Can my 10 yr old order off childrens menu

[rubato]

If I pay out of pocket, can my barely 10 year old order off the children's menu? We're trying to decide whether to do the dining plan and, except for him, it financially doesn't work for us. I would normally NOT go to a restaurant and just order the most expensive thing. I like fish and it's usually cheaper than steak. So, I would actually lose money. Then, my husband doesn't eat dessert, so he would lose money (he, too, wouldn't order that most expensive thing). But, with the restaurants I want to try, my son will be forced to choose the steak because he doesn't like fish or mushroom pasta or whatever (I've looked at the menus and know this would be the case).

Now, if he could order off the childrens menu, we would not do the dining plan. Does anyone know? Thanks.

[Patricia]

I have ordered off the children's menu myself on a few occasions as I'm not a big eater. This is why we never get the Dining Plan.. I simply can't eat all that food. It will matter that he's 10 at buffets and dinner shows and he will be charged as an adult.

If you go to this thread, there is some more info.

[rubato]

Thanks for the link. I'm going to talk to my son and have him look at the menus of the places I want to eat. I did a little figuring, and, since we'll be eating a lot of character meals, we may be better off with the plan. I'm not much of an eater either, but I like the food on the adult menus. So, I may order it and eat half for breakfast the next day (we'll have a fridge).

[ElenitaB]

The first time we went when my DS was 10 and was newly considered an "adult" by the DP, they were more than glad to either let him order off the kids' menu, OR prepare a "dumbed down" version of an adult meal. For example, at Coral Reef, they made him a grilled chicken breast without any sauce/gravy, and let him chose the sides he wanted. So the portion was slightly larger and handled his appetite, but the preparation wasn't fussy. We've also found that he's more adventurous at WDW then he is at home, and has come home with some new finds and favorites.

[hardingella]

For example, at Coral Reef, they made him a grilled chicken breast without any sauce/gravy, and let him chose the sides he wanted. So the portion was slightly larger and handled his appetite, but the preparation wasn't fussy.

This i find reassuring as I was concerned that our DD11 next trip would come home with Gout, with all that rich food.

[princessesmom]

It shouldn't be a problem for him to order from the children's menu. But as mentioned above, if you are going to buffets or family style TS restaurants he will be charged as an adult regardless of how much he eats. If you're not big eaters it might be better just to pay oop for food and forget the DDP. We used it for the first time on our last trip and it was way too much food for our family. We ended up with 8 CS credits left over at the end. And I felt pressure to order food! I don't think I would get it again. But you should price it out and see what makes the most sense for your situation. Good luck!