TS Kids Menu Issues

[Hopefully]

You're missing the point of my original premise and question. The DxDDP DOES work for the family. I've run the spreadsheets and have done very careful comparisons of the menus and price points. It is a significant savings fo us and fits our family eating habits. An early TS lunch followed by a later signature dinner is how we usually vacation.

However, many seem to be underwhelmed by the kids menus (offerings and healthiness) and I've never been an "is what it is" person. If the price point is the same, asking to substitute an adult appetizer (using the french onion soup at Le Chefs de France as an example) or a child's portion of the curry with rice (since it's already prepped) at Sanaa, I don't think is that out-of-the box, unusual, difficult, or cost prohibitive for what are considered upscale restaurants. I would not ask or expect them to child-size a filet. We've done this with no issues at establishments all over the globe.

The DISboards are replete with wonderful stories of accomodating CM's in all other areas of WDW. Why does the DDP need to be "it is what it is" if it's an apples to apples switch to their bottom line?

My thought is that "working for you" means more than just financial considerations and even dining style. It also considers the inclusions and the exclusions of the plan you are purchasing.
I feel that you have clearly stated that the included child menu choices for your 7 year old don't work. You want special accomodations made for you in various upscale restaurants. Those are not included, thus my thought that it isn't right for your family.
Disney has to put boundaries around its plan offerings somewhere. It is with their childrens menu offerings.
As others have mentioned, you can pay to upgrade your 7 yo so that they have access to the adult menu, or you can choose to pay OOP, for that meal, or you can choose not to purchase the DxDDP for your family at all,
You have several choices, but expecting Disney chefs to make accomodations just for your family is asking too much, in my opinion.
Have a Great Vacation, whatever you choose.

 

[LisaTC]

Most of the Signatures, as previously mentioned have much better child choices, if you peruse the menus. We got the DP last year because it was offered during the time we were going. I could've turned it down and gone another route, but thought we'd try it. I was fairly meticulous in researching menus with your same dilemma. I have a DD8 who is an exceedingly adventurous eater. She isn't a nugget/pbj/mac/cheese kid either. We're Italian and eat lots of veggies/salads/pasta, etc. So if she could get a salad/pasta, she did. She loves a good steak. I have read and I wish I could find it that if you put special dietary requests in your reservation that some chefs have come out and talked with patrons of children near the 10 year old age and have modified an adult meal. It was mostly with a pasta or fish dish. That was easily modifiable in a smaller portion. That said, I don't know that it is customary, however. Last time we ate at:

HDDR - first night, she loved it. Ate like little oinker.
Narcooses' had a good childs menu. I thought she had steak.
Rose & Crown - she loved the fish 'n chips
Boatwrights - the day we stayed in..she had the pasta with no cheese/no sauce -- they made it with a white sauce for her, I'm pretty sure, but don't see that on the child's menu anymore.
'Ohana's - she ate what we ate
One breakfast we had at Rainforest Cafe because I had a gift card, so she ordered whatever and they have a good kids menu.
Akershus breakfast was fine as well.

QS was tricker. Sometimes I traded her, to be frank. AK worked well at Flame tree..she had chicken as did we all, I think. Casey's we all had the same thing. Her only hotdog the whole trip. I'm considering upgrading her this year. We go in December and she will be 9 and I think it will be worth it even though I've picked some of the same restaurants. We have an ADR at Whispering Canyon and I know she'll hate that kids menu.

 

[noahdove]

Buffets worked great for us as well.

 

[purple figment]

I've never been an "is what it is" person. If the price point is the same, asking to substitute an adult appetizer (using the french onion soup at Le Chefs de France as an example) or a child's portion of the curry with rice (since it's already prepped) at Sanaa, I don't think is that out-of-the box, unusual, difficult, or cost prohibitive for what are considered upscale restaurants. I would not ask or expect them to child-size a filet. We've done this with no issues at establishments all over the globe.

The DISboards are replete with wonderful stories of accomodating CM's in all other areas of WDW. Why does the DDP need to be "it is what it is" if it's an apples to apples switch to their bottom line?

