9 yr old, adult dining plan?

[jonahbear2006]

If we call and purchase an adult annual pass for our 9 yr old daughter, will this be allowed. She is looking at menus with me and does not want to eat off of the children's menu. She is ready to order off of the adult's and obviously wont be allowed to without an adult ticket but it is only a $55 difference to buy an adult annual pass, but will this be allowed?

[momofdisneyprincess]

As I understand it, she would get the children's dining plan if she has a children's pass. I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong though.

[pandkx3]

I just got back from the "world" with my family, on of which is a nine year old boy. He does not eat off the kids menu when we go out and was highly insulted that he had to this trip. It really isn't enought food for him. So we would pick an appetizer that he requested to make up the difference. Ragalan Road did have large portions for the kids meals. He was pleasently surprised.

[jonahbear2006]

right, that is why I was asking if we could push her up into the adult pass, so she would be able to get the dining plan. I played with the room only booking and the online service still lets me book my room for the same rate, so that is not an issue, however, I am still wondering if we can even get her an adult pass at all.

[momofdisneyprincess]

I don't see why you couldn't get her the adult dining plan as long as she has an adult pass. Afterall, Disney would be making more money in that case; right?

[mouseketeer mom]

I just got back from the "world" with my family, on of which is a nine year old boy. He does not eat off the kids menu when we go out and was highly insulted that he had to this trip. It really isn't enought food for him. So we would pick an appetizer that he requested to make up the difference. Ragalan Road did have large portions for the kids meals. He was pleasently surprised.

I have a nine year old boy too, and he was getting upset on our last trip that we were all ordering these delicious meals and he was getting a scoop of mac and cheese that left him hungrey. We are not doing the dining plan in August for our next trip. It just didn't work out at all.

[disneykat]

I purchased adult passes and dining plans for my kids for several years before they were actually considered adults. There was never an issue. The kids meals at WDW are pitiful .. . maybe acceptable for a 3 year old! You shouldn't have a problem as long as you upgrade to adult passes!

[princessesmom]

As long as you get her an adult pass it shouldn't be a problem and book her as an adult on the dining plan. I agree that the children's menus leave much to be desired for the older (but below 10) kids. I didn't get the DDP for that reason on a prior trip. You might want to price it out and make sure it is worth it to get the ddp rather than pay oop. In a similar situation, I found it was less expensive to not get the ddp.

[Momof2boys]

Last trip my 8 year old was in the same boat - very jealous that older brother got to order off the adult menu. So him & I ended up sharing a lot. It was more than enough food for me so it wasn't an issue with him eating his meal and then having some of mine.

[Disney Doll]

I don't see how you would be prevented from doing this. WDW won't check his birth certificate. If you elect to buy him an adult ticket how will they know the difference? It's not like you are cheating the system. We're not on the dining plan, but I am anticipating our 9 yr old nephew needing adult meals. He's a 9yr old who looks 12 and I just can't imagine the food on the children's menu being able to satisfy him. Plus, the selection is so limited. WDW really needs an in between option for families on ddp with kids in the 7-9 range.

[betteratmk]

I don't see how you would be prevented from doing this. WDW won't check his birth certificate. If you elect to buy him an adult ticket how will they know the difference? It's not like you are cheating the system. We're not on the dining plan, but I am anticipating our 9 yr old nephew needing adult meals. He's a 9yr old who looks 12 and I just can't imagine the food on the children's menu being able to satisfy him. Plus, the selection is so limited. WDW really needs an in between option for families on ddp with kids in the 7-9 range.

I've said that for years, from 9 -12 you have a wide variety of kids who eat alot or hardly any! It would be easy to give a slightly smaller portion for many of the dishes that are served. For many the kids menu isn't enough and the adult menu is too adult!!!

[pandkx3]

Last trip my 8 year old was in the same boat - very jealous that older brother got to order off the adult menu. So him & I ended up sharing a lot. It was more than enough food for me so it wasn't an issue with him eating his meal and then having some of mine.

I did this as well as ordered an appetizer. The final straw was when they brought his meal out on a MM plate! Oh, if you could have seen the look in his eyes

[diz_girl]

The kids meals at WDW are pitiful .. . maybe acceptable for a 3 year old!

We rarely get kids meals for our two year-old. Heck, we didn't even do it when he was one year old. He sometimes eats off of our plate, but we will usually spend an extra couple of dollars and get an adult meal for him and he's completely fine with it. Last month we dined at a local restaurant and the kids meals were $12 for the usual items (a ridiculous price, I know, we live by the shore). We spent an extra $2 and got a much better adult meal for our son.

Just remember the price difference between the adult ($40) and children's ($11) standard dining plans. You get what you pay for.

We paid for our meals OOP for our last WDW trip, but if we decide to do the dining plan again, I'll remember (and write down) to get an adult MYW pass for my son so that he can eat off of the adult menu. It's a great idea. Thank you for sharing!

[magicofdisney]

This is the reason we've eaten primarily at buffets the last few years. We still pay child prices but everyone gets the same selections.

[SBETigg]

I'm not sure how it works if you're a DVC owner. But otherwise, the dining plan is part of the Magic Your Way Package. I don't think you can't get the dining plan if you book separately, room only then tickets. As part of the package, everyone in the room has to be on the plan.

To my understanding, the only way to get your 9 year old on the adult dining plan is to book her as an older child, meaning you'll also be paying adult ticket prices and charged for her as an older child in the room. At that rate, you are probably better off skipping the dining plan and just paying for meals as you go, allowing your 9 y.o. to eat as she likes. However, if the price difference isn't that steep, go for it. You can book her as an older child and no one will check her age or object to it.

[jonahbear2006]

we have a 5 person room, so that is not an issue, we have a package with room, FREE dining, and annual passholder tickets and upgrading her to an adult passholder is only a $55 difference. We are staying for two weeks so even if we bought her an appetizer everyday, we will spend more than $55 at the end of 2 weeks. So, it is better to upgrade her ticket.

[SBETigg]

we have a 5 person room, so that is not an issue, we have a package with room, FREE dining, and annual passholder tickets and upgrading her to an adult passholder is only a $55 difference. We are staying for two weeks so even if we bought her an appetizer everyday, we will spend more than $55 at the end of 2 weeks. So, it is better to upgrade her ticket.

But then, the question is that if you've already booked her as a 9 year old, will they let you change it and keep the package you have in place? I hope so. It's worth a shot!

[megustamex]

They will let you. I called after booking my 2 year old as a 2 year old online during free dining. Then I realized that this trip really wouldn't be free dining since he eats his own meal most times. I called Disney and asked if there was any way to get him on free dining. They said yes as long as I purchased a ticket for him as a 3 year old, he would receive free dining. Since we are passholders anyway, we are just purchasing one day tickets each. So for the cost of the one day child's ticket I am getting free dining for him the whole trip, and I can save the ticket for when I actually have to buy him an annual pass next year.

[megustamex]

By the way, the guy at Disney said they do this all the time.

[megustamex]

One more thing - the reservation agent at Disney did have to change his age to 3 for him to get the dining plan and the ticket, but he knew that he was actually 2. So they'll probably have to change her age on the reservation.