What would you do? DDP Question

[joolz1910]

We are going next October for 14 nights. There are 2 adults and 3 children aged 12, 8 and 5. We have the free DDP. 3 of us will be on the adult menu and I am considering 'upgrading' DD (8) to the adult menu too. Having read about the limited children's choices at many restaurants, I feel that she might want a wider choice. The cost to do this would be £42. What would you do?

We haven't made any definite choices about where to eat but these are 'definitely maybe':

O'hana
Beaches and Cream
Le Cellier
Teppan Edo
Akershus
50's Prime Time Cafe
Hollywood and Vine
Wofgang Puck

Of course, these could all change!

 

[dixonsontour]

I think it depends if the 8 yr old has a large appetite or prefers adult choices.

If you are doing buffets or family style meals like Ohana then you can all eat the same anyway.

Teppan edo was also one of the better kids choices - smaller portion of the adult meal.

A big plus of upgrading is they can have a better dessert - I could see your 8yr old being put out at this seeing what your 12 yr old has but then you have the little one aswell so not sure if that is an issue.

Just remember if you do upgrade you will pay higher tips - you will be tipping on a $40 adult meal not $8.50 child meal - would mount up over 2 weeks.

DD aged almost 5 was fine on kids dining plan - we did some buffets, some family style and she also will eat kids food like pizza. There are some better kids options if you look - teppan edo, raglan rd, tutto italia spring to mind.

 

[2Tiggies]

Unless she is a light eater and eats typical Disney style kids meals (chicken nuggets, chicken nuggets and chicken nuggets) to the exclusion of all else, I would do it without hesitation. I upgraded DD to the adult dining plan. While there are only two of us meaning 2 desserts a day (with my meal) allow us to share, try telling an 8 year old that grapes are dessert!

£42 over 14 days is NOT a lot of money and if you are able to do so, there is no drawback to this upgrade unless she really doesn't eat the type of fare offered on adult menus at all. If she was younger I would think it over a little more carefully but for an 8 year old, personally I would (and did) go for it.

 

[WrenNCuckoos]

I've already upgraded my will be 6 year old for our trip in February. The boy eats more than I do and will get very bored of child options very quickly. My DD, who will be 4 when we go, is staying a child. The kid choices will pretty much be her idea of heaven anyway. It may mean giving her my desserts, but I can do that.

 

[wayneg]

I wouldn't hesitate but DS was eating adult meals age 8, every child is different.

 

[disneyholic family]

i would upgrade to adult...
especially given the relatively low cost to do so..

 

[joolz1910]

She is a big dessert eater and if I told her that grapes were pudding, she would probably faint! I was thinking that youngest DD (5) and middle DD (8) could swap meals occasionally once we had ordered. Every child's choice seems to be hot dog, nuggets or mac 'n cheese - not that appealing!

I hadn't considered the impact on tipping. Having said that, I can imagine DD (8) being very jealous of older daughter's choices. Decisions, decisions.

 

[wayneg]

If its just the pudding you are concerned about then buy OOP, £42 plus quite a lot in extra tips will pay for a lot of desserts. On the other hand if she will enjoy adult entree's more then its a bargain to upgrade.

 

[joolz1910]

If its just the pudding you are concerned about then buy OOP, £42 plus quite a lot in extra tips will pay for a lot of desserts. On the other hand if she will enjoy adult entree's more then its a bargain to upgrade.

I will research the menus a little more as some seem to offer better children's menus that others. Once I've decided where we would like to eat, I will post my list and get more opinions. I must admit that paying the extra, thus allowing more scope to share meals between the youngest two is quite tempting...

 

[crabbie1]

I think at 8 I would.DD was 8 last time and she was fed up of kids meals so ended up paying oop for some of hers so have payed the extra to upgrade to the adult. I dont know what to do about our last 5 daysAPand TIW card or DDP? Have booked 9 sit downs so may end up being cheaper on ddp. Really have to work out which is our best option as 5 of our 9 are buffets

 

[dixonsontour]

Just a thought - do you look at the dining reviews and food porn thread in the restaurant section on the main boards?

May help you guage portion sizes and what your DD would be more likely to choose?

What does she order if you eat out in the UK?

My nieces are almost 10 and still happy with the nuggets and chips type kids meals wheras my friends kids aged 10 and 11 need adult food.

 

[disneyholic family]

Just a thought - do you look at the dining reviews and food porn thread in the restaurant section on the main boards?

May help you guage portion sizes and what your DD would be more likely to choose?

What does she order if you eat out in the UK?

