Dining Plan and Children Meltdowns

[5_Kids_Mom]

First I would like to say thank you for all the great information I have gotten from these boards :goodvibes . I have been reading for a long time and wanted to write about my dining experiences to see if others agree.

My Sept 23rd trip to the world with free dining was wonderful, however in the past 3 times we have been there I can not remember a time where we saw more children having meltdowns! :confused3 I do not mean expected crankiness, I mean Nanny 911 meltdowns! One child at the Wilderness Lodge restaurant was grabbing his father's leg screaming I WANT MORE DESSERT to the point where the poor dad's pants were falling down!! Once at the Garden Grill in EPCOT a table of 3 adults with 4 toddlers were allowing the children to run like crazy! When they were asked to stop by the waitress, one of the children returned to the table and banged her head against the table while the other threw table items on the floor. At the place in Mexico, the child was screaming "let me out of here" for the first half hour of the meal, finally she fell asleep. The parents looked exhausted. In 2 instances, (Garden Grill and Mexico), diners at another table complained and were told THEY could move! These are just 3 examples of what we saw out of many.

I think the dining plan has forced more families with young children into too many sit down restaurant experiences and the children simple can't handle it. I have 5 children of my own (older now) and am looking forward to returning with my grandchildren so I am not bashing children in restaurants. :thumbsup2 I just think that parents with young children that can not sit for many meals should reconsider the dining plan.


Sorry this is long, but it seemed like everywhere we went, children were screaming and nobody was having a good time. :crazy:

Cathy

:wave2:

[ReneeA]

Wow! We didn't witness anything like this in our 8 nights there last month.

However, since we have young children too, we made our ADR's for very early dinners so that they weren't pushed to their limits. I would imagine it was early enough for most kids, also.

Sorry you had to listen to that.:(

[ntsammy5]

Wow! We didn't witness anything like this in our 8 nights there last month.

Sorry you had to listen to that.:(


Me either, but we usually ate later.... too bad you had to sit through all that.

[oogieboogie]

Sorry you had a bad experience. I didn't see any meltdowns this past week, however there were plenty of obnoxious adults!

We were at Yachtsmans one night and the table next to us was SOOO loud! There were 3 couples and one guy and one woman dominated the entire conversation. It was so bad the husband of the woman finally left the table and didn't come back! You could tell the other people in the party were just embarrased. Sigh... booze and them just didn't mix. When they finally left, a couple at another table and us started clapping and finally were able to enjoy our meal. Talk about crass!

Kids I can understand because they're kids. They have meltdowns. Understandable. But adults?... just plain rude and obnoxious.

[Aurora in blue]

I saw a few meltdowns too. The worst at Le Cellier where a child about age 7 or 8 knocked over his water glass on purpose about 10 times before his Dad carried him out... that was all during their appetizer. Coral Reef was loud with lots of roaming kids. With that all being said my own kids would have enjoyed less sit down meals, but remained well behaved for the most part. I agree that the DP has more families with younger children trying out TS restaurants. Everyone knows what works for thier own family. I think it helps to stay on a eating schedule that is as close as possible to your one at home.

[AlexTina]

I have 3 kids of my own (5. 2. and 9 weeks) and I have to agree with you. We had the dining plan in May 05 and my kids just couldn't handle all the sit down meals. I tried to plan them early but even so by the time we got to dinner they were tired and cranky and having to wait to eat in a nice quiet establishment just didn't mix, they were good most of the time but there were a couple of occasions where we had to leave and I felt soooo embarassed. The dinning plan is awesome for couples or families with older children but those of us with young ones do much better with counter service or loud kid friendly sit down meals like liberty tree. We won't be doing the dinning plan again until the kids much older.

Tina

[Cass]

:sad2: :sad2: :sad2:

I haven't seen anything like that but we did have some terrible 2's twins at AKL concierge, they were running up the the food area and touching everything, taking things, rearranging things and then one of them threw a handful of wooden stir sticks off the balcony down to the lobby below.

