DDP and young kids, your opinion please

[gosoxb]

After reading many reviews of restaurants and parents experiences with the DDP I am wondering if we should try to use our sit down credits for lunch instead of Dinner, maybe avoiding "meltdowns" .

My kids are 2.5 and 4. The four year old is no problem, but the two year old doesn't like to sit still.

Also, any restaurant recommendations would be great.

Thanks

 

[thunderbird1]

I can't say what you're experience will be, but I can tell you about ours. We had 10 days on the DDP with a (barely) 3 yo and a 9 yo. We did 8 dinners, and 2 lunches, and the only time ds was really tired was one of the lunches (he laid down in the booth at R&C and went to sleep). He would get a little restless from time to time at other restaurants, but overall he did just fine. Disney really goes out of their way to be accomodating to kids.

Having said that, next year I plan on doing a few more lunches. Not because of the kids, but just for a little more variety, and to free up a few more evenings for more relaxed nighttime touring. Though I loved having one nice TS meal a day, I felt having a dinner reservation every night was a little restraining, and really enjoyed the two nights we just winged it with CS's and snacks.

As for restaurant recomendations, most people with little ones swear by the character meals, like Chef Mickey's. Other buffets, such as Boma, can also be a little faster than a 3 course sit-down dinner. I'd also recommend WCC and Ohana--while not character meals, they do have fun "activities" for the kids, such as pony races and hula lessons. And for regular, sit-down meals, you might want to try Coral Reef (aquarium, complete with sharks and sea turtles) or Marrakesh (belly dancers) to keep your kids entertained through dinner. Whatever you do, I know you'll have fun!

 

[d-r]

I think it is a good strategy to take the 2-year-olds to the buffets and all-you-can-eats. One, they don't have to wait a long time for the food. Two, there are different things available so there is a better chance they will like something. And finally, they are free. If you go on the dining plan you won't have to buy it for the two-year-old.

 

[OurDogCisco]

The 1st time we went to Disney my youngest was 14 months old and my oldest was about 5 years old. They had no problems with the TS restaurants. We went during August it was hot outside. They actually needed the break from the crowds, lines, and heat. I felt like the table service restaurants was a welcome for them to get re-energized. Also, I always make sure I have snacks in my bag just in case the restaurant is slow. Many times our 14 month old missed the dinners because she was sleeping. We live in a different time zone by 3 hours so dinner time was close to her nap time.

My kids still enjoy the sitdown restaurants... GL. I don't think you'll know until you try. All kids are different.

 

[krystalleigh1]

We just returned from WDW yesterday with our 2yo ds. Here's where we ate for ts and how he did:

Crystal Palace: Ds didn't eat too much because he was so excited to see the characters. He also was so excited he had a hard time sitting still. This was a rough one for us. Breakfast and first ts meal of the trip.

Ohanas: Ds did pretty good here. He loved the wontons, but that's about all he ate. He's not usually a picky eater. Ohanas was a very relazed atmosphere. Ds even got up and danced around our table and no one blinked an eye. Lots of kids here. Dinner.

Spoodles: This ts took 2 1/2 hours!! You can guess how well a 2 yo would do after 2 1/2 hours of having to be seated. He didn't eat much here either. Dinner

Coral Reef: He liked the fish and it was easy to distract him by saying, "Wow, look at that big fish." He ate some fish and a lot of bread. Dinner

Boma: Buffett, so there was a large choice. Ds ate a lot of salmon and mac n cheese here. Great food, and since it was a buffett we could get in and out fast. Dinner

Le Cellier: Great place. The ambiance is great for adults, and there were enough kids in here we didn't feel out of place. When ds got antsy our server came over and did a magic trick for him. Another time a hostess came over and gave him stickers. Ds ate pretty well here. He had some steak, mashed potatoes, and bread. Dinner

Wolfgang pucks: Another great place. Ds was a little antsy, but we just got up and looked at the dessert display. He again ate pretty well here, fish, french fries, bread. Dinner

Overall ds did much better than I expected. However, most of the ts meals we were there a good 1 1/2 to 2 hours. It cut a large chunk out of our touring time. Le Cellier and Wolfgang's were the only ts non-buffett meals that were speedier at about an hour. We were able to go back to the room for a nap daily and that helped a lot when it came to sit down ts dinners in the evening. Next time I will probablly plan some ts for lunch time or try to plan a couple of 2ts meals so we free up more time for touring. It really does take a huge chunk out of your day and is hard for toddlers to sit that long. We just shared our meals with our ds, and by the end of the week he was eating pretty well. He was just too excited the first couple of days to eat much.

 

[gosoxb]

Wow, thanks everyone for the great info and suggestions!

 

[Alice28]

We did the DDP with my 3 children last September (05). They were 8, 4 and 6 mos at the time. (This was before all the child menu changes!) Here is where we ate our sit downs-

lunch- 50s Prime Time. Kids were entertained by the TVs and ruckus going on all about. They liked the food too- a good sit down for kids.

lunch- Sci Fi drive in. My boys really liked it- liked the cars, liked the movies, liked their food. My 6 month old hated it, but that's a different story. She was tired. I also recommend for kids.

dinner- Cape May- good points were that it was a buffet, the kids had lots of choices (although the pizza was so gooey, my son couldn't grab a slice), and they could immediately eat. The down side is, I have discovered that it is HARD to do a buffet with kids, when they are not old enough to get their own food. I rarely felt like I was enjoying my meal, cause someone always needed something! We do not have any buffets planned for our upcoming trip for exactly this reason.

dinner- Marrakesh- the kids were a little bored here. The kid food selections were fine, and they liked the bread. But it was kind of a long meal, and it was so LOUD and overwhelming at times (the music is INTENSE- esp cause we were right by it). My parents thought the food was so great, but I did not. I would not recommend this one....pretty tile work though!

dinner- Whispering Canyon- this is our favorite with the kids. They love the pony races, they love the waiters yelling and making jokes, and they LOVE the food! We go here every time and never have had a bad experience. I like it cause it's all you care to eat, but there is no buffet to go up and down to- they bring it to you! Everyone is happy.

dinner- Cinderella's Royal Table (when it was sitll 1 credit). OK, my kids LOVED eating in the castle, and they still talk about it. But we had to wait a long, LONG time to get seated- I would say a good 30-40 minutes past our ADR time. That was frustrating to sit in that waiting area, jam packed full of people, when we were hungry. The food was tasty, and like I said, the kids loved eating in the castle- I'm glad we did it.

I also think that Teppanyaki would be a fun choice- we haven't been there with our kids, but they enjoy going to Benihana with us here at home. And although I just dissed buffets, I have to say some of the best food I had on my last trip (which was sans kids) was at Crystal Palace- if you can handle the buffets, go here!