Hi, Angela!
Great question!
When Guests include the
Disney Dining Plan in their Walt Disney World reservation, that Dining Plan will be added for all Guests on that same reservation. Your son, at 3 years old, will be included at the child rate, which is offered for Guests ages 3-9. (Guests under 3 are not eligible for the Dining Plan, but are welcome to share from their parents' and siblings' plates.)
On the Dining Plan, as a child, your little prince will be able to order from the kids' menu wherever it's available. (If there is no kids' menu, then he orders from the regular menu.) What's nice about that is the kids' menus have so many options that are picky-eater-friendly, but there are also healthy and more adventurous options on each menu as well. We found that this was a great way to get our kids to choose something familiar, when needed, as well as something a little more exotic (for a little one, anyway). At Epcot's Coral Reef Restaurant, for example, kids' items include a grilled fish of the day as well as cheese pizza. Epcot's Le Cellier Steakhouse offers kids grilled sirloin as well as elbow pasta, among other dishes. Lots of choices for the little ones here! Of course, at buffet locations such as The Crystal Palace or Chef Mickey's, little diners will be able to choose from the kids' buffet as well as all of the items offered at the grown-up buffet, too. (This is a great way to let the little ones see what something looks like to determine if they'd like to taste it, a technique I'm sure resulted in two pretty adventurous eaters here!)
Happy planning, Angela! Be sure to send more questions as you think of them; we love to help!