The parents were just sitting there, 'don't touch that honey' etc... :sad2:

[disneynewbee]

I will have three kiddos on our trip age 13, 4, and 11 months and we have the dining plan. We scheduled all kid friendly fun places so that our kids would be entertained during dinner. Even though the food at the fancier places may be better it's not if I can't enjoy it because my kids are having a melt down. The only one I expect a hard time from is the 4yo as she can throw some nasty fits when she wants to and it is quite embarassing. I don't expect any trouble at the restaurants we chose because they cater to her. We are going to Chef Mickey, Crystal Palace, Princess breakfast in Norway, 1900 Park Fair, Donalds breakfast, Whispering Canyon, 50's Prime time, and Sci fi. We will be there 14 nights. I know it's not gourmet dining but it works for us right now. When they are older I will check out the more upscale establishments but a meal spent hushing my children to be quiet is not that enjoyable.

[BlindTyldak]

I think it really depends on the children . . . we used magical wishes our last trip (so that was two TS a day) and when it was me, DH, and DD (then 4) it was just fine; I'm proud to say my DD is VERY well behaved in restaurants (alas, not always 100% guaranteed at other times :lmao: ). But when our Gathering got together my sister's kids couldn't handle the TS meals at all; jumping on chairs, yelling, screaming, crying . . . . It was very difficult being stuck at a table with the rest of the family where children were acting up and trying to decide whether to hide under the tablecloth out of embarrassment, or add to the commotion by starting a family row over the other members' lack of control (or attempt to control). Needless to say, we're never going with them again.

[Cass]

Hi disneynewbe, you made some wise dining choices for your family, I'm sure you will have a great time. I haven't been to all the signature restaurants but I have to tell you California Grill is SO LOUD I don't think anyone would hear a meltdown in there. It was crazy loud, more than CM or PF :)

[5_Kids_Mom]

I have been in restaurants when my children melted! I wanted to crawl under a rock (instead we left). Kids will be kids. In my opinion, it is the reaction of the adults that count. In 1 of my 3 examples the parents did try to react and calm the child down. In the other 2 examples, the parents allowed the children to scream, throw things, and run around while they sat there. Not until the child quieted or was diverted mind you, for a good 1/2 hr to 45 minutes while they finished and finally left. Yes, it was late and probably past the little darling's bedtimes.

I believe Disney is a family resort and kids should be welcome in most if not all places. I didn't mean to imply that we expect perfect behavior. Not at all! There is so much to see, hear, and smell at Disney that children are wired by it all. Tired, cranky behavior is expected, screaming and throwing things, no. The adults were fighting with each other by the end of the meal and yelling at the children (who did not listen). As I said, no fun for anyone. I think they would have been much happier eating earlier or having a quick service meal instead of forcing a long sit down meal later in the evening.

All that said, my family and I had a fantastic trip and I would rather be in a Disney restaurant listening to a screaming child than back here at work anytime. :sunny:

:bounce: :bounce:
Cathy

[ksoehrlein]

Any chance some of these families didn't have ADRs -- or that they waited to late to make them and were stuck with inappropriate seating times for their group? Not that it excuses the parents ignoring these Extreme Meltdowns, however...

We ate past our little darling's bed times a few times when we went with didn't-want-to-plan-ahead family friends in 2003 and had walked up to Alfredos and Teppanyaki during dinner hours. Luckily, the kids ended up falling asleep at the table midway through their entrees so they didn't melt down, but I realize it could easily have gone either way. I know I almost had a low-blood-sugar meltdown after waiting so long for our table!

[GSDRescuer]

We aren't going with the DDP for just that reason. We are taking our DGD2 for her first WDW trip. We won't be able to schedule anything. We will be on HER schedule. Even though the DDP is a good deal, we are not going with it at this time. Later, when she is old enough, we will give it a try. I am a Commando WDW person, so this time I'll have to slow it down. (Maybe I'll enjoy it more?) ;)

[ekball]

However, since we have young children too, we made our ADR's for very early dinners so that they weren't pushed to their limits. I would imagine it was early enough for most kids, also.

Sorry you had to listen to that.:(

Yup - us too. Our latest ADR was 5:40 I believe, with most being around 5 or 5:15 (a couple even earlier!). I also was careful to make most reservations at restaurants that were near our resort or in the park we were at for the day. The one time we really travelled to get to a restaurant (BOMA) it was a bit of a disaster (no screaming/yelling/head banging....but DD was a challenge, for us). We did not "dine" - but we never do these days.

