Should I list my 8 year old as being 10 so...

[samoyed]

Has anyone tried paying up for an adult meal if your child does not like the kids menu? My daughter is 9 and some of those kiddy meals are not going to satisify her. Is there a way to buy the adult meal plan for her but still get a child's admission ticket?

 

[MBELSANTI]

HI,

Are you participating in the free dining? If so, you may actually save money to upgrade her ticket and dining to adult. I did this for DS 9 and it was not much difference in ticket price for our 10 day no expire hoppers. Plus I saved a lot more because adult DDP costs almost 3x as much as the child's plan.

 

[Mom of 3]

that he can get the adult dining plan? I realize that his park tickets would be a little more.

We're planning on going during the free dining and my 8 year old is just not going to eat a lot of things on the kids menu. My kids are used to eating more adult fare. I realize that he may not eat entire adult size meals but I like the idea of him having more choices of what I would consider real food even if he only eats half of what he's given.

 

[patsal]

Just remember that once you do it, he will be in the computer system as 2 years older forever--meaning when/if you are going to return you will have difficulty when he turns 16 and the computer has him in as 18 and wants to charge you additional for the extra adult in the room. there will be plenty for him to eat and using his CS for breakfast and paying OOP for his entree only at lunch will not add up to very much in the long run. Most TS have a great selection of unique items so he shouldn't go hungry at dinner either.

 

[stagemomx3]

I would if it was me.

 

[DisneyMom&Fan]

We have the same problem. DS will be 9 in a couple of weeks and he just doesn't eat chicken strips and mac n' cheese that much anymore. He loves steak, ribs, seafood - a real big meat eater. I originally put his age down as 9 when I made our reservations, but then called back about 2 weeks later and changed his age to 10. We will be paying a little bit more for park tickets (only 2 day tickets), but will save more with the free dining at his "adult" rate.

 

[brymolmom]

I think you should appreciate the incredible deal you're getting - it is FREE, and yet, you want to lie and manipulate the system to get your child more expensive free things.

IMO, this goes way overboard. I would MAYBE see people thinking about considering their child an 'adult' as long as they're paying the extra $30 a day for that option. But for free...that is totally taking advantage.

Okay - your child doesn't like a lot of the child options...MANY kids fall into that category, not just yours. If you plan well, you can find some CS options that are not mac n cheese or chicken nuggets...and then do buffets for TS if you want. Then, your child can have a huge variety of child and adult foods every day. And, if you still end up at a location where your child doesn't want any of the options...use a couple snack credits to get him something OR pay OOP for a couple items - it is FREE, it will still be a heck of a deal even if you spend a few dollars here and there on some items.

It is because of people maniuplating and finding loopholes and ways to lie for their own benefit that WDW likely even instituted changes to the children's menus to begin with...

Obviously if you're going to do it - people on this board aren't going to change your mind. But if you're truly looking for opinions, I think it is a horrible, no-integrity idea.

 

[kami2199]

I think you should appreciate the incredible deal you're getting - it is FREE, and yet, you want to lie and manipulate the system to get your child more expensive free things.

IMO, this goes way overboard. I would MAYBE see people thinking about considering their child an 'adult' as long as they're paying the extra $30 a day for that option. But for free...that is totally taking advantage.

Okay - your child doesn't like a lot of the child options...MANY kids fall into that category, not just yours. If you plan well, you can find some CS options that are not mac n cheese or chicken nuggets...and then do buffets for TS if you want. Then, your child can have a huge variety of child and adult foods every day. And, if you still end up at a location where your child doesn't want any of the options...use a couple snack credits to get him something OR pay OOP for a couple items - it is FREE, it will still be a heck of a deal even if you spend a few dollars here and there on some items.

It is because of people maniuplating and finding loopholes and ways to lie for their own benefit that WDW likely even instituted changes to the children's menus to begin with...

Obviously if you're going to do it - people on this board aren't going to change your mind. But if you're truly looking for opinions, I think it is a horrible, no-integrity idea.

