Please help me understand the children's menus...

[My2QTs]

So we are booked for an October trip with the DDP for two adults and our two kids (9 and 3). From what I can understand about the plan, unless it is a buffet, the children have to order off the children's menu??? Is this correct? If so, we will not be going to too many meals that aren't buffet. In looking at the choices, I am so bummed. Every single place is the same thing: chicken strips, pizza, hot dogs, burgers, or mac and cheese. And in most cases, they don't even get a normal dessert (a cookie or apples or something) or a drink (other than milk or water or apple juice). I am not trying to complain cause I know the kids are cheaper on the dining plan, but come on....even kids like something besides chicken, hot dogs , mac and cheese or pizza when they are at WDW!!! So MUST they order off the kids menu??? And i noticed the counter service places are the same too: many of them only offer the kids pb&j or a hot dog or something, with the jucie and cookie again. My ds is 9 and I don't think this is going to do it for him. I know that I can purchase the adult plan for him, but that would kind of be rip off for us. He won't eat like an adult, but I also hate that his dining choices are the things mentioned above. That sucks. I hope I am understading this incorrectly. If not, I am truly bummed.

 

[Claire L]

As you are going in October and still have the 180 day window open how about Le Cellier, Rose & Crown and Coral Reef?

Claire

 

[ReneeA]

My kids are adventurous eaters and did fine on the DDP. They ordered off the kid's menus, but DH and I also shared portions of our meals with them. Many times it's also alot of food to eat in one sitting, so we often shared deserts with them.

I am NOT a big buffet fan - I don't think what's available at most buffets is much better than the kid's menu. I booked based on what my DH and I like to eat, and the kids were fine with eating what was put in front of them. I do let them each choose one restaurant that they would like to try.

 

[My2QTs]

I guess the reason this has come up is bc I was looking at cs meals and everyone is ranting about flame tree in AK. So I definitely wanted to try it, but I noticed the kids have two choices: pb&j and something else Ican't remember, but it wasn't great either. So now Im thinking that I don't want to go there. I know the food will be good for us, but I can't eat ribs or pulled pork sandwhich and feed my almost ten year old a peanut butter sandwhich. KWIM??

 

[dvcdisney]

I know what you mean. We have two children 8 and 3 who eat adult type foods. We have been on the DDP for the past 3 years. Since we started using the DDP, we have purchased the adult plan for my son who at the time was only 5. Now that my daughter is 3, we decided to be more creative. For TS, we chose buffets (although we are not fond of them either, we found some to be quite good). Such buffets or buffet styles include - Ohana's, Hollywood and Vine, Boma (tried it for the first time this March - excellent), Whispering Canyon, Princess Storybook Dining and Chef Mickey. But with the TS that are not buffet style, we chose the restaurants that offer a better choice for children - ie Le Cellier - steak - my 3 yr old loved it; Coral Reef has the Mahi Mahi - also loved by my 3 yr old; Nine Dragons - has sweet and sour chicken - but we also share all our meals with her; Mama Melrose -she had the cheese pizza which was fine; and Tony's Town Square had spaghetti, but she did not like that one, she did like the fish.

Since my kids didn't eat the traditional "kids" food, we had to choose the restaurant that were more conducive to our situation. We continue to get the adult for my 8 year old because he eats more that my husband and I do, but for my 3 year old, we choose wisely.

Also, for CS restaurants we also choose ones that do not have children's menus like Toy Story Pizza - my daughter loves the Salad and occasionally will eat the pizza. Also, she will eat chicken nuggets once in our trip, so we usually choose Cosmic Rays for this. For AK, we order the chicken leg for her at the Flame Tree, not really a favourite but she'll eat it once. Sometimes, we will pay out of pocket and get her a chicken Caesar Salad at Pizzafari and end up eating a little spaghetti. And sometimes, she just shares with her brother and we end up with an extra child's CS left over - as long as it's only one or two, we're not too upset about it.

Believe me, if they could remove the stipulation that they have to order from the child's menu, I would be very happy. I know a lot of children love the chicken nuggets, hotdogs etc, but I wish they would realize that not all do and some children really would prefer a salad over chicken nuggets - and isn't this a lot more healthy (as Disney has insisted that they are trying to be more health conscience in their children's menu). But we can always hope.

 

[My2QTs]

dvc disney...how did you get around the lame choices for cs meals like the one I mentioned?

 

[ReneeA]

You may have to search out the CS places that your kids will find something to eat at. They certainly are very limited in their children's choices.

 

[n2mm]

I think the kids meals are pretty small. OP, yes your assumption of the menus is correct. My 2 year old granddaughter had no problem eating the entire kids meal last August when we took her. We ordered her a meal at every location and it was the perfect size for her. We mentioned several times that we can't imagine an 8 or 9 yo child being happy with the selection and portion size. Buffets will be perfect, but TS not so good. You could just buy some items OOP for your older child. Wait until you see the CS kids meals. 4 nuggest and some fries, our little one just gobbled them right up.

