Any restaurants you would NOT bring a toddler?

[LglBlonde]

Our son will be about 16 months old for our trip.

Obviously not V&A's

Any other restaurants we definitely would not want to take him?

 

[madalex]

There are no other restaurants to which you should "definitely" not take a toddler. It is WDW after all and there will be children wherever you go. However, you should, of course, be mindful of the other diners and be prepared to remove you child from the restaurant if he starts to act up. Eating early, when many of the signature restaurants are less crowded, is a good way to enjoy a meal at a nice restaurant with less potential for bothering lots of other people.

 

[jcc0621]

I agree with the PP. Eating early is the key. We ate at Artist Point when DS was only 11 months old. We had the first seating of the evening (5:30) and it was great. It wan't that crowded. We ordered and while we were waiting for our food to arrive I fed him (He was pretty much still eating baby food at this point) and by the time our appy's came out he was quite happy with the litle toys I gave him and some cheerios to keep him occupied. By the time the real crowds started coming in we were finished and leaving. I felt bad becasue the cheerios, most of them wound up on the floor. I started trying to clean them up and the server came over with one of those sweeper things and told me not to worry about it. "Your in Disney World, this is supposed to happen" It gave me a chuckle and I didn't feel as bad.

 

[daisyduck123]

Shula's in the Dolphin.

 

[shellybaxter]

Most restaurants will accomodate a toddler. Other diners will appreciate it if you remove your child if they can not sit still, try to visit other tables, or make loud noises.

I am the director of a child development center and have spent a lot of hours with toddlers. I personally wouldn't take a toddler to any of the signature dining restaurants (Artist Point, Yachtsman Steak House, Shulas, Flying Fish, Jiko, Cali Grill, Narcosees, Citricos, Brown Derby, etc). I would try to stick with more family friendly restaurants like Whispering Canyons, Prime Time 50s, any character meals, etc.

 

[Disney Planner Mama]

I would maybe add Bistro de Paris to the list. An older child at an early seating, yes, but 16 months I would think twice about.

I've taken both my girls to all the other signature restaurants with no problems at all from the ages of 3 months on...but I think since they are so used to going to "grown up" restaurants that they understand that there is a certain level of behavior that is expected of them. And it never hurts to throw some crayons and coloring pages into one's bag. And of course if any sort of meltdown that was disturbing to others did occur we would have packed up and left. Luckily (knock wood -- the youngest is about to turn 5) we haven't had that happen.

 

[cjnix29]

Last year, we took our son, who was 3 to Le Cellier, which was a big mistake. He is usually very good in restaurants, and we have been taking him out practically since birth. However, I wouldn't take him back there. Service was very slow, and while I can't remember what he ordered, it was disastrous. He did very well every place else.

 

[corgi_monster]

I hate to say it, but I'm not very tolerant of most children in any restaurant. That being said, I have no problem with children crying and wailing in Narcoosee's. It's WDW - there's supposed to be children there!

When I make an ADR at California Grill, it's with the expectation that the restaurant will be filled with small children and that some parents will allow their children to run wild.

If I want a quiet, romantic, adult dinner, I will go somwhere outside of WDW. I feel that as far as WDW is concerned, it belongs to children and families, and I defer to them.

 

[wdw1972]

While no WDW restaurant will turn kids away, I think it's really up to the parents to realistically look at their own tot & hopefully HONESTLY determine whether that little darlin' can sit through a meal without disturbing other diners (or making the meal miserable for his own parents).

Some kids are so easy-going, you wouldn't be aware of their presence at dinner unless you happened to see them. Those are the kind of babies/kids every parent *thinks* they have If you unfortunately got one with a short attention span, who can't quietly amuse himself for over an hour, then certainly avoid any of the nicer (more expensive) locations. I wouldn't want to be paying CA Grill or Jiko prices to have some tot clanging his spoon on the table or making disruptive noises. That belongs more at Whispering Canyon - or better still, at a counter service spot. Also, it's not fair to subject a kid beyond his limits to having to sit in a crowded restaurant for 1.5 hours at a time.

That said, don't bring a kid to a meal likely to last longer than his "good" behavior will last, don't bring him to a meal that is booked during his fussiest time of the day, and allow for the reality that he may be a bit more stressed out than normal just because of all the extra stimulation he's receiving at WDW vs being in his normal routine at home. Finally, don't book anything you're not willing to skip or walk out of before your food even arrives!

 

[LglBlonde]

Thanks. Lots of good advice given. I had an EARLY seating at Cali Grill in mind, which could work well b/c Wishes is at 6 p.m. that night anyway.

I seriously have one laid back kid. Now, I know that could change come December, but he's pretty good in restaurants.

 

[Conservative Hippie]

While it is WDW, I wouldn't take a small child to any of the signature restaurants. IMHO, that's what signature means--higher prices, higher quality, nicer atmosphere, dress code, no small children. There are plenty of non-signature places you can go with children.

 

[DisneyBride'03]

LglBlonde....take your cutie wherever you want!!

While I agree, V & A's out of the question....as a parent, just determine how your child will do.
Our DD will be 14 mths old....we do have an ADR at Cali Grill on our last night. I am betting she will do fine...we are very blessed as she is very social and loves to eat
We are celebrating (albeit late) our Fairytale Wedding Anniversary, which we now share with our DD cause that is now her birthday as well
On a side note, it appears the dress code has become somewhat lax at CG.... would rather look at adorable children than grown up guests wearing flip flops and t shirts to California Grill.
Just my opinion!
I will report back however....wouldnt mind helping other parents out...what to expect etc....I could come back saying..What was I thinking....lol.....

