DxDDP plan and young kids

[3pletprincesses]

We are heading to Disney in May for our Wedding anniversary during the free dining period. I was thinking about upgrading to deluxe but don't know what to do. Dh and I would love to try a few ofthe 2TS meals but don't know how restaurants respond to parents arriving with young kids. Our girls are well behave but are 4 yo and there's 3 of them to top it off. How old were your kids when you did DXDDP? Did you find people to be annoyed by the fact you had young kids. Wewere thinking of 1 caracter and 1 signature restaurant a day. It would be well worth the $480 extra considerating that we get free mugs, more snacks and nice meals for kids and parents but I don't want to feel out of place. Also how is the kids menu at the signature restaurants? My girls got sick and tired of the same pizza, mac& cheese options every where. Your feed back would be really appreciated.

Thankx

 

[TDC Nala]

I am willing to state here that at no restaurant that accepts the dining plan will you get any guff from the restaurant staff about showing up with children. Can't speak for the guests but I would think they should be used to seeing children in ALL WDW restaurants except for Victoria & Alberts, especially at earlier dining times. If your children are well-behaved it should be no problem whatsoever.

 

[havoc315]

I will be doing the DxDP with a 4yo and 6yo. From researching the same questions myself, I would expect no shortage of young children, even in the signature restaurants. And, the signature restaurants have children's menus that are clearly superior to the other restaurants. If you look at the dining review board, you can find some reviews by families with younger kids. My 6yo is already becoming a foodie, and enjoys looking at the pictures of the food he is going to try.

 

[gilsan]

We have done DxDp with our 4 year old and have never had a problem. I will brag and say usually people come up and comment on how well behaved she is So we never have had a problem with people who are annoyed. I think sometimes they may be nervous when we are first seated next to them.

We do the same character dining for breakfast and dinner at a signature restaurant, and we usually book an earlier dinner time usually before 7. That way our DD has not waited too long to eat and there are less people eating that are looking for a romantic couples dinner.

The other reason I like DxDp my daughter gets a much better choice for meals. Usually at the signature restaurants they have a choice of a fish, steak or chicken dish.

I did a dining report and have pictures of DD meals if you want to check them out. Although she did order pasta a lot

 

[LilyWDW]

As long as your children are behaved and don't bother other diners, then there is no problem taking them to any restaurant at Disney (minus V&A's of course). People shouldn't have an issue with kids at Disney restaurants... I mean, it is Disney and kids sort of come with the territory! Just make sure that the kids behave and don't do anything that could ruin the meals of other guests (you would not believe the reports we have seen on these boards, let me tell ya).

 

[MSLRAC]

Kids are welcome at all the restaurants on site except for V&A so no one is going to give your girls a second thought. We did the DxDP when DD was 6 and DS was 3.5 and they loved it. They had much better meal choices which in turn lead to them eating well and on pace with DH and I. We all enjoyed our meals and some of our best vacation memories came from those meals. So I say go for it and enjoy!

 

[3pletprincesses]

Thank you!

That's really nice to know. I was worried that servers and other guests get pissy seeing 3 kids arrive. I'm not worried about my girls behaviour. Yes they are like every kid and sometimes we just need to walk out but we've only had to do that once since they were born and we dine out alot. They don't mind sitting aorund waiting for food as long as we bring a little something to keep them busy during down time if service is too sloooooow otherwise they like to talk about their day and god knows they have soo much to say while at Disney. Ifi managed to do Disney with them on my own last month, we should be ok doing it as a family and doing signature restaurants.

 

[Colleen27]

We have done deluxe dining twice, once before our youngest was born when the older kids were 9 and 6 and again for the baby's first trip when the kids were 11, 8, and 16mo. Not once did we get the feeling from anyone that we were anything less than completely welcome in any of the restaurants we dined at. That's one of the things we enjoy most about our Disney vacations - there aren't many places in the "real" world where our children would be so welcome in a restaurant on the same level as California Grill, Artist Point, or Jiko.

The kids menus at the signature restaurants are MUCH better than at most of the one credit restaurants. The entree selections are fairly basic but not really "kid food", and are typically well seasoned and well prepared: steak, chicken, fish, homemade style mac & cheese (not Stouffers or Kraft type), etc. The sides are better too, usually a roasted or mashed potato and a real vegetable, and the appetizer choices are kid friendly without being boring or junky - mostly salads, soups, and fruit bowls. My girls LOVE the fruit appetizers because they're a great mix loaded with things like raspberries and blackberries, not just the usual "mixed fruit" blend of melons & grapes. And there are some really creative desserts, from the paint-your-own Mickey puzzle which my kids give high marks on the "play with your food" aspect but not so much on taste, to the rice crispy treat sushi rolls at California Grill that they liked so well they asked me to learn how to make them at home to serve at parties.