Grilled Cheese, Mac & Cheese, Hot Dogs (Toddler)

[dwheaton]

Hello. We're taking our daughter to the world in late January/early February for a week. She's 21 months and actually eats a decent variety of foods, but she's not into meat, particularly chicken fingers, turkey sandwiches, etc. The one exception is hot dogs.

She is a big fan of grilled cheese and all things involving cheese, so we think the Mac & Cheese might be a good choice. She also loves pizza, but we want to make sure she's not eating that at every meal. Luckily, she is a fan of veggies like corn, peas, and beans, along with fruit like grapes.

I'm checking in to see what you think of the grilled cheese, mac & cheese, and other offerings on the kids menu. Are they decent (relatively speaking)?

Also, do you have specific recommendations for places that have good offerings for a toddler? I've looked at the menus, but there's so much to digest. We will have a rental car and will be taking mid-day breaks, so I'm not opposed to hitting some resorts too. However, she's too young to really appreciate the character meals, so we'll probably stay away from those due to the cost.

 

[mjp12831]

With exception of EWS, CS children's menus are awful. TS menus are hit and miss - I know it's tedious, but pick out 10 or so places you think you want to eat, look at the menus and evaluate the best options from those.

Generally you aren't going to want to make your WDW ADR's based off of who has the best children's menu.

If you're looking at TS restaurants, the buffets are the best in terms of choices for the kids (while there's a children's section at all of the buffet restaurants, the kids are allowed to hit the adult section).

 

[Colleen27]

Most of the mac & cheese at table service locations is Stouffers-like and would probably be a hit with most toddlers. Not sure about grilled cheese because the only place any of my kids have ordered it was Jiko, and I know that one isn't typical - it was made on whole grain bread with a blend of "real" (not American) cheese.

Many Disney restaurants offer a pasta option with either cheese sauce or tomato-based sauce, so that might be another non-meat choice to look for.

I disagree about the character meals at her age, though. My DD loved them at 16mo and at 28mo is really excited about the idea of seeing her "friends" again. And kids under 3 are free at the buffets/family style meals. Plus the buffets are great for toddlers, whatever their food preferences, because there's such a wide selection and they can eat from the kids' section and the main/adult buffet as well.

You might also want to think about some non-character buffets like Tusker House at Animal Kingdom, Boma at Animal Kingdom Lodge, and Biergarten at Epcot for the same reason.

 

[pixarmom]

Hi OP!

I agree with Colleen27 about character meals - some of my favorite Disney memories include character meals with our boys when they were as young as 1 year old. It's especially fun if little ones are already familiar with the characters from books or watching even small parts of Disney movies. It was a great deal when our boys were younger - now with a pre-schooler and two pre-teen "Disney adults," we still go but it's costly.

As for the children's menus, so many posters here really seem to dislike the options. Our oldest son has never been a fan of the children's menus at Disney or anywhere else. Our middle son loves the children's menus at Disney and our youngest alternates between ordering from the children's menu and sharing with us. So within our family, we have a wide range of opinions.

Our middle son (who loves the Disney children's menus) is a self-proclaimed Disney mac and cheese expert and asked if he could post a mac and cheese review after our next trip! He says that the children's mac and cheese is not the same at every Disney restaurant - and he's tried lots of mac and cheese. (Hint: His favorite mac and cheese is at California Grill.) Of the other options you mentioned, he likes the pizza and the hot dogs. Several children's menus offer three courses, and our kids all enjoy the soups. (And fortunately for us, CMs at TS restaurants continue to offer our pre-teens the children's menu in addition to the adult menu.)

When our boys were toddlers, we often shared our food with them - so that's another option. Good luck with your planning and have a great time!

 

[Tara]

Restaurants where my son has gotten and enjoyed a grilled cheese sandwich:

California Grill
Citricos
Jiko
Yachtsman Steakhouse (they bring it over from Beaches & Cream)
Artist Point
Brown Derby
Whispering Canyon Cafe
Beaches and Cream (clearly )
Big River Grill
'Ohana

Restaurants where a grilled cheese was procured but not enjoyed (or not even edible IMO):
Flying Fish (horrible)
Le Cellier

Honestly, there may be more, but I can't think of them right now. DS doesn't eat mac & cheese so no comment on that.

 

[MSSANDRA]

Honestly at that age the boys just ate off my plate. They do not eat a huge amount and if she eats a pretty good variety she will be ok. Table service will be better than CS. Grilled cheese is not too common and my DS did not like the mac & cheese. Buffets were huge hits with my boys at that age and most toddlers do like the CM. She is free there as well! Always carry toddler friendly snacks and ask the waiter for items that she may eat that are not always listed. I ordered a scoop of cottage cheese when DS was little more that a few times!!! CS is limited. Grapes and apple sauce sides are good.

 

[dwheaton]

Thanks everyone. I expect we won't be ordering her full meals a lot of the time, but I'm trying to make a list of places that have good options on the menu. She does really like pasta with red sauce, so that's probably a safe bet at table service places based on Colleen27's comments above. That's a good tip! I don't think we'll overdo the table service, though, as she may get antsy. She's usually pretty good eating out, though, as there's so much to look at with all the people around.