My nieces are almost 10 and still happy with the nuggets and chips type kids meals wheras my friends kids aged 10 and 11 need adult food.

yes, it depends on the child...my kids never ate kids meals....
whereas i know many adults who would prefer them...

 

[Elise79]

I would base it on what your DD would like for her entrée and not dessert because if you have the adult plan like PP said you will be tipping on the adult cost of all you can eat meals rather than the childs.

Looking at your TS choices so far you may be OK not upgrading her depending on her appetite.

Teppen Edo was great for kids meals - DD got the chicken and it was a whole chicken breast and bowl of rice just the noodle portion was slightly less.

LeCellier has a kids steak - I tried this and it was tasty.

All you can eat meals she gets the full selection so would seem a waste using an adult credit for a child.

On the CS meals you can usually get a cookie or chocolate pudding as a dessert. As our DD is only 2 we usually look for sides we can keep for later rather than getting a whole portion of fries she wouldn't eat we get 2 pre-packaged sides so I know there are offerings other then the grapes and carrots sticks that are listed everywhere you just have to look at the small print to find out what they are!

 

[joolz1910]

Just a thought - do you look at the dining reviews and food porn thread in the restaurant section on the main boards?

May help you guage portion sizes and what your DD would be more likely to choose?

What does she order if you eat out in the UK?

My nieces are almost 10 and still happy with the nuggets and chips type kids meals wheras my friends kids aged 10 and 11 need adult food.

When we eat out here, she will usually eat a kids meal, like nuggets. That is mainly because most places we can afford to eat have that on their menus! I'm just concerned that 14 days of nuggets might prove a bit too much! She would not eat mac n cheese or hot dogs...

I've had a look at some of the menus and so many have uninspiring children's menus. The adult portion sizes look very big though, and I'm sure she wouldn't finish an adult meal. Perhaps I should be a bit cleverer about my restaurant choices and select more buffets? I suppose we could vary DD's diet by eating different counter service meals around Epcot during the food festival.

 

[princessjodiebo]

my 9 year old son was on kids ddp last month and half the time i ended up having to share my dinner with him

buffets etc were great but for sit down meals he got bored of the kids menus by the 2nd week

normally he doesnt have a big appetite but with all the walking and swimming there were never any empty plates apart from my desert bowl in the plaza - i have never seen a fudge brownie sundae like it !!

 

[Stitch's Greatest Fa]

I would also upgrade - kids meal choices in the USA are SHOCKING!

 

[daaasmith]

I wish I would have known that an upgrade was an option on our last trip when my daughter was 9-we would have done it immediately! But that aside, like others have stated, it depends on what kind of an eater your child is. Mine would order steak and lobster before nuggets and hamburger any day of the week if allowed.

Your choices for TS meals are pretty good for kids though, and we found that at some restaurants they would offer a child size portion of something else instead of the standard children's menu if asked. It's something else to think about. Counter service meals you just have to plan a little on as some do not even have child menus, and gives a little more opportunity there. Good luck with your planning and have a great trip!

 

[Mrs Stonfiesta]

it sounds like the upgrade would work best for your family, i am sure it will save the argumnets of older dd getting an amazing dessert and then you having to give midde dd yours and you will be sat eating the grapes . i think unless middle dd likes repitition of food then the adult menus will by far be the better choice, we didnt have the dining plan for dd as she is only 20 months but we did pay oop for some kids meals for her and i did find it really hard to get varierty of food so shared my meals most days but i can see how hard it would have been for an older child with a bigger appitite than a 20 month old! £42 isnt a great deal of money and 2 weeks is a long time to expect an adventurous eater to have grapes for dessert and chips/nuggets/mac and cheese etc for dinner twice a day!

 

[disneyholic family]

aren't the counter service meals also different for kids?
are they also required to order a kids CS meal?

 

[2Tiggies]

aren't the counter service meals also different for kids?
are they also required to order a kids CS meal?

The CS for kids is where the majority of the complaints come in. As mentioned, TS kids menus are not too bad and buffets are one way of getting around it altogether.

If the kids are on a child's dining plan you have to purchase a child's meal, unless the restaurant does not have a kids menu. It is written on the official DDP brochures.

Yes, kids CS menus usually have one or two options like a PB&J Smuckers processed sandwich or chicken nuggets.

If you do a bit of homework there are good kids meals to be found but it helps to know where you need to be at mealtime. Being in the middle of Japan at Epcot is no help at lunctime when the better choices are kids are at Sunshine Seasons.

To be fair I never really had a problem with the kids menus before, but we have always had plenty of food from my adult meals which made sharing very easy.