I don't know why people keep saying this. It is very nice pixie dust if they let you but after 30+ nights nights on the DxDDP and 60+ TS meals we have only had one restaurant allow the kids to order off the adult menu and that was in 2014. I would not count on them letting your child order off the adult menu. There is a reason that the children's cost for the DXDDP is $37 for a child and $103 for an adult.

QS places DO NOT distinguish between adult and child but the TS places (all the places you would get a steak) DO. If they allowed kids to order the $42 filet at a TS then they have already lost money for the day.

Now you can order a steak and a kids meal and then you eat the kids meal and he eats the steak. It's highly unlikely that they would would allow you both to order an adult meal.

Stacy

 

[adisneyaunt]

Just want to wish you a wonderful trip.

I guess you ve already thought about bringing along those crackers ( with u each day or in room) and whatever else you know he can always snack on
Pixie dust ur way!

 

[senadler]

QS places DO NOT distinguish between adult and child but the TS places (all the places you would get a steak) DO. If they allowed kids to order the $42 filet at a TS then they have already lost money for the day.

They also do not distinguish between an adult and kid credit on the deluxe plan. You can choose to use all your credits for adults and none for kids, how is that any different than ordering an adult meal. I have no specific knowledge of how Disney handles this, but my guess is that the restaurant gets reimbursed for adult meal when it is ordered on the plan regardless of who is ordering. Again, this is only for the deluxe plan, on the regular plan table service credits are not pooled.

The bottom line is that myself and others have not had the same experience as you. Based on Lisa F's reviews, her son ordered off the adult menu more than once. I always say that nothing is guaranteed, but on the deluxe plan we have shared with others, used credits only for five adults in our party of ten (even when the plan was for 3 adults and 2 kids), and have also used all 10 credits at once when only 5 were on the plan.

 

[eeyoreandtink]

They also do not distinguish between an adult and kid credit on the deluxe plan. You can choose to use all your credits for adults and none for kids, how is that any different than ordering an adult meal. I have no specific knowledge of how Disney handles this, but my guess is that the restaurant gets reimbursed for adult meal when it is ordered on the plan regardless of who is ordering. Again, this is only for the deluxe plan, on the regular plan table service credits are not pooled.

The bottom line is that myself and others have not had the same experience as you. Based on Lisa F's reviews, her son ordered off the adult menu more than once. I always say that nothing is guaranteed, but on the deluxe plan we have shared with others, used credits only for five adults in our party of ten (even when the plan was for 3 adults and 2 kids), and have also used all 10 credits at once when only 5 were on the plan.

You cannot count on doing any of this however. For every report of it being allowed, there is a person saying it was not.

 

[Srbright]

The bottom line is that myself and others have not had the same experience as you. Based on Lisa F's reviews, her son ordered off the adult menu more than once.

Yes, and some people get upgraded from Pop Century to the GF for free.

The 2017 DxDDP brochure specifically states children 3-9 have to order off the kids menus. I would not go in expecting every person and every restaurant (Disney owned or not) to allow children to order off the adult menu. That sets you up for failure for being in the 90% of the population that is held to the brochure standard of having to order off the kids menu.

It's better to go in expecting to be held to the rules and being happy that you aren't than to go in expecting them to break the rules for you and be disappointed when they dont.

Stacy

 

[senadler]

You cannot count on doing any of this however. For every report of it being allowed, there is a person saying it was not.

When I have spoken to Disney directly I have been told we can share credits. I just booked SOA for a party of 8 without prepaying since we have the dining plan. The dining plan is for 4, but we will be using credits for all of us, which the CM said would not be a problem. We did the same for HDDR our last trip, and just to be sure we did not have an issue I confirmed our tickets and had the plan applied at the front desk a couple days before our reservation.

Obviously unless it is specifically in the brochure things can change, but I have seen very few reports of others having problems, at least with the deluxe plan.

