DDP with a 2 year old = crazy??

[MTW]

I was thinking the other night at O'Charley's when we were fighting with our 21 month old that I may be insane to schedule 7 nights of eating TS meals with a 27 month old? I know every child is different, but if you have done the dining plan with younger children (or even eaten a table service dinner nightly) how did it go? TIA!

 

[Now Mom of 3]

Hi. We did 10 nights with the dining plan with three kids, the youngest being 31 months at the time. He really did alot better than I expected. Granted, we took him out to dinner many times here at home so he was not new to the behavior we expected of him in restaurants. But I was surprised that we had so few problems. If you come prepared, it is doable for sure. We did a number of character meals which provided good distractions. Buffets can be good with 2 yr. olds because of the variety of foods available. Just come prepared with a variety of little toys. We found a bunch of small animals that were a hit with the 2yr. old and the 5 year old, and did not take up much space. We also brought along some crayola wonder markers and paper. They only write on their paper. I had not let my 2 yr. old color with markers before so they helped a bunch in restaurants and on the plane. Oh, and don't forget that you don't have to use your TS meals for supper. You could book some of them at lunch time if your 2yr. old might be happier then. If you do book them for supper, just remember that the later time you book, the more tired your 2 yr. old may be. We tried to book our meals between 5 and 6 for that reason. Oh, one more idea. We have taken a small container of playdoh with us to restaurants before (not to disney though) and it kept him quite happy till the food came. Good luck!

 

[Now Mom of 3]

Me again. Just wanted to mention that our son's ability to sit in a restaurant changed a bunch between the ages you mentioned. Six months can make a huge difference at that age

 

[tjmw2727]

We haven't done the dining plan so I don't know how it affects the "value" but we always did (still do) most of our table service meals for lunch. I found my dd's did better with at late lunch since they were ready for a rest and a bit of a sit. I also find the restaurants a bit less crowded after the lunch crowd meaning less of a wait to be seated and sometimes a quicker meal.

We also brought along a small pack with things reserved only for meal times. I find that lunch moves along a bit faster and the variety and quality of food is just as good as at dinner. In your case maybe a bit of both would work.

We usually alternated character breakfasts with late lunch and then earlier character dinners.

I would play it by ear the first couple days and then change plans if need be. Hopefully you can adjust your ARD times if necessary to accomodate.

Have a great trip.
TJ

 

[ptslp]

We did the dining plan with a 3 year old and a 1 year old. They did fine. We tried not to eat too late and didn't take forever to eat- ordered as soon as we sat down, had our dessert order in before we finished our dinner, etc. The same types of things we do when we are going to a restaurant at home. We also had something for them to do, whether it was a coloring book and crayons or some other small toy to occupy them. Also, we did several character meals, which totally make the cost of the dining plan worth it. We are going again in April and have the dining plan once again (3 1/2 year old and 18 month old). I think it really depends on your child and your style of eating out. Our kids have been eating out since shortly after birth and behave fairly well in a restaurant. If you think you will be fighting with your child to behave and it will ruin you meal, you might want to plan to stick to table service and only plan one or two sit down meals.

good luck with your decision!

 

[Mom 2 Two]

We did the dining plan in Feb. with our kids age 5 and 29 months. The majority of our sit down meals were caracter meals and alot of them were breakfast. We also did Le Cellier and Coral Reef in Epcot. Our kids eat out all the time and usually do really well, but did not do well at Le Cellier. It was at lunchtime and we were all tired (we went back to the resort for a nap afterwards). With 3 courses, it takes a long time to eat (if I remember correctly it was over an hour and a half). I would just recommend character meals and if you do decide to go to a fancier place, be sure your children have had a nap. Our favorite character sit downs were Chef Mickeys, Crystal Palace and Ohana.

 

[tmanaster]

Me again. Just wanted to mention that our son's ability to sit in a restaurant changed a bunch between the ages you mentioned. Six months can make a huge difference at that age

I totally agree! Six months is a huge difference in a child so young. Last June we used the DP with my 26 month old twins as well as my older two (almost 6 and 7 at the time) and they did great! I think they enjoyed sitting down out of the hot sun! We ate at CRT, Norway for the Princess dinner, Boma, Crystal Palace, Hoop de Doo Revue and Hollywood and Vine. As you can see, we did alot of buffets. Not waiting for food seemed to really help keep them occupied. Hope this helps!

 

[MTW]

I wasn't sure what to expect in the next six months. I figured things would change, I'm just not sure how much. He is usually pretty good and we are definitely working on manners, etc. We eat out about once a week, so he does have experience in restaurants. Currently, I am planning dinners at Hoop Dee Doo Revue, Liberty Tree Character Dinner and Whispering Canyon (we're stayin at VWL). We are also scheduling our meals early - 5pm - hopefully avoiding some of the crowds and keeping him from getting tired and cranky. I will also be looking into some of the other suggestions given here.
Thanks for sharing your experiences. Glad to hear that so many of you had great trips!

Megan

 

[sara74]

We tried not to eat too late and didn't take forever to eat- ordered as soon as we sat down, had our dessert order in before we finished our dinner, etc. The same types of things we do when we are going to a restaurant at home. We also had something for them to do, whether it was a coloring book and crayons or some other small toy to occupy them.
good luck with your decision!

We are planning the same way, although DH claims that making him review online menus to plan now and streamline the ordering part is taking the spontenaity out of his vacation! Seriously, though, we are at least going to attempt it for 7 days with our kiddos. We'll see how it goes! I always ask for the check when the waiter first comes to see how our meal is. I bring little occupiers (stickers, finger puppets) that are kicking around in the bottom of my purse, and I can eat anything with a kid or two on my lap! We get by! And I really want to eat at Cali Grill, so dining plan it is!