Adult only restaurants...dare I suggest it?!

[3DisneyNUTS]

DH and I have had this same discussion more times than I can count. It usually comes up about 9:30 at night when we are eating in one of the signature restaurants where we are treated to an exhausted, over-stimulated 5 year old (who should be in bed) running around his/her table, making lots of noise, and spilling a drink. It only gets worse if there are multiplemall children at the tabel. This doesn't seem to bother the parents-so if they are oblivious to it, we don't expect them to notice that it is bothering the other diners.

I understand and agree that chldren should be exposed to all types of dining environments and food experiences. We have discussed the idea of certain (signature) restaurants having either separate rooms for adults only or not seating children under a certain age (maybe 10) after 6 or 7 o'clock. The CA Grill used to not seat children in the Wine Room, but the last time we were there, there was a large party with several young children (at 9 PM). Fortunately, these were well behaved and fell asleep at the table as opposed to running around.

Will somebody please explain why parents wait until 8:30 or 9:00 PM to take small children to dinner? The kids are exhausted and cranky and half the time are too tired to eat which only makes the problem worse as the parents try to coax and cajole them into eating. They just want to go to bed.

Because they can only get priority seating for that time and they really wanted to eat at that restaurant. It is getting really hard lately to get PS even a month prior to the vacation. We can't take those times since our son has epilepsy and getting enough sleep is very important. But I could see why parents take those times because that is all that is left.

 

[3DisneyNUTS]

It isn't a matter of the children having to wait for the experience, it is the parents who don't want to wait until the children are old enough to actually enjoy the experience. This is a typical of people who, now that they are parents, don't want to adjust their life style one iota from when they were childless. I speak from experience, I have a step daughter who thinks that way! If the parents want to do something, well just drag the kids along, with no thought as to how the child might react to it. Unfortunately, DH and I believe that when kids are little, the parents need to adjust their lifestyle to accommodate the little ones, not the other way around. Small children don't need to experience events they are too little to comprehend or appreciate.

It is the same thing with parents who drag a small child on a ride that is too intense for them-but hey, the child met the height requirement, so it must be OK. And then they wonder why the child is hysterical.

(OK, let the flaming begin!)

Life is too short to plan to the extremes. I am sure the parents whose child is having a meltdown at their 9pm dinner did not wish for it to be that way. It is Disney for pete's sake. It is geared towards families and to put restrictions on that is nuts. To expect an adult meal and restaurant at Disney is expecting too much IMO. Disney doesn't cater to the adult only segment that is why the restaurants latests seatings are 9-9:30. I am sure the idea has been passed around to have later restaurant hours because of this request and it couldn't possibly make good business sense to do that. Disney is for families.

 

[my4kids]

thanks robin, I thought that was a little mean too...

Ok, guys, I am backing away from the computer now....(serenity now!)
We are never gonna see eye to eye on this one....

SO in closing...

The mob mentality is suggesting that good parents stay home with their kids and sacrifice meals at nice restaraunts (AT DISNEY WORLD NO LESS!!!) that when I signed up for parenthood, I should have said good bye to fun things like that.. gosh, it's pretty selfish of me to take those kids on the plane to DW too I guess..they might bother a childless person on the plane...and the kids would probably be happier at home in their comfy house than cooped up on the airplane...should I sacrifice other things? career? Let's all go right back to the '50's and I'll put my housecoat on and sell my families second car...it is pretty selfish of me to have it...my husband has to work hard to pay the insurance on it and you know the kids place is at home where they are comfortable and I should have known when I was blessed with them, that I should not have fun anymore...

Have your darn childless restaraunt! It really does not bother me that much...my op was just saying why it wouldn't happen...
Maybe we should also have a character meal that bans childless couples that take up all the time with the characters getting their pictures etc.

 

[3DisneyNUTS]

Wow, WillCAD!

You have so eloquently expressed a very big issue here! It is exactly the selfish parent cleverly disguised as the UNselfish that makes my skin crawl as I read these board sometimes. You have asked the question that is underlying, which is..."WHOSE needs are REALLY being met?"

It runs throughout the world in general and the DIS in particular sometimes.Now, I do believe live and let live, and I practice my style of parenting my own way and try to find like-minded friends to parent alongside me through life's struggles and joys! But there is a major consequence to this underlying self centeredness disguised as "defending the rights of MY kid(to eat at CG, say..)"...

That consequence is adolescents without limits, adults without boundaries, a future workforce without respect because they think they are "entitled" to everything because they have been given it since birth through overindulgence by their parents. And when you get folks to discuss the REAL reasons they think adults only restaurants are a bad idea, eventually these parents are exposed in that selfishness.