 

[sharonabe]

I don't know why people keep saying this. It is very nice pixie dust if they let you but after 30+ nights nights on the DxDDP and 60+ TS meals we have only had one restaurant allow the kids to order off the adult menu and that was in 2014. I would not count on them letting your child order off the adult menu. There is a reason that the children's cost for the DXDDP is $37 for a child and $103 for an adult.

First, let me be clear, I agree with you that this is insane and I don't see how Disney lets it happen, but they do.

I'm wondering if the difference is in how it's being done. Except for Lisa F, most of the reports that have done this successfully are from people like the OP who are sharing the credits across two or more rooms. That coupled with the ability to use your credits on those not on the plan is what has created this gray area. The restaurants don't know the number of adults/children on the plan; they just know you have DxDDP credits. So when you order all adult meals, what are they to do? It would seem very un-Disney-like to question a guest as to how many adult plans they purchases, so they allow it.

If, on the other hand, it's just your family of let's say, 2 A/2 C that are obviously Disney aged kids, it's not so gray. Ordering 4 adult meals when there are only two adults at the table gives them the upper hand, so to speak. It's written in the brochure that kids must order from the kid's menu, so they ask you to do that.
Just a supposition on my part and one that has already been disproved by Lisa F's experience, but her son is around 9 which is right at the age break, and I can't imagine many CMs asking if he was a child or adult, but instead, let is slide.

 

[eeyoreandtink]

When I have spoken to Disney directly I have been told we can share credits. I just booked SOA for a party of 8 without prepaying since we have the dining plan. The dining plan is for 4, but we will be using credits for all of us, which the CM said would not be a problem. We did the same for HDDR our last trip, and just to be sure we did not have an issue I confirmed our tickets and had the plan applied at the front desk a couple days before our reservation.

Obviously unless it is specifically in the brochure things can change, but I have seen very few reports of others having problems, at least with the deluxe plan.

Who did you talk to? Phone CMs quite frequently give bad info, and dinner shows are often handled differently. You cannot count on that being honored when you get there, if it is good for you but know that phone CMs are often wrong, and often what they told you doesn't hold onsite.

Also, sharing credits is different from kids ordering off the adult menu and is often handled differently onsite.

 

[Lisa F]

Thank you so much! I just needed someone to confirm this was reasonable.

I am hoping that they let him get an adult steak with the DxDP, but if not I'm sure my husband and I will be able to share...2 appetizers, 1 entree, and the sides from the adult steak meal will be PLENTY of food (plus dessert).

Our restaurants include:
Tusker House buffet (??)
Rainforest Cafe (adult steak)
Hollywood & Vine buffet (??)
Sci-Fi Dine In (adult steak)
Ohana breakfast (eggs & biscuits)
Tony's Town Square (adult steak)
Be Our Guest (steak on kid's and adult meal)
Garden Grill Breakfast (eggs & bacon)
Coral Reef (steak on kid's & adult)

Related question: We have 2 buffets, Tusker House & Hollywood and Vine. We did these a few years ago and my son didn't starve to death. I'm guessing they'll either have chicken nuggets or some sort of chicken option OR something beef enough that we can call steak. At the very least, he'll eat dinner rolls. It will all be great! It will all be fine. It's going to be okay.

(It's so hard to travel with a child with food issues. Don't get me started on when my son got so weak on a cruise ship after not eating for 3 days that we got a cab to drive us through McDonalds in Jamaica).

I don't remember on tusker house because it's been years since I did lunch (breakfast only) but h&V has both chicken nuggets (the breast tender ones) and carved steak. it's with a chimichurri sauce but I bet you could get some plain before they sauce it. I just dug around for a piece that didn't have it for my son and scraped off what little was there.

 

[Lisa F]

I don't know why people keep saying this. It is very nice pixie dust if they let you but after 30+ nights nights on the DxDDP and 60+ TS meals we have only had one restaurant allow the kids to order off the adult menu and that was in 2014. I would not count on them letting your child order off the adult menu. There is a reason that the children's cost for the DXDDP is $37 for a child and $103 for an adult.

QS places DO NOT distinguish between adult and child but the TS places (all the places you would get a steak) DO. If they allowed kids to order the $42 filet at a TS then they have already lost money for the day.