That is a little harsh, don't you think? Are you the free dining police?

In my opinion, it wouldn't be an issue if Disney would offer better children's choices and I don't think it was because of people taking advantage...and I don't know that so many would take advantage if the choices were better. If it's just an issue of the amount of food, then ok, I can see your point a little. Less face it people, they aren't the best choices though. And maybe their family is not the buffet type. I know a lot of people who are pretty skeeved out by the whole buffet scene. I know buffet certainly isn't my first choice of food. My dd would be happy with mac and cheese all week but some kids are not - we had two completely opposite kids on our trip last year. One wanted steak, the other wanted pizza. They were both 7. At Disney, I think a lot of people plan their food according to the atmosphere and maybe don't put all the emphasis on the choices offered. I know the meals I am planning, I haven't even considered the children's menus. But again, my dd loves mac and cheese and chicken nuggets. Do I want her eating those things all week though? Certainly not. Am I going to force her to eat some of the healthier options that she finds disgusting on vacation - NOPE. I wish they would have just left it alone but I think when you figure they are making much more money off a cheapo box of mac and cheese then when they were actually serving a small portion of steak - you get your answer as to why they did it.

I think your best bet is to call Disney and explain the situation to them and ask what you can do, if anything to have your child on an adult plan. If they say no, you make whatever choice you want but know that Disney does age your child accordingly.

 

[atisikitabasket]

Just remember if he is only 8 and you mark him at 10 I think his ticket goes up. I think for 3-9 the tickets into the park are cheaper but I'm not sure so don't take that as concrete.

 

[Allison]

No, you should not. Your child is entitled to the children's free dining not the adult's free dining.

It sounds like buffets and family style meals would work best for you.

 

[pigletforever]

There were questions about this very topic last year at this time. I am trying to remember exactly what thet deal was. You could buy the child ticket for the parks but they adjusted the price of the DDP so you had to pay for a portion of it. I remember that the CM's were pretty knowlegable about this and that the child would not be "recorded 2 years older" in teh system forever.

 

[MaeDaisy]

You're already getting it free. Fork out a couple bucks for things he'll like.

 

[Nienor]

At the risk of being flamed here....

My DS is 7, he won't be 8 til October. We are going Sept 8-16. He's extremely tall for his age (and skinny too), so he tends to be very hungry. Last year we did free dining, he was constantly in my food. Especially at counter meals. 4 teeny chicken nuggets don't do it for him.

When I made my reservation yesterday I spoke politely to the CM. His age is 7 in the system, but I asked if it were possible for me to upgrade his age to 10 in order to get the "adult" dining package. She did it for me without a question. I think the ticket difference is approximately $30. To me it is worth it to spend a week not being worried about my son getting enough to eat at counter meals.

If he's aged up forever, it really won't matter. It's only for a couple of years and without an excellent promotion, I would be staying off property.

 

[bizeemom4]

I think you should appreciate the incredible deal you're getting - it is FREE, and yet, you want to lie and manipulate the system to get your child more expensive free things.

IMO, this goes way overboard. I would MAYBE see people thinking about considering their child an 'adult' as long as they're paying the extra $30 a day for that option. But for free...that is totally taking advantage.

Okay - your child doesn't like a lot of the child options...MANY kids fall into that category, not just yours. If you plan well, you can find some CS options that are not mac n cheese or chicken nuggets...and then do buffets for TS if you want. Then, your child can have a huge variety of child and adult foods every day. And, if you still end up at a location where your child doesn't want any of the options...use a couple snack credits to get him something OR pay OOP for a couple items - it is FREE, it will still be a heck of a deal even if you spend a few dollars here and there on some items.

It is because of people maniuplating and finding loopholes and ways to lie for their own benefit that WDW likely even instituted changes to the children's menus to begin with...

Obviously if you're going to do it - people on this board aren't going to change your mind. But if you're truly looking for opinions, I think it is a horrible, no-integrity idea.

