How does the dining plan work with kids under 3?

[sbkline]

No it doesn't. I know lots of people with kids my age. When they go to a restaurant, they always order off of the kids menu.

Who cares? We're not talking about Outback, Olive Garden or any other restaraunt. We're talking about Disney restarauts here and what I told you is the same thing other people have said, which is that the child can eat off of your plate for no charge, or you can bring your own food with you. Or if you want, you can order something off the childrens' menu for them. What your friends do at their local restaraunts is totally irrelevant to the discussion, and whatever policies those restaraunts have regarding children under 3, is totally irrelevant to the discussion.

 

[sbkline]

What is the logic of not allowing kids under 3 to not have the dining plan?

Because Disney welcomes you to feed them for free off the buffet, or off of your plate. If you are welcome to feed them for free, why are you trying so hard to pay?

I would imagine the reason why they can't get the dining plan is because Disney figures that most children that age don't eat enough to warrant their parents buying a seperate entree for them at every restaraunt. Disney probably assumes that most parents feed their children off of their plates, or get them their own helping at a buffet far more than they order an entree for them off the kids menu, and that most parents would be content to take advantage of Disney's policy of feeding the child for free as opposed to purchasing the ddp for them.

We pay for enough stuff there as it is. If Disney offers something for free, why not gladly accept it? :shrug:

 

[Cubs Brian]

Because Disney welcomes you to feed them for free off the buffet, or off of your plate. If you are welcome to feed them for free, why are you trying so hard to pay?

I would imagine the reason why they can't get the dining plan is because Disney figures that most children that age don't eat enough to warrant their parents buying a seperate entree for them at every restaraunt. Disney probably assumes that most parents feed their children off of their plates, or get them their own helping at a buffet far more than they order an entree for them off the kids menu, and that most parents would be content to take advantage of Disney's policy of feeding the child for free as opposed to purchasing the ddp for them.

We pay for enough stuff there as it is. If Disney offers something for free, why not gladly accept it? :shrug:

Well put. Both of my kids have always been big eaters but at 3 neither of them could ever finish a "value" meal at fast food places let alone at Disney where the portions are very large.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Our girls will be 2 and 4 at the time of our trip, and obviously- our younger one won't be on DDP. We also typically order both girls kids meals when we go out to eat, but we usually end up taking home a lot of leftovers for both girls since even kids meal portions are often way too much for one or sometimes even both of them sharing one. We also usually travel with lots of snacks just in case. I know every family and child is different, but considering our local food/dining experiences with our kids, the number of buffets available at Disney to ensure there's plenty for all, Disney's nice portion sizes, and being able to pack snacks- there really shouldn't be a problem. If you're still really concerned- you might try saving some $ and load up your bag with a bunch of healthy snacks (instead of paying for extra Disney meals). Just a though...:shrug:

 

[musketeer]

This thread has gotten me so unbelievably confused. I've never heard of anyone taking their 1 1/2, 2, 2 1/2 year old (whatever age) and not actually ordering them something. Maybe I (and everyone else I know with kids that age) are the strange ones.

Sure, I get the buffet thing, but other than that, I'm confused.

Anyway, thanks for the help, although I'm still not sure what to do. I guess we'll just order them kids meals.

 

[maggiegrace1]

This thread has gotten me so unbelievably confused. I've never heard of anyone taking their 1 1/2, 2, 2 1/2 year old (whatever age) and not actually ordering them something. Maybe I (and everyone else I know with kids that age) are the strange ones.

Sure, I get the buffet thing, but other than that, I'm confused.

Anyway, thanks for the help, although I'm still not sure what to do. I guess we'll just order them kids meals.

My daughter will be 5 in August...and we just started ordering her own meal at restaurants..and sometimes we still just give her some of what we are eating..she sometimes eats a lot and sometimes hardly anything.

I do not know many people who buy their 1-2 year old their own meals at restaurants..they usually eat from the parents plates or split with a sibling..:shrug:

Your tone is somewhat hostile though it seems..you asked a question and people gave their thoughts on it and you got annoyed because you did not like the response.

