Best restaurants for Preschoolers & Toddlers?

[Tri-Delta4Life]

We're staying onsite at the GF for 5 days in mid-October. This will be our first time with our daughters who will be 4 & 2. What restaurants have you found that were the most enjoyed by kids in that age group? I'm not super worried about the food exactly for them, more about the ambiance/appeal.

 

[ArielDreams]

We just went with our almost 2 year old. Breakfast at Topolinos Terrace was a big hit. We also took him to Rainforest Cafe and Sci Fi which seemed to be good ambiance for little ones.

 

[Betty Rohrer]

We just went with our almost 2 year old. Breakfast at Topolinos Terrace was a big hit. We also took him to Rainforest Cafe and Sci Fi which seemed to be good ambiance for little ones.

now my 2 to 4 year old grandkids did not like either Rainforest Cafe or T-Rex. did not like the noise parts

 

[saraheliz]

When my girls were 2 and 4 our best meal was Sci Fi Dine In Theater. It was so nice and cool and dark after busy hot days in the park- and the girls could just zone out watching the silly movie clips while we ate and they loved eating in a "car." It was an excellent break and recharge for everyone.
They also enjoyed breakfast at Crystal Palace, but that was when character dining was there. Not sure if/when that will come back at CP.

 

[unrequited23]

Sci-Fi movie clips were too scary for my DS who was 4.5 at the time. Both of my kids are on the more timid side, though. In a another post, someone summed it up, as if your kids are scared of the wolf scene in the animated Beauty and the Beast, Sci-Fi might be too much.

Restaurants that offer family style dining seem to be a winner for us. There is not normally a huge wait between ordering and getting food. There is a section of Pinocchio's Village House that over looks the loading area of It's a Small World. My boys love watching the people and the boats go by. Another winner has been any TS that includes a dessert with the kids meal. The Plaza was a hit just because of the sundae with mouse ears at the end.

 

[disneygolfer1985]

We went in 2019 with my daughter who was just under 2. Now this was pre covid, but she enjoyed the character meals. She really liked 1900 Park Fare. I don’t know if they are open but they had 2 character meals and she enjoyed both of them. They have a breakfast and dinner. We did the Disney Junior breakfast at Hollywood and vine. She liked all the characters so that was good. Non character meals she liked was La Hacienda. My wife is Hispanic so she likes chicken and mexican rice.

 

[GamGam]

If Chef Mickey is still family style, try that. And you can walk to and from MK. I found little chef hats at the dollar store for our 2 and 5 yr olds.

 

[SleeplessInTO]

Pre-pandemic, my DD liked all the character dining (standouts for us for ambiance/interactions were Cinderella’s Royal Table, 1900 Park Fare, and Garden Grill). She also enjoyed Sana’a (for the animals and the painting dessert) and Yachtsman Steakhouse (again it was the painting dessert). Light up Tinkerbell (Trattoria al Forno) and lotuses (Tiffins) were fun and kept her distracted as well.

Sometimes just grabbing a bite while sitting outdoors is the best ambiance. Some of the animals that visited she liked. Some of the others (aggressive stork wanting her turkey leg) she did not! Eating a shaved ice from the Japan pavilion on a hot day in Epcot while listening to a musical performance (and watching the little one sway to the music) is sometimes just as good as a $60/person meal, ambiance wise.

 

[ucf_knight]

We're staying onsite at the GF for 5 days in mid-October. This will be our first time with our daughters who will be 4 & 2. What restaurants have you found that were the most enjoyed by kids in that age group? I'm not super worried about the food exactly for them, more about the ambiance/appeal.

Go to the fort and get p&j’s takeout. You can eat right next to the playground as well as have some great cocktails from crockets tavern right next door. Easy boat ride and walk over there from magic.

 

[Kerr84]

Our 18 month old loved watching the band at Biergarten! We did not enjoy ourselves at Sci-Fi because of the seating situation. The tables are tiny and she couldn’t handle the booster seat. She loves tv but the old film clips did not interest her at all.

 

[annadreamsofdisneyworld]

We haven't been since before covid, so I'm not sure which of these restaurants will be available. But my kids always loved the character dining experiences. Their favorites were Crystal Palace (Winnie the Pooh and friends) at Magic Kingdom, Tusker House (Mickey and friends) at Animal Kingdom, and Garden Grill (Chip, Dale, Mickey, Pluto) at Epcot. At each of those restaurants they enjoyed the characters and the food. The Winnie the Pooh characters were particularly excellent at interacting with our children. For a non-character meal, I think our favorite was Whispering Canyon Cafe at Wilderness Lodge. The food was amazing, kids liked it, and the ambiance was fun. There were fun activities, such as each child getting a horse on a stick to ride on, and all the kids rode around the restaurant. I don't know if they're doing that now, though.

 

[Tri-Delta4Life]

My tentative 'game plan' is...

• breakfast in our room (either via room service or Gasparilla's to-go brought back by 1 parent)
• lunch at the park (mostly QS)
• dinner at a monorail resort

I'm not big on buffets with kids, but we'll see what's even open come October. On the same thread, that status of character dining will probably have a decent impact on our plans as well. If things are more 'back to normal'... CRT breakfast, 'Ohana breakfast, BoG QS lunch, Chef Mickey's dinner, 1900 Park Fare dinner, maybe even Artist Point dinner (depends on transportation option).

Other dinners that'll be more for mom & dad, but kids will have to deal... California Grill & Narcoosee's.

 

[Betty Rohrer]

My tentative 'game plan' is...

• breakfast in our room (either via room service or Gasparilla's to-go brought back by 1 parent)
• lunch at the park (mostly QS)
• dinner at a monorail resort

I'm not big on buffets with kids, but we'll see what's even open come October. On the same thread, that status of character dining will probably have a decent impact on our plans as well. If things are more 'back to normal'... CRT breakfast, 'Ohana breakfast, BoG QS lunch, Chef Mickey's dinner, 1900 Park Fare dinner, maybe even Artist Point dinner (depends on transportation option).

Other dinners that'll be more for mom & dad, but kids will have to deal... California Grill & Narcoosee's.

would not look for BOG to return counter serve I expect to stay table serve and pricy

 

[Tri-Delta4Life]

would not look for BOG to return counter serve I expect to stay table serve and pricy

I'm not holding my breath... If it stays as is, we might do a dinner there one evening instead... but I'm not sure how the kids would do with 3 course meal. No way I'd do a 3 course lunch though.

 

[JFDIS]

My girls are also 4 and 2. I highly suggest Kona cafe. It’s not stuffy and no one will frown at you if your kids are a little on the loud side or have the wiggles. We have had so many excellent meals there and there’s no stress for the parents.

 

[Tri-Delta4Life]

My girls are also 4 and 2. I highly suggest Kona cafe. It’s not stuffy and no one will frown at you if your kids are a little on the loud side or have the wiggles. We have had so many excellent meals there and there’s no stress for the parents.

Thanks for the recommendation! I've never eaten there so I wasn't for sure. The menu looked more appealing to me than 'Ohana.