Order off of "menu" at buffet restaurants?

[otterpop]

Hi Everyone,

My Mom will be joining my family on our next trip. She doesn't eat that much and I was wondering if there are any other options (instead of the full buffet) for her to eat at any of the buffet restaurants like CM, CP, Cape May, etc... I would hate to spend $30+ for a buffet meal and my Mom only has a salad.

Thanks,

Evan

 

[TDC Nala]

No, there isn't. She'd have to pay for the full buffet no matter how much she eats.

The only restaurant I can think of with both a buffet and menu option is Captain's Grille breakfast.

 

[ancestry]

Agreed. They charge the full amount no matter how much you eat or don't eat at buffets. Maybe table service (menu) restaurants would work better for your family.

 

[otterpop]

Thanks for the fast replies!

I guess another option not mentioned would be...leave her in the room!!!!

 

[AJKMOM]

Thanks for the fast replies!

I guess another option not mentioned would be...leave her in the room!!!!

Is this your mother, or mother-in-law, because the choices could change?

 

[otterpop]

Is this your mother, or mother-in-law, because the choices could change?

It would be a much easier decision if it was my mother-in-law, but unfortunately it's not!

My kids love the character meals, so I think I'll try to make sure that my Mom has a light lunch on those days we have a buffet for dinner.

I was also thinking of getting the DDP, but maybe for her we will just pay out of pocket (we have two room ressies, one under my name and family and the other under just my Mom) in case she decides not to go to one or more of the dinners.

Evan

 

[nbs2]

Would the skillet option at WCC qualify as a buffet?

It isn't a character meal, per se, but part of the reason we are going is that it has a bit of an interaction theme.

 

[TDC Nala]

Would the skillet option at WCC qualify as a buffet?

It isn't a character meal, per se, but part of the reason we are going is that it has a bit of an interaction theme.

The skillet's not a buffet. Anyone at the table can order or not order the skillet. If you don't order it you can order from the menu, but you can't share from the skillet.

 

[nbs2]

The skillet's not a buffet. Anyone at the table can order or not order the skillet. If you don't order it you can order from the menu, but you can't share from the skillet.

It isn't a buffet line, but I'd think that a family style AYCE option would be synonymous with buffet - no limitation on food. Treating it as such would get her closer to some sort of character-like interaction and a buffet-like meal than anything else I can think of since Mom could still order a light salad without "wasting" the money. I've never eaten there before, but I'd like to think that there isn't any more pressure to turn the table over than there would be at a buffet line place.

I'm calling WCC the character meal for Davy Crockett's friends for our trip there.

 

[TDC Nala]

The WCC skillet is more of a family style serving. If you want more food you can ask for it. It's not a buffet in the sense that you don't get the food yourself. That is the difference between a buffet and an AYCE family style, not the fact that they are both all you can eat. (Disney, for some reason, uses the official terminology "all you care to eat" but I don't know the difference between that and "all you can eat.") You asked if the skillet WAS a buffet, and it's not - the food is brought to you.

WCC is the only a la carte restaurant with a separate AYCE family style option, though. It would probably work very well for the OP. The OP didn't mention any of the family style restaurants like 'Ohana or Garden Grill, but his mother would be charged the full meal price at those, as well.

 

[nbs2]

I didn't realize that Disney has a distinction between the two. I've just always called them buffets and family style buffets. Now I know (<insert overplayed GI Joe PSA tagline>).

As for the shift to Care instead of Can, I have noticed other places doing it, and they usually explain that it has to do with discouraging overconsumption/overeating and food waste. Apparently too many people take Can as a challenge, not an offer.

 

[TDC Nala]

I don't know if it's Disney's distinction but a buffet is usually a restaurant where the food is arranged at stations away from the tables, and you must get up from the table, get your own plate and serve yourself, while your server provides drinks and clears used plates; and at a family style the server brings a platter of food to the table for the party to share, and refills are brought when requested from the server.

This distinction is helpful to guests who want to know which restaurants they can go to to get AYCE but they can also be served (for example, parents who don't want to have to bring small children to the buffet).

I'm recalling the show where Homer Simpson sued the seafood restaurant advertising "all you can eat" because they weren't able to provide all Homer could eat. Maybe Disney's lawyers saw that.

 

[chartle]

(Disney, for some reason, uses the official terminology "all you care to eat" but I don't know the difference between that and "all you can eat.")

I thought I read somewhere that its "all you care to enjoy"