Q re: kids ages/meals at different restaurants

[Blytheny]

Hi everyone... I am fairly new here, have been lurking forever but never felt the need to post, as most of my questions are answered before I ask!!

But, I've had one come up that I can't seem to find an answer on. My oldest DD will turn 10 right before we leave for our next trip. She is small, and doesn't eat all that much. We aren't doing the DDP, but probably will use the DDE/Tables in Wonderland discount, as we're new AP holders.

At some restaurants, there is no age definition for the menu, but I've noticed that some of the buffet restaurants have a defined age for kids (9 and under) and the price difference is pretty big! Do I need to offer that she is 10 and pay adult price for a meal when I know she will only eat from the children's selections, or can you ask to pay the children's price as long as your child does indeed eat from the children's buffet area? Or do they not check ages when you check in for your ADR?

I don't want to cheat the system, but I also don't want to pay a whole bunch more for the buffet meals we would like to enjoy just b/c she would be classified as an adult.

Thanks for any advice/tips on how to handle this!

 

[brymolmom]

If you have been lurking forever then it shouldn't be a surprise what kind of responses your question will generate. Some will whole-heartedly agree that 'oh -why not - she won't eat much since she's so small' then there are others who will say 'you are teaching your child to lie'. So you ultimately need to do whatever you need to do. You say in your post that you don't want to cheat the system, and if that is the truth, well then, you have to tell the truth. Yes she is 10 and yes you need to pay the price for a 10 year old.

My thought is that you do want to cheat and are just looking for permission from us Dis'ers to do so.

Oh and by the way - for about a $15 difference for a buffet meal for a couple of meals - for $30 or $40 total difference - you should go with whatever decision will make you feel best, as that is really not a lot in the scheme of things.

 

[ADisneyQueen]

When you eat at the buffets, anyone can eat from either- the kids can eat from the adult buffet and the adults can eat from the children's. There will be no signs saying "children's buffet", only a small counter with chicken, mac and cheese, that kind of stuff. So, you are not paying for a child to eat children's food, they are paying to eat from ll counters.

 

[Blytheny]

If you have been lurking forever then it shouldn't be a surprise what kind of responses your question will generate. Some will whole-heartedly agree that 'oh -why not - she won't eat much since she's so small' then there are others who will say 'you are teaching your child to lie'. So you ultimately need to do whatever you need to do. You say in your post that you don't want to cheat the system, and if that is the truth, well then, you have to tell the truth. Yes she is 10 and yes you need to pay the price for a 10 year old.

My thought is that you do want to cheat and are just looking for permission from us Dis'ers to do so.

If you look back at my original post, I asked if I can ask to pay the children's price... that isn't lying to Disney, it's saying she's 10 but isn't going to eat the adult's meal, can I pay for the children's meal? I just wanted to know if they do that. When we did the DDP, we were allowed to use the credits interchangeably with our children - I thought maybe we could do the same kind-of thing when not on the DDP. We haven't done buffets with her as an "adult" before and didn't realize she could've eaten from the adult fare, she and her sister have always just gone for the macaroni & cheese, chicken fingers, etc. And you're right, the $40 or $50 shouldn't matter -- but if you're honestly asking to save the $40 or $50, it does. Anyway....

 

[sanibelsettler]

I don't want to cheat the system, but I also don't want to pay a whole bunch more for the buffet meals we would like to enjoy just b/c she would be classified as an adult.

They will ask. And you will either have to lie, or tell the truth. We didn't do buffets at that point. It wasn't worth it for us. Aside from the fact that most buffet food is merely tolerable.