I think that the answer is that you either feed them off your plate or you pay out of pocket for their own meal..as when it comes to Disney kids under 3 are free for everything..and that includes buffet meals.

 

[erstwo]

Both of my children ate off of our plates at Disney until they were 3.

If you "tell" Disney that your child is legally 3 years of age (to get them the Dining Plan) then Disney will assume you are telling them the truth.

If your child is 3 years of age (whether truly 3 years old or just the "made up 3 years old so they can get the Dining Plan) then your "3 year old" will have to have ticket to get into the Disney Park because everyone over the age of 3 has to pay to get into the parks.


Sounds like the best plan for you is just to pay out of pocket for your children's meals.

 

[musketeer]

My daughter will be 5 in August...and we just started ordering her own meal at restaurants..and sometimes we still just give her some of what we are eating..she sometimes eats a lot and sometimes hardly anything.

Are you serious??? 5, and you JUST started ordering her own meal at restaurants????

We started right about at 1 year old. We go out with my niece and nephew just about every weekend, who are 3 1/2 and almost 2, and they've had meals ordered for them since they were about 1 as well.

Sorry if my tone seemed hostile, I think you mistook completely disbelief for hostility.

And what you said regarding kids under 3 being free for everything, it isn't EVERYTHING, I mean, I can't go to a non-buffet restaurant and order them a meal and have it be free, or to a counter service place and do the same thing.

 

[Monty]

Are you serious??? 5, and you JUST started ordering her own meal at restaurants????

She's serious. Her daughter is a beautiful little girl that had a rough start on life. Every child progresses differently in life. Your incredulity belies a very limited exposure to life, as you gain more experience and see more of the world, you'll come to realise there is a lot in this world that may seem strange to you but is perfectly normal to someone else.

And what you said regarding kids under 3 being free for everything, it isn't EVERYTHING, I mean, I can't go to a non-buffet restaurant and order them a meal and have it be free, or to a counter service place and do the same thing.

"Free" is never "everything", but Disney policy for kids is quite clear and simple to understand: If you don't order a specific meal from the menu for your child, your child can eat food you provide or off your plate or from a buffet at no charge and they will provide an extra plate and kids' drinks for the child.

If they allowed you to order a specific meal for the child for free, then there would be more potential for abuse. At QS, parents could order for themselves and get a "free" kids' meal for their 1 year old to share with their 4 year old, etc...

I don't understand why when Disney establishes a policy that is genuinely a nice thing to do, people insist on finding fault with it. :shrug:

 

[DisneyJoe]

You may be thanking Disney for having this policy once you are there and see how big the portions are and how expensive the food can be.

I know adults that order counter service meals and share them due to portion size and expense!

 

[musketeer]

You may be thanking Disney for having this policy once you are there and see how big the portions are and how expensive the food can be.

I know adults that order counter service meals and share them due to portion size and expense!

I've been there many times and am aware of the portion sizes and prices.

 

[musketeer]

She's serious. Her daughter is a beautiful little girl that had a rough start on life. Every child progresses differently in life. Your incredulity belies a very limited exposure to life, as you gain more experience and see more of the world, you'll come to realise there is a lot in this world that may seem strange to you but is perfectly normal to someone else.

Well that is kind of unfair. Because I think it is odd for a 5 year old to not be having meals ordered for her does not mean i have a very limited exposure to life. Because I would think that most 5 year olds (or 4 or 3 year olds) would get their own meal ordered for them, and I'm sure there are statistics to prove it. I can't be faulted because this particular child is an outlier. There was implication that most 3, 4, or 5 year olds don't get their own meals.

When giving advice on a message board, there is an understanding that the advice giver is, for lack of a better term, within the standard deviation. When it comes to a kid, there is no such thing as normal, I fully admit that, and the 5 year old in question is just as normal as everyone else.

