Why are the kids meals so bad?

[jm106]

Realize a few years ago people were saying "why doesn't Disney just do a standard kid's meal?" so they did and now people are complaining about a standard meal. Plus, people wanted healthier choices and let's face it, kids and healthy are limited. Disney is damned if they do and damned if they don't.

So......

let's start with what YOUR kids want to eat.

Burgers - no wait, that's not healthy.
Hot dogs - no wait, that's not healthy.
Chicken nuggets - no wait, only one style of chicken nuggets.
Salad - no wait, there are a few kids who would eat that. Oh, and the dressing has to be a certain one.
Cheese pizza - winner! Oh wait, a kid wants pepperoni on his.
Mac and cheese - winner! Oh wait, it's not Kraft which the kid is used to at home.

It's a VACATION! Your child will not die from eating something.

They wont die from it but many kids do not want to eat burgers, hot dogs and nuggets. They enjoy a decent meal, a variety of salads and dressings and veggies. Some families dont eat that stuff so shouldn't make the kids eat it on vacation because their child will not die from eating something.
Again though OP, there are options. just plan and you should find thinsg to make you and child happy. That is part of VACATION, to ENJOY yourself, meals included, even as a kid.

 

[erinscreen]

Let me start by saying that I do not have children, so my opinions are not based on experience with actual children

I have to agree with some other posters here. I am appalled at the "variety" of kids meals. I look at the options, and I would be screwed if I was a kid (lactose intolerant and hate fried food). I completely understand why Disney does it this way, but do they really need to? I don't think so. Here's why:

I was really surprised/impressed with the types of sides/salads that various restaurants at Disney have. Lots of the buffets have quinoa salads and salads that contain vegetables and legumes as opposed to just lettuce. Hummus is served in a few places. Heck, you can even get a cucumber salad as a side at the Sci-Fi Dine-In. So I don't buy that Disney can't offer these options all the time for kids.

Bottom line, I really don't believe this is a money issue. This is a demand issue. A lot of kids are picky. A lot of kids want junk food on vacation (I know I do--there are cupcake threads that make my mouth water!). We need to demand that Disney start offering these options for children, too, since they are readily available for adults (as PP mentioned about the chicken nuggets, which was pretty disgusting).

I don't really see a need for Disney to be so limited in their options. I just think that we adults need to demand better choices and force Disney decision-makers to realize that kids are humans, not a completely different species! They need to eat the same things as those who are older, just smaller portions.

 

[lockedoutlogic]

Just to clarify my own comments on this thread - because it think i did my own point a disservice...

I came off as saying that i had a problem with food because of the "health" factor to it....which is a part of my argument...but just a tiny slice.

They definitely could use a more "natural ingredient" or "freshly prepared" approach to their kids menu choices - no doubt - but that might be only 10% of my gripe.

My real problem is the the kids menu choices are - by and large - BAD. As in horrible quality mass produced/ prepackaged/ bought in bulk/ bad tasting garbage.

Their fried chicken options, and especially the pizza and anything resembling a pasta dish are just simply HORRIBLE tasting.

That's my big beef. if you want to serve the kids "junk" food...i don't have a big problem with it...its a vacation

But this gruesome list of low brow foods that you see over againL
Mickey Ravioli (straight from the walmart freezer section)
"meaty" macaroni (horrid)
turkey lasagna pasta (see above)
chicken hot dogs (see above)
pizza (worst than institutional food in appalachia)
"neon" yellow synthetic american cheese mac and cheese (cause its really so tough to take a little cheddar and swiss and make a decent one)
and those stupid smackers pb&j "pocket" things...

just awful.
you can go to tgi fridays and get a fairly high quality kids meal for 6 bucks...so why do we get prison food for our kids at $10?

there in lies my issue

 

[SmallWorld71]

Just a few random thoughts based on what I've read:
***I don't understand the comparisons to fast food places that say you can get a better selection there. Granted, I've never been to a chik-fil-a but McD's only carries burgers or chicken nuggets with zero choices on the sides for kids' meals. Disney does a heck of a lot better than that.
And the only local sit down restaurant I've ever been in that has a somewhat decent kids' menu is the 99. Even the upscales places have the standard kids' food on the menu. This is why we dine out so infrequently; we'd be ordering 5 adult meals everywhere.

***You can't expect to pay rock bottom prices for the kids' dining plan and get fillet mignon or something similar. Basically, you get what you pay for. This is pretty much the way it is in every restaurant I've ever been in.

***In most cases, the menus at Disney are extremely limited for BOTH kids and adults. Yes, the adult choices are much more appealing to most of us, but there is still usually a small number of choices compared to most restaurants outside the theme park world. Travel to WDW with a picky adult and you will realize the adult menus at most places are pretty limited, too.

