Will Ariel's Grotto let a 10 year old eat from the kid's menu?

[aleighc1]

I'm just wondering if they are really strict about ages, or if they would let my daughter order from the kids menu if I asked? Guess it was kind of bad planning on my part, she turns 10 just 3 days before we leave, lol! I'm not going to lie about her age or anything, just wondering if they have ever let someone do this as I don't think she could finish an adult size meal. Also, if she does have to order from the adult menu, will they let her take her leftovers? Our room will have a fridge and microwave, so I suppose she could always have the rest as a small meal later.

Thanks.

 

[skiingfast]

Anyone can eat from any menu. But if you are 9 an up you need to pay the adults price at the Prix Fixe and Buffets, if you are younger the childs price. If 2 or younger you don't pay but eat off parents plates.

If you ask they will help you take the left overs. It's not a common request but they are usually nice about this.

 

[aleighc1]

Ok, thank you. I don't mind paying for an adult meal if she can take it with her. By the time the appetizer tower, bread, and dessert platter is factored in, she'll probably only eat about 1/3 of the adult sized meal- which will leave her with a good amount to have as a second meal later. (I realize the higher prices are directly related to the fun of getting to see the characters without having to stand in long lines, I just hate the thought of wasting a good plate of food)

Thanks again.

 

[ptlycloudy]

We just did this 2 days ago and they let my 10 dd get an adult size portion of Mac n Cheese from the kids menu. There was nothing else she would eat. It wasn't a problem at all. We did take the leftovers with us since it was a very large portion.

 

[helenb]

I had the exact same question a little while ago. When are you going? We'll be there (with my 10 year old DD) mid-July, and I'll post my experiences after we get back from our trip, if you'd like.

FWIW, I think it's ridiculous that Disney considers 'kids' to be those 9 and under. I understand charging more for park passes, but really, don't kids still order from kid menus even at 11 or 12 years old?

 

[DisSarahK]

FWIW, I think it's ridiculous that Disney considers 'kids' to be those 9 and under. I understand charging more for park passes, but really, don't kids still order from kid menus even at 11 or 12 years old?

I totally agree. I understand the philosophy between charging full price for their park tickets...but plenty of 10-13 year olds aren't ready to eat adult sized portions of meals. It seems like they ought to be able to order from the children's menu, receive a children's portion, AND pay the children's price.

 

[disneyrand]

Honestly, I don't know why you'd bother acknowledging your child's age to begin with. If she want's to eat from the kids' menu then let her eat from the kids' menu. I understand being honest, and for the most part I am, but I don't feel a bit bad about fudging my child's age (if asked) to a company that seems to lower their "children's" price point solely for the sake of digging deeper into my wallet.

My two DDs went to the park and ate off the children's price points until they were 11. I'd do it still if I could get a 16 and 17 year old to pass as 9.

 

[aleighc1]

helenb- we're going in mid-September, so I'll be sure to watch for your dining experiences after you go

ptlycloudy- The funny thing is, Ariel's Grotto is one of the few places in DL (from what I have seen of the menus online), that my daughter would actually like something from the kids meal. She's really not a hot-dog, macaroni, chicken nugget kind of girl. (one of my kids has a lot of food allergies and is allergic to many "kid-friendly" foods. Because of this, those foods just don't make it onto our menu at home, so my oldest has never really developed a taste for them. My other kids however, think those foods are a real treat, lol! I'm almost certain my 10 year old daughter will order the tri-tip, as I am a vegetarian and rarely cook any sort of red meat at home; she'll consider that a real treat!) My issue is just the portion sizes.

I agree with the comments about the children's prices for tickets vs. children's prices for meals. My oldest daughter will have an adult ticket for the park, and she will probably get the most out of her visit to DL out of all our kids. Seems like a very sensible pricing structure. The pricing structure for meals though seems silly. It would be great if they had a junior option of some sort for those 10-15 year olds who are just not ready to eat an adult portion yet, or just bumped the child's menu age up to 12.

No matter, we're going to have a great time regardless. After all, this is my family's very first trip to Disneyland!!!!!!!!

