Feeding a 10yr old, how strict on age for kids meals?

[mombrontrent]

That is funny. I had kids those ages and the waitress let them order off the kids menu but told me that we would have to pay for their drink and dessert since they were over 9 (which I was fine with).

Tha happened to me a couple years ago at 50’s. I ordered the kids meatless meatball spaghetti because it was the only vegan thing on the menu at the time. The waitress reluctantly let me order it but said the drink and dessert wouldn’t be included which I was fine with anyways. My daughter who also ordered a kids meal ordered dairy free ice cream as her dessert and gave it to me and she split a dessert off the adult menu with my Dh and son. The waitress didn’t look impressed but it could have just been part of the act there I don’t know, lol!

 

[Missyrose]

Just back from a week @ WDW traveling with 1 Disney aged child. We ate at the following restaurants on the DDxDP that offered a child's menu but did not insist on it being used:

Yachtsman
Morimoto Asia
HDB
Flying Fish (not sure if they offered a children's' menu)
CG brunch (no children's' menu for this meal)

HTH.

Deluxe dining plan credits don't differentiate between child and adult credits

 

[NYCgrrl]

Deluxe dining plan credits don't differentiate between child and adult credits

We've only ever ordered the deluxe dining plan in part because we like the ability to eat in courses. Since we have never used the other dining plans there might be changes for them but I'm assured by the majority of posters here that there is no age differentiation for quick service/counter service dining credits as well.
I should point out that we actually traveled with 2 children: one Disney aged and one not.

 

[ElsasFan]

I don't get that at all. If you are paying for something OOP, then who cares what you order. Some people just order appetizers or just go in for dessert and a glass of wine. If a server told me what I could and could not order at a restaurant, I would get up and leave. Don't put up with that, ask to speak to a manager. If they are giving it to you for free then they can dictate what you will eat, otherwise it is your money. And I don't care if Disney calls a 10 yo an adult. If they can't get a job and move out, then they are still children.

I agree with you. Based on the vibe we were getting from the waiter, we decided we would order an appetizer only if our children couldn’t order from the kids menu. My feeling is they want to push kids 10+ to the adult menu to make more money, but the policy and its uneven implementation doesn’t fit the overall Disney experience.

 

[helenasue]

You shouldn't have a problem. I'm 30 and I order kid's meals all the time. My husband always gets a kid's meal at Sanaa because he doesn't like Indian food. Nobody cares, it's totally fine.

 

[sunsetbeachgal]

My husband and I sometimes get kids meals at the food courts or QS locations. We love the grapes or apple slices and milk that come with them.

 

[maxsmom]

So my son who’s 14 didn’t like anything at all in the adult menu at LeCellier and said he likes just the plain steak and fries on the kids menu. The waiter laughed at me and said oh we cannot do that. They did bring him a plain adult size steak and fries. Which was fine b/c he could eat most of it. I was a bit worried for awhile. He had asked to go here based on the kids steak he had last time. I didn’t like how they are preparing all their steaks now either. I’m w/ him. I ended up w/ the soup and Mac & cheese. Lol

 

[brockash]

I wonder how many times the servers were actually rude vs perceived as rude for upholding a policy which they didn't make and can't change.

I bet she would enjoy the Cobb Salad.

I think most people can understand and agree that the way someone approaches something and the tone of voice etc. has way more to do with how an attitude is perceived. There are very different ways of telling someone they can't do what they want ...it's really not that hard to figure out if they're rude or just enforcing a policy. I've had great experiences with CMs in situations where I couldn't do what I was initially wanting and I've also had the occasional very rude CM in situations. I don't think for the most part, we are so ignorant and entitled to not understand the difference.

And how gracious of you to tell a stranger what you "bet" her child will "enjoy."

 

[starousse]

So my son who’s 14 didn’t like anything at all in the adult menu at LeCellier and said he likes just the plain steak and fries on the kids menu. The waiter laughed at me and said oh we cannot do that. They did bring him a plain adult size steak and fries. Which was fine b/c he could eat most of it. I was a bit worried for awhile. He had asked to go here based on the kids steak he had last time. I didn’t like how they are preparing all their steaks now either. I’m w/ him. I ended up w/ the soup and Mac & cheese. Lol

We ate at Le Cellier on our last trip. My husband had the filet and because I wasn't overly hungry I ordered a cup of soup. Both my 9 and 12 year olds ordered kids meals. My son is a bigger 12 year old as well, who could easily pass for 14. There was absolutely no issue or question asked. I honestly think your waiter just wanted to up the bill and made his own rule.

 

[Huff]

Most kids do not have ID's and Disney doesn't seem to care anyways.
For those buying the dining plan I've heard many buy their 10-12 years olds the kids plan because they won't eat adult sized meals. My kids were the opposite at that age. They tired of chicken nuggets and pizza and wanted the better foods. We never ate lunch so they were hungry by a late dinner.

 

[Lilsia]

So my son who’s 14 didn’t like anything at all in the adult menu at LeCellier and said he likes just the plain steak and fries on the kids menu. The waiter laughed at me and said oh we cannot do that. They did bring him a plain adult size steak and fries. Which was fine b/c he could eat most of it. I was a bit worried for awhile. He had asked to go here based on the kids steak he had last time. I didn’t like how they are preparing all their steaks now either. I’m w/ him. I ended up w/ the soup and Mac & cheese. Lol

I don't know why they can't sell a 14 year old a kids meal when my kids would split an adult meal when they were very young. We never purchased kids meals for them and always had them split an adult entree. It just seems weird that they even care if you are paying cash.

 

[kaytieeldr]

And how gracious of you to tell a stranger what you "bet" her child will "enjoy."

