Are there fewer kids at Napa Rose than at CCR?

BriannaRuth · Jul 24, 2016

Just wondering -- last time we were at CCR for our one romantic dinner I thought the vibe was kinda off due to the large number of overly tired, misbehaving kids. (The table across from us had three and were letting them run in circles around the table. One of them thought it was fun to crawl under our table. I guess it's not actually the kids I have a problem with, it's the parents.)

I have kids myself so understand they have to eat, too, but just wondering if it's any different at Napa Rose. It kinda sucks to spend this much $$ at a restaurant and have the ambiance ruined.

We do have Chef's Table so maybe that will help?

Skyegirl1999 · Jul 24, 2016

I have not eaten at Carthay, so I can't compare, but we have eaten at NR several times (always 7 or later), and we have seen very few children. The chef's counter will keep you facing the kitchen instead of patrons, so you should be good there.

I do see a lot of posts claiming that there are lots of kids at NR, but that hasn't been my experience - perhaps because we typically eat at a later hour?

Malcon10t · Jul 24, 2016

There are kids at both places. The issue really is the kids allowed to get up and run around get the attention, and the ones who sit quietly aren't seen. I know because I am guilty of judging based on the kids running around. It is my biggest pet peeve. Children should be taught to sit in the seats (or stand in their spot) at restaurants. I have witnessed children standing in booths reaching over to other booths, and while the parents thought t was cute, my daughter did not appreciate the mashed potatoes in her hair. I had 4 kids and I could take them to restaurants because they knew getting up would result in ALL of us leaving. My granddaughter is 5. Last weekend we were at Disneyland, and had several long sit down meals. She knows she needs to stay in her seat. And while she sat thru a 3 hour meal at Steakhouse 55 last weekend, 2 children (ages around 8 and 12) proceeded to take off shoes, stand on chairs, fall out of their chairs 2x, spill drinks, complain thru the whole meal about how they wanted to be in the park, run around including somehow getting into the wine cellar.

After watching a group of kids play hide and seek in a nice restaurant, I also noticed there were several other tables with children who were sitting appropriately. You will find kids at Napa Rose, but less likely at the Chef's Counter. However, the separation isn't large. 80% of parents try. So chances are good you can have a good meal. The other 20% feel it is a Disney theme park, so children should be expected to do whatever they want (or so I've been told more than once.)

Kindermouse · Jul 24, 2016

I'll never forget the first time I went to dinner with a girlfriend of mine with both of our kids. I put my son on the inside of the booth so he couldnt get up unless I allowed it and I had a "bag of tricks" to keep him comfortable and occupied. He has neurological disabilities but I never thought that that excused for him to ruin other peoples meals so the bag of tricks needed to work or we needed to call it a day and get our food to go. Long story short my son was just fine, while my friend let her children (in no way disabled) run around and wrestle in aisleway. I was shocked and embarrassed to be seated with her. There is no excuse for that it was just selfishness and laziness. she hadnt taught her kids manners or bothered parent them.

There are always going to be kids everywhere at disney, but if you run across lazy parents you should something about it. If I were you and children were acting out in Napa Rose or Carthay I would complain to my waiter and ask to be moved.

BriannaRuth · Jul 24, 2016

I've always wondered if the kids you see being allowed to misbehave at DL are being allowed to act like that because it's DL or if they are allowed to act that way all the time! I tend to put it off to being at DL, being overly tired ... but it's possible they do it all the time and it's just more noticeable because there are so many families there.

I don't mind so much if we're at a casual place having lunch but parents should be thoughtful of others, especially when you're spending as much as you do at CC or NR.

When my kids were younger, we sometimes had other guests stop by our table and tell our kids how much they appreciated how well-behaved they were. We always had a "bag of tricks," too! I had forgotten about that until reading the comments above. I'll have to be sure to compliment some families myself when I see well-behaved kids at DL restaurants!

MillauFr · Jul 24, 2016

Yes there are plenty of kids when we go to Napa Rose. We eat at 6:00p. If you go later there will be less kids.

OKW Lover · Jul 25, 2016

If the OP is doing the Napa Rose Chef's Counter, there won't be any problem with children. Those seats are looking right into the kitchen and your backs will be to the rest of the restaurant so you won't notice any misbehaving patrons.