If parents were going to "dine" at late reservations that took them all over the "world", I can see where there would be a lot of meltdowns.

[GC&S]

We weren't there the same time as the OP but I apologize for anyone at Le Cellier last Tuesday. We are guilty of having one of the melt down children. DD is 4 and was so cranky before we went to dinner. We figured being in a restaurant that was nice and cool would help. But it didn't. And I was at my wits end trying to calm her down. Our waiter was really nice and patient. I did get her to settle down with some bribery. To me, it lasted about 10 hours but really she only had her fit for about 10 minutes.

I scheduled all our ADR's between 4-5 which worked out well. DD is used to eating in restaurants as we eat out a lot :rolleyes: She did very well except at Le Celliers. And then later that night she was sick so now I'm thinking she probably wasn't feeling well during dinner and this prompted the outburst.

We actually had more problems with her at CS places just because of lines and not having much to do while waiting for DH to get back with food. At least at TS they give crayons and paper.

[SnowWitch]

We were there on the DDP in July and didn't notice it but we did notice alot of parents acting like 2 year olds. "oh I thought my 2 yr old was free" after ordering an appetizer, entree, and dessert for the little darling. We saw this a few times. We had 2 teen boys who were of course fine and our 14 month old daughter, who did beautifully. But she naps three hours everyday and we dined before 7 pm every night. I also always mentioned to the server when ordering that we wanted to order everyhting at once for the dining enjoyment of ourselves and those around us. All our servers did a great job in accomodating this. Our longest sit down meal was 1 hr and 20 minutes.

Yes, Disney is for families but there is a such thing as being polite and if a child is that disruptive the parents should take the child out and be considerate of others around them. Sorry just my 2 cents. Before I would let one of my little angels ruin someones meal I would ask the rest of my party to have my food boxed to go and leave.

[susieq76]

Its really more of an issue of stupid parents. I have 3 boys- twin4s and a 3. They have been going to WDW at least once a year since the twins were 11 months and the baby was 2 months. We eat at a TS EVERY day. They have yet to have a meltdown.

However, and a big however

1) My kids are used to dining out. Even when we go to McDonalds they are expected to remain seated at all times and eat properly. They are also well aware that Mommy & Daddy will just leave if they start complaining they want to get up like all the other kids. They frequently dine in higher end places at home and behave well. I think parents (such as my sister) that do NOT take their children out to eat frequently or do not expect the best manners at the table should not suddenly think they should be able to go to a TS meal every night at Disney and be just fine.

2) I make my dining arraingements based on their schedules. IE- even if I can not get seats at their usual dinner time (6pm) and I have to make them for 7:40pm- I adjust accordingly. They have a PB sandwich at 6pm so that they are not crazy starving and unmanagable by ADR time. If they don't eat much then- who cares?

3) Five our of seven nights we will do character/show dinners.

4) If I feel someone is never going to make it through a long dinner we order and eat most of it back at the hotel. Most restaurants are really understanding, wrap it nicely and safely for the bus ride back.

I have three kids and it drives me nuts when parents allow their children to walk around a restaurant or have miserable kids dying for a nap and just go about their thing. I hope some people will take the hint.

[WDWCPAlumni]

Well my kids were 2 and 4 last year when we went to Disney and the sit down meals were terrible, so this year ALL year, we have been going to eat out around our home. We take the kids out to eat once a week. The change in their behavior has been amazing to say the least!!!!!!!!!
So this year, we are going in January, they will be 3 and 5......they will do so much better, and to be sure of it we are doing our sit down meals for breakfast and/or early lunches with just a few exceptions. Mostly because when the kids are THAT tired, we go back to the room to sleep.

[everest]

My First thought is that Mid August through September, Disney really targets the young guest and their parents because they are the most marketable for that time of the year. They have extra magic Hours just for the preschoolers during that time. They just so happen to throw in free dinning for young families to even make it more attractive time for them to visit. So have said that I think anyone talking advantage of this promotion should know that young children will be dinning in a more larger proportion than during non-free dining times. I am in no way saying that meltdown children and unresponsive parenting is ok , but guest should realize that the possibilities of witnessing one of these is good during this time and please don’t let it ruin your time at Disney.

