Dining Plan and Children Meltdowns

[5_Kids_Mom]

First I would like to say thank you for all the great information I have gotten from these boards . I have been reading for a long time and wanted to write about my dining experiences to see if others agree.

My Sept 23rd trip to the world with free dining was wonderful, however in the past 3 times we have been there I can not remember a time where we saw more children having meltdowns! I do not mean expected crankiness, I mean Nanny 911 meltdowns! One child at the Wilderness Lodge restaurant was grabbing his father's leg screaming I WANT MORE DESSERT to the point where the poor dad's pants were falling down!! Once at the Garden Grill in EPCOT a table of 3 adults with 4 toddlers were allowing the children to run like crazy! When they were asked to stop by the waitress, one of the children returned to the table and banged her head against the table while the other threw table items on the floor. At the place in Mexico, the child was screaming "let me out of here" for the first half hour of the meal, finally she fell asleep. The parents looked exhausted. In 2 instances, (Garden Grill and Mexico), diners at another table complained and were told THEY could move! These are just 3 examples of what we saw out of many.

I think the dining plan has forced more families with young children into too many sit down restaurant experiences and the children simple can't handle it. I have 5 children of my own (older now) and am looking forward to returning with my grandchildren so I am not bashing children in restaurants. I just think that parents with young children that can not sit for many meals should reconsider the dining plan.


Sorry this is long, but it seemed like everywhere we went, children were screaming and nobody was having a good time.

Cathy

 

[ReneeA]

Wow! We didn't witness anything like this in our 8 nights there last month.

However, since we have young children too, we made our ADR's for very early dinners so that they weren't pushed to their limits. I would imagine it was early enough for most kids, also.

Sorry you had to listen to that.

 

[ntsammy5]

Wow! We didn't witness anything like this in our 8 nights there last month.

Sorry you had to listen to that.

Me either, but we usually ate later.... too bad you had to sit through all that.

 

[oogieboogie]

Sorry you had a bad experience. I didn't see any meltdowns this past week, however there were plenty of obnoxious adults!

We were at Yachtsmans one night and the table next to us was SOOO loud! There were 3 couples and one guy and one woman dominated the entire conversation. It was so bad the husband of the woman finally left the table and didn't come back! You could tell the other people in the party were just embarrased. Sigh... booze and them just didn't mix. When they finally left, a couple at another table and us started clapping and finally were able to enjoy our meal. Talk about crass!

Kids I can understand because they're kids. They have meltdowns. Understandable. But adults?... just plain rude and obnoxious.

 

[Aurora in blue]

I saw a few meltdowns too. The worst at Le Cellier where a child about age 7 or 8 knocked over his water glass on purpose about 10 times before his Dad carried him out... that was all during their appetizer. Coral Reef was loud with lots of roaming kids. With that all being said my own kids would have enjoyed less sit down meals, but remained well behaved for the most part. I agree that the DP has more families with younger children trying out TS restaurants. Everyone knows what works for thier own family. I think it helps to stay on a eating schedule that is as close as possible to your one at home.

 

[AlexTina]

I have 3 kids of my own (5. 2. and 9 weeks) and I have to agree with you. We had the dining plan in May 05 and my kids just couldn't handle all the sit down meals. I tried to plan them early but even so by the time we got to dinner they were tired and cranky and having to wait to eat in a nice quiet establishment just didn't mix, they were good most of the time but there were a couple of occasions where we had to leave and I felt soooo embarassed. The dinning plan is awesome for couples or families with older children but those of us with young ones do much better with counter service or loud kid friendly sit down meals like liberty tree. We won't be doing the dinning plan again until the kids much older.

Tina

 

[Cass]

I haven't seen anything like that but we did have some terrible 2's twins at AKL concierge, they were running up the the food area and touching everything, taking things, rearranging things and then one of them threw a handful of wooden stir sticks off the balcony down to the lobby below.

The parents were just sitting there, 'don't touch that honey' etc...

 

[disneynewbee]

I will have three kiddos on our trip age 13, 4, and 11 months and we have the dining plan. We scheduled all kid friendly fun places so that our kids would be entertained during dinner. Even though the food at the fancier places may be better it's not if I can't enjoy it because my kids are having a melt down. The only one I expect a hard time from is the 4yo as she can throw some nasty fits when she wants to and it is quite embarassing. I don't expect any trouble at the restaurants we chose because they cater to her. We are going to Chef Mickey, Crystal Palace, Princess breakfast in Norway, 1900 Park Fair, Donalds breakfast, Whispering Canyon, 50's Prime time, and Sci fi. We will be there 14 nights. I know it's not gourmet dining but it works for us right now. When they are older I will check out the more upscale establishments but a meal spent hushing my children to be quiet is not that enjoyable.

