Lack of kids food in kids meals, being healthy has gone too far!

[adSimba]

If he was fine with it, why did you do that?

there is a big difference between being fine with something and being excited about it.

 

[gottalovepluto]

Hmm, I always thought DL had some nice kids options. Crusted salmon & roasted chicken, who else puts those types of good options on kids menus? But then I came from a family where corn dogs & Mac and cheese were never appropriate food choices. At the time I was a little put out I wasn't eating like all the other kids but as a result my palate matured quickly & I came to appreciate being able to order salmon or chicken when offered on a kids menu. It's so much better than normal "kids" food! My parents were strict but effective, I ate a much larger variety of foods at a much younger age than my peers. It was "that was what we ate or we didn't eat" lol. Different strokes for different folks!

 

[beachdreamr1229]

mostly yes, I discussed this with my wife last night, ironically the one cs restaurant that we went to was Pizza Port, I remember it being awful but I hear good things about it, and it has been 10 years, Anyway, my kid ate about 5 bites of the peperoni pizza and couldn't bring himself to eat more, I tried it, and could see why, it was terrible, the boring looking pasta that I got however was really good.

See, and this is why everyone will differ in how they feel about the food at Disneyland. We love Pizza Port. My kids get the adult pasta, but have been happy with the pizza too. To each their own. I'm glad Disney tries to serve higher quality food at TS places because you're paying for a nice sit-down meal. When I was a kid, I swear Disneyland only made kids meals with chicken nuggets or a burger (the exception being that amazing Polynesian restaurant). It's so nice to be able to offer my children the option of salmon, a burrito, etc.

I think the lesson learned from all of this is to check the menus at restaurants before you decide where to eat. If you're looking for a full junk food experience, pick somewhere that caters to this desire. If you're looking healthy, pick healthy.

 

[bumbershoot]

there is a big difference between being fine with something and being excited about it.

Fair enough.


Everyone is saying that the CS places have junk....my example was a CS place. And as a vegetarian family, that meal IS the kid option. The hot dogs and such are irrelevant to us. And as an adult who often went with that kid's meal because it's a decent amount of food, I can tell you that it was awful. I'm the one who authorized the garbage can (after he ate the perfectly fine beans and cheese from it) and getting something else that I can't recall right now.

And a whole wheat tortilla still has a ton of carbs. And the tortilla was so big. Bigger than the old white one.

And plain rice with peas at a Mexican restaurant???

The CM said something about the fat content in the rice. Hmm. If anyone in my party should have been gettin the extra fat it was my son lol.

Anyway, vegetarian kid meals are limited enough, and when you make them inedible it's harder. Also should mention that Uncrustables (and the carnation pbj since they still use Smuckers) are a no go for us because of the corn syrup ingredients in them. That product destroyed many zoo trips and one evening at Disneyland before I finally figured out the problem with DS. We didn't have a lot options for him and the old bean and cheese kid meal was just perfect. We were sad.

Thankfully DS is older with a bigger appetite now and a whole different world is open to him for our next dlr trip. Now it'll just be me deciding if I should over-order so I can get the adult Mexican meal or deal with a disgusting whole wheat tortilla (please note that it was both. WW *and* bad) and awful rice lol. Maybe he will let me share his adult sized meal.

 

[Gisele]

I respectively agree to disagree and agree all at the same time ol chap! Pip pip cheerio and all that! lmao.

 

[RemainSeatedPlease]

I should point out that when I said CS has more junk food I didn't mean that ALL CS is just junk food or that that's the primary reason you're choosing it. It's just that if junk food is what you want, you will be able to find it more easily at CS places. If you want to eat healthy at CS, that's an option too. I'm usually somewhere in the middle.

I do understand what the OP is saying, but at the same time it's hard for me to imagine this being a real issue because TS meals are very rare for me. So rare that if I am doing them, it's because I do want something more upscale for everyone in the group. There is such a plethora of CS options at DLR that I never really miss or feel like I need TS dining. I can't imagine most or even half of my meals in the parks being TS. If you don't like the kid's menu at a TS place, why not just do CS more??

 

[lizabu]

I never thought I would read a complaint about an amusement parks lack of junk food offerings for children. Interesting.

 

[lovebug33]

While I am glad that Disney is trying to be healthy, I'm hoping they will substitute. My daughter doesn't eat veggies unless they are in a pouch. Same with fruit. I'm looking at these meals and they don't come with fries or mashed potatoes. And I also have a toddler. Maybe when she is older she will like some of those options. I wish I could order the healthy stuff on the kids menu!

