if paying oop for buffet can 11 year old get a childs portion?

[tami82]

I have a question about paying out of pocket for the buffets. My 11 year old doesn't eat a lot and certainly not $40 worth for her, is there a certain age with the price of the buffet for an 11 year old. Or are there menu options also

 

[MissKIA]

No, an 11 year old is an adult in disney dining world. There is no buffet portion, it is just a flat fee per person. Children ages 3-9 pay the child price and "adults" aged 10 and up pay the adult price.

 

[Dis703]

They will charge the adult price at all buffets and family style restaurants from age 10 and up. It won't matter how small of a portion they eat or even if they eat at all.

 

[dashofsunshine]

Disney is very black and white with the buffets. If you're of "Disney adult" age, you pay the adult flat rate fee. Doesn't matter how much you eat, if you're dining plan or OOP, etc. I'm a bariatric patient and we never do buffets for this reason.

It makes sense, and I get it. Makes me sad that I'll never try Boma because I can't justify the cost, but eh, that's my problem. Lol

 

[MakiraMarlena]

There is no child's portion at a buffet. If your child is 10 or older, you pay the adult price for them no matter how much or how little they eat. They even charge for guests who don't eat at all.

On the other hand, a 9 year old who eats like a horse still pays the child's price.

As far as I know, only 'Ohana offers a separate menu with more "kid friendly" items. But even those ordering from this menu pay the regular price for the 'Ohana AYCE meal.

 

[goofy4tink]

My 22 y/o dd has been eating from the kids section of the buffets for as long as I can remember.....and paying the adult price since she was 9!

 

[bumbershoot]

It makes sense, and I get it. Makes me sad that I'll never try Boma because I can't justify the cost, but eh, that's my problem. Lol

Although the cost of Disney buffets makes it difficult, I try to look at the total group. I'm not a bariatric surgery patient, but I"m a long time weight watchers member whose stomach now has a very very hard time overeating (and I don't like the overfull feeling). So buffets are really questionable for me. But if the group I'm with will do the buffet justice, OR if there's some food there that is just SO good I'm willing to price it high, then it makes it easier to justify.

With a non-Disney buffet, I can say "if I got a salad and a bit of pasta and a bit of whatever" (and I know that that is likely more than you can eat), will the taste and quality of that food be worth that buffet price?" If it is, then I go. If it isn't, if it is ultimately just calories without enough quality, then I can't justify it.

Thankfully I have an 11 year old boy who dances and is in a constant growth spurt, and he can do justice to a buffet. So the calculations are easier.

Anyway, food for thought.

On the other hand, a 9 year old who eats like a horse still pays the child's price.

Yep, from 8 that's how DS was! I figure we got our money's worth with him for those 2 years, so I can hardly complain now that he's a Disney adult. Though I do complain about the teensy kid's meal cheese pizza he got at CRT.

 

[HopperFan]

All of the above. Even folks who can't medically eat or eat much pay full price. Simply no way for them to monitor it. It is the cost of doing Disney and of course, you don't have to do the buffets.

If you are asking if there are child food items at buffets, yes there are. If you are asking if there is a choice of buffet or menu items, for just about all, no. I think a couple like Wave and Captain Grille offer a breakfast buffet OR menu items, and Whispering Canyon has menu or AYCTE skillets.

 

[Nancyg56]

As everyone else has already discussed, over 9 is a DIsney adult and pays adult price.

My DDIL has the appetite of a bird, she eats a minute amount of many things, but in the end, it is very little. If we are dining at a regular TS restaurant she may split a meal with someone, and whoever splits gets th e lions share of her meal. If she is at a buffet, she pays the same as the rest of us. I look at it as a trade off. DIsney does not have a plate charge to split a meal, and my sons eat more than their fair share at buffets, so it's all good.

 

[Hopefully]

I have a question about paying out of pocket for the buffets. My 11 year old doesn't eat a lot and certainly not $40 worth for her, is there a certain age with the price of the buffet for an 11 year old. Or are there menu options also

Your 11 year old can eat any size portion they choose at a buffet. But as PP stated they will have to pay the adult price.

 

[TheRustyScupper]

My 11year old doesn't eat a lot and certainly not $40 worth for her, is there a certain age with the price of the buffet for an 11 year old.