BUT, again, when giving advice, there is an assumption that most people are similar, because to be honest, most people are. Say for example that someone was asking a question about how to get a room where there isn't alot of noise from the neighboring rooms. And my advice is, "well, just rent the whole hotel." That would of course be met with lots of confusion. And I would say, "well, that's what I always do, just rent the whole hotel." In that conversation, I should probably say that I'm a multi-billionaire (I'm not, I wish, I'm just using this for the sake of argument). Well, that information should have been known before giving my advice. The same way the knowledge of the 5 year old having a rough start should have been given before making the statment that 5 year olds don't get their own meal ordered for them.

And I think it's awful for any kids to have a rough start in life. However, again, I ABSOLUTELY disagree that I have a very limited exposure to life. That is one of those attacks that come from message boards, I see them everywhere, "because you don't know my exact situation, that must mean you have limited exposure to life." Well, the people on this thread sure seemed like they knew MY exact situation.

So I would like to know specifics on how you arrived at the conclusion that I have this limited exposure?

 

[sbkline]

Are you serious??? 5, and you JUST started ordering her own meal at restaurants????

We started right about at 1 year old. We go out with my niece and nephew just about every weekend, who are 3 1/2 and almost 2, and they've had meals ordered for them since they were about 1 as well.

Sorry if my tone seemed hostile, I think you mistook completely disbelief for hostility.

And what you said regarding kids under 3 being free for everything, it isn't EVERYTHING, I mean, I can't go to a non-buffet restaurant and order them a meal and have it be free, or to a counter service place and do the same thing.

Whether you intended it or not, your tone did seem very rude and hostile. You asked a question and I, and others, answered it and for some reason, you singled me out to challenge the answer and acted like you didn't believe what I was saying. Even after other people verified what I told you, you still told me my point didn't stand simply because friends of yours go to local restaraunts and do something different than what we were telling you. In a discussion of Disney dining, what your friends do at local restaraunts is irrelevant.

Not only was your tone rude, but you also gave the implication of questioning peoples' parenting abilities based on how they feed their children at WDW, or on what age they wean their kids off of baby food, etc.

 

[DisneyJoe]

Musketeer,

If you are that confused by Disney's policy of not selling the dining plan to those under age 3, why don't you call them and ask them about it?

Maybe you will be lucky and get a CM that can give a good answer - I've known different CM's to be inconsistent in their responses to the same question.

 

[maggiegrace1]

Are you serious??? 5, and you JUST started ordering her own meal at restaurants????

We started right about at 1 year old. We go out with my niece and nephew just about every weekend, who are 3 1/2 and almost 2, and they've had meals ordered for them since they were about 1 as well.

Sorry if my tone seemed hostile, I think you mistook completely disbelief for hostility.

And what you said regarding kids under 3 being free for everything, it isn't EVERYTHING, I mean, I can't go to a non-buffet restaurant and order them a meal and have it be free, or to a counter service place and do the same thing.

1000% serious!...

She was born 3 months early...and had a feeding tube until she was 3 and a half..though she did eat by mouth for a year before that..she just has times when she will eat a whole meal and sometimes where sharing with us is plenty..:shrug:

The thing is..many people do this..I know a family with a 4 and 6 year old and they order one meal and the kids split it..and that is plenty.

So, maybe you are in the minority here..either way it does not matter..because like stated..every child is different.

Yes..your tone was more hostile then disbelief..and I was not telling you that to be mean..but to let you know that just because your kids do something does not mean every kid does..

ok..well not the meals that are not buffett..but a kids meal is not that expensive and the fact that ALMOST everything for kids under 3 including buffets are free is pretty awesome in my opinion.:shrug:

She's serious. Her daughter is a beautiful little girl that had a rough start on life. Every child progresses differently in life. Your incredulity belies a very limited exposure to life, as you gain more experience and see more of the world, you'll come to realise there is a lot in this world that may seem strange to you but is perfectly normal to someone else.


"Free" is never "everything", but Disney policy for kids is quite clear and simple to understand: If you don't order a specific meal from the menu for your child, your child can eat food you provide or off your plate or from a buffet at no charge and they will provide an extra plate and kids' drinks for the child.

If they allowed you to order a specific meal for the child for free, then there would be more potential for abuse. At QS, parents could order for themselves and get a "free" kids' meal for their 1 year old to share with their 4 year old, etc...

