Free Dining & Toddler

[mom2maggie]

This is our first trip to Disney, and my daughter will be 2 when we go (9.2-9.7). We have the free dining booked, and just wondered if my daughter will get free dining too, or if she will have to eat off of our plates.

Thanks!

 

[Dizneydaz]

She won't get her own meal at TS with the exception of any buffets. There she can have her own plate. If your dining at a non-buffet TS she'll either share with you, or you can order her a kid's meal and pay OOP.

Just noticed this was your first post-welcome newbie!

 

[billwendy]

we have 2 little ones in our group - will we get a check for their drinks at the end of the meal?

thanks

 

[JeffZ]

Go to a buffet --toddlers can eat whatever they like

 

[bnorm27]

I agree with JeffZ. Stick to the buffet or family style restaurants. Kids under three can eat whatever they want there. It is also OK to let the child eat off an adult plate as well. If you order something at a regular restaurant, you will have to pay for it. We had our DD's with us on the last trip, and my youngest was 2.5 at the time. You don't pay for a park pass, and if you stick to the buffet and family style, you don't pay for food either!

 

[brymolmom]

We've done free dining twice with an under-3 year old. Neither time it was a big deal. We split almost all meals with her. Occassionally - we'd use an extra snck credit to get an extra serving of fruit or something. With Counter service...I think we usually split two drinks between us all (plus the bottles of water we carry in the stroller), with table service, we usually ate at buffets and we were never charged for her drink.

Maybe once or twice on the trip - we paid OOP for something for her - which we still might do now that she's over 3 due to the limited selections on many child menus - anyway - spending a few $ here and there is nothing when you're getting so much free food.

Even with some extra snack credits used for her...we still ended up with extra at the end of the trip.

 

[TMB1203]

we have 2 little ones in our group - will we get a check for their drinks at the end of the meal?

thanks

Yes. We've always paid OOP for drinks for our kids when they were under 3.

 

[MMPC123]

IN '05, our DD2 was given a free plate of buttered noodles at our Cinderalla's Castle meal. WE did pay OOP for her milk and some ice cream.

Anyone have this happen since then?

 

[Chrissie-riel]

My niece will be 4 weeks shy of her 3rd bday and so we can't "buy" a free dining plan for her in September. I'm not concerned about the TS meals, we'll be able to provide her with a plate off of our adult meals or buffet it. But I am concerned about the CS meals - she is a Happy Meal kind of kid (aren't they all ) and will notice if she doesn't get her own little basket of food. Are the CS credits listed like the TS credits as adult vs. child meals? Can we use an adult CS credit to buy a child meal? We'll have some extra CS credits, I think.......

 

[TMB1203]

My niece will be 4 weeks shy of her 3rd bday and so we can't "buy" a free dining plan for her in September. I'm not concerned about the TS meals, we'll be able to provide her with a plate off of our adult meals or buffet it. But I am concerned about the CS meals - she is a Happy Meal kind of kid (aren't they all ) and will notice if she doesn't get her own little basket of food. Are the CS credits listed like the TS credits as adult vs. child meals? Can we use an adult CS credit to buy a child meal? We'll have some extra CS credits, I think.......

Have you called and asked if you could add DDP? I added our son when he was almost 3. He was the same as your niece, would want his own food etc..
and he would eat snacks during the day. They coded him as under 3 for the room but added the DDP and we didn't have to buy a park admission for him.
I've heard that the credits are no longer pooled. I tried using an adult for a child at CS and they didn't let me. They let me at TS but not CS.

 

[janet715]

Have you called and asked if you could add DDP? I added our son when he was almost 3. He was the same as your niece, would want his own food etc..
and he would eat snacks during the day. They coded him as under 3 for the room but added the DDP and we didn't have to buy a park admission for him.
I've heard that the credits are no longer pooled. I tried using an adult for a child at CS and they didn't let me. They let me at TS but not CS.

Were you paying for the dining plan for him? Or was it during a free dining promotion?

 

[IWISHFORDISNEY]

We took our 2 year old last year and he will be a month shy of 3 this year when we go. We were never charged for anything but the 1 meal we ordered for him at Alfredos.(Our meals were to spicy to give to him) His drinks were never billed. All our lunches were big enough to split. I really think we had only one extra bill during our whole week. We stuck to mainly buffett or family type meals though.

 

[Chrissie-riel]

Have you called and asked if you could add DDP? I added our son when he was almost 3. He was the same as your niece, would want his own food etc..
and he would eat snacks during the day. They coded him as under 3 for the room but added the DDP and we didn't have to buy a park admission for him.
I've heard that the credits are no longer pooled. I tried using an adult for a child at CS and they didn't let me. They let me at TS but not CS.

We did ask to have her included on the DP and were told no - it could be since we are going during "free" dining that they don't want to give anything more away than they have to. I guess we can always try at the different CS restaurants to order a kid meal with an adult credit - it seems like no matter what you are talking about at Disney, you will get a different answer from every CM you meet.

 

[TMB1203]

Were you paying for the dining plan for him? Or was it during a free dining promotion?

I paid for the plan, we are DVC so we don't get free DDP.
.

 

[TMB1203]

We did ask to have her included on the DP and were told no - it could be since we are going during "free" dining that they don't want to give anything more away than they have to. I guess we can always try at the different CS restaurants to order a kid meal with an adult credit - it seems like no matter what you are talking about at Disney, you will get a different answer from every CM you meet.

Could be. I'm sure the only way to work around that is to pay for her park admission and then get free dining. Since the DDP is less for a 3 yo than a park ticket, that wouldn't make sense....

I was surprised that they wouldn't do the adult credit for a kids meal. It worked out to their "benefit". I wasn't trying to do a childs credit for an adult meal.

 

[Ilovemyprincesses]

Some restaurants may give you free food or drinks for your toddler but expect to pay unless you are sharing.