How would YOU fix the Childs Menu "Problem"

[Henlady]

Have been reading much debate over the New children's menu and in the past about the "old" children's menu. So, just what would you list on a children's menu, keeping in mind that some parents only want healthy food and some are ok with the fast food/junk type menu, because their children won't eat anything else. Just curious about what people in general want.
My children are now adults, but I don't remember having a problem of what to feed them while on vacations.

 

[CathrynRose]

I think ...and this would have been best for me, as my "kids" are now "adults" at WDW.

Anyways - I feel a smaller portion of select restaurant entree's - a steak at steak places, italian at Tony's, etc... smaller versions of that restaurants favorites....

And maybe, if they wanna be real nice - always have something "basic" along with it. Man & Cheese and Chicken Nuggets, or something.

Thats what I think.

Ill tell you - Im thrilled my kids are "adults" at 11 & 15! There isnt any way in heck they would have eaten the current choices. NONE!

 

[princesspwrhr]

First - I don't mind the new menu. It's not at every restaurant, there are still choices and unless you're doing no buffets/character meals and all of your meals are at restaurants that have adopted the new menu your kids aren't going to be 'stuck' with this menu for every TS meal. But then again, my girls will eat the choices on the new menu happily and still think it's 'vacation' food because Hey, we're on vacation!

Not to say it doesn't leave room for improvement. So I'll answer your question

option 1) Bring a few of the options from the LTT test menu last Dec onboard, offer 3 choices that vary in the kids pick section, at least one of which is a scaled down version of the restaurants adult fare, and since a lot of the b*tching seems to be about the set meals listing fruit and/or yogurt as the dessert, offer those as part of the meal, but listed as a side and let them pick from one of the desserts.

option 2) keep all of the apps, entrees & desserts, add another choice (either junk/vacation food or scaled down adult menu) for balance, but pull all the meals apart and let the kids mix and match which app, entree & dessert they want.

oh and if those chicken strips are indeed cold - please have them warm/hot

 

[angipoo]

I think the key word missing here is "choice". I don't want "healthy" foods rammed down my (or my child's) throat on vacation. My child has reflux and is very sensitive to food textures - cold, hard dry chicken would be awful!

If Disney wants to have healthy alternatives, include them in a range of offerings - like a previous poster mentioned. Healthy food should not, however, be awful tasting or bland. We are paying way too much money for DDP to have to spend even more money for something for our child to eat!!!

Disney needs to continue doing what Disney does best - spreading magic and pixie dust.

I hope the powers that be are paying attention to all the negative publicity that this new child menu is causing and abandon it quickly!!

 

[Frantasmic]

I think a child should have 7 choices at each restaurent that participates.

2 choices should be "fixed" like chicken nuggets, fries, applesauce, and dessert or pasta, veggie, bread, and dessert

2 choices should be fixed and healthy: grilled chicken, mac/cheese, fruit and dessert or soup/salad/sandwich combo with veggit and dessert

3 choices should be smaller portions of whatever is on the adult menu: If you are at a pizza place, offer pizza, or whatever you might have.

This should be the same for QS and TS restaurants.

they should also do this for children ages 3-12.

 

[disnygrl30]

I think the key word missing here is "choice". I don't want "healthy" foods rammed down my (or my child's) throat on vacation. My child has reflux and is very sensitive to food textures - cold, hard dry chicken would be awful!

If Disney wants to have healthy alternatives, include them in a range of offerings - like a previous poster mentioned. Healthy food should not, however, be awful tasting or bland. We are paying way too much money for DDP to have to spend even more money for something for our child to eat!!!

Disney needs to continue doing what Disney does best - spreading magic and pixie dust.

I hope the powers that be are paying attention to all the negative publicity that this new child menu is causing and abandon it quickly!!

I have to agree. I have a very picky 6 1/2 year old. While we do try at home to make her eat healthy or at least try things that she curls her nose up at. I do not want that choice made for me. If I want her to eat chicken nuggets and fries while she's on vacation she should be able to do that. We'll be there for 11 days and I can't see her eating that same thing every day. Sweet potato sticks.......I think not!!!!

Are they going to tailor the adult menu's for "healthy" choices only, my guess is no.

As other posters have said I agree that there should be healthy choices, but there should also be the "normal" children's menu items.

Sorry......... thanks for letting me rant.

