Are signature restaurants REALLY kid friendly?

[tmonferdini]

We're (DH, me, DD13, DD9 & DS9) planning on doing Flying Fish, YS, Jiko, HBD & Narcoossee's in June, but my concern is whether they are actually as kid-friendly as people claim they are. My kids can sit through a nice meal without being too rowdy, but will we get funny looks from the more "upscale" clientele there? We will be in and out of the parks before & after dinner, so we wont be dressed up, but will follow the dress code.

Also, I've read that some other TS restaurants give coloring pictures & stuff to the kids while waiting, do these places do that?

Thanks,
Tracy

 

[Tink888]

As long as your kids are well-behaved (mannered, quiet and not running around everywhere), your family will be welcomed and have a great meals in the restuarants that you mentioned. I've got two boys and we've never been to any of the restaurants and felt out of place. Have a great trip!

 

[BeckyH]

We have been eating at these restaurants since my boys were 5 & 7. We never have had a problem. You know your children best. If they can make it through a relaxed, slower-paced meal, you should be fine. These are not quick meals in our experience. Go and enjoy.

Becky

 

[Mickey_Man]

You should have no problems at all. Many children eat at these restaurants every day, and as long as your children are not causing all sorts of chaos, you will be just fine. DW & I eat at these places all the time and see families with children the same ages as yours or younger, and those who have children well-behaved are adorable and fun. Those with little Stitches running around get the looks just like they do at your local Outback.

 

[luv2saveabuck]

Just came back from a week long trip w/DD8 & DS5. We ate @ signatures 4 of the nights w/ no issues. Our kids LOVE "big people" food, so we picked our ADRs around kids menus w/some "grown-up" selections, and the signatures met that bill perfectly. Our service was fantastic @ all locations, w/the servers paying special attention to the kids.

 

[suzimar57]

it's actually nice to see well-behaved children at places like narcoosees - shows that the parents are raising them well!

 

[disneymyway]

I saw the most adorable kids, all dressed up and so well behaved, the last time we were at Jiko. We stopped by the table and said so, too!

I don't see many children at Jiko, though. The menu might not be great for picky eaters.

 

[madalex]

The signature restaurants are very kid friendly. I have dined at the various signature restuarants with my children more than 50 times over the last 10 years. There have always been many, many families with children dining at the restaurants at the same time. Showing up with your (hopefully well behaved) children will not cause anyone to bat an eye.

 

[Tricia1972]

So long as your children are well behaved I doubt that anyone will raise an eyebrow to you. You know your kids best and know what they can and cannot tolerate as far as dining experiences.

I have a recent story that slightly goes the other way, but shows how Disney staff is attentive. We were at Jiko on 3/27/08 and there were a handful of well behaved children there. There was also a screaming toddler there. However, the manager attempted to handle the situation with the screaming child immediately.

This was our childless night and we had no more time to look at each other to wonder "Who is screaming" than we looked up and saw the manager walking over to the table to see if she could do anything to "Help"

I must admit the parents were clueless to the disruption that they were causing and continued to sit there with their screaming child. However - KUDOS to the manager at Jiko for attempting to save the experience for the rest of their guests.

 

[tmonferdini]

Thank you for all of your responses. Granted, my kids are "normal", but if they would ever cause a scene or throw a fit anywhere but home, they know it would be unacceptable & we would leave immediately!!! They like to go to "fancy" restaurants and are looking forward to be "ladies and gentlemen" while at disney.

P.S. So is my husband.

 

[disnut8]

As one member of two adults with no kids, if *I* were in those restaurants when your kids were dining, *I* would want to go over and compliment them. And you.

We don't care if kids are in a restaurant. We do care when they run around and their parents do nothing.

Don't worry about it. If someone gives you a "look", ignore them. They probably just had a bad day.

 

[tinkandpan]

Restaurants (with the exception of V&A) are kid friendly as long as your children are "manner friendly". At the age of 9- I can't imagine they wouldn;t know how to behave since they are already used to going out. The only thing I might say is some of the sig restaurants take a bit longer (2 hours for a meal) which might not be as much fun for them as it is for you. We will take our 6 year old out with us to a sig dinner- but we tend to leave our 2 year old behind, 45 minutes of quiet good behavior is really all we can ask without having to constantly entertain her. At the age of 9 they should be good to go and people won't think twice about seeing you in there with them