It's not always an "apples to apples" switch particularly when you're talking about the non-Disney owned restaurants because at those places they are reimbursed by Disney according to the rules of the dining plan. They won't be able to sub an adult app or an adult entree on the child's credit because it's not listed on the child's menu and therefore not reimbursed. It has nothing to do with the price point being the same.

The Disney operated restaurants are more likely to do what you ask, but even some of themwon't be able to depending on which entree you're asking for. Yes, it's easier for a curry stew, but many entrees can't be reduced.

Yo've been able to do this at restaurants all over the globe because you were probably paying out of pocket. Using the dining plan at DW adds another layer of rules that the restaurant and you have to accept. Otherwise, the dining plan is not a good fit for your family, whether it's financially viable or not.

As I said earlier, and others have also said, the DxDDP is a lot of food and with 3 adults ordering an app, entree and dessert each, there should be plenty for your 7 year old to share. Let your 7 year old have one of the appetizers, such as the soup or have one of the adults order what the 7 year old wants and share it at places which cannot make the chld's portion of an adult entree or sub the app.

 

[dixonsontour]

I think you will be fine with the 7 yr old as a child.

Choose your 1 TS meals as buffets or family style or go for non disney owned places. in my experience they offer kids better options not the usual kids fare. eg raglan rd, teppan edo, tutto italia

All the signatures offer 'real' food for children. Prosaic nation has done a nice dining review on here this week - 7 days DxDDP Mom and son trip - showing some of the kids options.

 

[nemofans]

Some of those restaurants you mentioned had steak or salmon on the kids menu. That's what my DS ordered.

 

[tinkluvr23]

I always notice they often don't offer kids vegetarian options. I have a niece that does not eat red meat and a fully vegetarian nephew. I also have a glutton free niece.

 

[alex9179]

My thought is that "working for you" means more than just financial considerations and even dining style. It also considers the inclusions and the exclusions of the plan you are purchasing.

Exactly.

It's about more than "running the numbers". If you feel that exceptions should be made for your younger child, then it's not a good fit.

It's a PLAN. What's included in the plan is not sufficient for your family as a whole so you'd like Disney to make exceptions, therefore it may not work for you.

There are plenty of people who would like the inclusions changed, but that's not necessarily a choice at the dining establishments who are owned or contracted by Disney to accept the it.

I don't feel like my kids would appreciate the kid meals EVERY night, either. My situation makes an AP and TIW card a viable solution. Otherwise, paying out of pocket would be another option.

 

[Maxim]

. I also have a glutton free niece.

I love the typo!!
My MIL is gluten intolerant also

 

[brymolmom]

Great suggestions, thanks much. DD10 will already be on the adult DxDDP, so I think we will go with DD7 on the kids, unfortunately, and share our meals around. for a 10 day stay, it's a significant enough increase in price and we also don't like wasting food (all adult meal portions might be too much for DD7 for 10 days).

But, I am going to try to see if the chef(s) will accomodate us on a few meals by asking if they'll put together a kids sized portion of the regular menu for us. It can't hurt to try and I'll give feedback on the forums to let everyone know if we had any success. I'm hoping some of the resort restaurants might be a little more open to the idea....

Since there seems to be quite a few of us in the same situation, if anyone else tries this before we go in November, I would love to hear how it went and which restaurants were open to the idea.

Thanks again everyone!

I don't think they will do this - nor should they based on what you said yourself....the price difference is significant for child vs. adult which is why the adult offerings are so much better (ie: they COST more). Can you imagine if they allowed this? I'm sure there would be a whole lot more of 14 year olds who have small appetites who would 'suddenly' become 9 on the reservations...I'm having trouble getting your issue though - I checked a few of those restaurants and Narcossee's and Citricos have awesome kids options - pasta, pork loin, shrimp, grilled chicken, steak, fish.....So where exactly is your child going to get nugget'd to death?

If you mean your lunch meal...STick to buffets or just select your restaurants very carefully - For example - Tony's in MK has steak skewers and pasta on their child's menu.