Baklava · Jul 25, 2016

BriannaRuth said:
Just wondering -- last time we were at CCR for our one romantic dinner I thought the vibe was kinda off due to the large number of overly tired, misbehaving kids. (The table across from us had three and were letting them run in circles around the table. One of them thought it was fun to crawl under our table. I guess it's not actually the kids I have a problem with, it's the parents.)

I have kids myself so understand they have to eat, too, but just wondering if it's any different at Napa Rose. It kinda sucks to spend this much $$ at a restaurant and have the ambiance ruined.

We do have Chef's Table so maybe that will help?

Something I learned from a CM: They aren't allowed to tell the parents to control their kids until another guest complains. I was really fed up with that sort of behavior at Storyteller's. The jerks in question had done the adults-at-one-table-kids-at-another thing and were letting them run around shouting and being a nuisance and a hazard. I finally stopped gritting my teeth and said something to our server. He let out a huge sigh of relief and told me that NOW he could go get his manager to tell them to keep the kids in check.

Complain to the server. Kids like that are an active hazard to them and you are actually doing them a favor by speaking up- which I would never have known.

Skiton · Jul 25, 2016

BriannaRuth said:
I've always wondered if the kids you see being allowed to misbehave at DL are being allowed to act like that because it's DL or if they are allowed to act that way all the time! I tend to put it off to being at DL, being overly tired ... but it's possible they do it all the time and it's just more noticeable because there are so many families there.

I don't mind so much if we're at a casual place having lunch but parents should be thoughtful of others, especially when you're spending as much as you do at CC or NR.

When my kids were younger, we sometimes had other guests stop by our table and tell our kids how much they appreciated how well-behaved they were. We always had a "bag of tricks," too! I had forgotten about that until reading the comments above. I'll have to be sure to compliment some families myself when I see well-behaved kids at DL restaurants!

They're allowed to act like that all the time, because if you're a parent who really cares about your child behaving appropriately in a restaurant, you aren't going to suddenly let them morph into little animals just because they're at DL. Our boys are generally very well behaved when we go out to eat, and they usually get a lot of compliments. Don't get me wrong, they're not angels all the time, and when we had dinner at Carthay last May they were both tired, crabby, and not thrilled about sitting for an extended meal. Anyone watching/listening to us would have noticed them complaining and trying to stand up periodically to wander around the table. They also would have hear my DH and I hissing at them to "sit DOWN on your bottom and EAT YOUR DINNER" and "this is NOT how we behave in a restaurant." But they would not have seen them running willy-nilly around the place being disruptive while DH and I obliviously sipped our cocktails. In short, they would have seen not-perfectly-behaved kids but with parents who were very clearly trying. I'm convinced that the parents who don't try, never try.

Skiton · Jul 25, 2016

Oh, also, when we sat at the chef's counter in NR we didn't see the dining room at all, since we had our backs to it. There could have been one child there or a hundred, we had no clue.

GeneralTso · Jul 25, 2016

Exactly right about Chef's Counter---it's awesome. Everything you need or want is in FRONT of you. Whatever mayhem is going on behind you doesn't matter.

We've done both and it was really disappointing in the main dining room. It's not a kid place. Kids are already overtired and not in the best mood to sit in a nice restaurant and have dinner.
Then add on parents who don't parent, and it's loud and obnoxious. We've seen kids running around the dining room like it was a playground. Servers lifting dishes high above to avoid having it dump all over.
For us, it's a beautiful place and we prefer a quieter experience for the dollars we're spending. Granted, it's Disneyland and kids are everywhere but it comes down to the parents who think their kids would actually enjoy the place and want a nice experience too, then it's epic fail.

I will say, there was one family and the 3 children were angels. Really, just so good and having a lovely time. That was the one time I witnessed that.

Mamapapa · Jul 25, 2016

Skiton said:
They're allowed to act like that all the time, because if you're a parent who really cares about your child behaving appropriately in a restaurant, you aren't going to suddenly let them morph into little animals just because they're at DL.

This!! Exactly!! DH and I have had this conversation numerous times and we came to this conclusion as well....

GatorChris · Jul 25, 2016

I would imagine there would be more kids at CCR simply because it's in the parks. I'm more likely to go to a park restaurant than a hotel restaurant. In fact, I took my kids to CCR in 2015....no, we weren't running around. And it's just way too nice for a family anyway. Not to mention my wife had a horrible tasting pasta meal there.