I am impressed by your insightful and wise observations that reflect a maturity I wish we saw more often around here!!

Wow...I see the line 'I'm saying that demanding that the rest of the world bend itself around you so that you can drag your kids along when you do adult things is selfish' and think don't speak for me. I don't mind kids in fancy restaurants even when it is DH and I. And to think that a child cannot enjoy finer foods and doesn't discriminate between nuggets and food prepared by a chef is absurd.

Now while I don't plan to take my son to eat late night at a restaurant while in WDW there are some circumstances where I have needed to. For example he had a seizure right before our 6:30 PS and slept for 2 hours waking up really hungry. I am not comfortable having my son eat alot of fast food so we will go to the restaurant we intended to at 6:30 and have a meal. Now that sitaution is rare for us but it has happened. I will not plan for my son to eat at 9pm but I will take him to a nicer restaurant at 9pm if the situation warrants it. It is Disney for crying out loud.

It always amazes me that people feel they have the right to dictate the "rules" at Disney world and those rules they would like to have excludes children. It is a riot.

The reason why DCL has adult only sections is because it is a ship. The guests cannot leave the confines of it unless in port. So it makes perfect sense to have adult areas. To ask WDW to set up things such as restaurants that excludes children is absurd IMO.

 

[3DisneyNUTS]

Have your darn childless restaraunt! It really does not bother me that much...my op was just saying why it wouldn't happen...
Maybe we should also have a character meal that bans childless couples that take up all the time with the characters getting their pictures etc.

HAHAHAHAHA

 

[NewYawker]

thanks robin, I thought that was a little mean too...

Ok, guys, I am backing away from the computer now....(serenity now!)
We are never gonna see eye to eye on this one....

SO in closing...

The mob mentality is suggesting that good parents stay home with their kids and sacrifice meals at nice restaraunts (AT DISNEY WORLD NO LESS!!!) that when I signed up for parenthood, I should have said good bye to fun things like that.. gosh, it's pretty selfish of me to take those kids on the plane to DW too I guess..they might bother a childless person on the plane...and the kids would probably be happier at home in their comfy house than cooped up on the airplane...should I sacrifice other things? career? Let's all go right back to the '50's and I'll put my housecoat on and sell my families second car...it is pretty selfish of me to have it...my husband has to work hard to pay the insurance on it and you know the kids place is at home where they are comfortable and I should have known when I was blessed with them, that I should not have fun anymore...

Is that what was suggested? That you stay home entirely? I must have missed that part. But if suggesting that ONE restaurant have a no children policy makes you put on a housecoat and stay home then so be it. Your extremist attitude shows a total lack of understanding of the issue. I can't say I didn't expect it.

 

[PaulaSB12]

thanks robin, I thought that was a little mean too...

Ok, guys, I am backing away from the computer now....(serenity now!)
We are never gonna see eye to eye on this one....

SO in closing...

The mob mentality is suggesting that good parents stay home with their kids and sacrifice meals at nice restaraunts (AT DISNEY WORLD NO LESS!!!) that when I signed up for parenthood, I should have said good bye to fun things like that.. gosh, it's pretty selfish of me to take those kids on the plane to DW too I guess..they might bother a childless person on the plane...and the kids would probably be happier at home in their comfy house than cooped up on the airplane...should I sacrifice other things? career? Let's all go right back to the '50's and I'll put my housecoat on and sell my families second car...it is pretty selfish of me to have it...my husband has to work hard to pay the insurance on it and you know the kids place is at home where they are comfortable and I should have known when I was blessed with them, that I should not have fun anymore...

Have your darn childless restaraunt! It really does not bother me that much...my op was just saying why it wouldn't happen...
Maybe we should also have a character meal that bans childless couples that take up all the time with the characters getting their pictures etc.

Hang on a minute people in this thread are saying that ONE resteraunt without children in it would be nice. There are so many resteraunts to choose from at Disney World why would one for adults only be a problem?

 

[Accentuate+]

Disney is for families.

"To all who come to this happy place, welcome" - Walt Disney
Disney is for everyone, parts of Disney are more enjoyable to different types of people but Disney, as a whole, is for all of us.

 

[WillCAD]

thanks robin, I thought that was a little mean too...

Ok, guys, I am backing away from the computer now....(serenity now!)
We are never gonna see eye to eye on this one....

SO in closing...