 

[Mugglemama]

On our last trip to DLR, I developed an appreciation for River Belle Terrace for this very reason...none of my kids are going to want salmon (or any seafood, for that matter), but they're not overly excited about mac'n'cheese or nuggets, either. Cafe orleans had things like roasted turkey slices with gravy and mashed potatoes - a PERFECT solution for us...not complete crap, but not so fancy-schmancy that my kids aren't going to eat it, either.

If I'm not mistaken, Carnation Cafe and French Market also have choices that could be easily excluded from the "total junk food" category without also being too upscale for those of us with simpler tastes. Granted, it would likely mean not ordering from the kid's menu, but the price isn't much different and a parent can always share theirs if there's only one small child along.

Mmmm, now I want turkey and mashed potatoes...

 

[calilou]

I'm really thankful Disneyland has made it a priority to make menu choices at all their restaurants more health centered. I feel like there's great balance - you can still get fries and soda if you request it but the standard is apples and milk. I love that my girls can choose salmon and meat other than nuggets. Really shocked at OP's observation actually! We tend to eat at table service locations more than counter service and are rarely disappointed.

 

[Kiwifamily]

I'm feeling a bit relieved after reading this thread. Our first disney trip is still in the planning stages but one of my concerns was how we were going to manage with food. We are not American and my kids are not used to eating a lot of deep fried crap and I was of the impression that this was mostly what was on offer at Disneyland. I'm glad to hear that I was misinformed. Don't get me wrong, they do have the odd burger and fries but i don't want the trip ruined by kids who are tired and grumpy because they haven't eaten any real food for 4 days.

 

[JadeDarkstar]

Ok I have not read it all yet but I have to agree. My 12 year old will eat none of the crap Disney land is trying to force down his throat at TS. Its all gross and we don't like it. heck even I don't like half of it. healthy options are fine but keep the kid stuff on the menus too and make it half the price if that is why they put all the healthy stuff on the menus.

The schools and the government and the places we go to have fun should stop trying to be the parent. We can raise our own kids thank you very much. Also we eat junk so want. My kids doctor still tells us feed him what he wants he is to skinny he needs to get fatter. What really?? so we let him eat what he wants even though my whole family thinks he is fine, apparently the doctors think he should be over wight.

I hate all the stuff I've seen at DL menus lately. Its becoming such a bother to find something at a ts that we can eat. Sure Cs have stuff we like but I wish to high heaven Disney would stop forcing us to chose a healthy option.

Yes have healthy stuff but have junk too let us chose what we want to eat.

 

[Malcon10t]

My 12 year old will eat none of the crap Disney land is trying to force down his throat at TS. Its all gross and we don't like it. heck even I don't like half of it. healthy options are fine but keep the kid stuff on the menus too and make it half the price if that is why they put all the healthy stuff on the menus.

Since your son eats off the adult menus, he should be ok. What don't you like on the adult menus. Personally, I don't eat at Carthay often or Napa as I don't care for the food. That said, I find the restaurants I do like, and that is where I go. For instance, Cafe Orleans, Carnation Cafe, Wine COuntry, Steakhouse 55, etc... We do go to Carthay once in a while because we do like the biscuits, but we go during midday, and order appetizers and dessert, leave a big tip since we took up a non productive table, and get our biscuits. But otherwise, we have done the $25 burger, and no need to do it again. ESPN is better....

 

[pigletliz]

I think that in the past, a number of vocal parents complained about the unhealthy/kiddie type meals. Disney tried to appease them, so now you have less "junk" food at the table service restaurants. There is just no way to make everyone happy. All kids don't like the same thing any more than all adults. I think it will have to boil down to checking out the menu.

 

[JadeDarkstar]

We were going to do the 25 burger but my son wouldn't like the pepper bacon. So sadly that is out for us even though we wanted to try Carthay but have now decided against it. BB has MC so we will get that but again no fries. Now they only have the fruit or potatoes.

I don't eat veggies unless its in some the meals I have started to like. I hate that my 12 year old had to order adult meals. but when we find a kid meal he likes we will ask if we can get it. It seems to me the meals we will be having is the one BB meal, and chr meals and then looks to be mostly cs meals for us.

 

[NannyBeBe]

I do not like going to a restaurant and handing a kids menu to my grandkids and making them pick something from it, as if they are somehow not as privileged as we are. We get to pick from a huge menu but they have three or four things to choose from. Back when I was a kid, there were no kids meals. Restaurants offered smaller portions of the adult food at a lower price. Life was much easier.

