Why can't they...?

[almburr]

Why is it that the Childs menues at the resturants are not that varied? I know that some of them have some better chocies. I think they should have the standard child menu fare plus put on it smaller portions of what that resturants is known for. It would be nice for kids who do not like PB, hot dogs, chicken strips etc.

 

[BernardandMissBianca]

i wish it were better too.

50's Prime time had a fish (usually salmon) on the kids menu, DD gets that. So some are better then others. the boys order off the adult menu and have since they were about 4.

 

[anicholson75]

I couldn't agree more! Have the basic kid food available for the picky ones, but offer at least 2 choices that are relevant to the restaurant. My kids are going to be sick to death (esp. my 4 yr old DS, who eats what I eat) of mac and cheese, chicken nuggets or pb&j. Not to mention the "sides" offered. I guess he'll share with me and his food will go to waste.

 

[BernardandMissBianca]

I would like to see kids size portions of the adult meals, it can't be that hard to do most of the time.

 

[TruBlu]

That's why we do a lot of buffets. My kids get enough nuggets, burgers, and hot dogs at lunch. I never have understood it. Thankfully my youngest is 8, so we wont have to worry about it much longer.

 

[Faldred]

It never hurts to ask about a child-size portion of an adult entree. We were able to get the fish & chips at Rose & Crown for our son that way "off the menu" -- the manager on duty that night told us that several place will do that sort of thing, but that the printed menus are dictated by Disney and have to follow their policies.

You may have better luck with this at the 3rd party places rather than the Disney-operated ones. Rose & Crown is the only place we tried, as our son actually preferred the "normal" kids' choices and was thrilled to be able to eat pizza all week long.

 

[Nafinegar]

I have been a little dismayed with looking at the choices as well. Last time we went all three boys were on the children's plan and we only at a few restaurants. Now that we are doing the DDP, poor youngest DS will be 7 while the older twin brothers are 10 and eating off of the adult menu.

I have kind of tailored our restaurant choices so that it is not that bad for DS7 - we have buffets and some family style (O'hana, Garden Grille.) Also, I have assured DS7 that he can share off of my plate and have my grown-up dessert whenever necessary - I don't need THAT much food!

For counter service places, I have tried picking a few that would have enough food for DH and I to share and we can let DS7 have our adult meal. Everyone can just pick at the extra kids meal.

I thought about upgrading his ticket and getting the adult plan for him, but the expense was going to be much more than if we just supplement for him. I honestly think we can just do this a couple of times - probably spending no more than $50 - a LOT less than upgrading his ticket.

Hope it works out for you!

 

[dixonsontour]

I agree!

Raglan Road was one place we ate that did smaller portions of real food for children.

 

[bleeps]

Even though it's tough from a monetary perspective, it was a big relief to all of us when DS turned 10 and was an 'adult' by WDW standards; we're dining plan people so it was great to get him the adult options.

I do agree that, esp. with the recent attempts by WDW to make the overall options healthier, the limited and repetitive children's menu offerings are shameful. The *options* are not healthy and there are too few things to pick from.

We got in the habit of asking at the TS places if there were any options for crafting a child's meal from the adult offerings and we did have quite a bit of success with that -- things like small portions of simply grilled chicken, for example. And it's worth noting that almost any restaurant is willing to do a grilled cheese sandwich even if it isn't on the menu (not that you want to eat them all week, but just as an option).

My advice is to always nicely ask the CM what kind of flexibility the kitchen can offer and you'll find you make out a little better.

BTW, it can work the other way, too -- sometimes on the adult plan (esp. at Signature places), DS wouldn't be interested in any of the adult dessert choices, and more often than not the CM would offer him a choice of the kid dessert options (and/or offer to amend an adult choice -- such as a dish of vanilla ice cream rather than the berry compote ala mode).

The CMs and management at each restaurant have generally shown a real interest in making sure we had a good experience rather than just going with the corporate policy.

 

[Kit'smommy]

I don't see the child's menus as being any different that what is offered at Chili's, Outback, etc, so I don't find them to be surprising. As long as kid's want those types of offerings and parents don't get them to branch out from chicken fingers, mac & cheese and pizza, that is what the restaurants will offer.

Many of the restaurants will make a child's portion of some of the items offered on the adult menu.

We have ordered grilled chicken, steak or fish along with veggies at a lot of the Disney places. Also, we recently learned that Fultons (which is a Levy restaurant) still offers the child's filet, even though it is not on the menu. This is a wonderful piece of steak.

