Question about kids under 3 eat free

[cookiemonster80]

We are headed to WDW in a few weeks- right now everyone has a dining plan except for DD1 (well, and DD2) as we saw that kids under 3 eat free.

I just read in the unofficial guide (with kids) that kids eat free off an adults plate.

Is this the case? they don't get their own food? seriously DD1 eats more than I do- if they only eat "free" off others plates then we probably need to either plan to pay for hers as we go or add another dining plan.

[hellokitty]

Yes. They eat off your plate if it is a table or counter service restaurant. The only time they get their own plate is at buffet style restaurants.

[hellokitty]

If I were you, I'd just pay out of pocket as needed. I did fine last yr with my two yr old eating off of my plate. Howver, its tougher with two kids doing it.

[Melaine]

how is it free is they share your food? that would never have worked for my girls, they eat more than I do by far.

[acmom]

We did it with DS (who can be a big eater at times) last year and will again this year as he will be just short of 3 when we go. We booked all "family style" or "buffet" sit down meals (many of the character meals are like this, so that was pretty easy) bc he could have his own plate at those and have several choices, not just what one of us ordered. At counter service meals, there were some meals that were easy to split between DD and DS or we would just buy an extra meal or extra item off the dining plan. If you check allears.net, it will give you links to the menus and tell you if it is buffet/family style etc., which was helpful when planning our meals. It worked out fine. HTH!

[jjordan]

We went when our oldest was the age of your oldest (and actually, our second was approximately the age of your second...) and had the dining plan for the "over 3" crowd. It never was a problem to have our 2 year old share our food, we always had plenty, even at the non-buffet restaurants. We did have a large group with us, although I think that dd really just ate food off my & dh's plates. However she had a pretty typical toddler appetite and it sounds like your dd eats more....

One thing to keep in mind, though, is that it's *all* restaurants, all the time. And most people can't keep up with eating restaurant-sized portions all the time, so even if you don't usually have leftovers when you eat at a restaurant, you'll probably have leftovers when you're eating in them 3 meals a day.

If it comes down to it, you can order separately for her when necessary.

I seem to remember reading somewhere (maybe disboards.com) a list of meals (maybe just counter service?) that easily feed two adults. That might be good information for you to have going in.

[ilfaith]

So kids under 3 eat free if you share your food with them? Wouldn't anyone eat free if you shared your food with them? If your 2-year-old is a picky eater, you, as a parent, would be stuck eating chicken fingers and mac and cheese for a week? And they are trying to pass this off as some kind of a deal?

We have never done a meal plan at Disney, but since we live two hours from the park, we typically go just for a day or two at a time. We have visited WDW with out-of-town friends who were on a meal plan and it felt like they were just rushing from one meal reservation to another. I will say our friends on the plan did seem to get an abundance of food when snacks and desserts were included, so I don't imagine anyone would go hungry. I just know that I would grow weary of ordering kid-friendly fare at every meal when I wanted to enjoy a nice seared tuna or something a little spicy.

[Melaine]

So kids under 3 eat free if you share your food with them? Wouldn't anyone eat free if you shared your food with them? If your 2-year-old is a picky eater, you, as a parent, would be stuck eating chicken fingers and mac and cheese for a week? And they are trying to pass this off as some kind of a deal?


Exactly...that is what I was trying to say but didn't quite articulate it.

[hellokitty]

So kids under 3 eat free if you share your food with them? Wouldn't anyone eat free if you shared your food with them? If your 2-year-old is a picky eater, you, as a parent, would be stuck eating chicken fingers and mac and cheese for a week? And they are trying to pass this off as some kind of a deal?

We have never done a meal plan at Disney, but since we live two hours from the park, we typically go just for a day or two at a time. We have visited WDW with out-of-town friends who were on a meal plan and it felt like they were just rushing from one meal reservation to another. I will say our friends on the plan did seem to get an abundance of food when snacks and desserts were included, so I don't imagine anyone would go hungry. I just know that I would grow weary of ordering kid-friendly fare at every meal when I wanted to enjoy a nice seared tuna or something a little spicy.

Yes, that is the way Disney does it. Children under 3 also get into the parks free too. The good thing is that you could have a child under three going to character meals. Characters meals are a rip off, the food is usually pretty mediocre at best. So, you can also use this to your advantage if you are making ADRs.

[georgiegirl]

I'm at Disney now. We dont have a dining plan, but we are doing great just ordering meals for DH, me, and DD (6), and DS (who is actually 3) gets plenty sharing with everyone. Some places have more generous kid portions than others.

Ditto buffets. Biergarten (Germany) has good food and fun entertainment for kids.

[klwa]

There are a few restaurants where little ones are served their own plates, but they aren't the same as the regular kids plates. DD got a plate of buttered noodles at Cinderella's Royal Table when we went & a cupcake. But, the "eats free" logic really works at buffets & family style restaurants, which include most of the character meals, where they assume a lot of people with under 3s are going.