 

[Twingle]

I was very surprised when I saw the new menus - my children are not picky eaters, but they definately notice what DH and I are eating. They will not be pleased if they are having sweet potato sticks and I'm having mashed potatoes!

Hopefully this menu is still in the "test" stage - I've heard from a few friends that just returned from Disney that the resturants they ate at that had this children's menu also offered items ala carte that were not on any menu.

 

[modernscarlett]

Many of the national chain restaurants have successfully conquered this issue with great success. Restaurants such as Macaroni Grill and Chilis have selections of regular kid food - chicken fingers, pizza, etc., along with healthier options that are still sensible and appetizing - grilled chicken with broccoli, etc. I just don't see what's so difficult. It doesn't have to be all or nothing, and the success of these chain restaurants shouldn't be hard to duplicate.

 

[punkin]

I am for scaled down adult dishes. If you are in a steak place, steak (in a smaller portion) should be offered; fish in a fish place, Italian in an Italian place. I also vote for simple preparation:grilled w/o sauce to appeal to as many kids as possible.

I also have aparticular grudge against the desserts. My kids will not eat applesauce while mommy get a "kiddie cone" How stupid is that?

 

[Henlady]

Since I posed the question, I guess I should give my opinion of what would be a good childrens menu - recalling the days of my children (now 23 & 25) and what they would have eaten:

Appetizers:
Veggies & Dip
Chicken Noodle Soup
Salad

Entree choices:
Hamburger
Grilled Chicken
Pasta
Chicken Tenders
Grilled Cheese
Fish sticks

Veggies/sides:
Corn
Green Beans
Applesauce


Starches:
Mashed Potatoes
French fries
Rice

Desserts
Ice Cream
Cup Cake
Cookies

I really do not understand the addition of Sweet Potato Sticks to a childs menu. Most children that I know would not even consider eating those.

 

[jkmmah]

I would love to see whole wheat pasta as an option! The restaurants could have mac n cheese as a staple on the menu but with the option to have it made with whole wheat pasta instead of white. I would be tickled pink to find that on a WDW menu! Even Olive Garden gives us that option for the kids!

 

[DCDisney]

I think a mix of healthy and unhealthy options but different at different restaurants so you don't have the same 5 or 6 options every day. How hard can it be to come up with 20 different meals to mix and match among various restaurants? The big thing is keeping some of the Disney personality with the specialty desserts. It doesn't have to be expensive or complicated--just clever. Things like the worms and dirt, decorate your own cupcake, etc. Additionally having the separte kids appetizers is a great thing to keep kids busy while waiting for the main meal. All the little carrots and dip, fruit, pieces of cheese, etc that are inexpensive and easy were perfect.

Yvonne

 

[novdisneydreams]

(1)I think a big part of the problem with the new menu is the dessert. My kids generally eat fruit with their meals, as a side dish. I read an article when they were babies that said that if you have little ones who avoid vegetables the next best thing is to substitute fruit, which has similar vitamins, the same fiber value, etc. Even though my boys , at 4 and 7, are much better about vegetables now, they generally have fruit at every meal - sliced apples or pears, grapes, oranges, etc withtheir entree. So they would never believe that the apple was their dessert! That being said, there are other , less expensive, kid friendly desserts that could be offered - they don't have to offer the children the most expensive desserts on the menu. A scoop of ice cream or a fudgesicle is always a hit around here - and it seems that they could easily produce Mickey-shaped cookies, a scoop of sorbet, a cupcake, etc. I think anything fun, decorated, and cute would do - my kids are definitely thrilled about the "treats" that they are allowed to have on vacation

(2) I don't see why they didn't design the menu to be more of a "mix and match" - choose one appetizer, one side, and one dessert w/the entree. Appetizers would be the salad, soup, or fruit bowl. Sides would be fries, carrot sticks, Mickey crackers, veggies and dip, sliced apples. Entrees - the grilled chicken, regular nuggets. mac 'n cheese, pita pizza, and a choice or two of what is served at that particular restaurant. (My dessert choices are above!) So you could make up whatever kind of meal you wanted - from chicken nuggets with fries to grilled chicken with veggies & dip. Some of the fast food places are even doing that now - you can get fries, apples or oranges with a kids meal. It doesn't seem like that would be too hard and it would please a lot of people because it would give the kids a choice

 

[beck0321]

Man & Cheese

OH NO! What is that?! Just kidding!