 

[sunset30]

I wish ALL restarants EVERYWHERE did this.
kids would be less picky and healthier if we assumed they'd eat what we eat. J eats what we eat at home, and, although he is NOT adventurous he doesn't really like kids food, he likes ordinary food, veggies, chicken, etc, but not coated and fried, and where is the balanced meal in mac and cheese or pb and J?
Lx

 

[almburr]

DS 5 loves fish, steak, he will try everything as do all of our kids. I will be choosing places that have a little more variety for kids options.

 

[Anthony1971]

For TS we will get a side and share what we have rather then a full kids meal at most places.. If he wants what is on the kids menu we gladly get it.

 

[TDC Nala]

Because the child's dining plan is only around $10 a night. That is why Disney doesn't want all their restaurants offering smaller versions of adult meals.

For awhile Disney tried totally "healthy" children's meals (no fried chicken, grilled only; pita pizza with chicken instead of traditional pizza; no burgers on kids' menus; salads or raw veggies with every meal, fruit, yogurt or sugar-free jello for dessert) and that effort didn't pan out because of complaints. Now they offer for the most part the sort of basic "kids' menu" things demanded by most parents as that is what their children want.

 

[mybabesuz]

Many of the restaurants will give your child what they want.
We have made many off the menu requested and have never been told NO.

It never hurts to ask.

 

[DisneyFamily123]

Our DS was at WDW at age 3 and 4, and has egg and peanut food allergy. All of the restaurants were accomodating because of the allergy, but even when menu items were OK for him, all of the non-buffet restaurants were more than willing to serve up something different.

Maybe it was special treatment because of the food allergy, but I think it was also just good service.

DS does not like mixed fruit cups but does love strawberries. We substituted strawberries for desserts and appetizers.... and those berries were delicious. Also asked for other items not on the menu -- peas (yes he loves peas), french fries, pasta with marinara, etc. We were on the dining plan and never charged extra for substitutions.

 

[Tricia1972]

I wish ALL restarants EVERYWHERE did this.
kids would be less picky and healthier if we assumed they'd eat what we eat. J eats what we eat at home, and, although he is NOT adventurous he doesn't really like kids food, he likes ordinary food, veggies, chicken, etc, but not coated and fried, and where is the balanced meal in mac and cheese or pb and J?
Lx

This exactly! It's not a problem just at Disney. Kids menus everywhere seem to be filled with the same food that Disney has. In fact, overall, Disney seems to nod more towards adult choices than your average chain. (Grilled fish, mini steaks, etc)

I think that the main difference is that very few people only feed their kids menus for a week or two straight at home. When you're in Disney you are ordering from their menus for your entire vacation.

(Also, as Nala mentioned, prices would probably go up for the kids DDP if Disney were to make their menu options more sophisticated)

 

[BernardandMissBianca]

It never hurts to ask about a child-size portion of an adult entree. We were able to get the fish & chips at Rose & Crown for our son that way "off the menu" -- the manager on duty that night told us that several place will do that sort of thing, but that the printed menus are dictated by Disney and have to follow their policies.

You may have better luck with this at the 3rd party places rather than the Disney-operated ones. Rose & Crown is the only place we tried, as our son actually preferred the "normal" kids' choices and was thrilled to be able to eat pizza all week long.

Good tip, I will have to try that. I did ask at Sunshine Seasons for a kids size portion of salmon but was turned down so I just bought DD an adult size and DH put some in his salad.

For the most part we've had good luck with food at Disney. We have found places where the kids will eat that is not standard fair, the latest was Tomorrowland Terrace. DS9 found chicken breast nuggets instead of the standard pressed nugget shaped food. He was in heaven! DH even orders them because it's real chicken.

 

[shelby101301]

It's so good to know we can try asking for different food. I don't feed my kids that garbage at home (or at school thank you very much!) Why would I feed it to them on vacation? By weeks end, they don't even want to eat. WE started bringing our own food for them.

I'll try getting them smaller portions or else just have them split an adult entree moving forward. Maybe if enough of us do this, they will bring it back.

 

[disnut8]

I honestly don't think people will be happy with kids meals no matter what Disney or any other restaurant put on them. But think about it. The only reason the kids are be subjected to the same menu items is because they are eating out every single night. You wouldn't do that at home, would you? However, there are variations in the kids menus. You have to look at the menus and make decisions based on everything. I think oftentimes parents want a certain restaurant because of the adult food and then lament the kids food isn't exactly the same. But look at the restaurant - do you really think a typical (not your child but a typical child) is going to eat exotic food? I know my son before the age of ten never did. Disney has to go for the typical child. Not your specific one.