Hello there, Jennifer. Thanks for visiting us here at planDisney with your question.
Walt Disney World does such a fabulous job catering to the needs of Guests while they visit. It's one of the many reasons I've been going there since I was a young girl. It's amazing to me how they strive to make each experience so memorable and magical for each individual Guest while they are there, no matter the request. Jennifer, if you choose to dine at one of the character meals during your vacation, each Guest in attendance will be required to pay the full menu price - whether they eat or not. But the good news is, the Chefs at the restaurants are absolutely going to work with you to try to come up with something that will make your 11 year old happy. When you arrive at a restaurant, character meal or not, let your server know that your child has special needs and ask to speak with the Chef. They will be more than happy to come out and speak with you, in fact, you'll probably see this happening several times while you are there. Together, you, your child and the Chef can come up with some reasonable requests they would be able to make that might please your child. I've seen this happen on numerous occasions and am always so happy at how accommodating they can be. If you'd like to plan ahead, many restaurants are able to accommodate special requests, especially with a little notice. There is a team of Cast Members that work specifically with
special dietary requests and they will be happy to assist you while navigating the dining process for your child. You can send them an email at Special.Diets@DisneyWorld.com to start the process with them.
Currently, only certain character meals are available at this time. The ones that are currently accepting reservations are
Chef Mickey's at Disney's Contemporary Resort,
Garden Grill at Epcot,
Hollywood & Vine at Disney's Hollywood Studios and
Topolino's Terrace - Flavors of the Riviera at Disney's Riviera Resort. Character dining does look a little bit different at this time to help promote physical distancing, however, it is as fun as ever. I've recently dined at Topolino's Terrace - Flavors of the Riviera and had a wonderful meal enjoying some time with Mickey and all of his friends. It was so nice to see them all once again!
Disney's customer service is like nothing else and is one of the many reasons I keep coming back to Walt Disney World over and over again. I think you will be very pleased using the special dietary request service for your child. If you have any other questions before your trip, please feel free to come back and
ask me. I'm happy to help.