Kids meal offerings may be deciding factor on our signature meal. How about you?

[Belle5]

Sunday we are at our 180 day mark. We are down to the final decisions about ADRs so I am really investigating every angle to help make those difficult choices.

I have an 8 year old son who is a very picky (timid) eater. I loved they way he had a great steak dinner at Jiko earlier this year. As I am looking at the various kids menus I am most disappointed in Citricos. I was really thinking we might try it this time but the meal isn't what I was hoping for as far as the kid's menu. If we go to Cali Grill, he can have steak or salmon. At Citricos they offer only meats he doesn't really eat: pork, shrimp and grilled chicken breast. He could probably get the chicken breast down but it would not be a special meal for him.

It makes DH and I so happy to see him eat good food...real food. I know if we end up at Citricos he will end up eating mac and cheese.

I was curious as to how many of you consider the kid's menu before booking a restaurant.

 

[elcycad]

almost all of the TS restaurants in WDW offer poor choices for kids. Boma and Hollywood & Vine is where my kids enjoyed themselves the most.Lets disregard price for the moment I know these are not signature dining

...Jiko was terrible with a really dry Mac and cheese and the pizza's were oh so ordinary and bland/oily

 

[Belle5]

almost all of the TS restaurants in WDW offer poor choices for kids. Boma and Hollywood & Vine is where my kids enjoyed themselves the most.Lets disregard price for the moment I know these are not signature dining

...Jiko was terrible with a really dry Mac and cheese and the pizza's were oh so ordinary and bland/oily

Well, the DS I have been mentioning is VERY happy in all the WDW because he can have pizza or mac n cheese til it's coming out his ears. I am most happy at the restaurants that offer fish or steak for him. I am just surprised to see that Citricos is not listing those items as their choices which may be a deciding factor. Even some of the non-signature meals (GFC, for example) will offer steak or fish for the kids. Citricos is probably great for kids who eat shrimp or pork. The even offer a grilled chicken breast which is nice for MOST kids...just doesn't work well for my child. He can hardly choke it down. Actually, if you go through and read ALL the kids menus on the official WDW website, you will find some GREAT choices for the kids...not just at buffets. Unfortunately, if you are NOT careful in choosing you may very well end up at the restaurants that only offer pizza, spaghetti, mac n cheese, etc.

 

[minnie mum]

Absolutely. If they have one, I go somewhere else. Just kidding (mostly).

It's true that some of the signatures don't go out of their way to provide an expansive kids menu. I think they do this for the simple reason that they want to cater mostly to an adult clientele. They don't actively discourage families booking ADRs, but they don't go out of their way to tempt them in with attractive children's menus either.

I don't think this is necessarily a bad thing. Families can choose from 99% of all of the restaurants at WDW. I don't think there's anything wrong with a few places that are more 'adult' oriented. I think Bistro de Paris and Citricos fall into this category, along with a couple of the other signatures.

I suppose you have a few choices: find a signature with a child's menu that you really like, and make your ADR there. Find a signature that you really want to eat at, and let the child 'make-do' with the child's menu. Or have a date night at a signature with your child staying at one of the kid's clubs on site. When we had young children we either arranged a date night or just chose from the more family-friendly restaurants.

 

[Smposchman]

We have a very picky almost 4 year old eater. Even though my DH are foodies - forcing the issue just isn't worth the fight. Our signature dining may be limited due to this. We are really interested in Boma, but have held back on ADR because I wasn't sure how the children's meal would work for our picky princess. elcycad - any insight would be helpful!

 

[Colleen27]

When my older kids were still kid-aged kids menus were a big factor in our restaurant choices and we made a point of looking for restaurants with non-traditional kids' choices. That's how they came to love Teppan Edo so much, and all of the signatures except Brown Derby rank high in our book because of their generally better kids' choices.

My kids aren't picky, though - they just don't like typical kid foods enough to want them every day, so things like the shrimp or pork at Citricos, the steak at Narcoosees, and the mac & cheese (which is house made and very good) at California Grill were welcome departures from the pizza-pasta-or-hot-dog menus at non-signature restaurants.

Now that the older two are Disney adults we don't pay as much attention to the kids' menus; the youngest will just share her older sister's adult meal if there's nothing appealing on the kids menu. I don't mind "wasting" a child's credit here and there or using it for between-meal counter service (DxDDP, so no distinction between table/counter service) if she'd rather have real food instead of kid food.

 

[elcycad]

My 3 girls are quite adventurous eaters and a departure from hotdogs,`chicken nuggets and pizza was a welcome sight for them.The kids were allowed to eat form the Buffet. We were on the DDP.

My DD9 enjoyed the Basmati rice and curried paneer...among other dishes.
My DD7 enjoyed the vegetable soup( I forget the exotic name) and the zebra domes.
My DD5 enjoyed the Durban spiced chicken and the basmati rice.
They did try other dishes as well and were also happy with them.

There were 3 other soups on the menu that night...but were not very good.

The adults,viz, DW and I were dissappointed in the food, however, seeing the kids happy with their food choices, almost brought tears of happiness to my eyes.

Overall there may be enough of a selection of food to find at least 1 item for your picky eater...I hope!

Hope this helps...g'luck

 

[Missoutandabout]

Our kiddo -- albeit only 4 -- isn't a "standard children's fare" eater. She detests french fries and isn't keen on pizza or chicken nuggets either. Other than her love of hot dogs and mac & cheese, she's quite the good eater. Loves noodle dishes, curries, almost all veggies (except potatoes ).

The hubs and I always consider either of the following when we're out: a) Sharing a meal with her since she's always wanting what we're having anyway. (Although it was almost an issue when she headed for my Lapu Lapu last year. ) or b) Ordering her an appetizer as her meal since the options are usually always better than what's on the kid's menu.

 

[Tinkerbellie16]

We absolutely consider the kids' menu when deciding on a restaurant but we also keep in mind that we can always pay for an adult meal for one of them, or an appetizer, or whatever they want. And we've found every restaurant (signature or not) to be quite accomodating. My son insists on a steak when we go out and they usually give him a small one if it isn't on the kids menu. And yet my daughter likes mac'n'cheese or just eating off my plate - and then I'll share in her kids' meal (if we are on the dining plan and must order a meal). In fact, quite often, I'll order something from the adult menu my son and daughter like and I'll ask them to get the kids' menu items that I like and then we all split.

 

[hannahdrewmom]

It's true that some of the signatures don't go out of their way to provide an expansive kids menu. I think they do this for the simple reason that they want to cater mostly to an adult clientele. They don't actively discourage families booking ADRs, but they don't go out of their way to tempt them in with attractive children's menus either.

I actually disagree with this.... I think that the signatures do a fantastic job of offering better choices. Overall if you look at any signature restaurant the kids have better options from appetizer, entrees, and desserts.

I think what op is referring to is the fact that her son likes upscale meals... just not the ones offered at this restaurant.

It is very rare on a kids menu that you find steak, shrimp, or something other than hotdogs, nuggets, and meaty macaroni. Signatures actually do appease a large portion of adults that complain about the lack luster food at the general restaurants. Honestly, most non-signature meals are very similar to cs for kids. Signature meals are really more "ts" type meals geared toward kids.

My kids 2 and 4 would rather eat at FF or CG or Jikos than about any other non-character meal. Of course if there are characters I'm pretty sure they would eat dirt and be happy!