Best places to eat with active 1 1/2 year old

[staceywj]

We are on the dining plan and I am wondering if anyone could give me some recommendations of places to eat with DD for dinner, whom hates to sit and eat. Also, DH is looking for places with good food. (I am not sure if buffets would be faster and easier to entertain her but how is the quality of food at the buffets.)
Thanks,
Stacey

 

[Kaycee]

I haven't been to WDW with one that young, but I wanted to welcome you to the DIS Boards.

Hopefully, some DIS parents of active toddlers will be able to share their experiences with you and give you some good ideas of where to eat.

 

[Grumpy'n'Goofy]

I highly recommend Crystal Palace for dinner. Our DS was 1-1/2 on our last trip and, like your DD, he was not much for sitting and eating. But at the character meals he did great, I think he was mesmerized (sp?) by all the characters (and if he started to act up we would bribe him w/ some ice cream from the buffet). The other good thing about CP was the food. Delicious prime rib, peel and eat shrimp, incredible salmon, fresh bread, several deserts (I'm getting hungry just thinking about it, is it July yet ).

ETA: I almost forgot, welcome to the Disboards!

 

[crisi]

In my opinion, buffets were horrible with small children. I was exhausted from taking care of the kids and wanted to sit - not run to a buffet to get dinner not only for myself but for the kids. Other people love them. While every Disney buffet I've been to far exceeds Old Country Buffet for quality, the food on them doesn't tend to be great, but, as I said, other people love them.

I'd stay away from signature dining with a kid. And if he doesn't like thunderstorms, no Rainforest Cafe (lots of toddlers get spooked). I also find the cars at the Sci Fi difficult to deal with and the room dark for smaller kids (though its a great restaurant for school age kids). And the hot grill at Teppanyaki scares me with little ones - don't want burned hands. YMMV - of course.

Some little ones are afraid of characters. I'd certainly recommend a character meal, the photos are precious - but I wouldn't do a lot of them unless you know your kid won't be a screamer. You might want to schedule it later in the trip and make a double ADR for that day - cancel the non-character meal if you go to the character meal, and vice versa if your character experiences aren't pleasant. (Someone here tells the tale of a Chef Mickey's meal that a child spent terrified under the table).

Other than that, pretty much anything goes, but the real trick will be to get in the three courses in the dining plan without a melt down. I'd recommend knowing what you want before you sit down (menus are posted outside the restauants), letting the hostess know you are going for speed dining. Reminding the waiter/tress of the same. Order dessert when you order dinner (the wait staff should keep an eye out and just bring it when they clear the entree). Bring cheerios or goldfish crackers to entertain your child, and don't be afraid to take a stroll with him (we used to have one grown up check out the lobby with the kids between ordering and food arriving).

 

[lillygator]

I think it all depends on your child. We don't stay away from signature dining just because our children are young.

Buffets are a toss up...it can be a blessing that the food is available right away especially if your little one is a good eater. But do you want to get up and down all night? To some it doesn't matter.....

Our girls are now 3 and 1 and the oldest has been going since she was just over a year and the baby since she was 4 weeks old.

Biergarten - I wasn't crazy about the food but the girls loved the show and the ability to get up on the floor and dance.
Chef Mickey's, Crystal Palace, Cinderella's Royal Table, Liberty Tree Tavern etc - the girls like the characters and it keeps them busy.
Concourse - the monorail going through also entertains them.
California Grill - luckily we've always had a great view of the MK and the fact that the tables clothes are paper the eldst has a blast coloring (as do we) and they always bring out a bowl of goldfish for an appetizer for the kids.
Ohana is always fun...views of the MK and my eldest loves the coconut races, hula hooping and the guy singing/playing music.
Whispering Canyon my eldest also enjoyed...the loudness, the antics and the pony races, etc.
Sci Fi - we liked a lot but our daughter is not in a high chair so all she wanted to do was climb from the front seat to the back over and over...
Le Celliar - they were fine - there's nothing to entertain them but yourself in there.
Rose and Crown - fine here as well especially if you get a water view seat.
Brown Derby - not much to entertain here but looking at the "photo's" on the walls are fun.

Those are some of the places we've been with the girls. They are used to eating out as well as their parents lingering over the meals. That's is why we don't shy away from signature dining, but you know your child and family best.

Good luck and have a great trip!

 

[K and K's Mommy]

We ate at Coral Reef when DD was 20 months, and the tank mesmerized her. It is somewhat expensive but I believe only one credit. We found the food good, but not great. Although the chocolate wave is the best dessert!

We usually eat at least one TS a day with our little ones. Disney is geared towards kids. She'll be fine! We also love Boma and go there after our AK day. It is a buffet, but I think better quality than any other buffet. The soups and hummus are delicious!

