Getting kids involved in dining plans...

[kaybird]

We have always had everyone weigh in, and when possible, each member of the group picks a favorite or new restaurant. Gives everyone a chance to feel included!

 

[J and R's mom]

We let our two girls (14, 13) help out. They have gone with us every year since our youngest was 1 yr old. It's been fun to see how their requests have changed over the years, too. I'm just glad that neither of them are interested in the character meals anymore.

Anyway...THIS LINK can give some extra information on dining establishments around WDW (although probably not as entertaining as YouTube ).

 

[TheRustyScupper]

Has anyone had their kids help choose restaurants?

1) When the kids were young, and even now, we involved them in choices.
. . . we plan ONE main family meal per day, a fast-food meal, and several light snacks
. . . we let them list three eateries per park (or resort) which they wanted to visit
. . . this coordinated with the days we planned upon that particular park
2) we fist looked for duplicate eateries, as this make the choice for that park easy - VERY easy.
3) If no duplicates we let each kid have their choice, then alternated fro the next park without duplicate selections.
4) Obviously, parents had more choices than kiddies, but the kids had a fair share.

5) Everyone turned out happy - EXCEPT MAYBE DAD WHO HAD TO PAY THE BILLS.

 

[Shellyb84]

We usually do 1 or 2 character meals, and I give DD8 a couple of options to choose from based on which characters she would rather meet. I am giving her one day of our next trip to plan the entire day - parks, rides, dinner (within reason, and with some help, when I told her about it she said she wanted to go to every park in one day - nope!).

 

[Haley R]

We usually do 1 or 2 character meals, and I give DD8 a couple of options to choose from based on which characters she would rather meet. I am giving her one day of our next trip to plan the entire day - parks, rides, dinner (within reason, and with some help, when I told her about it she said she wanted to go to every park in one day - nope!).

I have ADRs for Ohana (dinner) and Whispering Canyon Cafe (dinner) on the same day. I am going to let our niece pick which she would rather go to.

 

[Shellyb84]

I have ADRs for Ohana (dinner) and Whispering Canyon Cafe (dinner) on the same day. I am going to let our niece pick which she would rather go to.

Ohana is the only place my DD requests every trip!

 

[Haley R]

Ohana is the only place my DD requests every trip!

I haven't been to either and both have been on my list of to-go restaurants so I will be happy with either choice she makes.

 

[ClosetDisMom]

We let our two girls (14, 13) help out. They have gone with us every year since our youngest was 1 yr old. It's been fun to see how their requests have changed over the years, too. I'm just glad that neither of them are interested in the character meals anymore.

Anyway...THIS LINK can give some extra information on dining establishments around WDW (although probably not as entertaining as YouTube ).

I love allears! Thanks for the link to the dining page. I had forgotten about that.

 

[ClosetDisMom]

I have ADRs for Ohana (dinner) and Whispering Canyon Cafe (dinner) on the same day. I am going to let our niece pick which she would rather go to.

Hmmm... this sounds like a great plan! I might steal it.

 

[oceanmarina]

My kids (now ages 9. & 12) help pick where we eat every trip. (They know their favorites as they have been there 7 times) what I usually do is make a "dining game plan" before my ADR date, as a family we go through it. I usually try to have one night to try a new restaurant, and the others are old favorites (as we only go 5 nights as it is so expensive, I don't have a ton of meals to plan) DD always insists on Be Our Guest, DH pick is coral reef, DS wanted to try liberty tavern last trip and as a family we always eat at Narcoosees our last night, that's our "family pick." So four the four of us , everyone gets to choose one night, and our last night is narcoosees.

 

[Haley R]

Hmmm... this sounds like a great plan! I might steal it.

Our niece has never been there so I went ahead and already booked adr’s. I made sure to pick lots of character meals because we have a short trip and don’t want to spend a ton of time waiting for characters.

 

[ShadeDK]

Although I encourage participation, I'll throw out one caveat I haven't seen mentioned. You'll be on the dining plan - which means your 9 and 6yo will be ordering off the kids menu at TS restaurants (unless the adults swap). The kids selections are mostly uninspired and largely the same everywhere - so the dining experience can be very different for them than what the adult menu reflects. That can be especially challenging for older kids (like the 9 yo) or kids with more adventurous palates. Something to keep in mind if the kids are basing selections on the food/menu.

On way to sidestep this problem, however, is to look at TS restaurants that are buffets or family style. Those tend to fare much better (no pun intended).

 

[ClosetDisMom]

Although I encourage participation, I'll throw out one caveat I haven't seen mentioned. You'll be on the dining plan - which means your 9 and 6yo will be ordering off the kids menu at TS restaurants (unless the adults swap). The kids selections are mostly uninspired and largely the same everywhere - so the dining experience can be very different for them than what the adult menu reflects. That can be especially challenging for older kids (like the 9 yo) or kids with more adventurous palates. Something to keep in mind if the kids are basing selections on the food/menu.

On way to sidestep this problem, however, is to look at TS restaurants that are buffets or family style. Those tend to fare much better (no pun intended).

Didn’t think about that part - my 9yo is adventurous. When looking, I will make sure she sees the kid menu when planning. Thank you!

 

[Haley R]

I showed my niece some of the places we might eat and had her choose. She chose 1900 pf breakfast over ohana dinner. I kept both just in case but that surprised me.

I also went through characters with her so I could get an idea of who she would like to meet. She has no desire to meet Mickey characters.

 

[PrincessWithABlaster]

Beware. Participation by the offspring is why we’re eating at Coral Reef and Crystal Palace. Again.

 

[ClosetDisMom]

Beware. Participation by the offspring are why we’re eating at Coral Reef and Crystal Palace. Again.

Ha! That is a downside. Luckily, my 9yo is not as interested in character buffets as sheonce was - so, I have that going for me.

 

[Haley R]

Beware. Participation by the offspring is why we’re eating at Coral Reef and Crystal Palace. Again.

My 9 yo niece told me today she doesn’t want to eat at crystal palace. I still have the adr just in case but I think she is “too old” for Winnie the Pooh. I love meeting him but she’s never been to Disney so I’m sure her mind will change.

 

[PrincessWithABlaster]

My 9 yo niece told me today she doesn’t want to eat at crystal palace. I still have the adr just in case but I think she is “too old” for Winnie the Pooh. I love meeting him but she’s never been to Disney so I’m sure her mind will change.

My 9 yo still likes to meet the Winnie the Pooh characters (probably wouldn’t admit it to her friends though). They are pretty cuddly.

 

[Haley R]

My 9 yo still likes to meet the Winnie the Pooh characters (probably wouldn’t admit it to her friends though). They are pretty cuddly.

My favorite characters to meet are the ones that don’t talk lol. They make funny gestures

 

[Aliceacc]

Give them a limited list that the adults can live with, and let them chose from among those.