I myself have a DD6 and see will every now and then decide to challenge us just to see what see will get away with. When we went to the Hoop De Doo for dinner she decided this would be a great opportunity to test me. I warned her a couple times of her bad choices and on the third time I got up and said to her lets go outside for a minute she, immediately begged and promised to be good from then on I backed off. Two minutes later she deliberately made another inappropriate bad choice, so I had to follow through and be embarrassed as I walk a crying 6 year old out (all this took place before the show started). I took her to a private quite place around the corner and gave her a couple love taps on the bottom and I really do mean love taps. She then has a shocked look and the look like “man he is serious” I talked to her about her choices and what will happen if it continues. This usually does the trick and then she acts like a angel for the next couple of days after one of these talks and luckily this was also one of those times. Now for those who have read this far I need to finish the story with a little embarrassing humor that ends this story. After DD pulled herself together we decided to come back in were they have you go out to use the restrooms, well what we didn’t know was that as we were walking in they were announcing for everyone to look to the back and played loud noises to get them to look back. Well as you are probably guessing by now my DD and myself are walking in the back side door and it seemed as if we had everyone’s full and undivided attention to ourselves. Luckily the performers busted in the back middle doors and diverted everyone’s attention back to them. I could have crawled back out, but I reassured myself that I really saved us all from going through this later during the show.

[Wendy1953]

We aren't going with the DDP for just that reason. We are taking our DGD2 for her first WDW trip. We won't be able to schedule anything. We will be on HER schedule. Even though the DDP is a good deal, we are not going with it at this time. Later, when she is old enough, we will give it a try. I am a Commando WDW person, so this time I'll have to slow it down. (Maybe I'll enjoy it more?) ;)

You could do the DDP, and use your TS credits at CS restaurants. As for your Commando tactics....you will definitely have to slow it down... a 2 year old will be very cranky doing Commando style Disney.

Have a great time!

[JamesMom]

During our Sept '07 (free dinning, please!!!) we plan to eat out for Breakfast & lunch with the kids (5 and 2 yo) - character meals, CS at the parks, etc. But for about 1/2 of our dinners will be adults solo with a babysitter in the room. If we are planning a nice TS meal at home- the kids would not be there, why would I expect them to be there at WDW? The other 1/2 of the dinners will be prepared in the cabin or take-out from somewhere else. We have yet to execute this plan, but so far on paper it is seems reasonable. We already have the babysitting money as a part of our trip budget. Couldn't imagine doing it any other way, really.

[Tigger714]

As a mom of three boys DS9, DS22 mos. & DS 9 months what the OP describes is my worst nightmare! If you as the guest sitting next to them are miserable just imagine how the parent must feel too! We have set a policy that seems to work for us. If we have an ADR and it appears that the kids just aren't in the mood, then we call, cancel and go on our way.

Parents must listen to their kids cues and know when enough is enough. Commando vacationing at the house of mouse just isn't a possibility with little kids, and some parents still need to learn that! IMHO :sunny:

[schatterjee]

My kids did pretty well although I had to take our little guy (4) out of Le Cellier for a little melt down outside. Hopefully it didn't ruin anyone else's dinner. I scheduled all meals for about 5:30 and we went after nap even so by the end of our two week trip we were all sick of eating out for a while.

Next time I think I'll mix it up a little and not do all TS as dinners. Then we wouldn't have to go out every night. Live and learn...

[Luv Bunnies]

We are paying for the DDP on our Dec. trip and I wouldn't be doing it if I didn't think my kids were old enough to handle it (11 & 8). We did a Disney cruise last year (one of the special Mexico trips) and we were pleasantly surprised that our boys behaved so well every night at dinner (we even had the late seating).

I think that even if dining was free, I would not do a lot of TS restaurants if my kids were a lot younger. I remember dining with toddlers and preschoolers and it's just not fun! My 11 year old and I sat in a restaurant the other night and listened to a toddler scream at the top of his lungs for our entire meal. The adults at the table were either too lazy or too inconsiderate to take him outside. I can remember many meals out where my husband and I didn't even eat together because one of us was taking a restless child for a walk outside.