***Even given the limited choices, there is no need for anyone (child or adult) to be eating food that they don't like. The choices are there if you look. My kids are adventurous eaters and we've never had a problem with happily feeding everyone at Disney. Granted, 2 of them are now technically "adults" and I know menus have changed over the years, but some of the choices we've made include:

CS meals - sharing (3 adult meals usually feeds a family of 5 easily, especially since dessert is included); we then use extra kids' credits for breakfast (Mickey waffles are Mickey waffles!)
- resort food court - we have found much better choices for kids at the resorts than at the parks (at least this is true of the values and mods; it has been a while since I've stayed deluxe)
Wolfgang puck express - great spaghetti; not sure if it is still on the menu

TS - buffets and all you can eat (some of our favorite places fall in this category!); places like 'Ohana, Cape May dinner, Crystal Palace dinner etc... are great when you have kids who like variety (and they're lots of fun, too!)
- seafood - many places have the "fish of the day" for the kids: we've had mahi mahi at Coral Reef, salmon at CRT and Grand Floridian Cafe, we've also had shrimp at Teppan Edo

 

[maxiesmom]

I don't really see a need for Disney to be so limited in their options. I just think that we adults need to demand better choices and force Disney decision-makers to realize that kids are humans, not a completely different species! They need to eat the same things as those who are older, just smaller portions.

A couple of things to note: First off, if you have a child with a food allergy, Disney will go the extra mile for you. You just need to ask to speak to the chef, and let them know what is ok for your child to eat.

Second you don't have to order kids meals for your child. You can buy them whatever you want, and if you are on the dining plan, you can always upgrade a child to the adult dining plan if that better suits their tastes. It will cost more, but then the child will get more variety and bigger portions. Disney will never go to offering child sized portions of adult food on every menu, as then adults will be ordering the smaller (cheaper) portions too. A definite loss of money for Disney.

 

[Melodious]

I understand why the OP (and some of the other posters) have concerns over the child's meal options. And as I said on an earlier post, while healthy options do exist at both the TS and CS restaurants, you need to do research to find them. There is certainly a LOT of junk food out there.

But have you read some of the threads on these boards about parents and their children's eating habits? For every thread asking about healthy options there must be 10 moaning about how hard it is for them to find enough places that offer fries, nuggets, hot dogs and mac n cheese at every meal. And not just for the little ones- they want them for their tweens and teens too. And are outraged that not every restaurant at WDW can fulfill this demand.

Seems like Disney is caught between a rock and a hard place. As one of the PPs pointed out- Disney tried healthier child menus and had to retire the idea under a storm of protest. Blame Disney for the state of the chilren's menus if you must, but blame the parents of the 'picky eaters' (how I hate that phrase)too.

If you have to be on the DDP, then perhaps paying the upcharge to have your child eat on the adult plan is the way to go. I haven't worked out the numbers (wouldn't know where to start), but this situation may be one of those where the DDP just doesn't work for you and you'd be better off paying OOP. That way you could order an adult appetizer for the child, or split an adult entree between 2 children.

This. I see threads all the time wanting more kids menus Disney seems to be doing a fairly good job of meeting most people's demands for junk, and some people's demands for other things (if you put in the effort to find them).

 

[LazyDaisy]

I don't think adults would be buying smaller portions of the meals if they were clearly marked for ages 9 and under or whatever.

I guess there's only limited options to complain because if you want to feed your kids well, you CAN technically find other venues where there are more options. Or maybe Disney just really wants to make parents have to upgrade to adult TS options. I didn't even know you could do that, and I might end up doing that for my own kids. (Though I don't know how that would work, as we got free dining this time.) What I do normally is go ahead and order the kids meals (as boring as they might be) but I also make sure to get an appy OOP for the table, sometimes two. That way they can have a bit more flavor. Fortunately/unfortunately mine love the kids' options. Meh. I know that when I was a kid I would have wanted to order off the adult menu. And I'm sure my parents would have obliged if I asked that - or at least snuck me a few bites of theirs to complement my own hot dog meal or whatever. I just can't imagine them making me eat that kind of stuff for a week or more at a time.

 

[minnie mum]

I don't think adults would be buying smaller portions of the meals if they were clearly marked for ages 9 and under or whatever.

.

Sorry to disagree with this but I must. You see threads all the time asking if it's OK for a (Disney) adult to order from the children's menu.(Teens, tweens and even adults who only want the chicken nuggets and mac n cheese at TS restaurants). And absolutely OUTRAGED threads from people who have been refused this request at certain restaurants. It happens a lot. And would only get worse if/when the children's meal options were improved.

 

[LazyDaisy]

Well, that's just a shame.