The mob mentality is suggesting that good parents stay home with their kids and sacrifice meals at nice restaraunts (AT DISNEY WORLD NO LESS!!!) that when I signed up for parenthood, I should have said good bye to fun things like that.. gosh, it's pretty selfish of me to take those kids on the plane to DW too I guess..they might bother a childless person on the plane...and the kids would probably be happier at home in their comfy house than cooped up on the airplane...should I sacrifice other things? career? Let's all go right back to the '50's and I'll put my housecoat on and sell my families second car...it is pretty selfish of me to have it...my husband has to work hard to pay the insurance on it and you know the kids place is at home where they are comfortable and I should have known when I was blessed with them, that I should not have fun anymore...

Have your darn childless restaraunt! It really does not bother me that much...my op was just saying why it wouldn't happen...
Maybe we should also have a character meal that bans childless couples that take up all the time with the characters getting their pictures etc.

I didn't say that you should sacrifice everything forever.

But there are some things that kids cannot do, and those are the things that you must sacrifice when you have kids with you.

Nobody said you can't go out to a fine restaurant when you have kids, but there should be some restaurants where you can't bring the kids with you, meaning that you either make arrangements for child care while you go, or you don't go. Gee, what an awful sacrifice. And if you can't find or have trouble affording child care, you can go to one of the dozens of other restaurants that DO allow kids, like 'Ohana, Chef Mickeys, Liberty Tree Tavern, Garden Grill, Tepenyaki, Le Cellier, etc. Oh, how awful to have have such limited choices because you're a parent!

Nobody wants every restaurant to be adults-only, expecially at WDW. I'll be the first one to scream in outrage if anyone suggests that ANY of the restaurants inside the parks is restricted, and I wouldn't want more than 10% of the restaurants in the resorts to be adults-only, max. All we want is a few nice places, some expensive, some cheap, where adults can have a quiet, peaceful dining experience without worrying whether the kids at the next table are going to start screaming or throwing food.

But lest you think I'm some kind of child-hating ogre, let me voice some further opinions:

Late-night dining? Well, lots of parents can't get ressies at WDW early, so they go later. And remember, not everybody's body clock is on WDW time; people from the west coast can easily eat dinner at 10pm because their body clock is telling them it's 7 - and kids have a LOT more trouble adjusting to that time difference than adults, hence many families need to eat dinner pretty late when at WDW. Telling people that they can bring kids to a restaurant, but only if they eat before 8 or 9pm, would not be fair. Better to have a blanket restriction so you can simply say, "that is a grown-up place."

And I think a character meal restricted to ONLY families is not a bad idea. I enjoy a character meal once in a while myself, but I'm on your side when it comes to the whining, crotchety people who go into a character meal and get upset when they have to deal with loud kids. They're like the idiots who move into a house 1/2 mile from an airport, then complain about the airplane noise.

Disney is for families.

Nope, wrong. Disney is for EVERYBODY ("kids of all ages").

Think I'm wrong? Look outside the parks and you find plenty of stuff that's geared towards adults, such as Pleasure Island, Jellyrolls, and a bunch of golf courses. Sure, some kids love golf, but not many families go golfing with infants and toddlers (although many do enjoy mini-golf with infants and toddlers). Ever see a 4-year old try the Richard Petty Driving Experience? How about Mom taking the 18-month old parasailing at Castaway Cay? Dolphins In Depth is restricted to age 13 or older. The Seas Aqua Tour is 8 and up, and DiveQuest is 10 and up.

I just want to be able to eat with grown-ups once in a while when I go to WDW.

 

[Accentuate+]

Wow, we have protected classes? Is that like the endanger animals? How do I get into one of these "classes" And here all this time I thought we were all equal here in America.

You're already in one.

"A protected class is a group of people who share common characteristics and are protected from discrimination and harassment. Some protections have the backing of federal and/or state laws.

Most people belong to most of the various protected classes. For example, each person is a member of the protected class of "sex" by being male or female. The same can be said for race, color, and several other protected classes. However, many individuals do not meet the criteria for membership of the protected classes of disability or veteran status."
http://www.ncsu.edu/equal_op/harassment/pro_class.html (the first definition of 'protected class' that a google search got and a pretty good one)

Protected Class Covered by Federal Law
Race
Color
Religion
Creed
Sex
National Origin
Age
Disability
Veteran Status

Mostly it comes up in hiring and housing issues. Age is on it, but I've only ever seen it used on the opposite end of the spectrum (hiring a younger person rather than an older one with age being the ONLY criteria). There are many, many things restricted by age appropriateness for kids. I would imagine the argument is that it isn't age that is the primary reason - that it's maturity or life experience or something but that age is the barometer usually used to quickly measure those things. Basically you can't discriminate SOLELY based on one of these criteria so my employer can't choose to write me up or fire me just because I'm a woman. The fact that I'm a woman who has spent wayy too much time on DIS while at work today, well, they can get after me for that.
But, yes, we do have protected classes in America. Mostly with good reason and the best of intentions.