[RN01]

It was just because of that reason that I was trying to decide about getting the DP or not. I have a 2, 9, and 12 year olds. While the older kids will be no problem, I have been worrying about how the 2 year old will do in the sit down restaurants. I finally decided to get the DP and then decided later it was probably a bad idea but too late now. I figure if it's too much for her, me or DH can take her out of the restaurant untill our food gets there. Please wish me luck. I can tell you one thing, if she is throwing a screaming fit or acting up in any way we will be out of there. There's no way I'm going to disrupt the other diners vacation.

[everest]

RN01; Just remember you won’t be the only one with a small child at the Disney restaurants. Just relax and have a great time, because if you are over cautious and nervous your young one will pick up on it and you know they will take control if we let them. Besides it sounds like if your young one starts to get cranky you will already have a plan. Something that helped us while we were waiting was to have conversations about what we have done or will be doing, another big help was getting a small toy(s) that keep my DD busy and entertained. I’m just going to say it again; Remember your not the only family having dinner at Disney, relax and enjoy!

[pezpam]

Next time I think I'll mix it up a little and not do all TS as dinners. Then we wouldn't have to go out every night. Live and learn...

And a great thing to learn it is! Sometimes it seems like we all talk about how to get THE MOST for our dining plan dollar, but for me, it's about the experience. If DD was miserable at a dinner because it was too late, then so what if we get served an expensive meal? We use DDP TS credits for character breakfasts all the time. We both love it and can schedule it to start our day on our schedule, while we have energy. On my last trip, which was all-adult, we did use some for lunch, too, which left evenings free to do whatever the heck we liked, including having a drink and going to bed ridiculously early if we felt like it. :-D

popcorn::

[gymborocks]

We were lucky enough not to witness any meltdowns when we were there earlier this month. We were even luckier that our children didn't have any!

[melomouse]

Travelling with DS who has Asperger's always requires that I pay attention to his states and anticipate the meltdown due to exhaustion or hunger BEFORE it actually occurs.

It took me years to learn this - I am correct most of the time FINALLY!

We had ADR's for CG since April on FDP the last week in September.With my invisible "kid barometer", I stood on line for CG check -in at the right time and tearfully cancelled the ressie with no penalty, went up to Chef Mickey's, waited 20 minutes - NO ADR obviously - and was seated. It was so much more his speed, I didn't stress or suffer embarassment or further meltdown, and a great time was had by all!!!

Sometimes parenting requires flexibility - and making the harder choices.

[susieq76]

Sometimes parenting requires flexibility - and making the harder choices.

So True! I figure once my boys are in college (oh about 16 years or so :rolleyes1 ) DH and I will finally get to experience V & A. Funny thing is I'm dreading that those 16 years will go too fast.

[Tracy Savage]

I can see this happening. I am grateful my DS is old enough now to actually enjoy taking a breather and having a sit-down meal. But that being said WDW is all about kids so it comes with the territory, doesn't it?

[kaytieeldr]

My First thought is that Mid August through September, Disney really targets the young guest and their parents because they are the most marketable for that time of the year. They have extra magic Hours just for the preschoolers during that time. They just so happen to throw in free dinning for young families to even make it more attractive time for them to visit. Couple of observations - first, the Disney Dining Plan has been in effect since January 2005. It was offered free for stays during about a six-week period in the late summer of 2005 and again free during a similar time frame in 2006, both times as part of a package. The 'targeting young Guests' thing was just instituted in 2006 during an approximately overlapping range of dates. So the DDP came first, it's not just a "happen to throw in" enticement - and it's marketed at EVERYONE, not just families with young children.


You could do the DDP, and use your TS credits at CS restaurants I don't believe you can, as a rule. Really, anyway, purchasing the Disney Dining Plan then using it for mainly counter service meals is a HUGE waste of money.

[Luv2Roam]

All this being said, we eat at Disney restaurants on a regular basis. Meltdowns by adults or kids are not that common.
In the parks, they pop up in the smaller and larger kids. ;) Esp in the heat. :sunny: And quite frankly who here has not had some form? It doesn't show our best side. ;)
I don't see it as a major problem. But maybe the servers would say different! :rotfl2: :confused3
I think sometimes the adults welcome an afternoon relaxation back at their resort as much as the kids. Great time to relax and rest by a pool. :smooth:

[Alicnwondrln]

its hard my 2 year old has a speech delay and was screaching at time
i was moritifed, he was good for the most part
we tried to eat at early times
before the dining we rarely did the sit downs with the kids

[deide71]

We just got back from 5 days on the dining plan. My 2 youngest (4 and 3) were holy terrors when we tried to sit down for our table service meals. We actually had to pack up our meal from Alfredo's due to the mother of all melt-downs. It wasn't pretty.