 

[arcticdisneylovers]

The fact that our DD won't eat fast food is the biggest reason we upgrade to the DxDDP every visit. She won't eat fries, hamburgers or chicken nuggets. So we always do TS and it seems she can always have a steak or chicken breast option. There is always mashed potatoes but the veggie options are disappointing. She likes all cooked veggies but her favourite is broccoli. She likes pizza but not Disney pizza We do a lot of character buffets, usually a good choice for us because there is always plain meat and some sort of cooked veggies. She loves fruit so there's usually watermelon and strawberries for dessert at buffets. A Disney trip doesn't have to mean all junk food but it is hard to eat "normal", at least for us We love eating out with on vacation but we always get sick of it by the end of our trip

 

[garnetandblack]

This is why we decided to stay offsite. Staying 7 nights and eating out for every meal would upset mine and DH's digestive system, not to mention DS who is 2. Our nightly dinners consist of a lean meat and a huge salad, we also snack on fresh fruit and veggies. We get A LOT of fiber in our diet

We went to HHI for 3 nights and had a hard time eating out for that short of a period.

DS is also a big eater, he eats almost as much as me. He's in the 75th percentile for weight and in the 40th for height, so he's lean but can put away some food. He loves pizza and french fries but is very picky when it comes to meat. He actually refuses chicken nuggets, hot dogs and all ground meat (no hamburgers). He loves fish and shrimp and will eat grilled chicken if it's tender. He eats a lot of sandwiches, but they are very healthy and all lunch meat is fresh and nitrate free. We also only buy whole wheat and sugar free bread and our peanut butter is all natural with no sugar (or anything icky) added. I can't imagine giving him Jiffy on white bread unless it was a rare occassion and I had no other choice. DS also loves salads and would eat one for every meal.

For our November trip we plan to do a 2 character buffets, a few CS and T Rex, other than that I'm preparing food at the condo and we are packing healthy sandwiches and snacks to bring to the park. I'm even worried about the small amount that we will be eating in the parks. DS and I both have very sensitive digestive systems and we can't handle fried foods without getting sick.

I also definitely let DS have treats and we do plan on eating cupcakes and icecream while we are there, but I just can't imagine eating so much fried and processed food.

 

[Suellen]

The kids meals are one of the reasons we switched to doing TiW instead of adding dining to our stays.

My oldest DD (now 7) is not a pizza, chicken, hamburger/hotdog kinda gal. She will occasionally eat it sure... but EVERY MEAL???

On top of that they almost ALWAYS prefer tap water with their meals and would order soda or milk because "it came with".

Now the youngest orders the kids meal stand ALONE! $5 and the oldest sometimes orders from the kids meal... sometimes orders salad, soup or some other app.

On top of all this the meals are large enough for me to share some of mine if that is what she wants.

Some places she likes the kids meals:

Coral Reef (Kids fish of the day)
Tony's (mickey shaped cheese ravioli)
Mexico ~ tacos (quick service or ts)
LeChefs de France ~ variety of things
Fish and Chips in the UK
Liberty Tree Tavern ~ family style dining
Diamond Horse Shoe ~ family style dining
Sunshine Season's ~ rotisserie chicken
Yak and Yet ~ honey chicken, rice, broccoli, carrots

Of course the buffets are good too for her.

Another thing I try to do is... my kids don't eat a lot of fries.... they prefer the carrots/celery or apple slices... but they do like a FEW fries... so I get one with fries and one with the other and they split them 1/2 and 1/2.

It is definitely doable... you just really need to research your best option.

 

[miami305]

This is why we decided to stay offsite. Staying 7 nights and eating out for every meal would upset mine and DH's digestive system, not to mention DS who is 2. Our nightly dinners consist of a lean meat and a huge salad, we also snack on fresh fruit and veggies. We get A LOT of fiber in our diet

DS and I both have very sensitive digestive systems and we can't handle fried foods without getting sick.

I also definitely let DS have treats and we do plan on eating cupcakes and icecream while we are there, but I just can't imagine eating so much fried and processed food.

I'm shocked that Disney doesn't have an alternative dining plan. I know many people who shop exclusively at Whole Foods and Farmer's Markets. I limit the amount of processed foods we eat and buy Organic meat. I can handle some junk food, but not an entire week of it. We're bringing breakfast foods and fresh produce and snacks.

 

[maxiesmom]

I'm shocked that Disney doesn't have an alternative dining plan. I know many people who shop exclusively at Whole Foods and Farmer's Markets. I limit the amount of processed foods we eat and buy Organic meat. I can handle some junk food, but not an entire week of it. We're bringing breakfast foods and fresh produce and snacks.

The dining plan is meant to make the masses happy. It is what it is, a fairly basic plan, and not one that can be customized. Too many choices would make it very confusing for both the guests and the CMs.