Picky eaters

[Rory607]

Oh man, I could've written your post, right down to the ages, genders, and personalities of the children!! We don't ever do the dining plan, but we pack in food for our kids for lunch - just easy things like they would eat in their school lunch, and then if we stay for dinner, we'll order them dinner somewhere. This is much easier for us since they're both picky (but DD is willing to try more) and they really don't mind if we're eating quick service food and they're eating peanut butter sandwiches! Since my DS is so picky and he often won't eat food he "should" like if it looks slightly different, we generally just have him eat fries at a restaurant so we're not wasting our money. Then we'll supplement when we're not at the restaurant. We fight about food nearly every day at home, so when we're on vacation we choose not to fight and just let him eat what makes him happy!

I definitely don’t want to fight with him about food at Disney. It’s not worth it. We are doing the dining plan because we are going with my dad and stepmom and they like the convenience of it. It’s fine with me, but tricky with a picky one.

 

[LoriWV]

Remember that if it isn't a buffet/AYCE/character meal, if there is somewhere he won't eat anything from the menu and you have to pack something in, you may be able to save his credit and use it at another time. Not necessarily the easiest thing to work around, but worth keeping in mind. On the other hand, if you already have the plan and want to use it just for fruit or fries to supplement an uncrustable, do whatever makes your experience as stress-free as possible!

 

[Happy814]

Hi! We've been to Disney 4 times (will soon be 5) and the two most recent trips were with my 5 year old that morphed into a picky eater around his 4th birthday (he will be 6 tomorrow!). The best advice I have is to try not to stress about it. DS would typically eat steak and I remember being at Boathouse on our most recent trip and "making" him eat a few tiny bites of steak. It was a large group and I got distracted for a few moments and then looked over to see him chewing with fat tears rolling down his eyes. I decided then that I wasn't going to stress over him not eating.

- I've found most of the restaurants are accommodating. For example, at the Bon Voyage Breakfast, I mentioned he was a picky eater and asked if he could have strawberries with his meal (it was already being served with fresh fruit). The waitress went above and beyond and put in an order to create him a plate that he would eat. Of course, you can't expect that (and always offer to pay extra if necessary), but most WDW restaurants seem to be happy to make a small accommodation such as subbing out a side, adding extra of one element, etc.

- Bring food that he will eat with you to the parks. We have bananas, apples, cashews, etc. delivered to the hotel room (or we bring it with us). My kid will straight up refuse food for hours - like he will go all day without eating and make himself dizzy. So I try to keep healthyish snacks at the park to keep his energy level up. If he has made a concerted effort to eat the food I've brought (whether it's peanut butter crackers, bananas, etc.) I'll allow him to have a treat at the park if he wants it. He doesn't like ice cream, so it will usually be something like popcorn or candy. I read upthread that your son like PB&Js. Does he like Uncrustables? There are several QS places that serve kids meals complete with those, grapes, and Danimals smoothies. Maybe that's a good option for him? DS's tastes have become more and more restrictive the more trips we go on. The first two, he would eat basically everything on the kids menu. The third one, he had cut out the macaroni and cheese, flatbread pizzas, and cheeseburger. The most recent trip he wouldn't eat the chicken nuggets or the fries. So basically he won't eat anything off of a typical QS menu.

-Don't stress about trying to accommodate his tastes. Healthy or not, my kid can choose to survive off a snack bag of Lay's and banana. That's his prerogative - I can't force him to eat. I choose places to eat that I know myself, DH and DS1 will enjoy. We encourage DS2 to eat and try to find things on the menu he will like. But if he doesn't eat - we enjoy our meal. We don't let what he may or may not eat limit our dining choices.

-We will also be on the dining plan this next trip. DS1 is a Disney adult and is a light eater. He loves a wide variety of foods, he just can't eat much at one time. I am planning on doing some creative shuffling with our credits. For example, ordering off the kids menu for DS2 but planning for DS1 to eat it; as well as myself sharing meals with DS1.

I hope this helps! It can definitely be stressful taking picky eaters on vacation. After the same kid being a great eater and a crappy eater at the same destination, I try not to stress about it. We encourage him to eat and try new things at home, and we talk about the fun foods to try at WDW.

 

[Tink_83]

So my DD is a picky eater and over the years I’ve come to find that, things she was crazy about just that morning she now hates, I can ask her if she will eat the food and she’ll say yes and it will arrive and she won’t touch it and then proceeds to eat my meal! She claims to be full and then will beg for cookies, etc.

At home these games don’t fly, no dessert without dinner, you must try your food and have 3 bites before I’ll make a secondary dish (and really that is for when DH cooks something that’s Different from the norm - like Indian and if especially it is spicier then he thought it would be, this happens a lot actually)...

