Kid's meals

[Amelia :)]

I'm travelling with my 9 year old who is a very good eater. We are doing the DDP as we did last year. Some of the children's offerings seem to be a bit dull, I'm specifically looking at restaurants such as Kona, and Yak and Yeti, where the adult offerings are a little more adventurous, but kids not so much. Does anybody know if it is possible to ask for a child's portion of something off the adult menu? I'm thinking probably no... but thought I'd ask the experts!

 

[ShellieMimi]

Sadly not. I feel for your kid. The items offered are so often either bland or pure junk.

 

[maxiesmom]

You can always ask. The most they can tell you is no. I do disagree though, that the options for kids are across the board bad. If you know where to look they offer steak, salmon, salads..

In looking, it looks like the Yak and Yeti offer a pork roll and teriyaki chicken along with the staples like chicken tenders and cheeseburger. Kona Cafe has shrimp skewers, grilled fish of the day, and cheese tortellini. Not sure what is boring about any of that????? Even the adult menus are not what I would call adventurous.

 

[marcyleecorgan]

As a straight-up order? Probably not. Very likely no.

Ask the servers for an extra appetizer plate, share a portion of your meal with your kid. Then you get to have some of their french fries or whatever.

My kid is a foodie so we get around the bland kids' menu in this manner: My DH and I ordered what we wanted, we ordered something off the kids menu for the DD5, then we got extra plates and split it all up. We got a LOT of attention at Tokyo Dining as nobody expected our child to eat a good adult portion of sashimi. I ate a few pieces and then went to town on all the rice. MMMM. This way, we all got to try at least three things off the menu each. Enough to know that one needs to keep me away from mac and cheese or I seriously will need a Segway to move.

 

[ShellieMimi]

You can always ask. The most they can tell you is no. I do disagree though, that the options for kids are across the board bad. If you know where to look they offer steak, salmon, salads..

In looking, it looks like the Yak and Yeti offer a pork roll and teriyaki chicken along with the staples like chicken tenders and cheeseburger. Kona Cafe has shrimp skewers, grilled fish of the day, and cheese tortellini. Not sure what is boarding about any of that????? Even the adult menus are not what I would call adventurous.

Chicken teriyaki, egg rolls, and cheese tortellini are all boring IMO, and the grilled options at Kona regrettably have no flavor. It's all very bland. YMMV. I suppose it's fine for those who aren't particularly adventurous, but there ought to be a few more interesting/flavorful options for kids like OP's.

I imagine they won't do this because plenty of adults (like me!) would much prefer a smaller portion to the gigantic pile of food most Disney restaurants heap onto the plate, which would be a financial loss for them.

 

[maxiesmom]

Chicken teriyaki, egg rolls, and cheese tortellini are all boring IMO, and the grilled options at Kona regrettably have no flavor. It's all very bland. YMMV. I suppose it's fine for those who aren't particularly adventurous, but there ought to be a few more interesting/flavorful options for kids like OP's.

I imagine they won't do this because plenty of adults (like me!) would much prefer a smaller portion to the gigantic pile of food most Disney restaurants heap onto the plate, which would be a financial loss for them.

Disney doesn't really do very adventurous food, even for adults. Pork rolls are as adventurous as they will get for the most part. Be our Guest did something outside of the box with their kids meals, and there are constant complaints.

Btw, we are the strange family where the kids put their foot down and would not eat at Teppan Edo, but were happy to eat at Biergarten. Go figure. Pork rolls for those kids, no way no how.

 

[Amelia :)]

Thanks guys, she's just at that awkward age where she's growing a foot a month and eating about the same as I do! I guess we could always share my main and her kids meal between us! She does get her money's worth at the quick service though where she can order an adult meal, that's something!

 

[KrazeeK120]

Disney doesn't really do very adventurous food, even for adults. Pork rolls are as adventurous as they will get for the most part. Be our Guest did something outside of the box with their kids meals, and there are constant complaints.

Really? I was having a hard time trying to figure out what to pre-order for my 18 month old at BOG. It all looks like stuff he would enjoy. I ended up choosing the turkey sandwich after reading some not-so-stellar reviews of the meatloaf. We haven't gone yet, but I feel confident he will like it.

