Dining "At the Bar"

[magellica]

Can kids dine at the bar? Do you need ADR's to do this. Where can you do this?

 

[webray]

Kids...at a bar that serves alcohol...I wouldn't do this, as it takes up spaces for adults who just want to have a cocktail and relax.

Kids don't really belong..."at a bar"

 

[magellica]

A snack at 50's in mid-afternoon (4 adults and 1 kid), but wanted to open it up to a hypothetical.

 

[shellybaxter]

Kids...at a bar that serves alcohol...I wouldn't do this, as it takes up spaces for adults who just want to have a cocktail and relax.

Kids don't really belong..."at a bar"

I'm not sure I would go this far, but we were at the Prime Time 50's when a family of five were eating at the bar. I felt bad for the kids. Grown ups were leaning over them to talk to the bartender and reaching over them to grab drinks. It didn't look like a very appropriate situation to me

 

[AnitaDisneyVacation]

Can kids dine at the bar? Do you need ADR's to do this. Where can you do this?

Do you mean physically seated at the bar or sitting in a bar area? We have stopped at some of the resort lounges with our DDs for a cold drink and have never had a problem. But, we have never sat with them right at the bar - always at a nearby table.

 

[magellica]

Do the bar tables require ADR's?

 

[Uncleromulus]

We like to eat at the bars in restaurants a lot--mostly to AVOID children. So it isn't particularly interesting to us when kids are seated on bar stools.
But it happens more frequently than you might expect.
PS in our photo we're eating at the bar in the Flying Fish.

 

[aubriee]

We like to eat at the bars in restaurants a lot--mostly to AVOID children. So it isn't particularly interesting to us when kids are seated on bar stools.
But it happens more frequently than you might expect.
PS in our photo we're eating at the bar in the Flying Fish.

I guess we've been lucky. We also dine at the bar sometimes just to avoid kids. So far, we've never seen any. Not really appropriate is it?

 

[Uncleromulus]

I personally don't think so..

As an aside, last time out at Raglan Road we came upon a family with a little girl (maybe 6 years old) seated--and eating--at the bar. When the dancer came out for her sets, they would actually shove their little girl out right in front of her whereupon the kid would jump up and down like a little cricket on a hot plate. The family was convulsed with laughter each time, and I will add that the dancer put up with it pretty well. It got to be pretty boring for me tho--after 6 or 7 times.
Point being I suppose that there is no telling what people will do these days.

 

[TheRustyScupper]

In most states, it is illegal for a minor to sit at the bar - drinking or eating.

 

[gigi1313]

In most states, it is illegal for a minor to sit at the bar - drinking or eating.

that's what i was going to say! not sure about florida... nor how well it's enforced at disney...

 

[4HppyCamprs]

I have children and do not think it is appropriate to have them sitting at the bar. I agree there is a different culture at Disney but I still would not seat them at the bar. My DH and I also sit in the bar section on occasion to avoid children. I know that sometimes people are desperate to take the first available seat but they really need to think about their fellow diners and show courtesy ( I know a rare commodity) on occasion as well. I would also think it would be Illegal in most places for minors to sit at the bar.

 

[brandylouwho]

Interesting thread...I personally probably wouldn't do it, but I have a 2 yr old who can be a real pain. If it were just my husband and I with our well behaved 5 yr old, I might.

I just have to add that, depending on where you are from, a kid dining at the bar really isn't all that strange nor being rude.

I grew up going to the bar after softball games with my dad, eating at the bar (the only "restuarants" in my small hometown were bars)...it is just a small town thing I guess. I live in a city now and wouldn't take my kids to a plain old bar, but many restaurants have a lounge or bar attached & we often have to wait in the bar for our table even wih kids in tow.

So, it is just as anything else you'll run into at WDW or in life...there are a gazillion differing opinions out there. You can't please everyone all of the time.

 

[bubblycoconut]

Are kids even allowed to sit at the bar? I wouldn't sit at the bar with children but that's just my opinion. For me it's worth the wait to get a table.

 

[Uncleromulus]

If it's illegal in Florida it most certainly isn't enforced. Or in Maryland. Or in Pennsylvania.

 

[JanB]

I'm not real certain whether the OP was asking for advice on how appropriate it is for a child to sit at the bar. If so, then you've gotten a lot of opinions on that.

As far as whether it is allowed for children to sit at the bar --- I'm not absolutely certain, but I think that it's probably allowed. I know that children are allowed in the bar areas. At Disney, I don't think that there are different rules for sitting AT the bar.

That being said --- Unlike my restaurants here at home, you will not always have the restaurant menu available to you in the bar. The bar menus that I saw were often very limited in food offerings. That might be the case primarily in the resorts where the bar is physically separate from the restaurant. In the parks, the bar is often within the restaurant and probably can get anything from the kitchen.

I would call Disney Dining to inquire whether an ADR is needed. Even so, and even in the middle of the afternoon, you might have to wait for 5 seats to open up at the bar.

 

[CathieArms]

I just have to add that, depending on where you are from, a kid dining at the bar really isn't all that strange nor being rude.

I grew up going to the bar after softball games with my dad, eating at the bar (the only "restuarants" in my small hometown were bars)...it is just a small town thing I guess.

Okay, this makes me laugh. As soon as I read this I thought, "I bet this poster is from Wisconsin." Sure enough, I glanced at your signature! LOL!

I'm in MN and I don't think anyone here would notice if a kid sat and ate at a bar. Wisconsin is the same, and there are more bar-restaurants than churches.

 

[Birdrav]

We had a very long wait for our table at 50's Prime Time last year, so we sat at the bar with my DD13 and my neice who was 2 1/2. We just really wanted to sit... anywhere.

It was packed and chaotic, with a few guys who had clearly been at the bar for a while.

I actually felt more akward for DD13. I thought others might think I was letting her drink! The bartender loved my neice and talked to her for a while, so he wasn't bothered by it.

 

[MrsJD]

It is 100% normal fora kid to be not only in a bar but sitting at the bar...atleast in the state of WI. We actually had our Welcome Baby party in a bar when she was 3 months old.

But then I am mother to said 2 1/2 YO in the previous post!!! hahaha!

Yes guys it is acceptable for kids to be at a bar. Esp in Disney World....hello!?

 

[TDC Nala]

I was at the Tune In Lounge on Sunday. There were about 7 kids at the bar. 6 of them were sitting on 2 stools plus Dad's lap. They all got Shirley Temples. There was also 1 kid with his mom at the far end of the bar. So yes, it is absolutely allowed for children to sit at the bar at the Tune In. And they do offer the full dining room menu at the bar. (I had chicken soup. They make an awesome spicy Bloody Mary there. I would not recommend that for the kids though)