Food Questions...Looking for some help!

[EEEBEE]

Hello Everyone,

Long time Disney vacationer here but first time cruiser! We will be on the Dream in March, there will be 11 of us (bucket list trip for my in laws) and it has been great reading all these forums, I feel lost when it comes to cruising!

A few specific questions about food....

1. Do kids have to order from the kids menu? DS10 loves to eat steak, can he order the beef entree that is on the menu? Or is his limited to the kids menu?

2. What about picky eaters? On the other hand DS7 pretty much only likes Kraft mac and cheese, fruit and cereal. I assume the mac is not Kraft? Do I just order off the menu and then feed him cereal in the room later? Or just have him not eat and he can eat later? We have several young kids in our party so hopefully they won't let him eat cereal in the dining rooms or we will have a table of kids eating Cheerios and Lucky Charms.

3. What about food allergies? SIL is allergic to nuts, shellfish and green and red peppers. Is there someone we should alert ahead of time or just let our server know?

TIA for any help that anyone can provide!!

 

[ForMyBoys]

1. Yes the kids can order from the adult menu. My kids sometimes did both in the same meal.

2. They are great with picky eaters. My youngest loves fruit and the servers managed to get him a bowl of cut up fruit at most dinners. This has been the case on multiple cruises.

3. They are very careful about allergies and go over it all at the first dinner.

I wish I could relive that first Disney cruise. You will have a great time!!

 

[Dug720]

DO have the allergy noted on your reservation. Them knowing in advance helps them plan.

You can also stop by the dining changes location to verify that it's on there.

The first night may be pretty limited in terms of what she can order, but after that, she should be given the menu in advance to order the next night's dinner.

At the buffet, ask a CM and they'll get someone to walk her through and let her know what is safe. If she isn't comfortable getting things off the buffet, she can tell them what she wants and they'll make her up a plate from the back with food that has not been put out yet.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Hello Everyone,

Long time Disney vacationer here but first time cruiser! We will be on the Dream in March, there will be 11 of us (bucket list trip for my in laws) and it has been great reading all these forums, I feel lost when it comes to cruising!

A few specific questions about food....

1. Do kids have to order from the kids menu? DS10 loves to eat steak, can he order the beef entree that is on the menu? Or is his limited to the kids menu?

2. What about picky eaters? On the other hand DS7 pretty much only likes Kraft mac and cheese, fruit and cereal. I assume the mac is not Kraft? Do I just order off the menu and then feed him cereal in the room later? Or just have him not eat and he can eat later? We have several young kids in our party so hopefully they won't let him eat cereal in the dining rooms or we will have a table of kids eating Cheerios and Lucky Charms.

3. What about food allergies? SIL is allergic to nuts, shellfish and green and red peppers. Is there someone we should alert ahead of time or just let our server know?

TIA for any help that anyone can provide!!

1. Yes, kids can order off the adult menu, and vice versa.
2. There is mac & cheese, but yes, it's not Kraft (although I found it to be quite similar). You servers will do their utmost to find SOMETHING for everyone to eat. Whether it's cereal, fruit, or a hot dog....
3. Yes, contact DCL now and have the allergy noted on your reservation. Then your servers will go over what's good and what's not. Typically the person with allergies will order for the next night during dinner.

 

[Rob1872]

2. What about picky eaters? On the other hand DS7 pretty much only likes Kraft mac and cheese, fruit and cereal. I assume the mac is not Kraft? Do I just order off the menu and then feed him cereal in the room later? Or just have him not eat and he can eat later? We have several young kids in our party so hopefully they won't let him eat cereal in the dining rooms or we will have a table of kids eating Cheerios and Lucky Charms.

Not sure that I understand the comment about hopefully they won't let him eat cereal in the dining rooms. If that is what he wants, they should let him do it. My youngest typically eats pizza before dinner and then just has a drink and desert for dinner. They offered to bring him the pizza from the quick service place if he preferred that. Isn't it better to have him eating dinner with you instead of him not eating and then eating later?

 

[disneylove69]

Anyone can eat anything off menu and as much as you want. The mac n cheese is kid approved. Disney has done a lot of kid taste tests to get the recipe correct. The waiters will give the kid cereal if they want.

 

[MomOTwins]

Anyone can eat anything off menu and as much as you want. The mac n cheese is kid approved. Disney has done a lot of kid taste tests to get the recipe correct. The waiters will give the kid cereal if they want.

