Kids’ menus are available in all sit-down restaurants. Most have a choice of two set meals served on a Mickey-shaped plate, with an appetizer such as carrot & celery sticks, an entrée (pizza or fish), and fruit cup for dessert. There’s also a limited a la carte choice. In most places this is limited to a couple of choices for appetizer and dessert and two or three choices of entrée.
Sadly, kids’ menus don’t vary much Resort-wide. If there isn’t anything on the menu your child would eat, don’t be afraid to speak to the server. Most places are very accommodating and they may be able to rustle up a child-size portion of something from the adult menu. They may also have other child friendly foods available that aren’t on the menu. For example, when we ate at Whispering Canyon Café the kids’ menu featured grilled chicken strips, and our three year old won’t eat chicken unless it is covered in breadcrumbs. The server told us they also had breaded chicken nuggets available, so she had those instead.
The kids’ set meals aren’t set in stone and you can substitute things for items from the a la carte menu to mix and match. So long as you just have three items you can choose two appetizer items and on entrée if that’s what your child wants. Most places also offer fries which can be substituted for potatoes / veggies, and sodas in place of the milk / water / juice that are included with every meal.
See our articles on the best counter service and table service meal options for kids.

Fussy eaters needn’t worry! If a menu item is shown with a sauce or cheese or such like on it, it can usually be served plain. For example, the kids’ meaty marinara pasta dish can be made without the meat or completely without the sauce.

Highchairs are available at all Disney World restaurants and counter service places. Kid’s menus in all table service restaurants come in the form of an activity sheet, along with crayons. These are a bit old for very young children, so consider taking a coloring book or sheets of paper for them to doodle. You can download and print free Disney activity sheets for older kids here.

Carry a selection of snacks around with you. While adults can go without snacking between meals, kids need to eat regularly, especially when they’re so active. Good choices are dried fruit, fresh fruit, & snack cookies.

Animal Kingdom didn’t used to have drinking straws available due to animal safety issues, but do now have paper straws available on asking. Paper straws sound a bit useless, but they have some sort of coating on, although they do eventually start to go soggy and collapse after so long. Therefore, if you have a young child who can’t yet drink out of a proper cup and needs a straw, consider taking your own, or a plastic cup with built in straw that you can pour any drinks you purchase into. If you do take your own straw please remember to dispose of it carefully in a trash can to prevent any potential harm to the animals.

Under 3’s aren’t included on the dining plan, so bear that in mind if it applies to you. Our 18 month old didn’t have a huge appetite when we visited with the dining plan, and we’d often let her share with her 3 year old sister. Kids’ portions are a decent size and if you buy an extra side item there’s usually enough to go around. The same applies if you’re paying out of pocket, and if you have two kids to feed, depending on the size of their appetites, you could either buy one kid’s or one adult meal for them to share. Sit-down restaurants will often provide a free bowl of pasta (plain or with a simple sauce) for under-3’s to eat. I’m not sure if it’s a Resort-wide policy, but every table service place we dined at we ordered a cup of milk or chocolate milk for our 18-month old and were never charged for it.

Under-3’s eat free at Disney buffet restaurants providing they share from an adult plate. I just filled up my plate with extra stuff for the little one and transferred it to a small plastic plate I’d taken with me once back at the table. Buffets are probably the best choice for this age group as you don’t have to pay for them and there’s a wide choice of food available.

Buffets are also a great choice for older kids due to the wide variety of food available, and the fact you can just keep going back for more. Fussy eaters are bound to find something they like, with most buffets having a special kids section, and youngsters with a more discerning palette will find a welcome change from the usual burger and chicken nuggets offerings.

Disney Restaurants & counter service places aren’t permitted to heat baby food or bottles for health and safety reasons. The only place in-park where you can get then heated are the Baby Care Centers, where microwaves are available and free to use. You’ll also find a microwave in the Resort food courts, free for guest use.

To save money, and time, on breakfasts grab some things from a supermarket. On our last trip all our three year old wanted for breakfast was toast. After a few days of paying out of pocket or using snack credits we realised it would be cheaper to go to the supermarket and buy a loaf of bread, then use the food court toaster each morning. We also stocked up on bottled water and juice boxes at the supermarket which is much cheaper than buying on Resort property.