8 month old not sturdy enough for restaurant highchair yet

[WDWstu]

I saw this topic discussed in a thread from earlier in 2007 and there was conflicting info. I was hoping if I repost the question now, a year later, that maybe someone will have a more definite answer.

When we go at the end of April, DS will be 8 months. DD is now 6 and we first took her when she was 3 so we never had to deal with a highchair before in Disney. I realized now that I never even paid attention to the type of highchair they have down there before.

If all they have is the typical wood low back highchair in the restaurants than DS will not be able to support himself in one of those. So before I go making a bunch of ADRs I want to make sure we will ever be able to do this. Obviously we could just hold him and we will do that if necessary but if we have to do that than I will book less ADRs.

In the post I read from last year, some people said there were just the wood highchairs and they proped their babies up using towels or blankets in the or kept them in a sling while they ate. While other people said that the restaurants actually had infant highchairs so there was no problem at all. Some people said too that the restaurants just let them keep the baby in strollers.

So does anyone know if Disney restaurants have infant highchairs? The restaurants we wanted to go to include Storybook Princess at Akerhaus, Cinderella's Royal Table, Liberty Tree Tavern, San Angel Inn, and Sci Fi.

 

[SharpMomOfTwo]

Sorry, I don't have your answer, but I do have a question for you... Why don't you think an 8 month old will be able to hold himself up in a highchair? Forgive me, my youngest is almost 18 months now, and since I haven't slept a full night in about 18 months, my memory isn't that great anymore, but I don't think at 8 months there were any issues holding balance in a highchair. Maybe I'm wrong - anyone out there with an 8 month old??

 

[Disneychix]

I don't have an answer either although I've never seen any "baby" type highchairs in any of the WDW restaurants I've been in.
My DS was born premature and at 8 months he did not fit in those wooden low backed highchairs either. We would prop him up with a small pillow or blanket. The highchairs were just too roomy and he would slump if we didn't do this.

 

[Desnik]

DS was 8 months old on his first trip. He was a preemie and had a lot of medical issues. He was not able to sit up at 8 months old. We were able to keep him in his stroller at every restaurant we went to. When we would check in for our ADR we would tell them he had to stay in his stroller. We didn't have a problem anywhere. We ate a places like Mama Melrose at DHS, Tony's at the MK and a lot more.

 

[frtchr]

You might ask when you make your ADR's. The CM might have an idea of which restaurants have infant highchairs and which just have the wooden highchairs. Hope it's a great trip!!

 

[alyssa810]

We brought our big (almost) 5 month old son last month, and he did so-so in the wooden high chair that we had in our room. We kept him in his stroller for all of our TS meals; the only place we had a little trouble was at Tony's, but we had expected him to fall asleep..which of course he didn't. Anyway, after we made a stink about keeping him in the stroller, we saw that they did in fact have the infant high chairs, which he would have been fine in. When we go in May, he'll be almost 8 months, and he's been sitting up on his own, so we figure we'll be all set with whatever high chairs they have.
So, to answer your question, we didn't have any trouble bringing in our stroller to TS restaurants, but I can't say if the specific restaurants you're headed to will have them too.

 

[laughinplace199]

We didn't use the infant high chairs, but the only place I recall seeing them was at CP.

When DS was 5 mos and not sitting up, we used the carseat/carrier for most restaurants. Once we used the Baby Bjorn (at CRT) and once we used the stroller because he was asleep (at Spoodles).

 

[WDWstu]

Its just weird to get such conflicting answers on this since its not a matter of opinion type of question. Maybe its because different restaurants have different chairs? I came across one thread where they even had a picture of the infant highchair in the restaurant and I guess I was just assuming that all the sit down restaurants would have the same thing. I think maybe it was the garden grill? Anyway, some people say that the restaurants they went to had the chairs and others say they dont. weird.

I'll ask when I go to make my ADRs but I wanted to try to figure it out before I call cause my planning will be a little different based on the highchair situation.

 

[katied]

I took my DS first at 6 months. We had ADRs at CP and GG. No problems. They provided an infant highchair, which he sat in and ate just fine. At QS meals, we just kept him in the stroller.

At Corondo Springs - the food court type resturant there - since it was quick service, they only had the wooden high chairs - again, we just kept him in the stroller.

We were back at WDW 2 months later. By 8 months, DS was ok with the wooden highchairs for a bit, but if it would be a long meal, he would get sick of holding himself, start to slouch, and normally want to be held anyway.

 

[maedelken]

Chef Mickey had infant highchairs. My 11 month old sat in one while we were there. It was a little weird for him because he was to old for it. Maybe it was the only highchair they had left. So if you go there ask for one.

 

[Tinkermommy]

I think you are getting conflicting info as is there is not set type of highchair used at the restaurants. In my experience most restaurants (TS or CS) seem to have the wooden lowback highchairs and we were just there in January.

My DS was 8 months on one of our trips, so I would put a blanket to support him although he could hold his head up no problem. But he is small for his age so at home I have a Buggy Bag that I use in shopping carts and wooden high chairs. It is sufficiently thick enough that it really supports him in those wooden highchairs. He could hold his head up really well at 5 months, so I started to use it at that time. The drawback is they are bulky and it would be a pain to lug around.

Most restaurants will not let you take a stroller in. They are cramped (LLT is especially tight) especially the ones that have characters, and there is a lot of people walking around so it's very crowded. Even when DS was asleep they would not let us take it in. Might be a fire code issue with keeping aisles open. Not sure.