Now you can order a steak and a kids meal and then you eat the kids meal and he eats the steak. It's highly unlikely that they would would allow you both to order an adult meal.

Stacy

I say it because at every restaurant we ate at, it was allowed. But we did not try the ones where it is typically not allowed like Via Napoli or other non disney owned restaurants. Read my report. The only place he ordered off the kid's menu was at Coral Reef but that is because he had the kid's dining package... still she offered to let him order both appetizer and dessert off the adult menu if there was something he preferred. That's why people are saying this... because it happens. They do not distinguish TS credits on the DxDDP between kid credits and adult credits, they are all just credits. If I wanted to share my credits with other adults I could do that too and order my kid stuff OOP. I'm not sure if it wasn't offered or if you asked and were outright refused but we were allowed to.

 

[Lisa F]

You cannot count on doing any of this however. For every report of it being allowed, there is a person saying it was not.

That's not true. I read a TON of reports before my trip and I never ran across anyone who said it was not allowed at Disney owned restaurants. You are the first I've read that went to over 60+ restaurants and NEVER had it allowed. Every other report I've read has had it allowed. Non Disney owned places have their own rules and some (like Via Napoli) won't even let you share. No one even blinked an eye about us doing this.

 

[Lisa F]

First, let me be clear, I agree with you that this is insane and I don't see how Disney lets it happen, but they do.

I'm wondering if the difference is in how it's being done. Except for Lisa F, most of the reports that have done this successfully are from people like the OP who are sharing the credits across two or more rooms. That coupled with the ability to use your credits on those not on the plan is what has created this gray area. The restaurants don't know the number of adults/children on the plan; they just know you have DxDDP credits. So when you order all adult meals, what are they to do? It would seem very un-Disney-like to question a guest as to how many adult plans they purchases, so they allow it.

If, on the other hand, it's just your family of let's say, 2 A/2 C that are obviously Disney aged kids, it's not so gray. Ordering 4 adult meals when there are only two adults at the table gives them the upper hand, so to speak. It's written in the brochure that kids must order from the kid's menu, so they ask you to do that.
Just a supposition on my part and one that has already been disproved by Lisa F's experience, but her son is around 9 which is right at the age break, and I can't imagine many CMs asking if he was a child or adult, but instead, let is slide.

My son is 8, not 9. The first time we did it, it was at CA Grill and it was offered by the waitress without us even asking. She said "oh, you're on the deluxe plan? well then your son can order anything off of either menu" and then we had a talk about how to make it more kid friendly and he ended up with an adult filet with a side of kid's mac and cheese. At Narcoossee's it was not offered but the server did not blink an eye when I asked about it and he was allowed to order an adult steak with a kid side. At Yak n Yeti we shared a meal and at Sci Fi Dine in we shared as well but when he heard we were on the deluxe he started to explain that the kiddo could order anything off of the adult menu as well. At Coral Reef we were under the CP package so the rules are the package rules, not the DxDDP rules (and it would have been 2TS under either DxDDP or regular DDP) so he ordered off the kid menu but the waitress offered him an appetizer off the adult menu if nothing appealed on the kid menu (nothing on either menu did) and also an adult dessert at the end of the meal but he was content with his cupcake. Every single time it was explicitly discussed that he was a child ordering off the adult menu... I was not sneaky about it and nothing was allowed to "slide." I was completely straight up about the situation and it was allowed without hesitation and in one case even offered before I asked.

Yes I agree that it's not how it SHOULD work but it was how it DID work, and how it seems to work for most everyone else who reports back.

 

[Srbright]

I'm not sure if it wasn't offered or if you asked and were outright refused but we were allowed to.

We have asked. We would get referred back to the plan that says the children under the age of 9 have to order off the kids menu.

I think that this is a loophole they are going to have to close quickly. This is likely servers taking advantage of the larger tips by allowing the children to eat off the adult menu.

Again, the kids plan is $37. One $42 filet or $22 salmon makes a great value for you but not the restaurant.