I can guarantee you that I'll never take my kids to Napa Rose. Too fancy for them and it's no doubt too fancy for me. But should I decided to enter the Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, my kids wouldn't come along.

BriannaRuth · Jul 25, 2016

That's good to know about CMs not being able to say anything unless someone complains. If it happens again, I will definitely speak up. I was a little hesitant at Carthay Circle because we had already asked to move once! They originally seated us in the "annex" area that is nothing like the rest of the restaurant. The main part of the restaurant looks swanky and art deco, but they have one room that just looks really plain and they seated us there as a couple, even though everyone else in that area was a family and it was already loud. So we asked to move and got a nice table -- unfortunately it didn't last long.

We have 8:30 reservations at the Chef's Counter, so hopefully it won't be a problem this time.

When our kids were younger, one of them started taking major attitude every time we went to a restaurant, probably because she thought she could get away with it if we were out. I think she was about 10 at the time. She was never disruptive to people around us but was a real pain to try to have a nice dinner with. So one time we set her up. We purposely took two cars to one of her favorite restaurants knowing that DH had already eaten. Once there, she started with the attitude and we told her if she didn't stop, she'd have to leave. Then we did just that, took her out of the restaurant and home with no dinner while her sister and I stayed and enjoyed ourselves. I think we had to do it one more time but every since she's been no problem at all.

Nonsuch · Jul 25, 2016

I agree with previous posts, late dinner will have fewer children.
One of my favorite plans: watch World of Color, then dine at Napa Rose. Make your dinner reservation 45 minutes (or more) after the WOC showtime.

BriannaRuth · Jul 25, 2016

Good idea -- 8:30 is the latest reservation for Chef's Table, though. I've never been to Napa Rose before and am really looking forward to it!

Nonsuch · Jul 25, 2016

BriannaRuth said:
...I was a little hesitant at Carthay Circle because we had already asked to move once! They originally seated us in the "annex" area that is nothing like the rest of the restaurant.

The "annex" is not desirable, and can be made worse if guests are going out to the patio.
There are a couple excellent booths (Hyperion, Buena Vista) that can be requested when checking in, but unfortunately cannot be reserved in advance.

BriannaRuth said:
...We have 8:30 reservations at the Chef's Counter, so hopefully it won't be a problem this time.

You should have a great evening :goodvibes

There are 2 counters, each seats 4 guests -- so expect to share the counter. This should not be an issue, but just something to be aware of.

Disney Rose · Jul 25, 2016

We went for lunch at CCR and were almost the only people there. So no other kids. (11.30 on a Wed). Napa Rose was much busier and there were more families with kids. I assumed that was because it was in the hotel.

AZMermaid · Jul 25, 2016

Nonsuch said:
The "annex" is not desirable, and can be made worse if guests are going out to the patio.
There are a couple excellent booths (Hyperion, Buena Vista) that can be requested when checking in, but unfortunately cannot be reserved in advance.

Are those the little private room/booths? When we went last Nov we got sat in one of those. It was amazing! Ironically, we had friends there at the same time and they were sat in another one. We felt like celebrities!

Skiton · Jul 25, 2016

GeneralTso said:
We've done both and it was really disappointing in the main dining room. It's not a kid place. Kids are already overtired and not in the best mood to sit in a nice restaurant and have dinner.
Then add on parents who don't parent, and it's loud and obnoxious.

I do think it depends on the kids. We never pass up the opportunity to take our kids to nicer restaurants when we feel the circumstances are appropriate. For all that we didn't have the best night at Carthay, I do think that it was apparent only to us, and when we went to Steak House 55 a couple nights later, they made us proud by behaving beautifully. I think because we weren't coming straight from the park and they'd had some time to recharge. I'm always pleased to see kids with attentive parents when we eat out because I know those kids will turn into well-mannered adults at some point. They can't learn if they're never exposed to more formal situations. It's when parents bring their children only for convenience and then act as if they're someone else's problem that I get irritated.

Are there fewer kids at Napa Rose than at CCR?

DIS Veteran

DIS Veteran

DIS Veteran

DIS Veteran

DIS Veteran

Buzz & Woody

Retired and living 2 miles from The Castle.

DIS Veteran

Mouseketeer

Mouseketeer

DIS Veteran

DIS Veteran

Not of This World

DIS Veteran

DIS Veteran

DIS Veteran

DIS Veteran

Mouseketeer

DIS Veteran

Mouseketeer

Share this page