My kids like pizza and nuggets - but not for every meal. It is very doable to stick to the proper kids menu and not have them eating those options every day, we've done it many times and that was with the regular DP - it'll be a breeze with the Deluxe. You just have to plan accordingly.

 

[LisaTC]

I just upgraded my DD who will be 9 when we go to an adult ticket to get the adult dining because she is, as I mentioned in previous post, a very diverse diner. It was literally about $20.00 for the week. Granted we have the dining promo, but it was worth it. She'll have a better selection. Last year, she was a bit disappointed from time to time, so hopefully this time she'll enjoy her selections much better. Some of the signature restaurants will be more flexible with regard to making a dish. They even asked us last year at Narcoosee's about modifying for her without us even having to ask. However, I wouldn't count on that at the nonSignatures. Buffets shouldn't be a problem kidwise.

 

[maxiesmom]

You're missing the point of my original premise and question. The DxDDP DOES work for the family. I've run the spreadsheets and have done very careful comparisons of the menus and price points. It is a significant savings fo us and fits our family eating habits. An early TS lunch followed by a later signature dinner is how we usually vacation.

If you plan on asking to change this or that at almost every meal, then I have to point out that the plan doesn't work for you. And I mean this in the nicest way possible. What will you do if you go to eat and the restaurants won't switch out an app for an entree or won't make a kid's sized portion of something? You will be throwing money away. That doesn't sound like the plan works for your family.

Dinsey has a pretty strong history of NOT allowing substitutions or changes for people on the dining plan. You are taking a big chance, and I certainly wouldn't bank on them allowing any substitutions. And what will you do when they tell you no? You do need to have that plan in the back of your mind.

Also, have you really taken a good look at all of the menus? They are in no way all full of chicken strips and burgers. Maybe a bit more research would be helpful. You can find thing such as steak or fish on kids menus, but you have to look for them.

 

[MSSANDRA]

My 5 year old truly thinks he is an adult. He was not going to be willing to eat off the kids menu while we dinned on the good stuff.
We were on the regular DDP on our last trip in Jaunary. I don't think he ever ate a kids meal. We simply share everything with him and had plenty of food. AT TS service we just told them he was going to share with us.For the Fantasmic package he had to order to get the ticket for the show so we did and it sat uneaten. We used his CS credits mostly for the 3 for 1 snack exchange and for a couple of snack meals for our always hungry teen. It worked for us.

 

[TDC Nala]

You can ask. But one of the tradeoffs of selecting a dining plan is that kids have to order from the kids' menus. The TS restaurants would likely be able to accommodate lifestyle choices like vegetarianism, and allergies. Ask, you may be surprised what they'll let your kids get - or you may get that they have to order what's on the menu.

 

[disnut8]

Just because I was bored at work, I looked at the kids menus from the list of the OP. I saw one place that had a burger and one place that had a pizza. I didn't see any chicken nuggets (bit I had to do this quickly). Almost all the places have steak, grilled chicken, and/or fish. So it's not hockey puck burger, dried out nuggets or cold pizza we are talking about.

I think the OP should give the restaurant the benefit of the doubt since she's never been to Disney World with her kids on the Deluxe Dining Plan. Maybe it's just too much thinking it's going to be a disaster.

 

[Minnesota!]

We tend to do a lot of buffets, too, for this reason. While my ODS would gladly eat a cheeseburger at every meal (not because he won't eat anything else...cheeseburgers just happen to be his most fave food ever!), my YDS really wants variety!

Boma, Biergarten, Tusker, etc. I would love to go back to Akershus...but my boys are mortified at the thought. We all loved the cold board.

 

[tinkluvr23]

I love the typo!!
My MIL is gluten intolerant also

Hehe oops. I need to be glutton free also if that is the case!

 

[EEs*Mommy]

I love that I am not the only one with this issue. My littles will be 4 4 4 and 7 on our trip and I'm not even considering the dp because the will do much better splitting adult meals which I'm hoping they let them do since it would be more than the cost of kids meals. I know we picked BOG twice because has steak and all but one of my littles love steak. I wish the ratatouille was on the kids menu but he will get his own or be eating some of mine.