I think it is a poor planning decision to plan on doing something that is specifically prohibited. It would be great if it happens but you are setting yourself up for disappointment.

Stacy

 

[ErinsMommy]

First, let me be clear, I agree with you that this is insane and I don't see how Disney lets it happen, but they do.

I'm wondering if the difference is in how it's being done. Except for Lisa F, most of the reports that have done this successfully are from people like the OP who are sharing the credits across two or more rooms. That coupled with the ability to use your credits on those not on the plan is what has created this gray area. The restaurants don't know the number of adults/children on the plan; they just know you have DxDDP credits. So when you order all adult meals, what are they to do? It would seem very un-Disney-like to question a guest as to how many adult plans they purchases, so they allow it.

If, on the other hand, it's just your family of let's say, 2 A/2 C that are obviously Disney aged kids, it's not so gray. Ordering 4 adult meals when there are only two adults at the table gives them the upper hand, so to speak. It's written in the brochure that kids must order from the kid's menu, so they ask you to do that.
Just a supposition on my part and one that has already been disproved by Lisa F's experience, but her son is around 9 which is right at the age break, and I can't imagine many CMs asking if he was a child or adult, but instead, let is slide.

I totally agree with this - we always purchased the dxdp and on the very rare occasion that my daughter wanted something she didn't see on the kid menu (like steak), she would ask if she can have steak and the waitress/waiter would direct her attention to the kids menu and tell her to pick whatever is on that menu she likes. Since my daughter eats like a bird, we've never had a problem with it because she ordered off her kids menu and we give her what she wants from our own plates. Now that she's 10 and can eat off the adult menu, she'll still eat off the kids 99.9% of the time.

To OP, your son sounds like my daughter - doesn't have a food aversion, but eats very little at meal time and shortly after is 'starving' and we've found that the snack credits on the dxdp are more than enough to get her through a day

 

[eeyoreandtink]

That's not true. I read a TON of reports before my trip and I never ran across anyone who said it was not allowed at Disney owned restaurants. You are the first I've read that went to over 60+ restaurants and NEVER had it allowed. Every other report I've read has had it allowed. Non Disney owned places have their own rules and some (like Via Napoli) won't even let you share. No one even blinked an eye about us doing this.

Bottom line, you got lucky. Look on the dining board, even in this tread. Others have been told no. I wasn't the one that talked about 60+ restaurants. I am a different person who has also been told no multiple times.

 

[Megan Mills]

My son (7) has food aversion issues

I agree that on the Deluxe Dining Plan you will likely not have an issue ordering a meal for your son from the adult menu. However there is the possibility that a restaurant will insist on the children’s menu due to the official rules. If that occurs I would suggest just having a conversation with your server and explain the situation. The key here is that you aren’t just ordering from the adult menu for no reason. In my experience Disney has made every effort to accommodate children with special needs, and that included dining options.

Last May we took my nephew to Disney, he has Sensory Processing Disorder and one of his symptom is sensitivity to the texture of foods. We were using the Disney Dining Plan, not even the Deluxe. We had absolutely no issues the entire time we were there of ordering from the adult menu for him when we could not find a workable option on the children’s menu. We simply explained our situation to the server, not only did they accommodate but they were very kind and friendly about it.

 

[DG25]

I did not read every post, but I can tell you last year I took my DGD and we got the deluxe dining plan, three meals each day. She was 9, she turned 10 the last day we were there. I bought and paid for the children's deluxe dining plan, yet all but one meal she ate an adult meal. When we ate at beaches and cream she ate a kids meal, because she wanted the Mickey pants full of ice cream, 4 scoops with hot fudge. Every other place we went, they said she had the kids meal, I said we are on the deluxe plan and she wished to eat such and such, steak, lobster, clams and such, every time they said, okay she can order anything she wants. I specifically ordered the deluxe plan, this one time, because it is not worth it for me, I don't eat enough, but my DGD loves to eat things that are different, so I bought it for her as a child knowing she could eat whatever she wanted for 15 days. And I can assure you she was able to everywhere we ate, and we ate almost everywhere after 15 days on the plan.