I think we will skip the dining plan until the kids are older. The stress was not worth it :guilty: .

[Donald - my hero]

First I would like to say thank you for all the great information I have gotten from these boards :goodvibes . I have been reading for a long time and wanted to write about my dining experiences to see if others agree.

My Sept 23rd trip to the world with free dining was wonderful, however in the past 3 times we have been there I can not remember a time where we saw more children having meltdowns! :confused3 I do not mean expected crankiness, I mean Nanny 911 meltdowns! One child at the Wilderness Lodge restaurant was grabbing his father's leg screaming I WANT MORE DESSERT to the point where the poor dad's pants were falling down!! Once at the Garden Grill in EPCOT a table of 3 adults with 4 toddlers were allowing the children to run like crazy! When they were asked to stop by the waitress, one of the children returned to the table and banged her head against the table while the other threw table items on the floor. At the place in Mexico, the child was screaming "let me out of here" for the first half hour of the meal, finally she fell asleep. The parents looked exhausted. In 2 instances, (Garden Grill and Mexico), diners at another table complained and were told THEY could move! These are just 3 examples of what we saw out of many.

I think the dining plan has forced more families with young children into too many sit down restaurant experiences and the children simple can't handle it. I have 5 children of my own (older now) and am looking forward to returning with my grandchildren so I am not bashing children in restaurants. :thumbsup2 I just think that parents with young children that can not sit for many meals should reconsider the dining plan.


Sorry this is long, but it seemed like everywhere we went, children were screaming and nobody was having a good time. :crazy:

Cathy

:wave2:

HEY Cathy! :welcome: glad you have joined the DIS party: Been awhile since we have been to the House of the Mouse BUT I know that it is very frustrating to deal with this kind of behaviour. For our 20th anniversary we went to an extremely upper scale steak house. Before our drinks even arrived a SOCCER team of close to 25 10-15 yr old kids were seated NEXT to us. I flagged down the waiter and told he we wanted to be moved. No problem he said and within 2 minutes we were seated at a very private table. As we were passing their table one parent yelled down to the other end of the table "look at that rude couple! Guess they figure they will bother us"
Through out the entire time we were there we could hear them whooping and hollering and running around -- we felt sorry for the server.

[All Morganic]

We have 2 DDs we'll be traveling and dining out with. DD5 is easy peasy - no issues with her. DD3.5 is a big giant question mark. :confused3 She's been shaping up nicely the last 6 months or so (which is how I got the blessing from DH to book our vacation). But, every once in awhile...

I have mostly early ressies, but I'm a little worried about a 7:15 Hoop-Dee-Doo. I'm thinking a nice llllloooonnnngggg nap is in order that day. Also, we have the Pirate & Princess Party one night. What the CM on the phone told me about it, I had visions of my little princesses all dressed up running around the MK smiling, giggling, being silly. :yay: Now I'm having nightmares of tired tantrums, crabbing, crying :furious: What's a mother to do?

[jbthi]

This is a little OT but I think it is funny. When our DGD was 3, my husband and I took her and our daughter to Disney. We were eating dinner at what is now Kona (I think it was something else then). She was usually very good at restaurants but that evening she decided she wanted to climb up onto the middle of the table and refused to get down. My husband picked her up and took her outside. They returned a short time later and she sat in her chair like a little angel.

Later that night she was talking to her dad (who didn't come with us) on the phone and when he asked her how she had been that day she said "well I was a little wild today but I've settled down now".

To this day my husband will not tell us what he said to her. If he did we might be able to market it! :teeth:

[jillyjoey]

As others have posted -- we scheduled all TS meals at regular mealtimes - 4:30 -6 pm. DS (10) is great and always has been... Then there is DD(4) (whom sometime we like to call the poster child for birth control) -- she does not do well anywhere -- except WDW. Last trip -- we thought we would not be able to eat anywhere -- she was an angel ---- I attribute it all to the Disney magic -- as soon as we got back to Tennessee she was back to her own demonic self. I am keeping my fingers crossed that she will behave this trip -- but in that same respect -we have made only 2 non child friendly TS meals -- Teppanyaki (requested by DS and since he has to sit through H&V character meal for DD this was granted) & Marrakesh (although last trip she loved the belly dancer).

