Has anyone ever bumped up an 8 YO child who eats well to the adult DDP?

[happytogo]

We are contemplating paying for our son to have an adult menu choice at every meal. Has anyone done this? Did you think it is worth it?
He does love to eat the same good food that we eat. Thanks

 

[Redbudlover]

If he is a good eater and could not eat off his parents plates, I would do it. The children's menu is so limited it hardly provides a proper eating experience for a child IMHO. My 17 month old DGD was introduced to healthy and spicy and diverse food from the time she began eating solids. She now enjoys all kinds of ethnic foods, gourmet salads, and healthful foods. I doubt she has ever had a french fry and she eats no meat so hot dogs and hamburgers are out. On the other hand she enjoys blue cheese, lentils, etc. She eats savory crackers and graham crackers but not cookies. She is healthy, tall, very energetic, very bright - did I mention I dote on this child? I would definitely put her an adult plan as soon as she eats enough to warrant it.

 

[happytogo]

Thanks for sharing about your wonderful DGD! She sounds like my kind of eater!

I am wondering though if it would be cheaper to pay for the kids DDP and then buy him an adult entree when he wants it? I guess one way is to figure out what he will eat at each ADR and take it from there.

I was wondering if anyone had tried this before and if it worked out for them?

I looks like we will be at the BC at the same time. See you at the F&WF.

 

[wedance6]

Lucky for us we are on free dining, and my 9 yr. old is getting the adult plan. This way we would share her food with her 2 yr.old brother as well. I don't think i would do it if I had to pay, unless there is a younger sibling they could share thier food with.

 

[cabychek]

You can bump your child up to the adult DDP as long as you also pay for an adult admission ticket. We're doing that with our 9-year-old next month mostly because the children's menu options are so limited. Good luck!

Cheryl

 

[septbaby]

There are other ways to insure he gets to eat what you eat, for $10.99 a day:

1. Utilize buffets, everyone has access to everything

2. Take a look at the TS kids menus, they aren't as limited as people suggest Pick restaurants that have these adult options. Sometimes there is a $2 upcharge, but much cheaper than buying an adult ticket for him. Examples:
Rose & Crown: Cottage Pie - seasoned ground beef with carrots, mashed potatoes and melted cheese; Bangers and Mash - traditional English sausage, mashed potatoes and gravy
Coral Reef: Smoked Fish Chowder,Lobster Soup, Grilled Mahi Mahi, Grilled Chicken Breast, Grilled Fish of the Day served with whole grain pilaf, veggies and yogurt parfait
Grand Floridian Cafe: Beef Filet, Fish Filet or Grilled Chicken Breast, Penne Pasta
Whispering Canyon Cafe: Canyon skillet is on Kid's menu as well
Ragland Road: Shepard's pie, Fried Shrimp

3. Use the CS restaurants that don't offer kids meals (list on DDP Sticky at top of this fourm)

4. Trade or share your meal, there may be something on the kids menu you like, you eat the kids meal and let him have your entree. Personally I think the kids get great desserts at TS places. I'm eyeing the make your own sundae and banana splits!

5. If he wants something else, just buy it OOP

Hope this helps!

 

[Redbudlover]

Thanks for sharing about your wonderful DGD! She sounds like my kind of eater!

I looks like we will be at the BC at the same time. See you at the F&WF.

Hi! Boy that is exciting! Maybe we could meet up some time. We are planning on spending middays at the BC to rest and let DGD play in the pool. Would love to meet you. If interested PM me and maybe we can arrange something!

 

[Colleen27]

We are contemplating paying for our son to have an adult menu choice at every meal. Has anyone done this? Did you think it is worth it?
He does love to eat the same good food that we eat. Thanks

Look over your dining plans and think about what he will order. How many restaurants are you dining at where kids menus are an issue? At buffets and family style meals, he can eat the adult fare for the child's price. Look at the kids' menus at the remaining restaurants on your plan. Some are better than others for offering real food - steak at Le Cellier, mahi mahi at Coral Reef, teppan-style chicken at Teppanyaki, etc.

We waffled about upgrading DS9 and ultimately decided to book him as the child he is and just share or order extras out of pocket if/when he wants something beyond the kids' menu. Since we'll be on the deluxe plan, we're doing a lot of the better TS and most have options that he'll enjoy, since he likes steak, salmon, and other fish. We're also doing a lot of buffets and family style dinners where he can get whatever he likes, and for breakfasts, he's perfectly happy with the kids' menu options. There will probably be a couple places where we'll order something off the adult menu for him, but I don't think it will come anywhere near the cost of upgrading the dining plan and his ticket to make him an adult.

 

[maggs]

I would do it as both of my kids hated the kids' menus with a passion. They love good healthy food and could only get the wider choices off the adult menu. Since eating off the adult menu (mind you they are both in their teens now) they can now get the fish, salads, and more adult food that they prefer.

Maggs

 

[It's A Happy Day]

We are considering doing it for our 7 year old son next year! The cost was only around $100 more for the length of our trip and then he can decide if he wants to order off the adult menu or childrens menu. I also figured this way if we have "extra" meals leftover at the end of the trip (counter service most likely as we will use all the table service) we can get anything with them instead of just kids meal stuff.

 

[septbaby]

We are considering doing it for our 7 year old son next year! The cost was only around $100 more for the length of our trip.