 

[NYCANC]

Try asking. We asked for a special request at BOG for our 11 year old DD. The waiter said I don't think so but I will ask the chef. He came back and said the chef said ok
At CRT too- for my DD's birthday- I spoke to the waitress about what they can do and she said "anything the princess wants" so they are very accommodating there.

 

[KrazeeK120]

Try asking. We asked for a special request at BOG for our 11 year old DD. The waiter said I don't think so but I will ask the chef. He came back and said the chef said ok
At CRT too- for my DD's birthday- I spoke to the waitress about what they can do and she said "anything the princess wants" so they are very accommodating there.

I thought 11 year olds were considered "adults" for dining purposes anyway?

 

[bumbershoot]

I thought 11 year olds were considered "adults" for dining purposes anyway?

Yep.

Different situation than a 9 year old on the dining plan.

Does anybody know if it is possible to ask for a child's portion of something off the adult menu?

I haven't heard of that happening.

The other way; making an "adult" portion of a child's meal (like mac and cheese), I've heard of (at table service), but not the other way.

 

[Maggie'sMom]

I've never heard of a kids' portion of an adult meal being allowed on the DDP.

I thought 11 year olds were considered "adults" for dining purposes anyway?

Yes, anyone 10 and up is considered a "Disney adult". I'd say there is a difference between making an accommodation for an "adult" meal and allowing a child to order something not on the kids menu. The reason kids are limited to the kids menu when on the dining plan is because the cost of that plan is considerably less.

 

[PrincessWithABlaster]

I'm travelling with my 9 year old who is a very good eater. We are doing the DDP as we did last year. Some of the children's offerings seem to be a bit dull, I'm specifically looking at restaurants such as Kona, and Yak and Yeti, where the adult offerings are a little more adventurous, but kids not so much. Does anybody know if it is possible to ask for a child's portion of something off the adult menu? I'm thinking probably no... but thought I'd ask the experts!

I don't know if you've already booked ADRs but maybe consider more buffets? Tusker House is a little more interesting. There is a buffet at AKL (haven't been so I can't remember which one it is). The kids can eat anything that strikes their fancy at the buffets

 

[Amelia :)]

I don't know if you've already booked ADRs but maybe consider more buffets? Tusker House is a little more interesting. There is a buffet at AKL (haven't been so I can't remember which one it is). The kids can eat anything that strikes their fancy at the buffets

Tusker House was her favourite last time, we managed to get a mix of breakfast and lunch, she always refers to it as "the place I had curry for breakfast!". Thanks for the help guys, we have 14 days of dining credits to use so want to make sure we have lots of different meals. I've just written out my plan this eve, we are staying at AKL so will eat at Boma, Sanaa and Jiko, after doing some more research there are lots of food options for her

 

[NYCANC]

Yep.

Different situation than a 9 year old on the dining plan.






I should have added that they (BOG and CRT) were very accommodating for my 9 year old DS too when asked to change a few things on the menu and add another few things. Some were more "adult menu items".

It doesn't hurt to ask- they can always say no. Maybe we just had pixie dust those nights and got great wait staff/chef

Also- I always offer to pay the difference (if needed).

I am also GF- and they both did amazing- as always!

 

[GeraldineW]

You could upgrade your child to the adult DDP but then you would also need to buy an adult park ticket instead of a child ticket. Lots of folks do this when there is a free dining but it may not be financially worth it when it is all out of pocket. Maybe the dining plan doesn’t make sense for you and you should pay OOP, and/or purchase OOP an appetizer so you both have enough adventurous food to eat.

 

[aristocatz]

I'm travelling with my 9 year old who is a very good eater. We are doing the DDP as we did last year. Some of the children's offerings seem to be a bit dull, I'm specifically looking at restaurants such as Kona, and Yak and Yeti, where the adult offerings are a little more adventurous, but kids not so much. Does anybody know if it is possible to ask for a child's portion of something off the adult menu? I'm thinking probably no... but thought I'd ask the experts!

Try to fit in some buffets. Your child will be able to have alot of different options at places like Boma, Tusker House, & Biergarten.

 

[disneyvoice]

This is exactly why we never do the dining plan (well, one of the reasons). The one time we did it we wasted a lot of money because our son just didn't care for any of the options on the kid's menus. We weren't about to force him to eat something that didn't appeal to him strictly because we had prepaid so we ended up paying out of pocket for him so he could order off the adult menu.