Help! Kids meal/prices when child is 10 or older?

[Katie Dawn]

Hi all!
We have an 11 year old that eats a wide variety of foods.
We also have a 10 year old that eats very few things, and in small amounts. He never comes close to eating an adult-size portion, and he will be far more likely to eat the kids meal choices.

I understand both kids are considered "adults" by Disney standards, but I wondered if that rule had any wiggle room when it came to meals. I've done some searches here on the Dis - will you let me know if I'm understanding things correctly?

**Mobile order/quick service: we can probably (or definitely?) order a kids meal for him without issue? (Sounds like even adults are able to order kid's meals with no issue?)

**Buffets/All-you-care-to-enjoy type places: we'll be charged adult prices here, period.

**Prix Fix meals: I didn't see much discussion on that since it's newish (as far as how many places are prix fix these days) - do we know how that is handled?

Thank you for any help you can provide! My ADR date is the day after tomorrow, and knowing these answers will be really helpful!

 

[mom2rtk]

Mobile order you'll be fine.

Buffets, correct, adult price.

Unfortunately same for prix fix meals. You'll be charged the adult price.

 

[barb969]

At a TS which is not prix fix, ask the waiter. Often they will allow you to use the kids menu. If not, you can ask for an adult portion of the kids meal. It will cost more than the kids meal but at least he might eat it.

 

[TwoMisfits]

The safest option, if looking for TS meals, is to pick non-buffet, non prix-fixe TS locations that allow purchasing by the course...and then see if there is an item he will eat on the app menu, or share with you on the entree menu, or eat as a side (so someone orders the item as their side dish to their meal), etc...

Any other path at TS, you may get "no"s or "full adult entree pricing" which it seems you're trying to avoid. So, that would be my suggestion so you never have stress over the issue.

 

[Kmk2]

As a practical matter I’m sure there are tons of kids that order off the kids menu at 10 or 11 years old.

 

[Merlin's Magic]

When we went at the beginning of 2020, we had a 10yo. He ate off of whichever menu and most places offered both to him. We weren't on the dining plan and I don't think we did buffets that trip. There were also times at TS restaurants where he ordered an appetizer only (I think our first night he ordered nachos from the appetizer menu at Big River Grille). Nobody cared.

 

[Happy_2_B]

We have an 11 year old that eats a wide variety of foods.
We also have a 10 year old that eats very few things, and in small amounts. He never comes close to eating an adult-size portion, and he will be far more likely to eat the kids meal choices.

My kids are 18 months apart- and when they were the ages your kids currently are we mostly ate quick service. Anyone can get a kid's meal at a QS location. Our goal was to get them food they would actually eat- and TS locations do not fit the bill for the most part. I would rather have a full, content kid eating QS food that they can enjoy than a whiny one because we decided to do TS and there was nothing on the menu to meet his needs.

I am not so sure there are kids over 10 eating off the kid's menu as is mentioned above- especially if you are doing TS with an advanced reservation. Disney has your parties information that you inputted on the MDE app when you made the reservation. I am sure there are some servers that will let it slide- but I wouldn't assume that it will happen on a regular basis. My guess is Disney makes them toe the line on this issue, otherwise why make the 'adult' age so ridiculously low? I think for the picky one it is a great idea that barb969 had about asking for an adult portion of a kid's meal. You will pay more but at least the kid is eating something he/she likes.

 

[Kmk2]

I am not so sure there are kids over 10 eating off the kid's menu as is mentioned above- especially if you are doing TS with an advanced reservation. Disney has your parties information that you inputted on the MDE app when you made the reservation. I am sure there are some servers that will let it slide- but I wouldn't assume that it will happen on a regular basis. I am sure Disney makes them toe the line on this issue. I think for the picky one it is a great idea that barb969 had about asking for an adult portion of a kid's meal. You will pay more but at least the kid is eating something he/she likes.

My family is not on an age bubble so not really a current issue for me - but I always make a reservation with Planner and the rest as “guest” - so they have no idea who the rest of my party is. The only place where that is not true is like a Cinderella’s Royal Table.

 

[PepperjackDragon]

Is there any other reason to care if the child is 9 or 10, is there like somemother benefit that the child would lose or gain by being one year older?

 

[Aimeedyan]

My family is not on an age bubble so not really a current issue for me - but I always make a reservation with Planner and the rest as “guest” - so they have no idea who the rest of my party is. The only place where that is not true is like a Cinderella’s Royal Table.

Yup. I never select actual people on my reservation except if they are driving and need to be on it for the security gate.

 

[Katie Dawn]

Thank you everyone for the replies!

 

[Katie Dawn]

Is there any other reason to care if the child is 9 or 10, is there like somemother benefit that the child would lose or gain by being one year older?

