Kids Menu/Dining Plan/Losing my Mind

[Alsobrook]

First, I freely admit, I've got a super picky eater that's 8 years old and such is life..... try as we might... this is just one of the phases that we have to work through. (I have a 6 year old that will eat anything you put in front of him).

Apparently, on the DDP, if the place you are eating your sit down meal has a "kids menu" then your children must order off of that menu.

I've reviewed a ton of the menus and I'm embarrassed to say that my 8 year old is going to find meal time to be awfully unfulfilling. (doesn't like pizza, pasta, grilled cheese, hamburgers, etc).

According to the DDP person I talked with when we made the reservation, kids can order off the adult menu, but you must pay a surcharge of some kind.

So, here's a series of questions that I can't believe I'm asking....

1. Is it true....can a kid order off the adult menu and we pay a surcharge?

2. If so, is this even worth it?

3. Would it be better to just purchase the "adult meal plan" for the 8 year old who will, in fact, eat things like steak, etc.... (go figure)

4. Am I, in fact, going to lose my mind over this?

5. If lunch options appear to be better than dinner options, would it be a wiser strategy to book sit down meals for lunch and do quick service for dinner each night? (are they quick services open?)

Thank you, in advance, for any help you can give.

 

[vicki_c]

1. Never heard of that - I think the CM was incorrect, or else they meant upgrading him to the adult plan.

3. That is an option, you will have to purchase him an adult ticket if you want to upgrade to the adult plan for him.

 

[sharonabe]

Agreed...the "surcharge" has to be upgrading him to a Disney adult: paying price for adult ticket and adult DDP.

So, if you're not going during free dining, you may need to compare price of using your TS credits for lunch vs dinner and paying to make him an adult.

And, yes, all quick service places are open for dinner, but you do know he ALSO has to eat kids meals at quick service places too. Or rather, someone will have to eat his kids meal (mom or dad has the kids meal and he gets the adult meal). So upgrading him might be your best option.

 

[Alsobrook]

Agreed...the "surcharge" has to be upgrading him to a Disney adult: paying price for adult ticket and adult DDP.

So, if you're not going during free dining, you may need to compare price of using your TS credits for lunch vs dinner and paying to make him an adult.

And, yes, all quick service places are open for dinner, but you do know he ALSO has to eat kids meals at quick service places too. Or rather, someone will have to eat his kids meal (mom or dad has the kids meal and he gets the adult meal). So upgrading him might be your best option.

Yes... but oddly enough....at quick service, the food may be more up her alley.

Frankly, I'm not going to make a huge deal out of it....there will be healthy food choices, and she'll have to eat or not eat, but I'm trying for the "best chance for success"

Seems that this "upgrade" deal is not the way I want to go.

 

[mom2rtk]

I would choose more buffets.

 

[havoc315]

The "surcharge" may also be simply paying oop for his meals.

If going during free dining, you have the rather simple option of upgrading him to an adult.

If paying for dining, you have a few options.
1--- the ddp doesn't work for your family, and more effective to pay oop for everything.
2--- The 8 yo will get value paying for an adult plan ($45-53, depending when your trip is)
3--- keep him as a child on the plan. But go to buffets, share some food off adult plates, and go to some of the ts restaurants with bigger options. (there are a few ts restaurants that have steak on the kids menu).

 

[merbobear]

Buffets will offer the greatest 'adult' variety of food for your child to choose from! There is a 'kid friendly' area of the buffets as well, but children are not required to eat from that small section.

 

[TDC Nala]

1. No.

2. See #1.

3. You can do this - you'll be registering the child as 10 years old, which means if you are on a package reservation you'll need to buy her an adult park ticket as well as pay the difference in the dining plans (if you're on free dining it will just be the park ticket)

5. Consider buffets or all you can eat restaurants. Anyone regardless of age can eat anything at the buffet. At the all you can eat places everyone is served the same menu.

You didn't speak to a DDP person. The phone agents are not always knowledgeable about this stuff.

 

[Mom2micayla]

I have a super picky DS so I feel your pain. I poured over all the menus, both TS & CS, 100x and am still sure that some meals he's going to whine or go hungry. What I've done is plan quite a few buffets for my TS meals (not my choice, but it'll give him more option and allow my DD9 who is a big eater who will eat anything a better variety). I am also planning on either packing some of his favorite snacks (Cheez-its, applesauce, etc) with me or having Garden Grocer's deliver them so I have something to fall back on in case he won't find anything he'll eat (esp @ the CS restaurants). I've also come to realize that he'll be eating more junk than I prefer, but it's vacation and I just need to let it slide for that week. It's ok to eat popcorn for lunch, right?

 

[erocrobro]

I would just try to mostly stick to buffets, or maybe you could use some of your snack credits to order things that your child would prefer. One thing we did to help alleviate the lack of variety on the kids menu was at CS restaurants, I would let my son choose off of the adult menu and I would order something from the kids menu. The adult portions were so large that we could share that and if either of us was still hungry, we still had our kids meal.

 

[ncbunnie]

Just posting to encourage you that your picky eater won't go hungry!

We took a vegetarian 3 yo on the children's DP last December. I knew there would be some tough decisions because it seems like all kid's meals are chicken nuggets or hamburgers/hot dogs. We had absolutely NO trouble finding veggie options on almost every menu at the places we ate- both QS and TS. I was concerned about Teppan Edo in the Japanese Pavilion at Epcot. The chef even specifically made a vegetarian meal for my daughter, charged us the children's TS credit--- and it was her favorite meal of the whole trip. She wants to go back this year.

Sometimes kids are willing to be more adventurous when they're on vacation...if not, there's always extra packages of the Mickey grapes!

The ONLY hard time we had for a meal was breakfast- lots of bacon and sausage. One morning we used a snack credit and bought my daughter a snack sized (HUGE) bowl of grapes. She ate them for breakfast and we kept them in the room for her to snack on all week. You can almost always find something for even the pickiest eaters at WDW.

 

[stayhomemom77]

I agree with those that say the picky eater won't starve.

Two years ago my picky son (then 4) lived on popcorn and PB&J uncrustables. These were supplemented with grapes, apple sauce and apple slices.

Last year he did better but...

At Sci Fi he only ate fries and a couple of grapes from his fruit cup as well as a hefty dose of vanilla milkshake and...

At Kona Cafe he ate bread and most of Daddy's smoothie (lol) and then shared his sister's make your own Sundae.

I wasn't overjoyed at the lack of nutrition for these two meals but the rest of the time he was eating fairly sensibly so I didn't stress too much.

We used snack credits on bowls of fruit and we always got him fruit for his two sides at the CS places.

With the popcorn and sweets we were eating between meals he never once complained of hunger and I never had any behavioral problems no matter where we went.

Good luck and have a great trip!

 

[DisneyFive]

I would choose more buffets.

This is an excellent recommendation. On the buffets, the choices are plenty.

...and I would have to agree that my kids probably liked the food at the CS better than the TS meals. The environment was much better at the TS for the kids though.

I could see our family doing all CS and being perfectly happy, but during free dining, it is well worth it to go with the DP.

Dan

 

[dthogue]

It's ok to eat popcorn for lunch, right?

as long as you have ice cream for breakfast

 

[Mom2micayla]

as long as you have ice cream for breakfast

I do believe that can be arranged.