How many nights are you staying? You'll pay $28 more per day for the DDP plus the price increase from a child's to an adult ticket. Also when you have a 3rd adult in the room you usually pay a nightly surcharge ($15?). At $100 you must only be staying 2-3 nights. If any of those TS meals are buffets it is a waste to upgrade him because he gets the entire buffet for the childs price anyway. If you assume a $3 snack value, you'll pay $7 a day for a TS and CS meal for him. As an adult you'll pay $35 for him to have the same. Forbid he should ever want a kid's entree.

Kids pricing is one of the best discounts Disney offers. I just hate to see people give that away. At $100 you could pay OOP for several really nice TS entrees and CS meals when you know for sure he won't take the kids options. I do think there is more chat than fact about the kids menus. There is prime rib, pasta, fish, etc. available at many TS restaurants on the kids menu. CS may be less creative, but you could buy 10 CS entrees w/ that$100!

 

[tasha99]

I upgraded my 9 year old for our upcoming trip during free dining. I asked the CM if it was okay to do that, and she said certainly if we paid for an adult ticket for him. I just thought the kids menus looked awful at most of our restaurants, and we aren't doing a single buffet. I don't think we'll take full advantage of the "adult" entrees--he does like his chicken nuggets, and 2 appetizers and 2 desserts at all meals would be wasteful. This just gives him some more choices.

 

[wedance6]

. Sometimes there is a $2 upcharge, but much cheaper than buying an adult ticket for him

Actually we only paid a little under $40 more for my DD9 to have an adult ticket for 10 day Hopper. so it's worth it since we are on the free dining, otherwise, like I said before you'd be better off sticking with the child plan, and POP for any extras. You do get alot of food per person, you're bound to be able to share something.

 

[G's mommy]

How many nights are you staying? You'll pay $28 more per day for the DDP plus the price increase from a child's to an adult ticket. Also when you have a 3rd adult in the room you usually pay a nightly surcharge ($15?). At $100 you must only be staying 2-3 nights. If any of those TS meals are buffets it is a waste to upgrade him because he gets the entire buffet for the childs price anyway. If you assume a $3 snack value, you'll pay $7 a day for a TS and CS meal for him. As an adult you'll pay $35 for him to have the same. Forbid he should ever want a kid's entree.

Kids pricing is one of the best discounts Disney offers. I just hate to see people give that away. At $100 you could pay OOP for several really nice TS entrees and CS meals when you know for sure he won't take the kids options. I do think there is more chat than fact about the kids menus. There is prime rib, pasta, fish, etc. available at many TS restaurants on the kids menu. CS may be less creative, but you could buy 10 CS entrees w/ that$100!

As far as resort rooms, children ages 10-17 staying in the room with their parents are not considered adults, so no extra charge. We have an 11 year old and he is considered an "adult" for tickets and dining only. I believe technically Disney lists them as "juniors".

 

[RACHELSMOM1]

I am thinking about doing this next year , since my DD8 has started to eat so much, and I don't want her to be bored with the kids selections to the point she won't eat. She needs to gain weight!!

 

[Pooh Bear Hugs]

I think its fine to upgrade your child when you are paying for the plan, but doing it during free dining is wrong.

 

[SmallWorld71]

Hi,
I thought this was going to be an issue with my 8 year old as well. However, when we made our ADR's for where our family really wanted to eat, 3 out of 6 were buffets (Biergarten, CM and CP) and 1 was family style (O'Hana). So, that meant 2 places ordering off the kids' menu. One of these is Cinderella's Gala Feast (at the GFC) which has choices such as prime rib, fish, chicken etc... So, that only leaves Sci-Fi to order off a pretty boring menu.
I guess what I'm trying to say is think about where you really want to eat as a family and then see what the kids' choices are. After we did that, we saw that there was no reason in our situation to upgrade, even with an adventurous eater.

 

[tasha99]

I think its fine to upgrade your child when you are paying for the plan, but doing it during free dining is wrong.

I thought so too when I first read about people doing this. Then I called and asked Disney point blank about it. The CM said there was no problem doing it and people do it all the time, even during free dining.

 

[RACHELSMOM1]

I thought so too when I first read about people doing this. Then I called and asked Disney point blank about it. The CM said there was no problem doing it and people do it all the time, even during free dining.

Well then, I say go for it. I just may do that!!

 

[It's A Happy Day]

I think its fine to upgrade your child when you are paying for the plan, but doing it during free dining is wrong.

Just curious? Why do you think it is wrong? If I upgrade my 7 year old son to an adult during free dining or not, I am paying more for his ticket into the parks so I am "paying" more for him to have this option.

Now If I wanted to pay a childs rate by saying my 10 year old is 8 (she's short and looks very young for her age ) then I could see people getting upset. *note that my children will actually be 6 & 7 at time of travel, I am suggesting hypotheticals here*

My reasons for *possibly* upgrading our son is food choice - he is a big eater and prefers steaks, fish, salads, more of an adult menu than kids meal menu. He will not necessarily be happy ordering even counter service kids meals never mind possible choices at table service. Now I need to look through restaurants and see exactly what they offer on the kids menu before making that call and may still go with the kids plan but it is a comparison we are making right now. The other thing is *if* we share counter service meals - my daughter is not a big eater and prefers to graze, so it might be beneficial for me to share a counter service meal with her here and there, We do not want a bunch of kids meals credits remaining at the end of the trip. We would rather be able to use the credits towards *any* counter service including but not limited to a kids meal. So if we stay 7 nights x4 people then we would have 28 adult credits and 7 kids credits. It would be easier for use to spend an adult credit than kids. We are not being deceptive and are actually willing to pay the higher price *if* it makes financial sense for us.