On vacation especially at Disney I relax the rules, do I get real food for the kid, yes, do I demand she eat it, no. Does she sometimes get dessert without really eating the meal, yes. That said we do very short trips to Disney so this is a day or two, not a week or two. I’m not sure I’d be this relaxed for a super long vacation but since that’s not how we do these trips I don’t feel like food is the best thing to battle over for our short annual (or every 2 years as it’s been recently) trips to the park.

Also, I find that when she gets hungry that plate of chicken nuggets she hated the night before she will devour when she’s actually hungry...

 

[mi*vida*loca]

So my DD is a picky eater and over the years I’ve come to find that, things she was crazy about just that morning she now hates, I can ask her if she will eat the food and she’ll say yes and it will arrive and she won’t touch it and then proceeds to eat my meal! She claims to be full and then will beg for cookies, etc.

At home these games don’t fly, no dessert without dinner, you must try your food and have 3 bites before I’ll make a secondary dish (and really that is for when DH cooks something that’s Different from the norm - like Indian and if especially it is spicier then he thought it would be, this happens a lot actually)...

On vacation especially at Disney I relax the rules, do I get real food for the kid, yes, do I demand she eat it, no. Does she sometimes get dessert without really eating the meal, yes. That said we do very short trips to Disney so this is a day or two, not a week or two. I’m not sure I’d be this relaxed for a super long vacation but since that’s not how we do these trips I don’t feel like food is the best thing to battle over for our short annual (or every 2 years as it’s been recently) trips to the park.

Also, I find that when she gets hungry that plate of chicken nuggets she hated the night before she will devour when she’s actually hungry...

My kids have done and still do this and they are 19 and 13. I try to explain to them that not liking something and not being in the mood for that particular food at the moment are two different beasts. Don't tell me that you don't like what I made for dinner today when you've been eating it your entire life.

My kids have grown up eating traditional Puerto Rican food at home so Americanized food (chicken fingers, hot dogs, pizza, spaghetti) are a treat for them. I never have a problem with them eating at WDW. I also let it all go while on vacation. There are plenty of days the kids have Mickey bars for breakfast. I have no shame with it either.

 

[moose81]

I am facing this soon, although my child is much younger (age 2). He has a diagnosed feeding delay so his "pickiness" is really extreme. He does eat a wide variety of foods, however he doesn't like "cooked" foods, which makes it hard to find stuff at restaurants. Luckily, he will eat a ton of packaged things, so my plan is to bring as many of those as possible and supplement with fresh stuff (fruit, dairy) at the restaurants. I also specifically booked a club level room for this trip, which I normally wouldn't do, b/c the type of food that will be available in the lounge at breakfast time is basically the type of food that he will eat, so I'm hoping I won't have to ship as much to our room as I otherwise would have to.

 

[seb65]

My daughter has always been extremely picky, even as a baby trying new foods. Even our day care person commented how she had never seen a little one so picky and refusing to try foods. It seems like certain textures and smells make her avoid certain foods. What she eats is very limited. We have been ok on trips, as usually there has been plain pasta for her to eat in restaurants and lots of fruit carts. There was one time the restaurant didn't have anything she liked, so I made sure to bring something for her to eat outside before our dinner. I do remember some restaurants had fruit cups for dessert that I could order for her. We are working with a doctor, who assures us she has the nutrition she needs from what she does eat, but I wish it was easier.

 

[Shellyred8]

Many of the quick serve places have Uncrustables on their kids menu's, so you could stop and pick one up before your restaurant meal and take it with you if you don't want to carry it around with you all day.
During our last trip with a 6yo boy, we were at Satuli in AK and when he was struggling with finding something on the menu that he liked, they said they could just make an order of chicken and some plain rice for him. So, if you find something on the menu where they might like part of the food, but maybe not the sauces or a side, don't hesitate to ask if you can just get the part they will eat. Disney is very good about that.

 

[Rory607]

I am facing this soon, although my child is much younger (age 2). He has a diagnosed feeding delay so his "pickiness" is really extreme. He does eat a wide variety of foods, however he doesn't like "cooked" foods, which makes it hard to find stuff at restaurants. Luckily, he will eat a ton of packaged things, so my plan is to bring as many of those as possible and supplement with fresh stuff (fruit, dairy) at the restaurants. I also specifically booked a club level room for this trip, which I normally wouldn't do, b/c the type of food that will be available in the lounge at breakfast time is basically the type of food that he will eat, so I'm hoping I won't have to ship as much to our room as I otherwise would have to.

We are staying club level for the first time, so I’m hoping it will help.