 

[ChelleinNC]

So we are booked for an October trip with the DDP for two adults and our two kids (9 and 3). From what I can understand about the plan, unless it is a buffet, the children have to order off the children's menu??? Is this correct? If so, we will not be going to too many meals that aren't buffet. In looking at the choices, I am so bummed. Every single place is the same thing: chicken strips, pizza, hot dogs, burgers, or mac and cheese. And in most cases, they don't even get a normal dessert (a cookie or apples or something) or a drink (other than milk or water or apple juice). I am not trying to complain cause I know the kids are cheaper on the dining plan, but come on....even kids like something besides chicken, hot dogs , mac and cheese or pizza when they are at WDW!!! So MUST they order off the kids menu??? And i noticed the counter service places are the same too: many of them only offer the kids pb&j or a hot dog or something, with the jucie and cookie again. My ds is 9 and I don't think this is going to do it for him. I know that I can purchase the adult plan for him, but that would kind of be rip off for us. He won't eat like an adult, but I also hate that his dining choices are the things mentioned above. That sucks. I hope I am understading this incorrectly. If not, I am truly bummed.

To answer your question, yes a child on the DDP must order from the childrens menu when a childs menu is available. There are a few CS places that don't have a child's menu (Pizza Planet is one), so then they order off the adult menu.
We had the opposite problem when my DS was 10. He didn't eat like an adult or want adult food. We ended up paying OOP for many of his meals to eat off the kids menu. The only time he used his adult TS credits was at the buffets.
I suggest that you consider the buffets and look closely at the kids menus. Many of them have grilled chicken, fish and pasta choices. Of course, my DS would only eat hamburgers, pizza & hotdogs

 

[bumbershoot]

It's possible the dining plan just isn't right for your family, and that you will be better off NOT doing it.

For us, we're vegetarian and we don't eat three full meals a day, and going with the things we WOULD eat, I just can't make the dining plan make sense for us.

Since the only way to determine if it makes financial sense is to figure out what your family WOULD eat, and compare it to the cost of the plan, it really seems that it might not make sense for you.

Go through the menus, figure out what you would normally order, and figure out the costs of doing the dining plan and making your kids eat food they don't want, the cost of just buying everything out of pocket, and doing a combo of using the credits where credits can be used, but ordering them things and paying out of pocket when the plan credits do not make sense for them.

Make sense?

 

[MAKmom]

So we are booked for an October trip with the DDP for two adults and our two kids (9 and 3). From what I can understand about the plan, unless it is a buffet, the children have to order off the children's menu??? Is this correct? If so, we will not be going to too many meals that aren't buffet. In looking at the choices, I am so bummed. Every single place is the same thing: chicken strips, pizza, hot dogs, burgers, or mac and cheese. And in most cases, they don't even get a normal dessert (a cookie or apples or something) or a drink (other than milk or water or apple juice). I am not trying to complain cause I know the kids are cheaper on the dining plan, but come on....even kids like something besides chicken, hot dogs , mac and cheese or pizza when they are at WDW!!! So MUST they order off the kids menu??? And i noticed the counter service places are the same too: many of them only offer the kids pb&j or a hot dog or something, with the jucie and cookie again. My ds is 9 and I don't think this is going to do it for him. I know that I can purchase the adult plan for him, but that would kind of be rip off for us. He won't eat like an adult, but I also hate that his dining choices are the things mentioned above. That sucks. I hope I am understading this incorrectly. If not, I am truly bummed.

The kids can get soda with the kids meals. You need to pick other restaurants. Many have 1 offering that goes with the theme of the restaurant. I have the opposite problem I have an 11 year old who only wants chicken fingers on vacation. We do not eat them in our real life

 

[Aurora's Mommy]

Hey OP,

I have a 9 year old DS, and a 6 year old DD and I am having some of the same issues, mostly for DS. I thought about cancelling, but DH talked me out of it. My solution, I looked at all the menus at allears. Heck, I did more than look, I dissected, I compared and I contrasted. We have 6 TS and I came up with:

50's PTC
Princess Storybook Breakfast
Raglan Road
Tusker House
Kona
LTT

I thought this was a nice mix of buffet, family style and menu. I found 50's and Kona's menu to be similar, but they are a couple of days apart, so I'm hoping DS can deal. As long as mac and cheese are on the menu, DD is A-OK .

Now I'm having issue with the CS. At MK especially, they only offer two choices on the kids menu, and I'm finding that one thing neither kid will eat, and the other only one will eat. I'm thinking Pinochio Haus because it has pizza on the menu, but it's bad enough having to plan your day to be at the right place at the right time for an ADR, but to have to plan CS too! Sigh.

 

[Aurora's Mommy]

I forgot to mention that the reason I picked Raglan Road is that it looks like it has a nice, diverse children's menu. I'm also assuming I'm going to be using alot of snack credits filling up DS's newly hollow leg!

