DDP problems w/kids

[JimboJones123]

I hit the snag. Usually my kid has no problem w/the kid meals. But this time, we went to one of the burger places for a CS meal and the kids menu only had Hot Dogs and PBJ. My kid wanted a burger. The CM wouldn't accept a burger for her as an adult meal because our card said 2 adults 1 child. So I sucked it up and had a hot dog that day and my daughter had my burger. The CM was really mean about it too. So, once again, another kids meal bummer from the DDP.

 

[Lucky]

Your card said 2 adults, one child? I heard about that planned change to the dining plan, but didn't know they had implemented it already.

 

[JimboJones123]

It didn't matter too much though. We still bought my parents/brother 2 meals on our points with us though. We paid for 6 sit downs points each time and it didn't seem to matter. The points are still pooled, but the card says 2 adults 1 kid. It was just stinky that the hamburger place for adults had no hamburgers for kids. It also had hot dogs for kids but not adults. Weird.

 

[campdisney]

Granted, we haven't been to WDW since 2005, but I noticed that too. It seems like most restaurants had mac & cheese, hot dogs, chicken strips as standard kids fare -- but few, if any, offered burgers. Cheeseburgers are a staple for most kids, IMO.

Next time we travel, we'll be experiencing the generic kids menu for the first time (which pretty much looks like more of the same). I think we'll be doing a lot more buffets than usual next trip.

 

[MouseearsDeb]

Same here with the CS meals. I'm sure if we wanted to pay out of pocket for the childs meal, then we could get whatever, but because of the 3 adult 1 child, we were kept 'in the staight' and only allowed what the card called for if ordering 4 meals. We did, however, on occasion pay OOP for sit down meals and did not have any problems. We did have one instance at the POTC gift shop using snack points. It was the one time I didn't check the receipt and it ended up being charged to our room. No biggie, but something to watch out for.

I'm sure before it's done and over, WDW will have it to where all the meals are designated 'adult' or 'child' which is how it should be. But, if they're going to do this, they should expand the childs menu. I think it was at Columbia Harbour House that you could not get 'chicken tenders' for children but had to get COLD pieces of chicken:hurl: . We enjoyed our first use of the free DDP and would consider purchasing this option in the future. But I would be sure to check the menus closely especially if they would not allow you to pay OOP for some of the meals.

 

[JimboJones123]

Same here with the CS meals. I'm sure if we wanted to pay out of pocket for the childs meal, then we could get whatever, but because of the 3 adult 1 child, we were kept 'in the staight' and only allowed what the card called for if ordering 4 meals. We did, however, on occasion pay OOP for sit down meals and did not have any problems. We did have one instance at the POTC gift shop using snack points. It was the one time I didn't check the receipt and it ended up being charged to our room. No biggie, but something to watch out for.

I'm sure before it's done and over, WDW will have it to where all the meals are designated 'adult' or 'child' which is how it should be. But, if they're going to do this, they should expand the childs menu. I think it was at Columbia Harbour House that you could not get 'chicken tenders' for children but had to get COLD pieces of chicken:hurl: . We enjoyed our first use of the free DDP and would consider purchasing this option in the future. But I would be sure to check the menus closely especially if they would not allow you to pay OOP for some of the meals.

That's why we wouldn't purchase. We would be better off splitting an adult meal between the two kids than having them get seperate kids meals each time.

 

[Dwarful]

They wouldn't let you pay out of pocket? We are going in Dec. and will be using the dining plan for the first time. hopefully they will get these kinks worked out.

 

[New2WDW]

So I sucked it up and had a hot dog that day and my daughter had my burger. The CM was really mean about it too. So, once again, another kids meal bummer from the DDP.

Yeah it is a bummer, but you are a good man!

 

[pinkrose]

They wouldn't let you pay out of pocket? We are going in Dec. and will be using the dining plan for the first time. hopefully they will get these kinks worked out.

I hope so as well.

 

[maelstrom]

They REALLY need to expand the kids menus at WDW with stuff that kids want to eat. Not stuff like cold chicken, mentioned by MouseearsDeb. What kid honestly wants chilled chicken? Chicken tenders, fingers, & nuggets sound a lot better to me. If WDW had kids menus like this when I was a kid, I would've starved. I lived on chicken fingers, especially at the Columbia Harbor House.

I think perhaps a standard menu across all the restaurants would be a good thing, with stuff like chicken tenders, mac & cheese, pizza, hamburgers, etc. But then at each individual restaurant, have a couple of dishes that are similar to the adult meals, such as spaghetti & meatballs at Tony's, a small steak and potatoes at Le Cellier, etc. Very few kids want to eat the same thing day in & day out. I do, but I'm no longer a kid (almost 21!) and very much in the minority.

Jimbo, did you find the DDP to be an overall disappointment or no? I still cannot justify this thing in my head.