1) Nope.
. . . 0-2, kids almost eat free (not always)
. . . 3-9, kids pay the kid's rate
. . . 10-all, kids pay adult rate
2) An adult is an adult.
3) They all pay the full adult price.
4) How can WDW possibly know how much of the buffet your child would eat, or would not eat?
5) They do not have Food Police watching what people take-and-eat.
6) Additionally, your idea of not eating much might not be the same as WDW's idea.
7) How would one determine what is a little amount or a regular-large amount?
.
NOTE: I am sure if they came back with the "Junior" rate, many parents would try to classify their kids as light-eaters to save on meal costs. Now, we are talking about a real headache. At one time, WDW had different rates for Infant, Child, Junior, Adult. In fact the computer system still has these choices.

 

[Lisa F]

honestly as an adult I can't even eat $40 worth at those buffets. You are paying for the overall experience and characters. If I want to eat $40 worth of food I will go to CA Grill and spend $80 for it

 

[kiford]

There's more than one way to consider that you get value from a buffet over a traditional 2-3 course dinner. I don't eat large portions at any meal - I tend to eat several small meals during the day so I don't really do justice to a buffet in terms of volume. However, my palate gets bored very quickly on a single item so, for me, a buffet is a way to sample lots of different foods. My plate may be the same size if I order a regular entree with 1-2 sides as I do for a buffet, but I'm more likely to eat the whole plate from a buffet than the regular entree just because of the variety. So I'm OK with paying for a buffet where I may not "get my money's worth" just based on the cost per food item but I feel that I get value from the range of foods because I enjoy it more. It's one reason I love V&A's - the portions are small but numerous. But for me to do V&A, I eat only a small snack or have a cup of coffee in the morning and don't eat the rest of the day until dinner. Also, V&A takes several hours which makes it easier. That's also helpful if I can do that at a buffet which usually you can because they don't deliver an entree and expect you to clear out afterwards.

 

[tami82]

Thanks everyone!

 

[rajak73]

1) Nope.
. . . 0-2, kids almost eat free (not always)
. . . 3-9, kids pay the kid's rate
. . . 10-all, kids pay adult rate
2) An adult is an adult.
3) They all pay the full adult price.
4) How can WDW possibly know how much of the buffet your child would eat, or would not eat?
5) They do not have Food Police watching what people take-and-eat.
6) Additionally, your idea of not eating much might not be the same as WDW's idea.
7) How would one determine what is a little amount or a regular-large amount?
.
NOTE: I am sure if they came back with the "Junior" rate, many parents would try to classify their kids as light-eaters to save on meal costs. Now, we are talking about a real headache. At one time, WDW had different rates for Infant, Child, Junior, Adult. In fact the computer system still has these choices.

Maybe they could weigh you when you go in and then on the way out and charge by the ounces?

 

[TheRustyScupper]

Maybe they could weigh you when you go in and then on the way out and charge by the ounces?

1) Great Idea!
2) But, how do we compensate if the guest goes to the bathroom before leaving the eatery?
3) I think we are entering a whole new realm of measurement.
. . . is liquid waste calculate the same as solid matter?
. . . what about gaseous emanations?
. . . do you weigh more if you exhale versus keeping your breath in?

 

[Lisa F]

There's more than one way to consider that you get value from a buffet over a traditional 2-3 course dinner. I don't eat large portions at any meal - I tend to eat several small meals during the day so I don't really do justice to a buffet in terms of volume. However, my palate gets bored very quickly on a single item so, for me, a buffet is a way to sample lots of different foods. My plate may be the same size if I order a regular entree with 1-2 sides as I do for a buffet, but I'm more likely to eat the whole plate from a buffet than the regular entree just because of the variety. So I'm OK with paying for a buffet where I may not "get my money's worth" just based on the cost per food item but I feel that I get value from the range of foods because I enjoy it more. It's one reason I love V&A's - the portions are small but numerous. But for me to do V&A, I eat only a small snack or have a cup of coffee in the morning and don't eat the rest of the day until dinner. Also, V&A takes several hours which makes it easier. That's also helpful if I can do that at a buffet which usually you can because they don't deliver an entree and expect you to clear out afterwards.

totally agree. I never measure buffets by volume but by variety. Also the ability to allow my kid to try new things with no pressure of "mom just spent $$ for this meal and it is unbearable for me." There are many ways to measure value.

 

[Lisa F]

1) Great Idea!
2) But, how do we compensate if the guest goes to the bathroom before leaving the eatery?
3) I think we are entering a whole new realm of measurement.
. . . is liquid waste calculate the same as solid matter?
. . . what about gaseous emanations?
. . . do you weigh more if you exhale versus keeping your breath in?

iew. just...iew.

 

[Tribe]

Is the 11 year old on the smaller side?

 

[minnie mum]

Is the 11 year old on the smaller side?

Don't go there.