Deluxe Dining Plan with 3 kids

[savafan]

In looking at the brochure for the 2017 deluxe dining plan, it simply states that everyone over the age of 3 gets 3 meals a day and 2 snacks, but I don't see where it specifically states that a 9 year old must order from the kids menu.

We're going for our first full family vacation (first time ever for my stepson and stepdaughter!!) in June, and my son is 9, while my stepson is 10 and my stepdaughter is 12, but the 9 year old is definitely the tallest, and the biggest eater of the bunch. I'm hoping to minimize meltdowns with buffets whenever possible, but I'm wondering what the current limitations are for the deluxe plan and kids.

[savafan]

Nevermind, I just saw this:

When dining with another party who is also using their MagicBand or card to redeem their meals, please notify the server which meals should be redeemed on each valid Disney Resort ID. Guests ages 3–9 must order from a children’s menu where available.

[The Hitchhiking Ghost]

Just curious, do you feel tied to using the Disney Dining Plan, either the regular, Deluxe or quick service?

My three kids are about the same age as yours, and with Disney, for purposes of park tickets and dining plans, any kid over the age of 9 is considered an adult. The Deluxe Dining Plan is a lot of food, and a lot of add on cost for a 10 and 12 year old being charged as adults. Are these kids going to be eating Ribeye every night along with big desserts?

With our family of 5, staying at POR, taking free dining over a room discount made a lot of sense. But both the wife and I pretty much agreed that none of the dining plans is something that we'd be likely to pay for out of pocket, for many reasons.

One thing to keep in mind, with three meals a day, assuming either buffets or table services, that's a lot of advance dining to book and while it doesn't look that way on paper, that is a lot of vacation time spent going to and being in meal services. That's fine if you are aware of it, but I think a lot of people (don't know if you are new to the Dining Plans) don't realize the time commitment involved with the dining plan, especially with 3 TS entitlements per day. Good and simple example, you are at MK and then need to go to Ohana for dining at the Polynesian. Seems simple, close, right on the monorail. But if you were to return to the MK after Dining, I'd be wiling to bet that at a minimum 2 hours will have gone by and if you are booking TS for breakfast and lunch, you might be looking at a total of 4 hours or more of your vacation day being consumed by dining and the getting to/from. Nothing wrong with that, dining can be just as much of a Disney vacation as the rides and hotels, but I've seen a lot of people get overwhelmed by the amount of time because they weren't prepared for it.

Good luck.

[Itchy]

As stated before the deluxe plan is a LOT of food. We got the deluxe once and we were totally stuffed by dinner time we had a hard time eating the last meal of the day. We now always get the dining plan with one counter and one sit down meal. If we want to use our counter for breakfast we may get a lite lunch to get us by till dinner. You could also use the counter for lunch and get a lite breakfast. You will save a lot of money for more souvenirs and such.

If we get the dining plan free we go for it, but if we have to pay for it we will pay out of pocket. We found this to be the most economical after doing the math.

Either way have a great vacation and say hello to the mouse for me.

Hope this helps..

[VWL Mom]

Is it possible that the 10 or 12 year old might want to order off the kids menu? With the 9 year old credit you would have to order off the child menu if available but he would not necessarily be the one that had to eat it. You could also choose to buy the adult plan for him if need be.

[savafan]

We've always used the dining plan, and we tend to eat a lot of food. I had initially just gone with the regular dining plan, but after my wife and I had the deluxe plan for our honeymoon, she convinced me that we would probably need to go with it for the kids as well, as they are always hungry, and only 2 meals a day wouldn't suffice. I do plan on using some of the credits for the double credit restaurants, but these kids do tend to eat a lot, and rarely ever can I convince them to order off of a kids menu anytime we go out, lol.

[savafan]

You can elect to choose Quick Service locations on the deluxe plan as well, correct?

[VWL Mom]

You can elect to choose Quick Service locations on the deluxe plan as well, correct?

Correct.

[VWL Mom]

I do plan on using some of the credits for the double credit restaurants, but these kids do tend to eat a lot, and rarely ever can I convince them to order off of a kids menu anytime we go out, lol.

With all the money you are already spending I would just take the plunge and buy the adult plan for the 9 year old. You would just need to tell them to list him as a 10 year old, especially if you're mixing in signature dining. One of my boys was the same way, at 8 he was done with kids meals.

[Brooklynos]

We always get the deluxe plan with my husband, myself and our five year old. I believe that with the deluxe that kids can order from the adult menu at table services. I know they can at least for appetizers as my daughter always wants Calamari and it's not on the kids menu. Servers have offered to let us order off the adult entrees too. They may have stopped that after this year but it was like that in January and helps a lot.

With your 9 year old that will be helpful.

[VWL Mom]

I believe that with the deluxe that kids can order from the adult menu at table services. I know they can at least for appetizers as my daughter always wants Calamari and it's not on the kids menu. Servers have offered to let us order off the adult entrees too. They may have stopped that after this year but it was like that in January and helps a lot.

Looking at the 2107 DlxDP printout it seems this is a loophole they've closed. More than likely some were listing 10-12 year olds as 9 to get the less expensive plan. If there is no specific child option listed (as in the case of the appetizer) your child would still be able to get an adult appy. Some may still offer the option of the adult entree but it's not something you can count on.

BTW, I think the fact that your 5 yo eats calamari is great! You may have a budding foodie on your hands