 

[jina]

We were there 10 days ago for 3 days and DD had no problems finding things she liked but I we did not go to a pizza or burger place this time so we were not expecting that and I don't know what they offer now. We had breakfast at Storytellers which was a buffet so the same for everyone although we got gluten free waffles too . We did the Carthay Circle WOC meal and she had a delicious tomato soup, filet w/ macaroni & cheese balls w/ broccoli, and the next day she had mac & cheese w/ carrots and apple slices at Jolly Holiday bakery. We did not go to a pizza or burger place like we had the previous summer but when we did she definitely ate the same junk as us. The pizza was delicious although we had a gluten free pizza so I'm not sure what the usual pizzas are like. I like that the kids meals have more healthy stuff as sides (and more healthy options for grown ups too) -our digestion gets all messed up when we travel if we can't keep the fruits and veggies flowing! We have plenty of opportunities for treats as snacks - ice cream, candy, dole whips, you name it - it seemed like a great balance to us and we never felt deprived.

 

[NavyDad01]

This morning I had the opportunity of taking my 10 year old daughter to school. It was the first time in maybe 2 years I usually work from 6am to 4 so I don't have many chances. We stopped at a gas station before taking her so I can get a coffee. I asked her if she wanted something and she asked for a can soda. Before I told her she was crazy since it was so early she said she wanted it for later.

Now she only drinks soda maybe once every two weeks are so. I said yes and I suggested she can drink it at lunch. She begins to tell me that she cant and that the teachers make other students throw away their sodas if they bring it. Then she tells me that they cant even take things like oreo cookies. She said that they sent home a letter already to all the parents. (shame on me for not knowing that, but usually wifey takes care of that)

Either way I was taken back for a moment. I remember when we had vending machines in our school with soda.



just sharing

 

[lizabu]

This morning I had the opportunity of taking my 10 year old daughter to school. It was the first time in maybe 2 years I usually work from 6am to 4 so I don't have many chances. We stopped at a gas station before taking her so I can get a coffee. I asked her if she wanted something and she asked for a can soda. Before I told her she was crazy since it was so early she said she wanted it for later.

Now she only drinks soda maybe once every two weeks are so. I said yes and I suggested she can drink it at lunch. She begins to tell me that she cant and that the teachers make other students throw away their sodas if they bring it. Then she tells me that they cant even take things like oreo cookies. She said that they sent home a letter already to all the parents. (shame on me for not knowing that, but usually wifey takes care of that)

Either way I was taken back for a moment. I remember when we had vending machines in our school with soda.



just sharing

I think it's a case of when you know better you do better. I remember eating paint chips, riding in a car on my Moms's lap and never wearing a helmet when riding my bike. We know now those things are dangerous so we take care. When I was a kid there'd be like one fat kid in your class. Now they're saying something like 50% of kids are overweight. This is expected to be the first generation of kids who have a shorter life expectancy than their parents and that is simply a tragedy.

 

[MommyJKM]

Don't flame me but I'm one of those parents that appreciates that DLR doesn't just offer processed, salty foods for kids anymore.
I'm from Oakland, CA - we had some of the earliest Farmer's Markets in the US. We always ate fresh foods and my Mom always cooked and made our lunches, so I have grown up eating well. My DH is German and they feed their bodies differently than Americans. They look at food as a way to fuel energy, not as an immediate gratification. I've watched how he feeds my DD - he carefully plans out what she is eating ahead of time so it maximizes her energy (I'm slowly learning but am still known to just make her pasta in a pinch). Meals are looked at as a time to relax, re-hydrate, re-energize, and connect. Not a quick stop and grab. So my family eats that way and I can see the other side, but I don't think making judgements either is YOUR family's answer.

We are on vacation and it's supposed to be fun, but that doesn't mean we lose our minds and go crazy with eating. My child doesn't eat chicken strips or corn dogs. She also won't eat a salmon dinner. And we have never had an issue with food for her in the many times we have been to Disneyland. It helps to bring your own snacks - but I think Disney has been pretty good about flexibility in food. Remember a lot of people from around the world come to Disneyland and in general Europeans aren't feeding their kids chicken nuggets on a regular basis. Disney is adapting to the world, which I appreciate.

Not trying to preach to the parents that choose to feed their kids whatever they want to eat, but we are the ones who guide them and if you are anxious and angry about not having a large choice of sodium laden processed food, they will learn from you that those are their only options to be happy. We have never had a problem getting french fries and apple slices anywhere in the parks.