 

[bsusanmb]

It's Disney World, and I say take your child anywhere you want to go. We had our grandkids, all 3 toddlers at signature restuarants. Had to take one out every now and again for a few minutes when the wait was long, but that's how it is. I wouldn't take a child to V&A.

I agree an early time for dinner is best, and buffets are sometimes easier. But you just take your dear little one anywhere you want! Have a great time!

Oh, the picture below of my son in law and my DGD was taken at Ca Grill. She was 21 months at the time. We walked her out on the roof once or twice as everyone was finishing dinner...there were 13 of us!

 

[ksumn1]

I think you should take him wherever you feel comfortable. If you know that he will be content, not fussy or restless I say anywhere but V&A. I woul keep in mind that should he get antsy you may have to either leave early or take a walk for a minute so you won't disturb other diners. I never had a problem with my oldest DD, she accompanied us to Artist Point at 3, and even told the server it was our "wedding birthday" Our anniversary, and the server gave us champagne and her a free dessert for being such a big girl.

We have to keep my youngest occupied and since she is restless, somewhere with fairly fast service. She really enjoyed the Coral Reef because of the huge fish tank, and 'Ohana because of the activity, but we really didn't chance any of the Signature restaurants.

And I have a nephew that is s restless and badly behaved, I won't even take him to Taco Bell!!!

 

[mom2my3kids]

You know I worry about all of our TS meals because my youngest can be a handful most of the time. When we go out to eat we usually scarf it down because when he is done we are done. After that you can't enjoy your meal so we get used to eating quickly..

 

[las3888]

While it is WDW, I wouldn't take a small child to any of the signature restaurants. IMHO, that's what signature means--higher prices, higher quality, nicer atmosphere, dress code, no small children. There are plenty of non-signature places you can go with children.

I tend to agree. I know there are no "rules" and WDW is full of children of course, but I would just not risk it. It may disastrous for you and the other diners around you. We have a very laid back DS who is 2.5 y/o. We have taken him to WDW 5 times now. He does very well at restaurants, generally speaking, but you just never know when they will have an off day. In reality, it is more relaxing on me to not have to worry too much about it. If you are concerned, you may just worry the whole time and what fun is that? Just my 2 cents.

 

[Dis Ohana]

This is just me and my opinion..I have two kids, both older now. When they were babies through the toddler age we rarely went to any adult restaurants. Not only because I didn't want to risk annoying other diners, but I didn't see the point in having the kids sit through a possible 2 hour meal. Just didn't seem worth it to me. If we did go to any restaurant, we'd make sure they were well rested and able to sit through a meal, and if they started to fuss we'd immediately remove them from the scene. By the time they were a little older they could sit thorugh any meal, I think it's because they knew we wouldn't think twice of getting up and leaving .
We've never been to WDW before though, I would probably feel a lot more relaxed about taking the kids to a sig restaurant there.

Didn't even mean to type that all up..I actually was going to just say, OP: Your baby is adorable!

 

[4everluvDisney]

We went to WDW last year with our DGS who turned 3 while we were there. We ate dinner at Artist Point and had no problems. We took a portable DVD player with us with his Disney movies and he was very content. After he had finished eating we put him in his stroller with his bear and blanket and he went right to sleep. Then my husband and I had a very nice dinner.
We had also booked the Yachtsman Steakhouse for a later seating (we feed our DGS earlier) so when we arrived he was already asleep in his stroller.
Depending on your child (and you know best) there is not a problem taking them anywhere (other than V&A).

 

[Tiffany_MommyOf3]

I think it all depends on your childs temperment and you probably wont even know until a few weeks before your trip since they change so much around this age. One minute sweet angel, next little demon child.. not saying your son but my kids definently lol.. Anyways, I would probably just stay away from any signature restaurant until the kids are much older or are not with us for the evening lol..

Like today, I wanted to eat at Red Lobster but dh is out of town and I had 3 kids to myself.. I ended up at Chuck E Cheese because I KNEW there was no way they were all going to behave and so Chuck E Cheese it was because they can run wild and no one can leave without the adult they came in with so even if I lost eyesight of one, I could find him quickly lol..

Okay, so that doesnt have much to do with what you are talking about.. but I guess I wrote all of that to say that you just have to play off your own childs temperment and how stressful the day has been. It may turn out to be one of those days when your son has had all he can handle and eating in a really nice restaurant and asking him to be quiet is completely out of the question lol.. or it may be a great day of distractions and keep him mesmerized by everything he sees lol.. just depends on the child and the day..

I do agree about eating early.. Also, order his food as soon as you sit down lol.. that way he can start eating while you figure out what you want. We do this every time because my kids just cannot sit still waiting for food (they refuse to color lol... and the toys keep dropping and the cheerios dont cut it.. yes its always something with my 3 lol)

 

[Tiffany_MommyOf3]

oh and you also have to be careful with certain restaurants if you want to take in a stroller for after he falls asleep. Rainforest Cafe at DTD have a fit everytime I want to bring in my stroller (my youngest likes to eat in a stroller at that restaurant because the thunder freaks him out and he feels safer in it lol) They give me a very hard time about bringing it in (I understand they have space restrictions but its a very small stroller and I can easily fit it in a spot where 1 chair can go.. so just put us at a table with enough seats for everyone including the baby lol) but anways, all that to say.. if you plan on bringing in your stroller.. you may have to argue there lol.. although Ive heard others say that they have never had an issue with it lol