 

[WDWJonasGirl]

I can't believe that Disney will consider you an adult when you are like 10. You should ask them if that would be okay.

 

[rentayenta]

Have her order from the kids menu. I wouldn't mention anything about age and I highly doubt they'll ask for her ID. My kids still order from the kids menu at times (see ages below) and we've never had an issue at Disneyland or other places.

 

[miry]

I had the exact same question a little while ago. When are you going? We'll be there (with my 10 year old DD) mid-July, and I'll post my experiences after we get back from our trip, if you'd like.

FWIW, I think it's ridiculous that Disney considers 'kids' to be those 9 and under. I understand charging more for park passes, but really, don't kids still order from kid menus even at 11 or 12 years old?

I think it just depends on the kid. We do Disney at every year and at 9 my on never quite got full enough and quickly got bored with the kids meals. I think that for the most part he enjoys the different foods offered for adults. He turned 13 a couple of weeks ago but hasn't ordered off of kids menus anywhere in a few years. The weird thing is that he's not a big kid, he would easily pass as eleven if you saw him.

 

[closetmickey]

Has anyone ever been questioned and/or denied when their child over 9 years ordered off the kid's menu?

 

[rentayenta]

Has anyone ever been questioned and/or denied when their child over 9 years ordered off the kid's menu?

Nope, never.

 

[MAH4546]

Not only can a 10 year old order from the kid's menu, but so can an adult.

 

[3Minnies1Mickey]

I'm just wondering if they are really strict about ages, or if they would let my daughter order from the kids menu if I asked? Guess it was kind of bad planning on my part, she turns 10 just 3 days before we leave, lol! I'm not going to lie about her age or anything, just wondering if they have ever let someone do this as I don't think she could finish an adult size meal. Also, if she does have to order from the adult menu, will they let her take her leftovers? Our room will have a fridge and microwave, so I suppose she could always have the rest as a small meal later.

Thanks.

My 12 year old niece ordered off the kids menu last year. I didn't look at what they charged since we prepurchased the meal vouchers.

If 2 or younger you don't pay but eat off parents plates.

Actually at Ariels they will bring a complementary half portion of anything on the kids menu for the under 3 crowd.

 

[A Small World]

Has anyone ever been questioned and/or denied when their child over 9 years ordered off the kid's menu?

DD was 10 - almost 11 -when we went last year and is very tall for her age. She ordered off the childrens menu in Napa Rose and Steakhouse with no problems however wasnt allowed to do this at Blue Bayou or at least was told we would have to pay adult prices for her anyhow if she did.
We had to pay adult prices at the buffets

 

[pixiewings71]

The "official" rule on this is very well known by our family, both of my girls are picky and do not like eating from the adult menus at most places (AG being the exception for DD14 who ADORES the Tri Tip there), what they usually do is chose something together, get the adult size of the kids meal, pay the adult price and they share. For example when we were there last month (I can't believe it's been a month already lol) we ate at CO, nothing on the adult menu was going to be eaten by the kids, so instead they ordered the chicken & pasta meal from the kids menu and we simply asked for an extra plate and we split it ourselves. There was plenty, they had a hard time finished the shared plate, it was not a problem at all to do this.

 

[DisSarahK]

The "official" rule on this is very well known by our family, both of my girls are picky and do not like eating from the adult menus at most places (AG being the exception for DD14 who ADORES the Tri Tip there), what they usually do is chose something together, get the adult size of the kids meal, pay the adult price and they share. For example when we were there last month (I can't believe it's been a month already lol) we ate at CO, nothing on the adult menu was going to be eaten by the kids, so instead they ordered the chicken & pasta meal from the kids menu and we simply asked for an extra plate and we split it ourselves. There was plenty, they had a hard time finished the shared plate, it was not a problem at all to do this.

Excellent tip--especially for a place like AG where there are multiple courses. I'll have to keep this in mind for the future as, sadly, it won't be long until my daughter is deemed an "adult" by Disney. Rather than order one adult meal and one child's meal at AG, I would do better to order one adult meal and have the two of them share it.