best signature dining with an active 2 yr old?

[princesspeach]

I disagree with the poster talking about not taking a 2 yr old to a signature. We took our 2 yr old (who is VERY active and dislikes sitting still) to CG where she was pretty well behaved ( no screaming, just fidgeting) and when she wanted to run around we went down to the roof area where you can watch the fireworks and let her run it out. This trip in August we went to Narcoosee's and once again, she was fine. Started to get antsy toward the end so we walked outside by the lake and went to bathroom to wash hands etc (oh the things we do to be able to eat a nice meal with a 2 yr old Character dining though is the best with kids though IMO (even though I don't care for the food at most places) because they are constantly occupied with looking around but DH and I like to do at least one signature (and we take our children)!

I would agree with you the signatures at disney are upscale family restaraunts. We ate at 7 signatures on are last trip everyone of them was full of kids. As long as your kids don't scream or run around the restaurant you will be fine. I never saw any bad behavior by any kids. I fell feel perfectly comfortable taking my kids to any signature as disney.

 

[kdfogliano]

I took my son (2.5 yo) to CG, Narcoosees, Flying Fish, and Jiko and I would say they are all ok for kids and had kids at 50% of the tables.

Make an earlier reservation and you should be fine... bring a DVD to keep him occupied or and Iphone or something,

Also, a PP mentioned being there for 2.5 hours.
When we were without kids it would take that long, but with kids it seems they bring your food out faster! and you can always ask them to if he is getting restless

have Fun!!

 

[bastraker]

I agree with others on this. We took our kids (just turned 2 and 4) in July to Narcoosees and Flying Fish. It was our first signature dining experience with them and it was not a problem. As a matter of fact, we have both restuarants booked for our up coming Oct. trip.

I would make Narcoosees for first thing - 5pm. That worked for us, so they weren't behind and we were out of there in probably an hour or so. The Flying Fish is on the loud side so that's always good for my kids. Also if they act up at the Flying Fish, you can take them out to the boardwalk and walk them around.

The food and service at both places is very good. Also at the Flying Fish they have a kids desert that's a chocolate puzzle. They get to put it together and then paint it with a paintbrush and colored dye. My 4 year old loved it.

 

[grace&philipsmom]

Why not CRT?

I agree. We did a special adult birthday dinner at CRT, and everyone (including a 2 year old) had a great time.

 

[Sugardimples]

I'm seeing a pattern here. The parents who took their 2 year old to a Signature restaurant are saying it was just fine. And then the people who were at the next table are posting saying it wasn't as fine as the parents think it was. Hmmmmm..............

 

[TDC Nala]

I'm seeing a pattern here. The parents who took their 2 year old to a Signature restaurant are saying it was just fine. And then the people who were at the next table are posting saying it wasn't as fine as the parents think it was. Hmmmmm..............

I'm a believer that most parents control their children. It's the ones that don't or would prefer not to have to try to keep them in their seats and, maybe "quiet" is a little much to expect, but not screaming, that get mentioned by the next table. There's a number of parents that think they have a lot more leeway because "it's Disney," too. Even though it's Disney, they're going to get the "dirty looks" they don't want, if they let the kids run wild in a signature restaurant.

On the other hand, a lot of readers see this sort of post and think that "run wild" means the child's mere presence or the child speaking loudly or laughing, and it's generally referring to more intrusive behaviors like the kid screaming for a long time and being ignored, or being allowed to roam the restaurant and crawl under other diners' tables (I've seen that happen once and recently seen it reported a few times here). I was at Bluezoo long ago and there was a group of children being permitted to push a baby in a stroller at full speed around the restaurant. The parents apparently had no clue this was disruptive to other diners and especially the servers who had to dodge the kids, they laughed and said how cute it was. That could have been dangerous even at Chef Mickey's or someplace like that, had the kids collided with anyone.

 

[Kelrykengab]

We did a signature on our last trip with our kids 8, 5 and 2 and had no problems and I don't think anyone even noticed us (granted my kids were not leaving the table) and as long as you come prepared I say go for it and enjoy!
Just FYI, my kids have loved the following TS: Saana, Boma, Chef Mickey's, Yak & Yeti, Akershus, CRT, Raglan Road, Jiko, Kouzzina, 50's PT, CP, WCC and I know there are more, but I can't remember. We plan on doing a few signatures the next time with the DDP. Good luck!

 

[blanq]

OP, you indicated you want this to be very special for your DM. How special will it be, really, if your little one can't make it through dinner and everyone is taking turns to take him for a walk? Doesn't it kind of defeat the purpose of your intent to spend time with your DM and make it special? If it were me, I would book signature dining and get the babysitter.

 

[Colleen27]

We took DD to Narcoosees, California Grill, and Jiko on our last trip, when she was 16mo. California Grill is by far the most kid friendly of the signatures, with Narcoosees not too far behind. The patio at Narcoosees has a nice view if you want to take the little one out for a walk while waiting for your meal. At CG, they bring goldfish crackers with the bread when you have a little one in the party, and they have the cutest kids' dessert ever.

But a lot depends on the child's personality. DD is a pretty active kid at home, but she doesn't have a hard time sitting through a nice meal when we're out, especially when there's as much interesting stuff to look at as there is in most of Disney's restaurants. And she will stay occupied between courses or while waiting for the food to come pretty easily with a sticker book or coloring book or mini-magnadoodle. I couldn't have done the same thing with DS when he was a toddler, because his "sitting still" table behaviour didn't last much longer than an hour.

 

[tinacaplan]

We saw kids at every signature place we went to in February, even when we had late ADRs. They were incredibly well behaved in every instance. We are returning with our three and a half year old son this February and we're going to California Grill and Jiko. I agree with PPs that Cali Grill is probably the most kid-friendly. But, there were a lot of kids at Flying Fish when we were there earlier in the evening, too. My only question is how often do you take your child out to eat? My son went through a phase where it was very difficult to eat out with him and his behaivor was horrible. My mom hated taking him out and we always found it super stressful. That said, he's improved immensely. Bottom line: its Disney, there are kids everywhere, and I think as long as the reservation is on the earlier side and you're prepared to take your child out if necessarry, you should be OK.

 

[MSSANDRA]

It can be done and done well...we have always taken our boys pretty much anywhere.

tips:

-Book an early ADR. First booking is great. Less wait time & lower crowds.
-Let the waitress know you are on a toddler time table. in other words..keep things moving. Order apps and main course at the same time..order dessert before you finish meal. Ask for the check before dessert is done.
-Be sure said toddler has had a nap, ran off some energy and is hungry but not starving.
-Take something new to play with. Grab a couple new small cars or other tiny toys in the gift shop before dinner and hold them till you need them.

Sit him beside grandma..kids behave better for them anyway!!!

Have fun... you will be fine anywhere except V&A.

 

[cntrygal]

What about one of the dinner shows?