I'm not sure I understand what you're asking?
Once a child is 10 years old Disney has decided you will pay adult prices for theme park tickets, experiences, and meals. It's a bummer, but there it is. I was asking if and where there might be wiggle room on this in regards to meals since (1) my 10 year old never comes anywhere close to eating an adult portion, (2) he's far more likely to fill his belly if it's kid menu foods rather than adult menu foods, and (3) less importantly, yet still a consideration: if I'm able to pay a lower price for his small amount of food that would be fantastic. I appreciate people's help in sharing their experiences!

My kids are 18 months apart- and when they were the ages your kids currently are we mostly ate quick service. Anyone can get a kid's meal at a QS location. Our goal was to get them food they would actually eat- and TS locations do not fit the bill for the most part. I would rather have a full, content kid eating QS food that they can enjoy than a whiny one because we decided to do TS and there was nothing on the menu to meet his needs.

I am not so sure there are kids over 10 eating off the kid's menu as is mentioned above- especially if you are doing TS with an advanced reservation. Disney has your parties information that you inputted on the MDE app when you made the reservation. I am sure there are some servers that will let it slide- but I wouldn't assume that it will happen on a regular basis. My guess is Disney makes them toe the line on this issue, otherwise why make the 'adult' age so ridiculously low? I think for the picky one it is a great idea that barb969 had about asking for an adult portion of a kid's meal. You will pay more but at least the kid is eating something he/she likes.

Exactly! My main concern is him having a full belly at the end of the meal which will lead to ALL of us having a more magical day. This will be our first trip with him (he joined our family two years ago so this will be his first trip to Disney ) but we have always gravitated toward more QS and only doing a couple of TS anyway, just to save money. So doing mostly QS is no problem, except I've developed back problems over the last year (Yay! ) and think having a nice TS lunch where I can sit down for an hour and really rest my back will help my "stamina" tremendously this trip. So I was planning to do way more TS than normal. But those two goals (rest my back for an hour vs. little guy's full belly) seem to be at odds to some extent. However, there are some great suggestions here to help me make both goals work! We'll definitely have one meal at Columbia Harbor House since we can order off the kids menu and there's that great area upstairs where I know we can hang for awhile without feeling pressure to leave so another family can have the table. I appreciate your response!

My family is not on an age bubble so not really a current issue for me - but I always make a reservation with Planner and the rest as “guest” - so they have no idea who the rest of my party is. The only place where that is not true is like a Cinderella’s Royal Table.

Yup. I never select actual people on my reservation except if they are driving and need to be on it for the security gate.

I never thought of that! So, at this point I've made ADRs for most of our trip already. Do you happen to know of I could go in and modify who is on the reservation to make them guests? I'll have to go in and play around with it.

 

[Geomom]

At non fixed price/non buffet meals there is usually no problem ordering a kids meal. DD21 and DD17 ordered kids meals at Jungle Skipper Canteen in August with no issues. At Prime Time Cafe, they offered DD17 an adult size portion of chicken strips and fries. With a 10/11 yr old they would probably still offer the kids size.

As others have said, you'll pay adult price for buffets and family style meals. Usually you can get kids type food if you ask, just a larger portion and still pay adult price.

Definitely can order kids meals at quick service even as a single adult!

 

[Kmk2]

I'm not sure I understand what you're asking?
Once a child is 10 years old Disney has decided you will pay adult prices for theme park tickets, experiences, and meals. It's a bummer, but there it is. I was asking if and where there might be wiggle room on this in regards to meals since (1) my 10 year old never comes anywhere close to eating an adult portion, (2) he's far more likely to fill his belly if it's kid menu foods rather than adult menu foods, and (3) less importantly, yet still a consideration: if I'm able to pay a lower price for his small amount of food that would be fantastic. I appreciate people's help in sharing their experiences!



Exactly! My main concern is him having a full belly at the end of the meal which will lead to ALL of us having a more magical day. This will be our first trip with him (he joined our family two years ago so this will be his first trip to Disney ❤) but we have always gravitated toward more QS and only doing a couple of TS anyway, just to save money. So doing mostly QS is no problem, except I've developed back problems over the last year (Yay! ) and think having a nice TS lunch where I can sit down for an hour and really rest my back will help my "stamina" tremendously this trip. So I was planning to do way more TS than normal. But those two goals (rest my back for an hour vs. little guy's full belly) seem to be at odds to some extent. However, there are some great suggestions here to help me make both goals work! We'll definitely have one meal at Columbia Harbor House since we can order off the kids menu and there's that great area upstairs where I know we can hang for awhile without feeling pressure to leave so another family can have the table. I appreciate your response!



I never thought of that! So, at this point I've made ADRs for most of our trip already. Do you happen to know of I could go in and modify who is on the reservation to make them guests? I'll have to go in and play around with it.

You can just go into res and “update party” and uncheck a person and it will go back to “guest” once you save the new party