 

[BlindTyldak]

I think it really depends on the children . . . we used magical wishes our last trip (so that was two TS a day) and when it was me, DH, and DD (then 4) it was just fine; I'm proud to say my DD is VERY well behaved in restaurants (alas, not always 100% guaranteed at other times ). But when our Gathering got together my sister's kids couldn't handle the TS meals at all; jumping on chairs, yelling, screaming, crying . . . . It was very difficult being stuck at a table with the rest of the family where children were acting up and trying to decide whether to hide under the tablecloth out of embarrassment, or add to the commotion by starting a family row over the other members' lack of control (or attempt to control). Needless to say, we're never going with them again.

 

[Cass]

Hi disneynewbe, you made some wise dining choices for your family, I'm sure you will have a great time. I haven't been to all the signature restaurants but I have to tell you California Grill is SO LOUD I don't think anyone would hear a meltdown in there. It was crazy loud, more than CM or PF

 

[5_Kids_Mom]

I have been in restaurants when my children melted! I wanted to crawl under a rock (instead we left). Kids will be kids. In my opinion, it is the reaction of the adults that count. In 1 of my 3 examples the parents did try to react and calm the child down. In the other 2 examples, the parents allowed the children to scream, throw things, and run around while they sat there. Not until the child quieted or was diverted mind you, for a good 1/2 hr to 45 minutes while they finished and finally left. Yes, it was late and probably past the little darling's bedtimes.

I believe Disney is a family resort and kids should be welcome in most if not all places. I didn't mean to imply that we expect perfect behavior. Not at all! There is so much to see, hear, and smell at Disney that children are wired by it all. Tired, cranky behavior is expected, screaming and throwing things, no. The adults were fighting with each other by the end of the meal and yelling at the children (who did not listen). As I said, no fun for anyone. I think they would have been much happier eating earlier or having a quick service meal instead of forcing a long sit down meal later in the evening.

All that said, my family and I had a fantastic trip and I would rather be in a Disney restaurant listening to a screaming child than back here at work anytime.


Cathy

 

[ksoehrlein]

Any chance some of these families didn't have ADRs -- or that they waited to late to make them and were stuck with inappropriate seating times for their group? Not that it excuses the parents ignoring these Extreme Meltdowns, however...

We ate past our little darling's bed times a few times when we went with didn't-want-to-plan-ahead family friends in 2003 and had walked up to Alfredos and Teppanyaki during dinner hours. Luckily, the kids ended up falling asleep at the table midway through their entrees so they didn't melt down, but I realize it could easily have gone either way. I know I almost had a low-blood-sugar meltdown after waiting so long for our table!

 

[GSDRescuer]

We aren't going with the DDP for just that reason. We are taking our DGD2 for her first WDW trip. We won't be able to schedule anything. We will be on HER schedule. Even though the DDP is a good deal, we are not going with it at this time. Later, when she is old enough, we will give it a try. I am a Commando WDW person, so this time I'll have to slow it down. (Maybe I'll enjoy it more?)

 

[ekball]

However, since we have young children too, we made our ADR's for very early dinners so that they weren't pushed to their limits. I would imagine it was early enough for most kids, also.

Sorry you had to listen to that.

Yup - us too. Our latest ADR was 5:40 I believe, with most being around 5 or 5:15 (a couple even earlier!). I also was careful to make most reservations at restaurants that were near our resort or in the park we were at for the day. The one time we really travelled to get to a restaurant (BOMA) it was a bit of a disaster (no screaming/yelling/head banging....but DD was a challenge, for us). We did not "dine" - but we never do these days.

If parents were going to "dine" at late reservations that took them all over the "world", I can see where there would be a lot of meltdowns.

 

[GC&S]

We weren't there the same time as the OP but I apologize for anyone at Le Cellier last Tuesday. We are guilty of having one of the melt down children. DD is 4 and was so cranky before we went to dinner. We figured being in a restaurant that was nice and cool would help. But it didn't. And I was at my wits end trying to calm her down. Our waiter was really nice and patient. I did get her to settle down with some bribery. To me, it lasted about 10 hours but really she only had her fit for about 10 minutes.

I scheduled all our ADR's between 4-5 which worked out well. DD is used to eating in restaurants as we eat out a lot She did very well except at Le Celliers. And then later that night she was sick so now I'm thinking she probably wasn't feeling well during dinner and this prompted the outburst.

We actually had more problems with her at CS places just because of lines and not having much to do while waiting for DH to get back with food. At least at TS they give crayons and paper.

 

[SnowWitch]

We were there on the DDP in July and didn't notice it but we did notice alot of parents acting like 2 year olds. "oh I thought my 2 yr old was free" after ordering an appetizer, entree, and dessert for the little darling. We saw this a few times. We had 2 teen boys who were of course fine and our 14 month old daughter, who did beautifully. But she naps three hours everyday and we dined before 7 pm every night. I also always mentioned to the server when ordering that we wanted to order everyhting at once for the dining enjoyment of ourselves and those around us. All our servers did a great job in accomodating this. Our longest sit down meal was 1 hr and 20 minutes.