 

[Hannathy]

If everyone was more considerate in general the need for an adult rest. wouldn't be needed. Unfortunately too many people think they are the only person or family that matters. Sure bring your child to a totally inappropriate place if you want but if they start crying, throwing food etc. react do something remove them for awhile don't just ignore it because maybe you can but I can't. I have kids and I like kids it is just their inconsiderate parents I can't deal with. I also feel this way about counter service meals or Denny's. Please remember kids are kids and aren't just small adults don't expect them to enjoy the same things and act as an adult. Do I expect them to be well behaved and mannered YES but on a childs level not to enjoy and last for a 2 hour meal while adult conversation is the highpoint. Remember anticipation is sometimes better than the real thing so let them anticipate going to a fancy grown up place when they truly can appreciate it, there are some happy mediums like some of the Epcot restr.that are plenty "grown up" for children to experience dining at somewhere better than McD's

 

[Tissa]

I'm a parent of two and I don't see a problem at all if Disney wants to have a adults only restaurant. When I take the kids out to dinner we go were they would be happy at not me. Kids aren't meant to go everywhere and I accepted that fact when I chose to take care of them. Of course they are uncivilized nugget eaters

 

[Tissa]

If everyone was more considerate in general the need for an adult rest. wouldn't be needed. Unfortunately too many people think they are the only person or family that matters. Sure bring your child to a totally inappropriate place if you want but if they start crying, throwing food etc. react do something remove them for awhile don't just ignore it because maybe you can but I can't. I have kids and I like kids it is just their inconsiderate parents I can't deal with. I also feel this way about counter service meals or Denny's. Please remember kids are kids and aren't just small adults don't expect them to enjoy the same things and act as an adult. Do I expect them to be well behaved and mannered YES but on a childs level not to enjoy and last for a 2 hour meal while adult conversation is the highpoint. Remember anticipation is sometimes better than the real thing so let them anticipate going to a fancy grown up place when they truly can appreciate it, there are some happy mediums like some of the Epcot restr.that are plenty "grown up" for children to experience dining at somewhere better than McD's

I agree with this

 

[salmoneous]

Disney doesn't cater to the adult only segment

Disney is in the business of running bars that cater to the adult only segment. Diseny is in the business of renting rooms with one king bed - generally rented to the adult only segment. They are a big company. WDW is a big place. They can offer restaurants to many different segments, including the adult-only one.

 

[salmoneous]

My4,

Thinks got a bit heated, and that is unfortunate. But you are misstating what peopel are suggesting.

Nobody is suggesting that good parents avoid fine restuarants. They are saying it is usually better to hire a sitter and go without the kids.

Nobody has said anything about planes, second cars or careers.

Nobody has said a parent can't have any fun. They just can't always have the exact same fun they had before kids.

Nothing wrong with a character meal that bans families without kids.

 

[LuluLovesDisney]

Restaurants (businesses in general) cannot discriminate based on race, religion, gender, etc. These are the "protected" groups previously referred to.
However, other things that one might consider "discrimination" are perfectly legal.
You must be 21 to enter Mannequins. A 20 year old could say that's discrimination, but that argument isn't going to win them anything.
One could say that Victoria and Albert's discriminates based on socioeconomic status because only people who have a decent amount of disposable income (at least at the time) can dine there.
One could say that EMH is discrimination against locals and non-resort guests.
And lastly, they discriminate against adults- only children are allowed to go down the pool slide, for example.
All of this is legal and acceptable.

As far as us all being equal in America, that's definitely not true. Women still get paid less on the dollar than men do. Affirmative action could be easily debated along this conversation as well.

My point is- adult only venues do exist and are perfectly legal.

Why anyone would object to an adult only restaurant in Disney or anywhere else is still beyond me. The reasoning would make sense if they wanted to make the majority of TS restaurants adult only- but that is insane and no one is arguing that. ONE or TWO adult only restaurants would be a nice oasis, change of pace and would not decrease any child or family's enjoyment of their WDW vacations in the slightest. I think some people just don't like the idea of someone telling them they are not allowed to do something- it doesn't matter what it is.