I don't understand why when Disney establishes a policy that is genuinely a nice thing to do, people insist on finding fault with it. :shrug:

Thank you!..I appreciate the kind words..:kiss:

Well that is kind of unfair. Because I think it is odd for a 5 year old to not be having meals ordered for her does not mean i have a very limited exposure to life. Because I would think that most 5 year olds (or 4 or 3 year olds) would get their own meal ordered for them, and I'm sure there are statistics to prove it. I can't be faulted because this particular child is an outlier. There was implication that most 3, 4, or 5 year olds don't get their own meals.

When giving advice on a message board, there is an understanding that the advice giver is, for lack of a better term, within the standard deviation. When it comes to a kid, there is no such thing as normal, I fully admit that, and the 5 year old in question is just as normal as everyone else.

BUT, again, when giving advice, there is an assumption that most people are similar, because to be honest, most people are. Say for example that someone was asking a question about how to get a room where there isn't alot of noise from the neighboring rooms. And my advice is, "well, just rent the whole hotel." That would of course be met with lots of confusion. And I would say, "well, that's what I always do, just rent the whole hotel." In that conversation, I should probably say that I'm a multi-billionaire (I'm not, I wish, I'm just using this for the sake of argument). Well, that information should have been known before giving my advice. The same way the knowledge of the 5 year old having a rough start should have been given before making the statment that 5 year olds don't get their own meal ordered for them.

And I think it's awful for any kids to have a rough start in life. However, again, I ABSOLUTELY disagree that I have a very limited exposure to life. That is one of those attacks that come from message boards, I see them everywhere, "because you don't know my exact situation, that must mean you have limited exposure to life." Well, the people on this thread sure seemed like they knew MY exact situation.

So I would like to know specifics on how you arrived at the conclusion that I have this limited exposure?

You also seemed to imply that you knew every other 3-5 year olds situation.

Like I stated..I do not know many people who do order meals for their kids that age..without sharing with another child or parent..but that is my experience and your is different.

I did not feel that I had to say why my 5 year old did not get a meal ordered just for her..because there are many I know who have not had her situation that also do not order there kids full meals.

Like I said..we all deal with different situations and everyone's experiences with anything could be completely different with anyone.

Anyway...I think we gave you the answer regarding Disney and their policy..like Joe said you can always contact Disney for specific answers and maybe they can explain it better to you.

 

[musketeer]

One last thing, someone earlier in this thread did say something like, "Most people with kids that age just share from their own plates or bring baby food."

Which clearly isn't true. So is it fair for me to say that person doesn't have much life experience?

 

[Monty]

One last thing, someone earlier in this thread did say something like, "Most people with kids that age just share from their own plates or bring baby food."

Which clearly isn't true. So is it fair for me to say that person doesn't have much life experience?

You asked a question, got a number of polite responses that adequately answered your question, then you expressed incredulity at the basic premise of the answers you'd received and got equally incredulous responses that you chose to argue with in a more terse fashion.

You're developing troll-like tendencies and rather than engage further, I'm done with this thread. Have a nice day. :wave:

 

[DisneyJoe]

I suggest to the moderators that this thread be closed, as it is getting argumentative.

 

[maggiegrace1]

One last thing, someone earlier in this thread did say something like, "Most people with kids that age just share from their own plates or bring baby food."

Which clearly isn't true. So is it fair for me to say that person doesn't have much life experience?

You can say whatever you want to say..it is obvious that unless we give you the answer you want or agree with you that the things you have experienced are the right way then you are not happy.

Hopefully you and your family have a great time at WDW and that you can figure out what is the best way to go about meals with your children.

Have a great time...:wave:

 

[Kerby626]

I have 18 month old twins that were born 3 month early. I have yet to order them a meal of their own or one to spilt. There are days when they will eat a huge meal and others they pick. We usually just give them a portion of what both myself and DH order. Food portions are huge and there is no way that we normally finish our meals ourselves so we share with our children. If we happen to order something that we know they won't eat then by all means we would order something for them.