Older Children and Kid's Menus

[pollyanna30]

Can older children (ages 11 and 14) order off the kids' menu at a table service restaurant? I know the adult price has to be paid for buffets, but I was not sure how that worked at other restaurants.

 

[kreckl]

We had a mixed experience with this. Most places said anyone, even adults, could order from the kids menu. But a few places have not allowed it.

 

[Dug720]

I think if you're on the dining plan it has to be off the adult menu if they're considered "adult" by Disney.

 

[Hopefully]

I think if you're on the dining plan it has to be off the adult menu if they're considered "adult" by Disney.

As stated above, it is mixed results, even on the DDP. Most restaurants will allow it and charge the adult DDP credit

 

[Capang]

Older children can certainly order off the kids menu. Smaller kids ordering from the adult menu on the DDP is where the issue comes in. The adults in my party have all ordered off the children's menu at some point on all of our trips without a problem. It's not a good use of credits if you have DDP though.

 

[GreatLakes]

I have never heard of a problem if you are paying OOP at anything other than a buffet. Buffets are strictly by age no matter what the members in your party are eating. I don't do the DDP so can't help there.

 

[prprincess]

We've never had any issues. My 12 year old ordered off of the kids menu, and many of the servers offered him a slightly larger portion.

 

[KenHutch]

On our last trip we were eating at 50's and the only way to get the little one to eat (she hated the kids menu) was I had to order the pot roast and she ordered a pot roast sandwich off the kids menu and we traded. The waitress to her credit saw what we were doing and I got the biggest pot roast sandwich I have ever seen.

 

[scrapquitler]

Can older children (ages 11 and 14) order off the kids' menu at a table service restaurant? I know the adult price has to be paid for buffets, but I was not sure how that worked at other restaurants.

My 14 year old ordered off the kids menu no questions asked at Prime Time Cafe in September.

 

[Lisa F]

Disney is not going to tell a 10 year old they can't have the mac and cheese just because they are 10. That said, what they choose to charge you for that is up to them. Most of the time just kid menu prices esp if operated directly by disney but sometimes they want to give you an adult portion of a kid's meal and it will be more. So if it's about food preference I would not worry. If it's about cost/portion size, I'd be prepared to be flexible.

 

[KrazeeK120]

It's not a good use of credits if you have DDP though.

This.

 

[scrapquitler]

Disney is not going to tell a 10 year old they can't have the mac and cheese just because they are 10. That said, what they choose to charge you for that is up to them. Most of the time just kid menu prices esp if operated directly by disney but sometimes they want to give you an adult portion of a kid's meal and it will be more. So if it's about food preference I would not worry. If it's about cost/portion size, I'd be prepared to be flexible.

I think this is is a good point that you are making. My son most always orders off the kids meal because it is a food preference, not because I want to save money. If a restaurant wanted to charge me an adult entree price for an adult size portion of the mac and cheese or whatever he happened to be ordering, I'd have absolutely no problem with that. The example: Olive Garden. He hates pasta with anything but 'cheese sauce', so he always orders the macaroni and cheese, because that's not on the adult menu at all. Last week when he ordered the mac and cheese they asked him "kids portion or adult portion?" and he said the kids portion is enough, thanks. If they weren't willing to let him have the kids portion, I'd have had no issue with paying the adult price for the adult plate with mac and cheese on it. (full disclosure: he wanted the kids portion because it comes with a side of fries. The boy loves his carbs).

 

[pollyanna30]

Disney is not going to tell a 10 year old they can't have the mac and cheese just because they are 10. That said, what they choose to charge you for that is up to them. Most of the time just kid menu prices esp if operated directly by disney but sometimes they want to give you an adult portion of a kid's meal and it will be more. So if it's about food preference I would not worry. If it's about cost/portion size, I'd be prepared to be flexible.

I think this is is a good point that you are making. My son most always orders off the kids meal because it is a food preference, not because I want to save money. If a restaurant wanted to charge me an adult entree price for an adult size portion of the mac and cheese or whatever he happened to be ordering, I'd have absolutely no problem with that. The example: Olive Garden. He hates pasta with anything but 'cheese sauce', so he always orders the macaroni and cheese, because that's not on the adult menu at all. Last week when he ordered the mac and cheese they asked him "kids portion or adult portion?" and he said the kids portion is enough, thanks. If they weren't willing to let him have the kids portion, I'd have had no issue with paying the adult price for the adult plate with mac and cheese on it. (full disclosure: he wanted the kids portion because it comes with a side of fries. The boy loves his carbs).

Thank you all for the feedback! It is definitely more about the food choices, but with the small amounts they sometimes eat, the cheaper cost would be a bonus (particularly after having to pay those adult buffet prices)! We will not be on the Dining Plan, so I feel encouraged that the Kid's Menu will be an option at most places.

 

[Lisa F]

Thank you all for the feedback! It is definitely more about the food choices, but with the small amounts they sometimes eat, the cheaper cost would be a bonus (particularly after having to pay those adult buffet prices)! We will not be on the Dining Plan, so I feel encouraged that the Kid's Menu will be an option at most places.

I just had bariatric surgery in July so I can't eat much. I'm planning on LTT one day and hoping to get the kid's pot roast and probably still can't even finish that. If they want to charge me for the adult's I probably won't fight it too much but it seems like they are in general ok with ordering off the kid menu there. I have only really heard of it being an issue at the non disney run restaurants like via napoli etc. but disney would be SUPER unmagical if they told kids that they aged out of mac and cheese at 10!

 

[robinb]

Can older children (ages 11 and 14) order off the kids' menu at a table service restaurant? I know the adult price has to be paid for buffets, but I was not sure how that worked at other restaurants.

Yes, anyone can order off the kids menu at most regular TS restaurants. My DD was a very picky, light eater until she was about 17. We had problems at Tokyo Dining, Marrakesh, The Wave and Be Our Guest. All of them made her ‘adult size’ her meals and charged us adult pricing for meals that were only half eaten.