Pardonnez-moi s'il vous plaît. Perhaps, "Dear person to whom I originally responded: based on the description of what your daughter enjoys, combined with your concern over the seeming lack of choices on Brown Derby's adult menu, is there a chance she would consider - even ultimately like - the Cobb Salad?" would be more positively assessed? I don't recall any comment at all from that poster - positive, negative, critical. ..

 

[MomOTwins]

As another option, it is always fine to make a special request like putting sauce on the side for a steak or pasta, or leaving out a particular ingredient. I will say, when I waitressed at a non-disney restaurant, they were very strict that teens/adults coukd not order from the kids menu, so I think Disney is more lenient than most.

 

[EdnaMarieMode]

Most kids do not have ID's and Disney doesn't seem to care anyways.
For those buying the dining plan I've heard many buy their 10-12 years olds the kids plan because they won't eat adult sized meals. My kids were the opposite at that age. They tired of chicken nuggets and pizza and wanted the better foods. We never ate lunch so they were hungry by a late dinner.

The ages of each child are on the reservation, so unless someone lied about their kids ages there they wouldn’t be able to purchase a kids dining plan for anyone 10 and over. I suppose it’s possible to do that but then I suppose if enough people do this they’ll find a way to fix that loophole (or just increase the price for everyone).

It is also possible that if the child has ever visited before, Disney has their age already (my kiddos are stored in MDE and we haven’t been in 2 years but it knows they’re 2 years older). I’ve also had CM’s ask my kids how old they are (not to give us grief but to make conversation or if we’re celebrating a birthday).

My 11 and 14 year old can barely finish a kid’s meal so I do understand. We skip the meal plan because of this and haven’t had an issue ordering a kids meal or splitting an adult meal.

 

[starousse]

The ages of each child are on the reservation, so unless someone lied about their kids ages there they wouldn’t be able to purchase a kids dining plan for anyone 10 and over. I suppose it’s possible to do that but then I suppose if enough people do this they’ll find a way to fix that loophole (or just increase the price for everyone).

The ages of kids are on the room reservation, however when you make a dining reservation you do not have to necessarily attach each person on the room reservation to that dining reservation. If you are three adults and one child, sometimes the system books it as 4 adults, sometimes 2 adults, 2 kids.. When checking into the restaurant, they will ask how many adults and how many kids. For example, last year we went to Ohana, my husband checked in and they asked how many. He said two adults, two kids, not realizing that our 11 year old son at the time was considered an adult. They printed up the ticket and gave it to the waiter. There was no questioning of age or checking of room reservation. But you are correct, you can't purchase a dining plan for a child, if they're booked as an adult on the room reservation.

 

[EdnaMarieMode]

The ages of kids are on the room reservation, however when you make a dining reservation you do not have to necessarily attach each person on the room reservation to that dining reservation. If you are three adults and one child, sometimes the system books it as 4 adults, sometimes 2 adults, 2 kids.. When checking into the restaurant, they will ask how many adults and how many kids. For example, last year we went to Ohana, my husband checked in and they asked how many. He said two adults, two kids, not realizing that our 11 year old son at the time was considered an adult. They printed up the ticket and gave it to the waiter. There was no questioning of age or checking of room reservation. But you are correct, you can't purchase a dining plan for a child, if they're booked as an adult on the room reservation.

For a dining reservation, yes. You can simply not tell it who is going, and you can have a dining reservation even if you aren’t staying on property. They have, however, asked my kids how old they are (again, just to make conversation) and I can only imagine how awkward that could get.

For a dining plan, it is attached to the room reservation and that is what I was specifically referring to.

 

[Pumbaa_]

Please do not advocate lying or deliberately misrepresenting ages of children to purchase the kids plan or to pay kids prices on aged priced meals

 

[gypsy_at_heart]

The servers there are almost always on the rude side. None of them seem like they want to be there. I think it is a culture shock to them. In Europe they are used to serving you on their own schedule. Americans are used to much better/prompt service. American servers work much harder and faster then they do in most countries because of the tip culture.

...that is definitely not my experience with European servers. Also, not my experience with Italian servers - though, just like in America, you can get good ones and bad ones. The biggest difference I find is that often, in Europe, you are not rushed because the servers aren't encouraged to flip tables as quickly as possible in order to clear enough people through their sections so that they can make a living wage - mostly due to tipping culture. Though I have seen, in heavy tourist areas in Europe, there is sometimes a rush to get you through, as is common to most heavily tourist populated areas in the world. Also, often you cannot customize the dishes on the menu as much as we can in North America, which I find a pain, but I get it and live with it. I wouldn't go as far though to say American servers work much harder and faster. If service at Tutto Italia is lacking, I doubt it's because they are simply European.

Maybe they just don't have good leadership if a whole restaurant of servers is rude, someone is obviously letting them get away with being that way and not setting proper service expectations.

 

[maxsmom]

For a dining reservation, yes. You can simply not tell it who is going, and you can have a dining reservation even if you aren’t staying on property. They have, however, asked my kids how old they are (again, just to make conversation) and I can only imagine how awkward that could get.

For a dining plan, it is attached to the room reservation and that is what I was specifically referring to.

We were specifically asked the age of the child when we checked into Be Our Guest. I had the reservations listed as just me and 3 unnamed guests. I said 3 adults and one child. They asked the age of the child. Just a heads up.

 

[happymommy]

My DD was forced to order off the adult menu at Marrakesh when she was about 12. We have also been forced to buy adult-sized kids menu meals at BOG (dinner) and the Wave even though she was not hungry enough for that much food.

Wow. My youngest ordered off the kids' menu at 17 and 18 at many places. I understand some Epcot places are different, but that is crazy. I often order at CS places a kids' meal, as portions are too large for me.