Just going to push back on this a little. My 3 year old is very picky about his mac and cheese (like it sounds like OP's 7-year-old is), and he would NOT eat the non-Kraft version on the ships at all. I tasted it and it is definitely not at all the same as Kraft (the ship's version is much thicker/gloopier and has is more cheesy and less buttery in taste than Kraft).

But I agree with everything else the pp and other pps have said--the dining crew will bend over backward to get your kids something they will eat off-menu so long as they have the physical ingredients on the ship, whether it is cereal, fruit, a PBJ/grilled cheese.

 

[lilsonicfan]

If the concern about your picky eater is that you don't want him to have cereal in the MDR because that might tempt the other kiddies to also order cereal then I would just explain to DS that he needs to choose something from the menu. The staff will do what they can to accommodate for sure if you're okay with that.

 

[Rob1872]

If the concern about your picky eater is that you don't want him to have cereal in the MDR because that might tempt the other kiddies to also order cereal then I would just explain to DS that he needs to choose something from the menu. The staff will do what they can to accommodate for sure if you're okay with that.

Disagree completely with this comment.
A) Saying to your DS that "he just needs to choose something from the menu" may work for some kids, but not for a lot. That isn't going to be a rousing success story with my autistic DS. The whole point around this post was how best to accomodate a picky eater, not to just tell the picky eater to "suck it up" and eat what they are told to.
B) I'm not worrying on a cruise that if I let my kid eat cereal at dinner that some other kid might see and say that they want cereal too. That is something for their parents to deal with, not something for me to worry about. (Anyone who complains about my kid quietly and discretely eating something for dinner that wasn't on the menu has a few screws loose.)

 

[eeyoreandtink]

Disagree completely with this comment.
A) Saying to your DS that "he just needs to choose something from the menu" may work for some kids, but not for a lot. That isn't going to be a rousing success story with my autistic DS. The whole point around this post was how best to accomodate a picky eater, not to just tell the picky eater to "suck it up" and eat what they are told to.
B) I'm not worrying on a cruise that if I let my kid eat cereal at dinner that some other kid might see and say that they want cereal too. That is something for their parents to deal with, not something for me to worry about. (Anyone who complains about my kid quietly and discretely eating something for dinner that wasn't on the menu has a few screws loose.)

I agree with you, but the PP seemed to be saying that she hoped the DID NOT let him eat cereal at the table because they did not want others IN THEIR PARTY party following suit. I can see it in that case, and the suggestion was made based on that.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

I agree with you, but the PP seemed to be saying that she hoped the DID NOT let him eat cereal at the table because they did not want others IN THEIR PARTY party following suit. I can see it in that case, and the suggestion was made based on that.

That's how I read it, also.

 

[lilsonicfan]

Disagree completely with this comment.
A) Saying to your DS that "he just needs to choose something from the menu" may work for some kids, but not for a lot. That isn't going to be a rousing success story with my autistic DS. The whole point around this post was how best to accomodate a picky eater, not to just tell the picky eater to "suck it up" and eat what they are told to.
B) I'm not worrying on a cruise that if I let my kid eat cereal at dinner that some other kid might see and say that they want cereal too. That is something for their parents to deal with, not something for me to worry about. (Anyone who complains about my kid quietly and discretely eating something for dinner that wasn't on the menu has a few screws loose.)

Reading the posts in context is important. Of course anyone is free to disagree, but if you read the OP s/he says the following, which I was trying to address directly:

We have several young kids in our party so hopefully they won't let him eat cereal in the dining rooms or we will have a table of kids eating Cheerios and Lucky Charms

Of course not every kid will be amenable to 'having' to choose something off the menu, but if this parent doesn't want their child to have cereal at dinner (which appeared to be the point of that sentence), then one solution is not to offer an option of having cereal for dinner.

 

[dad of 3 addicted to DCL]

Of note, you can also order from other MDR menus. For example, if you're in Animator's Palate, you can order from the Enchanted Garden Menu or the Royal Palace manu. You can find those menus in the Disney app. On more than one occasion, I've ordered something from a MDR that we weren't sitting in at the time. As a PP mentioned, you can also order from the quick serve on the pool deck and the server will arrange for the pizza/chicken fingers... to be brought down.