Yes, Disney is for families but there is a such thing as being polite and if a child is that disruptive the parents should take the child out and be considerate of others around them. Sorry just my 2 cents. Before I would let one of my little angels ruin someones meal I would ask the rest of my party to have my food boxed to go and leave.

 

[susieq76]

Its really more of an issue of stupid parents. I have 3 boys- twin4s and a 3. They have been going to WDW at least once a year since the twins were 11 months and the baby was 2 months. We eat at a TS EVERY day. They have yet to have a meltdown.

However, and a big however

1) My kids are used to dining out. Even when we go to McDonalds they are expected to remain seated at all times and eat properly. They are also well aware that Mommy & Daddy will just leave if they start complaining they want to get up like all the other kids. They frequently dine in higher end places at home and behave well. I think parents (such as my sister) that do NOT take their children out to eat frequently or do not expect the best manners at the table should not suddenly think they should be able to go to a TS meal every night at Disney and be just fine.

2) I make my dining arraingements based on their schedules. IE- even if I can not get seats at their usual dinner time (6pm) and I have to make them for 7:40pm- I adjust accordingly. They have a PB sandwich at 6pm so that they are not crazy starving and unmanagable by ADR time. If they don't eat much then- who cares?

3) Five our of seven nights we will do character/show dinners.

4) If I feel someone is never going to make it through a long dinner we order and eat most of it back at the hotel. Most restaurants are really understanding, wrap it nicely and safely for the bus ride back.

I have three kids and it drives me nuts when parents allow their children to walk around a restaurant or have miserable kids dying for a nap and just go about their thing. I hope some people will take the hint.

 

[WDWCPAlumni]

Well my kids were 2 and 4 last year when we went to Disney and the sit down meals were terrible, so this year ALL year, we have been going to eat out around our home. We take the kids out to eat once a week. The change in their behavior has been amazing to say the least!!!!!!!!!
So this year, we are going in January, they will be 3 and 5......they will do so much better, and to be sure of it we are doing our sit down meals for breakfast and/or early lunches with just a few exceptions. Mostly because when the kids are THAT tired, we go back to the room to sleep.

 

[everest]

My First thought is that Mid August through September, Disney really targets the young guest and their parents because they are the most marketable for that time of the year. They have extra magic Hours just for the preschoolers during that time. They just so happen to throw in free dinning for young families to even make it more attractive time for them to visit. So have said that I think anyone talking advantage of this promotion should know that young children will be dinning in a more larger proportion than during non-free dining times. I am in no way saying that meltdown children and unresponsive parenting is ok , but guest should realize that the possibilities of witnessing one of these is good during this time and please don’t let it ruin your time at Disney.

I myself have a DD6 and see will every now and then decide to challenge us just to see what see will get away with. When we went to the Hoop De Doo for dinner she decided this would be a great opportunity to test me. I warned her a couple times of her bad choices and on the third time I got up and said to her lets go outside for a minute she, immediately begged and promised to be good from then on I backed off. Two minutes later she deliberately made another inappropriate bad choice, so I had to follow through and be embarrassed as I walk a crying 6 year old out (all this took place before the show started). I took her to a private quite place around the corner and gave her a couple love taps on the bottom and I really do mean love taps. She then has a shocked look and the look like “man he is serious” I talked to her about her choices and what will happen if it continues. This usually does the trick and then she acts like a angel for the next couple of days after one of these talks and luckily this was also one of those times. Now for those who have read this far I need to finish the story with a little embarrassing humor that ends this story. After DD pulled herself together we decided to come back in were they have you go out to use the restrooms, well what we didn’t know was that as we were walking in they were announcing for everyone to look to the back and played loud noises to get them to look back. Well as you are probably guessing by now my DD and myself are walking in the back side door and it seemed as if we had everyone’s full and undivided attention to ourselves. Luckily the performers busted in the back middle doors and diverted everyone’s attention back to them. I could have crawled back out, but I reassured myself that I really saved us all from going through this later during the show.

 

[Wendy1953]

We aren't going with the DDP for just that reason. We are taking our DGD2 for her first WDW trip. We won't be able to schedule anything. We will be on HER schedule. Even though the DDP is a good deal, we are not going with it at this time. Later, when she is old enough, we will give it a try. I am a Commando WDW person, so this time I'll have to slow it down. (Maybe I'll enjoy it more?)

You could do the DDP, and use your TS credits at CS restaurants. As for your Commando tactics....you will definitely have to slow it down... a 2 year old will be very cranky doing Commando style Disney.

Have a great time!