Kids' meals at Signatures?

[amym2]

I was just looking at some of the signature restaurants, dreaming about our next (not yet planned) Disney trip. Then it hit me that DS just turned 10 and is now a Disney "adult." So if we go somewhere like California Grill that has a really good children's menu that my kids would finally enjoy (salmon or steak for example) DS is now too old for it. So he would have to order a fancy meal from the adult menu and we'd have to get it without any sauces (because he likes everything plain). We'd have to pay $40 for a meal he probably would only eat the main dish from instead of $15 for a kids' meal he probably would eat. Is this our Disney dining future? I suppose what we'll do is have DS share with one of us, meaning we'll have to get what he wants. DD is almost 8, so we could get one kids' meal, but that won't be enough for both kids, and they could never agree. Hmm, now I'm not looking forward to Disney dining any more! Wish they would come up with an option for 9-12 year olds who aren't ready for adult meals but want real food, not chicken nuggets!

 

[pixarmom]

We've had great luck at Disney signatures since our two older boys (now 11 and 12) became "Disney adults." Our 12-year-old usually orders appetizers and soups, but our 11-year-old orders exclusively from the children's menus. Most servers give all three of our boys the kids' menus - we often have to ask for a regular adult menu for our 12-year-old. This is one of the reasons we no longer use the dining plan - we need flexibility in ordering.

Since our boys became Disney adults, we've been to the following signatures with no problems: California Grill, Brown Derby, Bluezoo, Il Mulino, Flying Fish, Yachtsman, Le Cellier and Jiko. I was at Narcoosee's pre-kids, so not sure about their flexibility. As for non-signatures, our experience has been similar - no problems. But I've heard about pre-teens having difficulties ordering from the kids' menus at the Plaza and Tutto.

We've been really happy with our Disney dining experiences, and the ability to find restaurants (especially signatures) that keep everyone happy is one of the reasons we love WDW.

 

[Pakey]

If you aren't on a dining plan, the Disney owned restaurants will let adults order from children's menus.

 

[madalex]

If you aren't on a dining plan, the Disney owned restaurants will let adults order from children's menus.

+1. I've eaten many, many times at various signature restaurants with my girls after they were 10 and never had any issues with them ordering from the kid's menu.

 

[TDC Nala]

Even if you are on a dining plan you may be able to do this. But it is not advised to pay 2 adult credits for a child's meal at a signature restaurant; you may want to pay cash for the kids' meal and save the adult credits to use elsewhere.

 

[Quin]

Even if you are on a dining plan you may be able to do this. But it is not advised to pay 2 adult credits for a child's meal at a signature restaurant; you may want to pay cash for the kids' meal and save the adult credits to use elsewhere.

This.

Everyone in the (hotel) room must be on the same dining plan. But every meal at the table does not have to be paid for by the dining plan, just because you have it available.

To help keep the accounting straight, just as a practical matter I recommend that you use a separate method (cash, separate credit card, etc) to pay for the oop meal. Charging some meals to the dining plan loaded on your KTTW card and charging some meals to cash also loaded onto the same KTTW card just makes it easier for something to be charged incorrectly.

 

[Colleen27]

Why not just have him order off the kids' menu if that's what he wants? My understanding is that most Disney restaurants allow it without fail.

California Grill is one of few restaurants where I have first-hand experience with this and they are great about it even for DDP (DxDDP in our case) guests. Both times we've been there with an "adult" child our server gave the option of both the adult and kids menus and even allowed mix-and-match between the two so DS ended up with an adult app & entree but kids' dessert once and an adult app but kids' entree & dessert another time. I suspect he'll still be ordering the kids' sushi dessert there at 30.

 

[amym2]

Oh good, I am so glad to hear your replies! So maybe we will be able to eat at Disney restaurants after all! We did the DDP last trip and I don't think we'll do it again, so that's not a concern. Now if only they'd change Boma to a kids' meal for up to 12 year olds. It's my 10yo's favorite, but I can't see paying $40 for mac anc cheese. But who knows, maybe once he hits his growth spurt, he'll eat enough for it to be worth it.

I have fond, but very vague, memories of eating at California Grill as a pre-teen and feeling so grown up. Looking forward to taking my kids there sometime!

 

[pixarmom]

Oh good, I am so glad to hear your replies! So maybe we will be able to eat at Disney restaurants after all! We did the DDP last trip and I don't think we'll do it again, so that's not a concern. Now if only they'd change Boma to a kids' meal for up to 12 year olds. It's my 10yo's favorite, but I can't see paying $40 for mac anc cheese. But who knows, maybe once he hits his growth spurt, he'll eat enough for it to be worth it.

I have fond, but very vague, memories of eating at California Grill as a pre-teen and feeling so grown up. Looking forward to taking my kids there sometime!

Dining is one of our favorite things about a Disney vacation! We love that there is something for everyone and my husband and I aren't limited to casual burger/fries restaurants all week. I will say that the whole "Disney adult" thing completely changed our view of the dining plan, too. We used DDP before our oldest turned 10, but we've been paying OOP or OOP with TIW (that was wonderful!) since then. And we've reconsidered the fixed price meals that used to be such a good deal when all three of our kids were all considered kids.

P.S. Our 11-year-old is a mac and cheese enthusiast, and thinks the mac and cheese at California Grill is the best ever!