Oh, and consider paying OOP at Flame Tree, and then use the CS to get a big breakfast at the resort one day. I believe a waffle platter counts as one CS?

 

[disnut8]

I guess the reason this has come up is bc I was looking at cs meals and everyone is ranting about flame tree in AK. So I definitely wanted to try it, but I noticed the kids have two choices: pb&j and something else Ican't remember, but it wasn't great either. So now Im thinking that I don't want to go there. I know the food will be good for us, but I can't eat ribs or pulled pork sandwhich and feed my almost ten year old a peanut butter sandwhich. KWIM??

The two Flame Tree children's meals are a hot dog or chicken wings. You get two sides and a drink with the meal. And always remember that fries and soft drinks with the kids meals are always available on request. They list the healthy sides so they don't have people saying the only thing out there are fries and sodas.

 

[DVCJEN]

I guess the reason this has come up is bc I was looking at cs meals and everyone is ranting about flame tree in AK. So I definitely wanted to try it, but I noticed the kids have two choices: pb&j and something else Ican't remember, but it wasn't great either. So now Im thinking that I don't want to go there. I know the food will be good for us, but I can't eat ribs or pulled pork sandwhich and feed my almost ten year old a peanut butter sandwhich. KWIM??

Get the kids something from another place. All of Flame Tree is outdoor seating so it is no problem to have food from multiple locations.

 

[danielle.st]

I am working on planning for a trip in December and will have a 5 and 8 year old. I'm doing the deluxe dining and have lots of buffets planned. I know my kids will do much better with that variety than they would eating the same couple things every day at counter serve. Also, my dh is pretty picky (more so that me or the kids) and with buffets, I think we will all be covered
Many TS restaurants offer one child item that isn't the standard, you just have to look and see if that one thing is something your kids would like. Unfortunately, the kids really don't seem to get the cool desserts. I think my kids will be happy with the sundaes the first day or two, and after that I'll be sharing my cool desserts (except at buffets where they can choose anything they want!)

 

[dvcdisney]

dvc disney...how did you get around the lame choices for cs meals like the one I mentioned?

I'm sorry, I just had to edit this because I didn't answer your question properly. For Cs we try to choose restaurants that do not have a child's menu, in that case you can order from the adult menu for your child. Such places are Toy Story Pizza and Catalina Eddies. Then there are the other places which have a child's menu and we order from it but we try to choose the ones my daughter will eat - these are the ones included in the list below.

We chose the CS restaurants like

Toy Story Pizza Planet and Catalina Eddies at HS

Flame Tree at AK (we took it to the Pizzafari, the rest of us ordered from the Pizzafari), or if she wanted the chicken caesar salad, we paid that oop and got the spaghetti for her to try

Cosmic Rays or Columbia Harbour House for MK (she did have the chicken nuggets here), but she also shared the tuna sandwich with my husband or salad with me.

Sunshine Seasons at Epcot, she would get the chicken leg with mash potatoes or sweet and sour chicken at the Asian part.

We had to be creative, sometimes, my son (8) did share his meal (we have been getting him the adult plan for a few years now - he refuses to eat any of the kid's menu things...). And we ended up with one or two extra unused child's CS but that's okay.

Also, we stay at BC alot and we order the regular adult meal (Marketplace) for her because I don't think they have a child's meal. And a few times at the CS in Wilderness Lodge, they told us that we were able to order an adult meal for her too because they had awful children's choices.

Hope this helps.

 

[Matt'nMeg'sMom]

My children struggle with the children's menu options too. They are used to "real food".

At TS restaurants, we're stuck. Occasionally we have been lucky enough to request broiled chicken and veggies vs "fried chicken fingers" and some restaurants have complied. I understand that the restaurants are becoming less friendly about that substitution.

At CS restaurants, we have it much easier. DH and I wait in two separate lines. We each order two adult meals and check out separately. No problem.

 

[dvcdisney]

The only thing I like about the children's menu in TS restaurants (not buffets) is that the appetizers/desserts are flexible. In some instances, my daughter would order fruit for appetizer and dessert (so she would have two bowls of fruit).

 

[twinnersmama]

OP, I feel the same way !! We are going for the first time in April and my 4 y/o twins would rather eat a steak or BBQ ribs and salad than chicken nuggets any day.
We have 2 buffets planned and the othe TS are menu. (50s, MamaMelrose, SciFi, RainForest Cafe, Tepan Edo) I think I chose some that have at least something that isn't totally "kid-type" food.

For the CS, I will see if they want to have something from my plate -- just to mix it up a bit.

Wonder why they don't offer a smaller version of the adult menus with smaller portions? Wouldn't that be nice?

Also, I'm all for healthier options, but is it so much healthier swapping carrots for fries when all of the other choices are hot dogs, chicken nuggets, and mac and cheese?

Just venting I guess ... you aren't the only one who thought the child's menu was lacking. But for $10/day, what can you really complain about?