The phrase is when “in Rome do like the Romans do” or something. Whatever the phrase the philosophy is how I try to enjoy vacation eating. If you’re at a seaside resort order the fish. At the global fusion buffet order whatever that rice thing is. I’m a grown up and I enjoy a little culinary adventure now and again. Disney’s the perfect venue for this type of adventure since you can have the best of foreign dining combined with rigorous health and cleanliness standards found in a Disney Kitchen. I advise all grown ups headed to Disney to mix it up and try a new taste.
But no matter where we go one of my children will always find the chicken tenders on the meal. It is that 
kid’s go to order. We could be dining in the finest Italian, Greek, French or Mexican restaurant and the child will ferret out the chicken tenders.
I try to nudge the Chicken Tender King toward something new when we dine out. When in Epcot do like the Epcotians do! The chefs know their international cuisine. I enjoy pushing myself away from old food favorites and I ask what the waiter/waitress recommends. I’ve never been lead astray.
But there’s still the Chicken Tender King. After a day at the park The Chicken Tender King had walked for hours, patiently stood in line, and had laughed ot the point of crying on a ride called Star Tours. It was time for dinner.
The Chicken Tender King was cooked, pretty tired. This was a tired born of great fun , but the kind that could lead to tears and tantrums. You know the drill. You can see when your kid is nearly as fried as the items on the menu. Respect that.
When it was The Chicken Tender King’s turn to order we didn’t protest the selection of chicken tenders. Normally we would nudge a little. But we gave in. Why? Were we allowing the kid to run all over us? No. It’s just a little bit of comfort after a day of adventure can be just the ticket. Really, on vacation why argue over dinner? Save that for Christmas. The rest of the year you can make the case for variety, healthy choices, vegetables, but at a late night Disney dinner, whatever floats your Steamboat Willy.
If you can get the kids or grandparents to get wild in their food choices at some of the restaurants I guarantee you’ll be satisfied. But if someone really just wants a little familiar taste of home, by all means, chicken tenders, macaroni and chees and yes peanut butter and jelly are on the menu of just about every Disney restaurant.
It is after all the land of The Lion King which is the perfect habitat for your little Chicken Tender King to rule over his dinner feast.
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I’ll trade! While Matt can be a chicken nugget kid, he also goes for the top end frequently. We were in Williamsburg for Spring Break when he was aout 8. He decided he needed the biggest lobster in the tank. At the whole thing. Christened him Mr. Big Claw. Luckily, he’ll also order salad on a regular basis–with shrimp.
I swear I have Alzheimeric Dyslexeria … toward the beginning of this post I swear you wrote that your kid was eating ferret tenders …
This is something too many people get wrong. A couple weeks ago Ed Levine, founder of Serious Eats and former NYT food writer, was lamenting about how he was going to stay on his diet while visiting New Orleans. Most readers who commented, including myself, basically told him his brain needed an alignment, and that he should enjoy all food in the Big Easy, but in moderation. As it turned out, he only gained two pounds!
Our lil chicken nugget king is a chicken nugget queen in our house. Like yours, doesn’t matter where we are…its chicken nuggets.
Yes she’s at the age where we don’t raise an eyebrow either, just let it go. Afterall she’s eating it.
It used to drive me nuts that my youngest Jacob only orders chicken nuggets. Now, Matthew is starting to order steaks and fish my wallet kinda likes the fact Jacob is happy with chicken.
Very true Ang!
Kids eat free nite applies only when they eat off the “kids menu”. Which our days are numbered!
I just went out on a “Mother’s day date” with my teenager to The Elephant Bar…all kinds of yummy, somewhat fancy things to try…he orders chicken tenders!
They will always be 7 I guess!
In our eyes they will always be 7. True.
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