I suppose you could hold him, but if you have an infant carrier/carseat that might be the best option. Although you would have to lug it around as well.

 

[NotUrsula]

Maybe its because different restaurants have different chairs? I came across one thread where they even had a picture of the infant highchair in the restaurant and I guess I was just assuming that all the sit down restaurants would have the same thing. I think maybe it was the garden grill? Anyway, some people say that the restaurants they went to had the chairs and others say they dont. weird.

Yep, that's what it is: the highchair situation isn't standardized. However, I can help a bit on this question, because I asked when it happened to us at Grand Floridian Cafe. The answer that I got from the manager was that character meal venues will all have infant highchairs; anywhere else it depends on whether the manager has decided to get them. I'm sure that if you post restaurant-specific queries on the Restaurants board, someone will know. There are a fair number of CMs who post over there.

If you are at a deluxe resort and not eating at a restaurant that has character meals, ask the waiter to borrow from the character meal dining room, if there is one in the same building. GFC went and borrowed one for us from next door.

As of December '07, Sci Fi did not have infant highchairs, but will allow a stroller to be brought in if it will mostly fit under the table when parked. The gotcha is that to accomplish that, you have to be willing to sit at one of the tables that are not truly car-like; they have removable chairs. These tables are usually actually a bit easier to get than the cars--the experience is not as truly "drive-in" when sitting at a table. We've had luck twice now changing an ADR from an inconvenient time to immediate walk-up seating by agreeing to take a non-car table. (If you are using a big travel-system stroller you may be out of luck. We fit very easily with a Peg Pliko that was reclined to let the baby sleep.)

PS: My DD, who is 34 weeks old, has been sitting fine in the wooden high chairs for about a month now, but needs a working safety strap to keep her from leaning too far and falling over the side. She's very petite for a full-term baby: 16 lbs. and 27 inches tall. (She also pulls up and stands quite nicely using furniture, cabinet doors, people's trouser legs -- sigh.)

 

[WDWstu]

NotUrsula - Thanks for you response! very helpful!

I think we are going to just go ahead and book what we want and deal with it when the time comes. In the meantime we have been practicing sitting up on his own on our bed. I think that by the time we get there he should be ok in the wood chairs if an infant one isn't available. Especially if we support him somehow with extra blankets. He's a giant baby - 20lbs already at 6 months - so hopefully he'll be able to handle it.

 

[puffkin]

When my son was that small....we only came across the infant chairs at Garden Grill. On our last trip I did notice them at most of the character meals we ate at, but not the regular menu restaurants.

We eat a lot of table service and have had my son there for 3 week long trips and have never once NOT been able to take our stroller into a Disney restaurant. So, at least you will have that as an option.

P.S. Son was a larger baby and he was still not the best sitter at 8 months. He just had to much upper body to support.....

 

[bumbershoot]

I'll ask when I go to make my ADRs but I wanted to try to figure it out before I call cause my planning will be a little different based on the highchair situation.

FWIW, the ADR people aren't there in the restaurants (or even on site, I believe) so they likely won't know what sort of highchair each restaurant has.

Those wooden chairs, sigh. They say that they are for 6 months and up. We went to dinner with our very strong, very physical agile, 6 months old. He seemed fine in his first time in a highchair (one of the simple wooden ones). He was out of his infant seat before he was 4 months by height, and we didin't even own a stroller of any kind until he was over 2 years old (when we got a jogging stroller) so we always just had him on a lap. He was doing fine, then he started getting sleepy, and just as I was about to take him out the food arrived and it seemed safer to keep him in the chair while the hot plates were put down. Then we forgot he was sleepy, and just as we were digging into our food he got very sleepy, his head went forward to the table, and just like that he lost a tooth quite dramatically (cold wet paper towels help with the pain and bleeding for that, by the way, and going to a children's ER they'll tell you to just go home, no biggie, tooth if ingested will dissolve or "pass").

GOOD for you for knowing your guy's limits, and for thinking of this ahead of time. If I were in your position, I would just start getting used to meals with him on a lap. Or I'd bring pillows to put all around baby. I don't ever again want to have to deal with a baby doing what mine did in that highchair.

 

[lulu71]

We went early last month, DD was just over 6 months and did fine in the wooden high chairs. We did get an infant chair at GG and she was more comfortable, but able to sit in the regular ones too.

 

[Shannon G]

When my kids were still a little too small to keep themselves upright in a restaurant high chair, I used one of those covers that are made to use in a grocery cart. They provide a bit of cushioning, and the one I used had a strap to keep them upright. And it was something that I could easily stuff into the diaper bag!

 

[LilGMom]

From our experience all of the TS restaurants have the low back wooden highchairs, some restuarants have the infant highchairs but you have to specifically ask for it (I'd keep a lightweight blanket handy to put in those) and some restaurants will allow you to keep your child in their stroller if room allows for it but you need to ask. When our kids were too small to fully support themselves in the wooden highchairs we made sure to travel with a small backpack/bag that could be put in the chair to help support them.

Good luck.

 

[lil mermaid]

I will admit that I haven't read the whole thread, so please forgive me is anyone has already suggested this. When DS and DD were sitting up but still a little bit too small and floppy for those awful wooden highchairs, we used our shopping cart/highchcair cover. It is kind of like this: http://www.babybungalow.com/mycopial.html Not the same brand, but quite a bit like it. It worked very well.