Help my 11 yr old eats like a 6 yr old! :)

[PrincessK]

My 11yr old is very much a chicken finger and french fry kind of kid. The majority of menus I'm looking at for dinner don't offer these unless on the kid's menu which is for 9 and under...will I have to order these OOP if I can get them at all??

 

[Hootch]

You on the dining plan? We have not been doing it the last few trips. Disney doesn't police kids' ages so ordering off of the kids menu is not hard.

We did do CRT lunch this trip with an 11 year old. He did not want anything on the adult menu so they brought him a larger portion of chicken tenders. Yep $50 for chicken fingers.

 

[BEASLYBOO]

If you're paying OOP and its on the menu you should have no trouble ordering them. My BFF's daughter is 11 and picky and she orders from the kids menu often without issue and we pay OOP!
Buffets is where things get sticky, at that point she can still eat a childs portion of chicken fingers and french fries but will pay the adult price for the buffet.

 

[PrincessK]

Yes we are on the dining plan...

 

[robinb]

Is he a big eater? I think you can get adult sized kids meals. You can also pay OOP and use his TS credit later.

 

[habg1]

If you're on the DDP, you're paying the adult price for your 11 yo. If you settle on ordering off the kids menu for your 11 y.o, you are losing money.

If it's not a big deal, go for it. But my hubby would be upset if it were us. He would make the kids order off the adult menu. Does your 11 yo like steak, chicken, pasta?

I'd stick with ordering off the adult menu if I were you...get the full moneys worth!!!

 

[Hootch]

frowned upon these boards, but you could pay OOP and upgrade a meal or two to signature locations or ssimply add another TS or two.

 

[MrRomance]

I don't know about now, but when we went in 2008 you could order a kids meal with an adult credit. The other option is go for restaurants that are buffets because there is always that type of food available.

 

[purple figment]

When you say he eats "like a 6 year old" I don't know if you mean his preferences (chicken nuggets, fries) or his appetite. The kid's meals are pretty small so if he has an 11 year old's appetite you could ask to have his meal upsized to an adult portion and use the dining credit.

If he has a 6 year old's appetite than you can order from the child's menu and pay OOP. With the credits he won't be using you can go to a dinner show, a signature restaurant or have another TS meal.

If something sounds appealing to him on the Adults' menu, you can ask to have the steak, chicken, etc served without the sauce and sub fries for the side/veggie.

 

[budafam]

My 28 year old husband eats like a 6 year old so I get it. But yeah, I would go ahead and still use the credits (not paying OOP for anything if you can help it). He should be okay. Most of the time, they're willing to cater to picky eaters. We paid lots for buffets where DH only ate mac & cheese. It stinks but oh well, what are you gonna do?

 

[PrincessK]

He is picky and doesn't eat much, he's still 69 lbs at 11 yrs old! So I'd rather pay OOP if I can, just wasn't sure if I could being on the DDP. Good news is it was FREE DINING so if I have to pay for a few of his meals, its OK.

 

[robinb]

He is picky and doesn't eat much, he's still 69 lbs at 11 yrs old! So I'd rather pay OOP if I can, just wasn't sure if I could being on the DDP. Good news is it was FREE DINING so if I have to pay for a few of his meals, its OK.

That's what we did when my DD was 11. We ordered OOP for her and saved the extra credits for 2 TS meals and extra TS meals.

 

[shoney]

He is picky and doesn't eat much, he's still 69 lbs at 11 yrs old! So I'd rather pay OOP if I can, just wasn't sure if I could being on the DDP. Good news is it was FREE DINING so if I have to pay for a few of his meals, its OK.

We're in the same boat! I have a ds10 and ds12 who are skinny string beans who don't eat very much. Up until a few years ago they split a happy meal! Our plan is to have them share an adult meal credit if they agree or pay for a kids meal for ds10. DS12 likes more adult food so we'll see. I may share with him as well.

Eventhough we did get free dining, it would kill me to see 2 bites out of a filet mignon go in the garbage!

 

[kaligal]

I don't know anything about using dining plans, but I do know that an adult can order from the children's menu. I did it at the Brown Derby. It was that or not eat. They were totally fine with it.

 

[PrincessaJasmine]

My 11 yo DS also doesn't have a big appetite at mealtime. He prefers to snack throughout the day. We were on the DDP and I usually split an adult meal with him which was plenty for both of us. A few times he had soup as an appetizer which I paid for OOP. He used his own adult TS credit when he had to at Via Napoli, Boma, and CP. The only time he ordered a kids meal was at Narcoossee's where he had the kid's steak.

If I were you, I would pay OOP for his kids meals and use his TS credits to upgrade for a few signature meals.

PJ