If DS is having one of those days that all of us parents can relate to, you can ask for something off the menu. When DD was younger (6-8) all she would eat was butter coated spaghetti noodles. That was it. DW insisted on a vegetable which may or may not have been eaten , but the servers brought out butter noodles every time.

Enjoy your cruise!!

 

[PrincessShmoo]

For example, if you're in Animator's Palate, you can order from the Enchanted Garden Menu or the Royal Palace manu.

Of course, that only works those nights that each dining room is serving it's signature menu. On nights where the same menu is being served in all dining rooms, it's not an option.

 

[Minnie & Daisy]

There is a basic steak on the adult dinner menu every evening, so your DS10 can always order it. The DS7 who is the picky eater will not be allowed to just eat cereal for dinner, if YOU tell him that. There is a children's menu. Encourage him to at least try some different foods, at dinner or at the buffet, as this is a perfect time to do so. Tell him that if he doesn't like something, then he can just leave the rest on his plate. He will not go hungry. The servers, at the very least, can bring him a bowl of fruit. What a wonderful bucket list trip to enjoy with your in-laws! You will all have a great time and will want to start planning your next cruise, either alone or as a group.

 

[bumbershoot]

I'm not worrying on a cruise that if I let my kid eat cereal at dinner that some other kid might see and say that they want cereal too. That is something for their parents to deal with, not something for me to worry about.

This is her own party. It is something for her to worry about. And she described him as picky, not autistic.

 

[lilsonicfan]

Of note, you can also order from other MDR menus. For example, if you're in Animator's Palate, you can order from the Enchanted Garden Menu or the Royal Palace manu. You can find those menus in the Disney app. On more than one occasion, I've ordered something from a MDR that we weren't sitting in at the time. As a PP mentioned, you can also order from the quick serve on the pool deck and the server will arrange for the pizza/chicken fingers... to be brought down.

I think this might be a YMMV situation because I have read many stories of guests who asked for an item from another MDR and whose servers declined that request.

 

[Sunshine2U]

Disagree completely with this comment.
A) Saying to your DS that "he just needs to choose something from the menu" may work for some kids, but not for a lot. That isn't going to be a rousing success story with my autistic DS. The whole point around this post was how best to accomodate a picky eater, not to just tell the picky eater to "suck it up" and eat what they are told to.
B) I'm not worrying on a cruise that if I let my kid eat cereal at dinner that some other kid might see and say that they want cereal too. That is something for their parents to deal with, not something for me to worry about. (Anyone who complains about my kid quietly and discretely eating something for dinner that wasn't on the menu has a few screws loose.)

Okaaaay. Sounds like A) you get to voice your opinion on how other parents serve their kids. And B) they better stay the heck out of the way you choose to feed yours.

 

[SDJEL]

I think the Mac and cheese is Stouffers. My kids regularly have ordered off the adult menu. The steak that Minny & Daisy mentioned is a lighter option on the adult menu and is always on the dinner menu. My son orders it regularly.

 

[MichelleCanada]

Hello Everyone,

Long time Disney vacationer here but first time cruiser! We will be on the Dream in March, there will be 11 of us (bucket list trip for my in laws) and it has been great reading all these forums, I feel lost when it comes to cruising!

A few specific questions about food....

1. Do kids have to order from the kids menu? DS10 loves to eat steak, can he order the beef entree that is on the menu? Or is his limited to the kids menu?

2. What about picky eaters? On the other hand DS7 pretty much only likes Kraft mac and cheese, fruit and cereal. I assume the mac is not Kraft? Do I just order off the menu and then feed him cereal in the room later? Or just have him not eat and he can eat later? We have several young kids in our party so hopefully they won't let him eat cereal in the dining rooms or we will have a table of kids eating Cheerios and Lucky Charms.

3. What about food allergies? SIL is allergic to nuts, shellfish and green and red peppers. Is there someone we should alert ahead of time or just let our server know?

TIA for any help that anyone can provide!!

1. As others have said - you are not limited to the children’s menu for your kids.

2. My DS7 is a picky eater and loves KD but he will not eat the Mac and cheese on the ships. He also likes pj & j and you can get uncrustables (they are not listed anywhere). During our last cruise in August he surprised me by trying a few things he hadn’t had before. Do what works for your family and don’t be afraid to ask.

3. We don’t have any allergies in our family but have heard that DCL is good about allergies. I would call ahead and tell your server - as others have mentioned.

We took a family trip a while ago - best money ever spent. Have a great time!!