I agree with the other posters with children who state that it is terribly embarassing when your child has a meltdown in public. You just have no idea- and if you think it is the parents' fault think again -- my DS has always been well-behaved -- he threw one fit in Target when he was 2 and that was his one and only time. DD on the other hand -- UGH!!!

[5DisneyNuts]

Most of us with kids have a very good idea. It's not the parent's fault that the children have tantrums; it is their fault if they don't handle the situation appropriately.

Hope you have a wonderful trip!




I agree with the other posters with children who state that it is terribly embarassing when your child has a meltdown in public. You just have no idea- and if you think it is the parents' fault think again -- my DS has always been well-behaved -- he threw one fit in Target when he was 2 and that was his one and only time. DD on the other hand -- UGH!!!

[katie111]

I think part of the problem is that the Disney restaurants are so slow! We eat out all the time at home with DD4 and DS3. Last January when we were there we scheduled all sit down meals no later than 6. At home we usually go out around 6 and are done by 7 if we go to a family friendly restaurant. In Disney, it seemed like we were never done with our meals before 8. Everything just seems to take so much time, checking in, waiting for your table, and then most service is just plain slow! By day 3 we learned our lesson & just prepared something in the room for the kids & got takeout for ourselves. One night we had a Chef Mickey reservation at 5:30. We got there at 5:15 and waited at least a half hour to check in. Then it was another half hour of waiting. By that point our kids were at each other's throats. We walked out of there and then had a "great" 45 minute ride on the monorail with a hysterical DD4 yelling "I want Chef Mickey!. Luckily many other parents on the monrail told us they could sympathize so we felt a little better. We tried to do everything right but it was just a horrible experience which seems like it could have been alleviated if the waits weren't so long. And this was in the slow time of late January. I think Disney is just exhausting for kids & too many parents try to do too much (including us sometimes, I guess). We're going next week on the dining plan and are doing almost all character buffets and none later than 5:30. Hopefully that will work out.

Also, its funny on here to read how many people have difficult DD4's! We thought we were the only ones!! I thought 4 was going to be an easy age, but boy was I wrong. I thin she's 4 going on 14!

[Lizzybee]

We went on the DDP in August and I realize my DD8 is fully capable of having a meltdown if she gets too hungry. So...I made my ADRs early in the trip planning process and early during the meal hours (ie all dinners at 4pm). I was able to get all of my desired restaurants at the 4pm time, but if all that was available was after 5:30pm, I'd have chosen a different restaurant. To me, it's not worth it. When she gets hungry she gets weepy and whiney. I love her and I don't even want to be around her then, why would a restaurant full of people want to???? I'm not entirely convinced that it's all within her control. I can keep her reasonably toned down but she's a pain. I can't recall a time when she has disturbed other diners. Maybe because she KNOWS she'd be grounded for what would seem like an eternity if she did. Plus there are lots of buffets at WDW so no waiting for food.

[mimif1]

My husband and I have done many a tag team dining meal! What really helped in October was telling the server at non-buffet meals that we would tip extra if they "rushed" us. :thumbsup2 They were usually happy to help. It was worth the extra tip to get out quickly. We also asked if we could order our desserts at the beginning and pay before we were finished so we didn't have to wait at the end. That's the worst part for us, waiting for the bill when everyone is finished.

The only time I sat at a table with my sweet DD2 screaming was at a CS restaurant with an overheated DD7 while my husband was getting the food. The restaurant was crowded and we finally found a table and my heat sensitive kid had to be in air conditioning for awhile. I wasn't about to loose that table! Of course, when the kid at the table across the room started vomiting everywhere people quit looking at us! Bless that little boy!

[thunderbird1]

Of course, when the kid at the table across the room started vomiting everywhere people quit looking at us! Bless that little boy!

:rotfl2: :rotfl2:

Maybe that's why I'm not at all bothered by other people's children having meltdowns in restaurants--because I'm just glad it's not one one of mine!