I agree with this post completely. It's already FREE and you want MORE?!

 

[DisneyMom&Fan]

I think you should appreciate the incredible deal you're getting - it is FREE, and yet, you want to lie and manipulate the system to get your child more expensive free things.

IMO, this goes way overboard. I would MAYBE see people thinking about considering their child an 'adult' as long as they're paying the extra $30 a day for that option. But for free...that is totally taking advantage.

Okay - your child doesn't like a lot of the child options...MANY kids fall into that category, not just yours. If you plan well, you can find some CS options that are not mac n cheese or chicken nuggets...and then do buffets for TS if you want. Then, your child can have a huge variety of child and adult foods every day. And, if you still end up at a location where your child doesn't want any of the options...use a couple snack credits to get him something OR pay OOP for a couple items - it is FREE, it will still be a heck of a deal even if you spend a few dollars here and there on some items.

It is because of people maniuplating and finding loopholes and ways to lie for their own benefit that WDW likely even instituted changes to the children's menus to begin with...

Obviously if you're going to do it - people on this board aren't going to change your mind. But if you're truly looking for opinions, I think it is a horrible, no-integrity idea.

Ouch! I'm not doing it because it's a better deal. I'm doing it because my son won't each what's on the children's menu. Plus, free dining was never a "deal breaker" for me. I made my reservation (and changed his age) months ago without even knowing about free dining - this is our first trip to WDW. We are going anyway and I would pay whatever I needed to for a 10 year old. Please don't ruin our vacation (and my fun of planning one with all you Disers) with a guilt trip.

 

[LIBLULA]

I booked our next Disney trip for September months ago. My daughter is 7, I upgraded her to adult plan. She doesn't eat chicken strips, macaroni and cheese etc. Regardless of free dining or not---I would still pay a little extra so she can enjoy her meals too!!!!!

 

[AStamm]

Flame away, but we did this on the advice of the CM my DH booked our bounce back trips on. We went during the free dining last August and DS spent the majority of the trip begging for our food, hardly touching his child's stuff. Now the children's menus are even more limited and he wants steak all the time.

I say if your child would prefer the food on the adult menu, pay the difference for the adult ticket and be done with it.

 

[zaxmom]

No morals or integrity here, I guess.

My son will be 9 1/2 when we go and I went ahead and made him 10. The ticket cost was $30 more for the week. Guilt me if you'd like, but I got my boys their own room, also, so I don't feel like I am cheating anybody. And even if I was, Disney is a smart company and factors this into their budget as well. These are the same people who wanted to question me when he was 2 1/2 about not having a ticket. I make big, hungry boys. Blame their father. Half the time I am ordering an adult meal for him in restaurants. He is a big boy, and likes his meat and potatoes, too. Mac and cheese is a side dish, not a meal around here. The kids meals are geared more to the 4-6 age group. I have another 7 1/2 year old who is going to enjoy the kids meals at dinner, probably not so much at cs rests, but we will make do for him. He only looks like he is around 8 or so now, anyways.

If a problem comes up with their age in the future, I am sure by then they will have a driver's license/permit to prove their age.

By the way, their dad is a chef and my oldest has pretty mature tastes when it comes to food.

 

[MaeDaisy]

Ouch! I'm not doing it because it's a better deal. I'm doing it because my son won't each what's on the children's menu.

Then why don't you just pay OOP for him? If he won't eat what Disney is giving him (you) for free, then the logical answer is for you to pay for what he WILL eat. Not to try to get more/better stuff for him for free.

 

[Traveliz]

I haven't read all this but just wanted to throw in my age them forever experience - we have been going to Disney pretty regularly for about 17 years taking assorted people with us - each time I call they manage to bring up a different "family" of kids and make them mine (meaning others who have gone with us before) and often my daughter isn't even on the list (and she has the same last name). Anyway I know more than once they have had her age wrong - geez one time just a few years ago I think they had her down as 8 (and she is now 20). So you will be able to adjust later if need be.

Liz