Best Signature Dining Options for Kids

[buzz1121]

My family will be going to WDW for 11 days in late September through the first part of October. We will be on the deluxe dining plan, staying at the Poly, and we will be celebrating our anniversary as well. My children are 5 and 2 and are very well behaved. We eat out at least once a week and if there is ever a problem, we address it and remove them from the scene.

We will be doing many of the fun options, but does anyone have suggestions for the signature dining locations that will work for young children? If anyone can rank them, that would be super.

I would love to dine at Citricos due to the quality, but most reviews do not mention children and I would hate to bother other patrons by having my family present when every other table is comprised of couples.

Thsnks so much for any feedback!

 

[tinacaplan]

My husband and I did the deluxe dining plan last February on our adults-only anniversary trip and we saw (mostly well-behaved) children in nearly every signature we ate at. We had dinner at Citrico's, Jiko, Flying Fish, and the California Grill. Both Citrico's and Jiko were sort of dark and seemed the least child-friendly. But really, its Disney and kids are welcome pretty much everywhere (except V&A's, of course).

That said, out of all of them, we are planning on returning to California Grill when we go back with our son in February. We loved it!

Have fun deciding.

 

[grace&philipsmom]

We ate at Artist Point last year when our kids were around the same age as yours. We all really enjoyed our meals and the kids had a lot of fun painting their chocolate puzzle desserts. I did bring a few small toys for them to play with when they got a little bored (it was over 2 hours). We did see some other kids there. That being kids are welcome at any restaurant except V&A's so I would try for whichever restaurant you prefer.

 

[Neverland98]

Narcoosee's might be fun, since it is on the water. If you schedule appropriately, you may even see the Electrical Water Parade float by or catch glimpses of MK's wishes!

Also, Yachtsman Steakhouse has a cheery atmosphere that might be more "kid-friendly". The same for Flying Fish.

Either way, go and enjoy! I'm sure no one will mind children...you are at Disney!

 

[MODisneyfan]

We ate at Artist Point last year when our kids were around the same age as yours. We all really enjoyed our meals and the kids had a lot of fun painting their chocolate puzzle desserts. I did bring a few small toys for them to play with when they got a little bored (it was over 2 hours). We did see some other kids there. That being kids are welcome at any restaurant except V&A's so I would try for whichever restaurant you prefer.

I have to agree. When I was there with a friend on a girls trip there were quite a few children and they all seemed very happy and content. It was a great atmosphere and the food is wonderful.

 

[Coconuts]

Great thread! I was wondering the same thing myself for our next trip.

 

[Uncleromulus]

They are ALL fine for well behaved younger children--Citrico's included. We eat at Citrico's every trip and always find children dining there. It is NOT a "couples" restaurant by any means.

If it makes much difference, the ones with the MOST kids seem to be California grill and Narcoossee's. Most likely due to the fireworks.

 

[pixarmom]

One of the things we love about Disney is the variety of good dining options for families. We can enjoy interesting, great food in a nice atmosphere AND enjoy time with our kids all at once. Mealtimes at Disney are very important to us, and typically some of the highlights of our trips. We make ADRs for all dinners and most lunches so that we have that break with our kids.

We were a little hesitant to take our kids to signature restaurants for dinner before our trip last week. We'd go for lunch, or not at all. Many posters on the disboards expressed negative views about children in signature restaurants, and I was concerned that our three boys (ages pre-school to pre-teen) would be unwelcome, even though they are well-behaved. For our last trip, based on so many of the positive comments from posters here, we made ADRs for Cali Gril and Brown Derby for dinner.

We were so happy with our choices! California Grill was great - loved the sushi and the wine list. Was able to find a pure Cabernet Franc, which I don't see every day. Meanwhile, our kids loved the mac and cheese and the pizza, and they brought goldfish crackers for our pre-schooler. They served us quickly enough to accomodate our kids, but we did not feel rushed. Everyone was happy and we felt entirely welcome.

Same with Brown Derby. We were seated at the big table elevated over the restaurant and right next to the bar. Both our server (Cory) and the bartender (we chatted with her a bit too) were wonderful. Kids enjoyed their meals, and we did too! While I loved Cali Grill, Brown Derby is still my favorite. (We have been there for lunch before, but were previously hesitant to do dinner with kids.)

I can't recommend these two restaurants enough. Even our pre-schooler was not only well-behaved, but enjoyed these restaurants. And if he had been crabby, we would have taken him out for a quick break immediately, just as OP described. Our ADRs were at 5:35 and 6:15pm, respectively, so we saw lots of other kids. (I understand it could be a different atmosphere if we were seated later.) In any event, I highly recommend Brown Derby and Cali Grill for children. I've also been to Narcoosee's (before kids) and might give that another try, too.

 

[Daisy21015]

I think your children would be fine at any signature but some may be more "fun" for them.

We love Narcoossess - it is nice being on the water and if they need to walk while waiting on the food the decking around the restaurant is nice to walk around. They also have a kid dessert fav - worms in dirt.

My girls enjoy CG too - they love the mac 'n cheese there and would make a meal out of the rice crispie sushi. With little ones, it may be too late to coordinate with wishes but it is fun to watch wishes from the window!

At Flying Fish my youngest (she was 7 at the time) still talks about the dessert where she got to paint the mickey puzzle and eat it.

We have not been yet but this trip we will do Jiko's - they have peanut butter and jelly and grilled cheese on their kids menu. They also have two fun kids desserts - a fondu and a smores dessert

 

[MissLiz]

We took our girls (7 and 1) to Jiko in May. We saw many children in the restaurant and we really enjoyed ourselves. DD7 enjoyed the changing light in the restaurant and the kids' menu is really good!

Our children are pretty well-behaved, but our youngest was only 13 months old at the time, so there wasn't much chance of getting her to understand "behaving". She naturally has a louder disposition, even when she is just babbling, but we didn't feel out of place or embarrassed at all.

 

[Hopefully]

If you are going to WDW in late September - early October of THIS year, you need to make your ADR's ASAP. You may well find limited availablity for the popular restaurants.
Folks are able to make ADR's 180 days (6 months) in advance and most of the most popular restaurants book to capacity.
I would not pay for the DxDDP unless I was sure I could secure the ADR's that I want in advance. Walk ups are very limited and October is much busier than it used to be.
Good Luck.

 

[buzz1121]

This feedback is terrific and so reassuring!

If there are any other thoughts or opinions, I would love to hear them!

Thanks for the tip Hopefully! I booked a few of them a couple of months ago, but after reading some of the reviews I questioned whether they were appropriate for the children. I originally booked Jiko, Cali Grill around Wishes, and Citricos, but I am thinking of adding Flying Fish or Narcoossee's.

Any thoughts between the two or them? Or is Artist Point a better choice?

 

[Kimberle]

My dd really loves Jiko's! They have a wonderful kids menu. Kids are welcome anywhere except Victoria & Alberts.