 

[Monty]

DS was so happy last trip... he was 10 and Disney called him an adult! :sohappy:

I was a little put out at paying full fare for him, but watching his eyes light up every time he was offered the "adult" menu made it bearable.

Now that they've started this kids' menus with limited fare, I'm actually glad he's considered an adult. Of course, he'd eat Mac & Cheese every meal if I let him! :lol:

 

[WaltzingMatilda]

When we went to Alfredo's, we were on the DP. At dessert time, they brought out the tray (gorgeous of course) and on it was an adorable strawberry mousse "ladybug", complete with chocolate spots and legs. This was NOT a kids options...the children on our plan could basically get ice cream. I was a little annoyed that they would present such a clearly kid oriented dessert and of course my daughter wanted it...since I was already stuffed from eating a lasagna the size of my head, I chose it as my dessert and gave it to her (I know...where's my medal? ). My point is, why on earth was this not counted as a kids dessert? Why would they make a dessert that children would clearly be drawn to and then not count is as a kids dessert? A small matter, to be sure, but one I thought worth mentioning.

Other than that though...I think if you work it right, the DP is great (though sometimes confusing).

 

[pinkrose]

They REALLY need to expand the kids menus at WDW with stuff that kids want to eat. Not stuff like cold chicken, mentioned by MouseearsDeb. What kid honestly wants chilled chicken? Chicken tenders, fingers, & nuggets sound a lot better to me. If WDW had kids menus like this when I was a kid, I would've starved. I lived on chicken fingers, especially at the Columbia Harbor House.

I think perhaps a standard menu across all the restaurants would be a good thing, with stuff like chicken tenders, mac & cheese, pizza, hamburgers, etc. But then at each individual restaurant, have a couple of dishes that are similar to the adult meals, such as spaghetti & meatballs at Tony's, a small steak and potatoes at Le Cellier, etc. Very few kids want to eat the same thing day in & day out. I do, but I'm no longer a kid (almost 21!) and very much in the minority.

Jimbo, did you find the DDP to be an overall disappointment or no? I still cannot justify this thing in my head.

I totally agree with you! It would be nice if they'd do that.

 

[MouseearsDeb]

One thing I did notice, the hotels seem to have better choices for kids than the parks counter service and sit down meals offered.

 

[unkadug]

I don't understand why the CM would be upset, he/she is still gonna make the same money no matter who eats what!

 

[DisneyBound]

We were there Sept 9-19 and didnt order one counter service kids meal, we got all adult meals and our tickets said 3 adults, 1 child...nobody ever said anything to us :veryconfu

 

[december]

I'm going to get flamed but....When we went in July I tried to find places serving kid friendly food, like Toy Story Pizza Planet. This is one of the few restaurants that makes sense. There is no kids menu-kids can actually get pizza at a pizza place! But most places had NOTHING on the menu that my son (9) would eat. My daughter (6) was happy to eat mac and cheese almost daily, but he would have been miserable, and this was DISNEY! My card was for 2 adults and 2 kids. So my mil would take one child and order for 2, and I would do the same with the other. As long as the total order doesn't exceed 2 adults you will be OK. I got this tip from this website before we went. Someone posted that a cm told them to order like that.

For table service, we did all buffets, so we didn't have that problem. My son got to choose shrimp and salmon, and my daughter got to eat the same macaroni and cheese.

 

[maelstrom]

December: I don't think anything in your post was flame-worthy. I agree with you about most places not having kid-friendly food. If you were getting around the "rules" by ordering adult food for your kids, so what! There is no reason they should be forced to eat "chilled chicken". I think most adults wouldn't want to eat that either!

 

[december]

That is the way I look at it. But in the few months I've been on this board I've noticed that some people get a little testy when talking about the dining plan. The way I look at it, my son eating adult meals combined with us eating character buffets for our table service cost Disney alot less than people eating at the higher end places like LeCellier. Anyway, it worked for us. I truly do not understand why McDonald's can offer kid size burgers but Disney World can't.

 

[Lucky]

I'm going to get flamed but....When we went in July I tried to find places serving kid friendly food, like Toy Story Pizza Planet. This is one of the few restaurants that makes sense. There is no kids menu-kids can actually get pizza at a pizza place! But most places had NOTHING on the menu that my son (9) would eat. My daughter (6) was happy to eat mac and cheese almost daily, but he would have been miserable, and this was DISNEY! My card was for 2 adults and 2 kids. So my mil would take one child and order for 2, and I would do the same with the other. As long as the total order doesn't exceed 2 adults you will be OK. I got this tip from this website before we went. Someone posted that a cm told them to order like that.

For table service, we did all buffets, so we didn't have that problem. My son got to choose shrimp and salmon, and my daughter got to eat the same macaroni and cheese.

Right - Can anyone explain why the kids' meals at Pizzafari at AK do not include pizza???