 

[angipoo]

The big thing is keeping some of the Disney personality with the specialty desserts. It doesn't have to be expensive or complicated--just clever. Things like the worms and dirt, decorate your own cupcake, etc. Additionally having the separte kids appetizers is a great thing to keep kids busy while waiting for the main meal. All the little carrots and dip, fruit, pieces of cheese, etc that are inexpensive and easy were perfect.

Yvonne

I totally agree about the desserts! Let the kids look forward to the fun of it.
Also, the appetizers for kids - it gets their smaller stomachs filled while waiting for the "main" meal.

Let's get the "Disney magic" working again for our kid's food!

 

[Luv Bunnies]

I have to vote for "choices." Some kids are very picky while others will eat almost anything. The most kid-friendly restaurants offer a range of choices to please all taste (kids and parents alike). In terms of restaurant food, my younger son likes grilled cheese or pizza and not much else. My older son will go for chicken nuggets or peanut butter (no jelly) sandwiches. By the way, my older son has an autistic spectrum disorder and eating has always been an issue to him. He is sensitive to many food textures and will flat out refuse to try some things. We are trying out new foods at home, but vacation is not the time for experimenting. I want him to be energetic and satisfied.

For our December trip, I chose all of our ADRs based on the menus I read on Allearsnet. I made sure every table service place had at least one thing to eat for each boy. I also made a list of counter service places that would please everyone in our family. I thought it would be better to know up front where we could eat without stopping and reading menus during our park time. I really hope they don't change all of the menus and keep offering a variety of choices for all kids.

 

[Bell30012]

If they don't still have Mac & Cheese on the menu at a lot of the places, I have a 4-year-old who is going to want a word with the HMIC (Head Mouse in Charge).

Of course, I do plan to bring a dorm fridge and microwave so I guess I could make EZ Mac but it isn't the same.

 

[reeeoga]

Put the veggie or friut with a dip as an app.
1/2 size of a single adult item as a choice (the choice should be for wahtever the place specializes in.)
Real dessert: cake, icecream, mickey shaped cookies.

And my daughter likes fried Sweet potatoe "strings" - better for you than regular potatoes, and with more flavor.

As far as CS: break the standar menu apart. have one place have Burgers, one has Hotdogs, another Chicken fingers (clothed and nekkid ) or drumstick, another could have a coldcut sandwich, another small pizza (like Pizza Planet) this would let the child have a different main item choice based on where they are.

Sci-Fi has a good kids menu at the moment. Put something like it in the others, but with themeing for that place (mapple burgers in Canada as an example)

 

[lovetoscrap]

I really do not understand the addition of Sweet Potato Sticks to a childs menu. Most children that I know would not even consider eating those.

CHILDREN???? Most ADULTS that I know wouldn't consider eating them either--especially not on vacation! At least offer the "real thing" and the alternative.

I was really ticked off earlier this year when I got a WONDERFUL Turkey Pannini at the Pinnochio Village Haus in MK, dripping with melted cheese and the only side offered was BAKED Lays--YECH! I would rather eat the cardboard dish they serve in than those things. Offer the healthier choice, but as another poster said here--don't ram it down our throat. I am on vacation. I am hot, starving and getting cranky--don't force something "healthy" and tastless on me if I really just want the real thing. Stock both types of chips and let the consumer choose. (I think I ended up substituting them with carrots--still not what I wanted, but much better than those nasty chips)

I agree that the kids menu needs to be a good combination of typical kid fare and a few healthy choices and a few scaled down versions of what the restaurant specializes in. I also agree that each seperate item should be offered as a choice--pick one from each catagory type. And desserts need to be worthy of Disney's best customers-- how many parents are there ONLY because they wanted to take the kids to Disney? The majority probably wouldn't be there if they didn't have kids. Keep the magic up for the kids or the parents won't come back. Won't your kids throw a fit about going to a restaurant where the only dessert choices for them are applesauce or fruit? Are you likely to go back?

If this is another example of them "cheapening" the menus because of the DDP then I am all for them offering 2 menus--one for OOP with more choices and one for DDP with the things they are willing to serve at that "price". But don't hard sell the DDP and then cheapen all the menus so that everyone suffers so the DDP can break even.

 

[princesspwrhr]

Sci-Fi has a good kids menu at the moment.

Wasn't the first report we saw of the new kids menu from Sci Fi? And then someone chimed in that Tony's has it too?