Picky Eaters & DDP

[Dawnywog]

My friend and here 12 year old daughter are coming with us this September for free dining. The daughter is a picky eater. From reading other threads here I understand it shouldn't be a problem for her to order off the kids menu if she wants, but I have a couple of other questions after showing her and her mother some menus.

1. At table service restaurants could she order something from the appetizer menu as her entree?

2. At quick services locations can you get anything that's listed as a snack for your dessert?

3. At quick services locations if a sandwich is served with chips is that your dessert or do you get a dessert too?


Thanks for your help!

 

[smiths02]

1. At table service restaurants could she order something from the appetizer menu as her entree? It seems to vary by location, maybe someone else can chime in. (One option if the place doesn't allow it is to pay for her appetizer OOP and then use her meal credit at a later time, since she is a Disney adult her parent could use her credit later)
2. At quick services locations can you get anything that's listed as a snack for your dessert?
This also varies by location. Some places will allow you to sub a bottle of water, some places (like the Main Street bakery) will allow a wide range of baked goods...other places have just a few options and won't sub (but you can usually get fruit, something sugar free, or something allergen free if you have restricted diet for some reason).
3. At quick services locations if a sandwich is served with chips is that your dessert or do you get a dessert too? This also depends. Earl of Sandwich is that you either get chips or a dessert.

 

[DJFan88]

I've had this problem before and it turned out to be no problem. One thing is that a 12 year old usually needs more food than the little kid meal provides. Seriously, they can be small. However, find places where you can easily alter things. Example: most kids like a burger, so you get that, but leave off the swiss cheese andsub with american. You get the idea. My son likes The Plaza in MK for this reason. Great sandwiches. Buffets can be great too.
Check out all the menus, keeping in mind that there are substitution or leave off ideas, which is not a problem. Green beans -- could they get corn instead? Look at other entrees to see what the restaurant has on hand.

I think you'll find it's a No on the appetizer idea.
At QS, you'll often find you could get things like grapes or choc. cake as desserts. Some quick service places have more options than otheres. The food court at your resort will have the most choices for that.
If a place sells chips with the meal, that is Not your dessert - you still get it too.

Seriousely, look at all of the menus. You will be pleasantly surprised.

 

[purple figment]

She might be able to order an appetizer for her entree at a Disney owned restaurant, but she would be charged the adult credit. It would probably be better to pay OOP and save the credit for 2 credit sigs/dinner shows or other meals. I'm pretty sure the non-Disney owned restaurants won't allow this substitution because they're reimbursed by Disney per the guidelines of the dining plan and they wouldn't be able to claim an item on the app menu as an entree on the reg DDP.

Adult entrees that she might be hesitant about because of sauces, sides, etc can usually be modified.

For children's menu items you can ask to have it increased to an adult sized portion. If you're using her adult credit some restaurants will allow her to choose her dessert from the adult menu in that case.

 

[Dawnywog]

Thanks so much for the responses. It really help to know we can get them to leave off any sauces or such. Her mom was really concerned with pizza being the only thing she said she would eat as is on the menus.

 

[aubriee]

She might be able to order an appetizer for her entree at a Disney owned restaurant, but she would be charged the adult credit.

Might being the operative word. I know they wouldn't allow me to order an appetizer as an entree at Chef's de France. We were on the DxDDP and I wanted two appetizers, instead of an appetizer and entree. I was told that I had to order exactly as the DxDDP stated 'one appetizer, one entree, and one dessert'. He even checked with a manager to make sure and came back to say that the way they bill Disney does not allow for an appetizer to be ordered in place of an entree. Not sure why they just couldn't put it in as an entree, but that's what we were told.

 

[purple figment]

the way they bill Disney does not allow for an appetizer to be ordered in place of an entree. Not sure why they just couldn't put it in as an entree, but that's what we were told.

Chefs is not a Disney owned restaurant so the server was correct. Disney reimburses the restaurant according to the guidelines of the plan. Since Disney's rule state that entrees must be ordered from the entree section of the menu in order for the restaurant to be paid, Chefs has no choice.

Disney owned restaurants are often more liberal in their interpretation of the guidelines so the OP might have a better chance there.

 

[aubriee]

Chefs is not a Disney owned restaurant so the server was correct. Disney reimburses the restaurant according to the guidelines of the plan. Since Disney's rule state that entrees must be ordered from the entree section of the menu in order for the restaurant to be paid, Chefs has no choice.

Disney owned restaurants are often more liberal in their interpretation of the guidelines so the OP might have a better chance there.

I understand that logically. However, I wanted the $13.99 Assiette Campagnarde for my appetizer and the $13.99 mushroom flatbread for my entree that night and didn't care if he entered the $34.99 filet into his cash register as my entree. Instead I had to choose between my two $13.99 appetizers for my appetizer and then ordered a $30.00 entree, when I would have rather had just another appetizer. If he could have let me order the appetizer I actually wanted, then could have entered that $30.00 filet into the cash register, they would have made more money (cheaper entree for the customer and the same reimbursement for them). I thought about paying OOP for the two appetizers I wanted, but since my husband was with me, then we would have had an extra TS credit at the end of the week. I didn't get mad or anything and in fact we were all laughing about the silly rules. I told him to just lie and say I had the steak. lol Of course he said he couldn't do that and I had to choose an entree off the entree section of the menu.