We love Crystal Palace for breakfast. Chef Mickey's is a lot of fun, but she may be too young to appreciate the characters. I really did not like the dinner food here. Of course, we are going back because my older two love it!

Spoodles has good food on the Boardwalk and is relatively quick. The Boardwalk was fun after dinner. We did this on our rest day.

In May we are trying Whispering Canyon. We've been there for breakfast but never dinner. Keep reading these boards for awhile, and you'll read lots of reviews. If you decide to do a signature dinner for two credits, California Grill has an amazing view and is a louder restaurant. Have fun!

 

[mytwotinks]

My 2 year old LOVED LOVED LOVED the sci fi diner at MGM . Have you looked on www.allearsnet.com ? They have great descriptions and reviews of every single place that you can think to get any type of food. I really wouldn't worry too much about it. Even in the nicer restaurants there will be lots of little ones. We never felt self conscious about our girls. Plus, the wait staff is great about bringing stickers and keeping the kiddos entertained at most of the sit downs we went to.

 

[gigi1313]

i strongly recommend the garden grill at epcot... the booth cuts down on the distraction and character interaction is A++! the food is very good and it's an all-you-care-to-eat meal served family style (which means no long wait for your food!)... they also have fun/messy desserts for the kids that can act as 'entertainment' too! another great character meal choice would be liberty tree tavern...

i found buffets hard to handle w/kids... it seemed i rarely got to take two bites before someone else needed me to do something else (get them more food, cut up their food, take them to the rest room, etc) and never did i get to eat any HOT food before it got cold! somehow though, my dh always managed to enjoy *his* meal

 

[crisi]

I think it all depends on your child. We don't stay away from signature dining just because our children are young.

I wasn't basing the recommendation on merely young. Active and hates to sit and eat were the the biggest reasons.

(Though I wouldn't have taken my kids to a signature restaurant at 18 months - they were also active and didn't like to sit and eat, and dining at a place like TGI Friday's was stressful enough - eating a $15 cold steak because you took it home when the meltdown occurred is unpleasant, eating a $40 cold steak is worse).

 

[Drake]

We have taken our grandchild to WDW twice since he was born...first when he was 2 months old....and last year when he was 1 year old. (This year he'll be 2 years old when we go.) We found that the easiest places for him and us to eat were restaurants which had booth seats. Our favorite is Cape May Cafe.

We ask the host/hostess for a table off to the side with a booth seat. Raising three children, I know how hard it is for them to sit still during an entire dinner....so, I would always get a table in a corner or off to the side .... this would allow them to stand up beside their chair to stretch. With a booth they can lay down to rest if they are tired or if they fall asleep during dinner (yes, this has happened to us several times )

Also, at a buffet they can nibble on various foods.......while Mom and Dad take turns going up to the buffet to get themselves food.

Enjoy your trip!!

 

[Maggi May]

This is a great thread, as my DH and I will be taking our DS when he's 21 months old.

We often practiced the "divide and conquer" method of buffet dining -- one person eats first while the other feeds, entertains, and or takes DS for a stroll. Then we switch. It's not exactly togetherness or a leisurely time, but it's just too hard to expect the little guy to sit still for a full meal.

With that in mind, we booked dinner at Boma with the other family that we're traveling with. The moms will eat while the dads take the kiddos to explore the hotel and see the animals. Then we'll trade off.

 

[DisneyArk]

On our first family trip my sons were 18 months and 3 years old. They were very active boys!

They were not interested in eating out when we were at home (they wanted to get down and run). But at WDW they were mesmerized by the characters and the energy level. They loved eating at Crystal Palace, Chef Mickeys and Whispering Canyon Cafe.

The buffets can be more work, but they were great for us because our sons were usually really hungry and did not want to wait for their food.

 

[staceywj]

Thanks for replying to my first post. I printed out all the replies and highlighted all the important info. Now, I just have to see if I can get all the dates and times that I would want. Planning for Disney requires doing a lot of homework but it is worth it. And, I am not even talking about packing, yet.
Thanks again,
Stacey

 

[amarberry]

Our last trip was in January when DD was 18 months old. We had great experiences at Garden Grill (food is okay, but it was the BEST character experience), Crystal Palace, Coral Reef, and Kona Cafe.

I am not normally a fan of buffets at all, but I have been pleasantly surprised with the quality of food at the Disney buffets (since that seems to a concern of yours in your original post). In fact, our favorite restaurant, hands down, is Boma. For our family, it is worth the trek over to AKL. Heck, it's worth the trip to WDW alone!

 

[ruttie]

any japanese place where they cook in front of you they have one at epcot.. my usband and i lived at the local one down the street when my boys were young they were fascinated wuth teh cooking and we were able to eat in a bit of peace.. when they were finished they just watched other tables