kaytieeldr said:
But before, a lot of potential Dining Plan users were complaining because there
weren't any appetizers on the kids menu! If you have the DDP, your meal includes appetizer, entree, dessert, and non-alcoholic beverage. People were complaining because the kids menus didn't have any appetizers. In the immortal words of
Ricky Nelson: "You can't please everyone so you've got to please yourself".
I have to disagree. In many places where there wasn't a kids appetizer, you were allowed to choose and adult appetizer. Now at times, many didn't appeal to my older ds. Some did, like the lobster bisque at Coral Reef. It was also an appetizer on their kids menu when we were there in September. He loved it.
Now they have created these preplated meals (at least from the picture it appears that way) matching certain items and the reports indicate that it is difficult to substitute items. While my ds8 has informed me that he will probably be okay, I'm not. I think he's being shortchanged and is being treated like he should just eat whatever he's told. I wouldn't so why should he?
If I am willing to pay more money to stay on site, which means that I'm more likely to eat all of our TS meals on property, I resent being limited (at least to some extent) on the items I can choose for my child. If this is a cost issue, then raise the price of the dining plan for kids rather than give them these limited, icky choices. And while many people say that I should choose buffets which offer a variety of choices for everyone, I frankly don't usually like buffets. I hate being herded on a line for my food and have to take it from a communal container, touching utensils that have been handled by others (and w/o sounding rude, I have no idea about anyone else's hygiene practices). I like the atmosphere of sit down restaurants, having my meal brought to me. I do some buffets (notably Boma) but I don't want that to have to become our staple for 7 nights.
I'm hoping that the fact that we're hearing from Disney Dining and Central Reservations (as well as Guest Relations) that no one knows about this new menu, it means that it's in a trial phase and they are "testing the waters" so to speak.
I know that you can't please everyone, but frankly, limiting kids under 10 to these 5 or so meals and raising the price, I'm unhappy. And if I was not on the DDP, I would really be upset, since it appears that the "a la carte" menu is really also a prix fix meal, since you pay a flat rate for the three items. You cannot skip the appetizer and pay a lesser amount. So you pay for something that your kid will not eat. The way the menus are now, you can opt for an entree only and pay for it (we did this recently at LeCellier, ordering ds4 a hotdog only since he had eaten a CS meal shortly before). The way these new menus appear, that is no longer an option. So I see problems with the menu from both sides of the fence.