kids menu question

[TreesyB]

When will they officially frown on a child (10+) ordering from the kids menu? My 10 year old prefers the kids menu, and I prefer the prices on that menu. But wondering when they will stop letting him order from there? He doesn't eat the adult menu very well.

 

[april5675]

My teen DD has ordered off the kids menu before! I don't remember it being a problem!!!

 

[TDC Nala]

It seems to depend totally on the restaurant and the server. Usually it is allowed but there appear to be situations where one party is permitted to and another is not.

 

[NMW]

Even though we always do the deluxe dining plan, we pay cash for our lunch at Brown Derby when we dine there...which is pretty much every trip.

All DH and I want for lunch is the cobb salad and some wine or beer, so it's not worth 2 credits.

The last 2 trips my kids were less than impressed with the lunch selections and the servers let them order hot dogs off the kids menu even though technically only 1 of them was under 10. in fact, the servers suggested it both times. My older son also orderd a short rib appetizer one time and another time, the crab cake appetizer to go along with the hot dog.

My younger 2 kids got hot dogs and desserts. Since we were paying cash, I don't think the server cared what items they ordered or how we mixed and matched things. Adult appetizer, kids hot dog, kids ice cream dessert for example.

I think as long as you do not have to follow dining plan rules, most servers will let you do what you want.

The only people I have ever talked to that were told that their older kid could not order off the kids menu are my neighbors and it was Flying Fish. Their boys were 12 and 14 and one of them wanted to order off the kids menu and they were told that it's for under 10 yrs old. The CM did offer to alter any adult dish, change sides, remove sauces, etc. They were fine with this, so it was no problem for them.

So, it may happen for sure. I would just be prepared to alter an adult entree to your childs tastes if need be. I'm sure that every restaurant will be happy to do that for you.

 

[carly chloe]

I have the world's pickest daughter who will be 21 in 5 days and she still wants to order from the kids menu. We have FD in Aug.. Will they let someone that old order from it??

 

[TDC Nala]

I have the world's pickest daughter who will be 21 in 5 days and she still wants to order from the kids menu. We have FD in Aug.. Will they let someone that old order from it??

Some places may; some places may not. At those that allow it, you may want to consider paying cash for her meal and saving the adult dining credits to use for other party members. Using adult credits to buy child meals is a devaluation of the price paid for the credits.

 

[TreesyB]

The only people I have ever talked to that were told that their older kid could not order off the kids menu are my neighbors and it was Flying Fish. Their boys were 12 and 14 and one of them wanted to order off the kids menu and they were told that it's for under 10 yrs old. The CM did offer to alter any adult dish, change sides, remove sauces, etc. They were fine with this, so it was no problem for them.

So, it may happen for sure. I would just be prepared to alter an adult entree to your childs tastes if need be. I'm sure that every restaurant will be happy to do that for you.

Hmmm, we have reservations to the flying fish, specifically requested by him for the kids menu. Hopefully they will let him order the fish off the kids menu.

Thanks!

 

[pixarmom]

While I know that experiences vary, I'll share our recent experiences in case it's helpful. We have three boys - a pre-schooler and two pre-teen "Disney adults." We took two trips to WDW and one to DL in 2010, and we did not use the dining plan for our most recent trips.

Our pre-teens never had any difficulty ordering from the children's menu at any time over all three trips. In many Disney restaurants, the CMs gave our boys both the adult and children's menus. Several CMs suggested that they could order from either. I've read reports here about more difficult experiences - but it seems relatively infrequent.

Another option is to order appetizers instead of entrees (I usually do that) or to share an entree. Our oldest usually prefers adult menu options while our middle son almost always prefers the children's menu. But again, we didn't use the dining plan for our more recent trips.

 

[madalex]

Our pre-teens never had any difficulty ordering from the children's menu at any time over all three trips. In many Disney restaurants, the CMs gave our boys both the adult and children's menus. Several CMs suggested that they could order from either. I've read reports here about more difficult experiences - but it seems relatively infrequent.

This has been my experience as well during many trips spaced out over several years - my kids (older than 10) have never had any issue ordering off the kid's menu when that is what they wanted to do.

 

[minuet]

I'm 28 years old and the past 2 trips I've taken at ages 27 and 25 I ordered off the kids menu for several meals and did not have any issues. We were not on the dining plan so servers were flexible.

Breakfast at Grand Floridian cafe was just the right portion on the kids menu.