Hi Gina,
Welcome to the Disney Parks Moms Panel! I have two kids and when they were younger they were generally good eaters. However, whenever we were on vacation, particularly at the Most Magical Place on Earth, they would pick at their food. Of course, any meal where a Character is present is distracting but even at other restaurants, the kids would be too busy looking around to concentrate on their food. I don't like to waste food so we would have our kids share meals when they could.
Buffets,
Character Dining, and fixed price meals will require that you pay for a meal for each child, even if they don't eat much. There is no clear policy for or against sharing meals for children at other Walt Disney World Resort restaurants. It is left up to the discretion of the restaurants if they want to allow sharing. I will say that I have not been turned down by a restaurant when we have asked for our kids to share a meal. I suggest asking kindly when you visit
Yak & Yeti Restaurant at Disney's Animal Kingdom Park and
Kona Cafe at Disney's Polynesian Village Resort. I hope you will be accommodated.
Just in case you need any suggestions, we love any of the Sushi Samplers at Kona Cafe and the Ahi Tuna Nachos at Yak & Yeti Restaurant are out of this world. I also have one last suggestion. We would occasionally get a Quick-Service meal for our kids or fix a sandwich for them in the room. After they had eaten dinner we would take them to dinner with us. When we were served our entrees, the kids would receive fancy desserts. The delicious desserts were enough to keep them well-behaved while we enjoyed our meal. It's not something we would do every day, but it did help us enjoy a fantastic dinner more than once.
Gina, thank you for visiting us with your question. I hope you will let us know if we can help you with any other planning questions before your visit.
Wishing you a magical vacation,
Amy H.