As far as the "childless couples banned from a character meal" thing- that would be fine with me. Although it would probably better to restate that as a character meal only for groups with children under a certain age in attendance. Because I assume that even if I were unable to have children, I could attend with my 5 nephews, whom I have taken to WDW before. And then you'd have to set a limit on how many adults would be permitted with that child. Could g-ma and g-pa and mom and dad (4 adults) come with one child? And what's the age still considered a child?

I definitely don't mind well-behaved children in any of the WDW restaurants. But I'd still like a restaurant just for adults. Disney has *tons* of guests of all ages. Of course, they cater to young children, but Disney has realized inthe past that they had to beef up their entertainment for both teens and adults, and has responded, so it doesn't seem unusual for Disney to put in an adult only restaurant in the future. With so many dozens of restaurants that cater to kids, not to mention the Tea Parties and Pirate Cruises, etc. why not one just for adults? Just another place to show that Disney is for all ages, and caters to everyone in their own way. This brings us to the last thing I wanted to address- Disney is definitely not *just* for families- it's for everyone. I shudder to think what couples who cannot conceive, or young adults who are estranged from their families, or children who are orphans, or homosexual couples would say about this!

 

[Accentuate+]

Maybe we should also have a character meal that bans childless couples that take up all the time with the characters getting their pictures etc.

Actually not a bad idea.
Hey, when you want to go to the 'adults only' restaurant I can borrow, I mean babysit, your kids and take them to the family character experience. Problem solved.

 

[Carys]

Perhaps if Disney were to make a fine dining adults only restaurant, they might be proactive and have a free childcare service at or attached to the restaurant. When you make reservations, you have a set menu price like V & As, are allowed 2 children per adult with a small surcharge for additional children, and simply give the numbers of both adults and children attending when making the reservation. It'd take the hassle out of making childcare arrangements, let the kids have fun doing activites that they'd appreciate more at their age, let the parents have a stress-free meal, and keep the adult atmosphere for those who are not vacationing with children. Disney is for families of all ages, and not every single experience is geared towards every single guest (compare the Winnie the Pooh ride and Expedition Everest), so I don't see a problem in gearing a single restaurant out of Many many choices towards a section of their clientale.

 

[Straughn]

My, my, this has suddenly gotten ugly. As with all the controversial threads, this one has gone to extremes. New Yawker's original post asked about one , I repeat, one, restaurant that was for adults only. It did not say ban all small children from all restaurants at Disney (yes I am gong to the extreme here, because that is where some posters have taken this). I don't think his original intention was to ban all children of all ages from high end restaurants at WDW. My interpretation of all of this is that there are a lot of adults (parents and non-parents) who have a problem with small, young children who are taken to signature restaurants and then misbehave (running around, crying and generally disruptive) which disturb other diners. You want to bring your 10 year old who sits there and plays his hand held video game-that's fine with me. I am not opposed to all children in restaurants; I feel that when you spend serious $$ in a nice restaurant, you should not have to listen to the 2 year old at the next table, shrieking at the top of his/her lungs because it is 9:30 at night and past bedtime (and spare me the speech about time zones). How the parents can enjoy their meal is a mystery to me, and apparently to a lot of others who have contributed to this post.

If those of us who want one restaurant which is adults only, disliked kids as much as some of you think we do, we wouldn't come to Disney World.

Now, if you will excuse me, I need to go finish packing as we are leaving in the morning to go eat our next six dinners at Flying Fish, Narcoossee's, Fulton's, Yachtsman Steakhouse, Citricos, and California Grill.You will recognize me by my witch's hat, my broomstick and the spells I cast at any diners under the age of 21!

 

[wrldpossibility]

I loved the idea of a "kid-only" character meal...not as a serious suggestion, but it makes a good point. The argument could be made that adults who attend character meals without kids take time from the characters that would be better served with kids. And, (SOME) kids at expensive Disney dining experiences take time and attention away from servers and toward themselves that would be better served toward well-behaved (most likely adult) patrons.

I got defensive earlier after reading the OP, but that's just because I felt it was implied ALL children would be unruly at restaurants. After thinking however, I realized, when I'm in WDW, you won't see me at the high end dining establishments late at night, because I have my kids with me this vacation. It just doesn't sound fun to them or DH and me to try to keep them happy through an adult experience. We'll stick with family themed activities. At the same time, if you want to stay clear of kids, please avoid Chef Mickeys. And we'll all be happy.

Why parents take their kids to unappropriate places is beyond me. Save it for another time. (And NO, taking a 3-week-old sleeping in a carrier to a casual meal does NOT fall under this catagory. That woman was 100% wrong.)

Why adults sans kids go to character meals is beyond me too. I just can't imagine why you'd want to.