Dining tips for a 5 year old: Main seating

[WanderLit]

Hi all,
I'm looking for your best tips, ideas, and your past successful experiences for helping a young child enjoy a formal Disney Cruise dinner. My granddaughter enjoys tasting new foods and is a generally a pleasant and engaging child. I've never had trouble taking out to dinner in family restaurants but a 1.5 hour dining experience will be a record for her.

So what do all of you experienced Disney cruisers suggest to help a 5 year old enjoy dinner in the main dining rooms? She's 5 and we have main seating.

Thanks for sharing.

 

[FigmentSpark]

Do you think she would be more successful if she were allowed to wear a princess outfit to dinner? Just an idea.

 

[Seamama]

If you find the longer dinner a challenge for her, you can ask your server to bring her meal out first, then run her up to the kids' club while you finish your dinner. (For folks who have 2nd seating, youth counselors come to the dining rooms and collect kids who want to leave early). Just be sure to ask your server which nights are *not to be missed*. For example, the first night you go to Animator's Palette, there's a mini "show" that happens before dessert. And the last night of your cruise, there a "show" (of sorts) as well. At least that's how it is on 7-night cruises on the Wonder. I'm not sure about all the ships or shorter cruises. But just let your server know your preference and he/she will be happy to accommodate you!

 

[Seamama]

Also, since you mentioned she generally does very well at restaurants, you may give it a try to have her stay the whole time. There's lots going on around you, and she may even end up w/ a friend at your table (assuming you get tablemates). So you just never know. It's totally ok to do things differently from one night to the next, just stay in communication w/ your server.

 

[WanderLit]

Do you think she would be more successful if she were allowed to wear a princess outfit to dinner? Just an idea.

Great minds! I booked this cruise over a year ago and right after Halloween, I bought up Disney princess gowns on sale. I have a different gown for her each night with a visit to BBB the afternoon before formal night! I didn't think about it, but I bet it will make dinner more fun.

 

[Seamama]

Oh and for the most part, the servers are MUCH more attentive to your child than in most restaurants. Of course not every serving pair is equally amazing but I'd say they probably have training (or are just the type of personality) to talk with your child directly, inviting him/her to place his/her order directly, and engaging him/her in conversation (albeit usually only briefly- they're really busy folks!) So that may make your granddaughter much more into staying. Also, some of the servers try to do some magic tricks w/ crayons or whatever, but again no guarantees on your particular servers. I guess what I'm saying is, between the atmosphere, people around her, and specific servers, she may not get bored at all! Then again, she may be ready to leave after 45 mins, and that's ok too! However you want to do things, just let your server know. They are amazingly accommodating, and if you're also kind and patient about your requests, I know they appreciate that too.

 

[TestingH2O]

We've cruised with DD twice now. While she's good at restaurants, I had never tried a dinner anywhere near 2 hours. Other than Pirate Night, she had 0 problems. The servers, assistant servers, head servers, and all other random people in the dining rooms go out of their way to make dinner go well. I think you'll be surprised how well it goes.

ETA: The pirate night problem was really that she was exhausted after a very busy day at Castaway.

 

[jskacoc]

We've always done main seating. Our daughter was 2 weeks shy of 5 our past cruise and was so wanting to go back to the kids clubs early into dinner. I've changed to late for our upcoming cruise so she can eat and go with the kids club crew and one of us won't have to leave our meal to drop her off.

 

[Jennifer777]

We spend time looking for hidden Mickeys and looking at all the Disney designs, which are sometimes so subtle that it takes us a while to notice characters in the tile artwork or designs on the ceiling or walls. The kids color. We also try to enjoy dinner as a family and reconnect so there's lots of discussion about what their favorite part of the day was, what they want to do that night, friends they made in the kids club, etc. The only time our dinners have lasted 1.5 hours though was on the Wonder and we did have trouble keeping the kids occupied but there was not much interaction with our servers either. On Magic and Fantasy our dinners lasted around 1 hour or a little less and the servers interacted with the kids so much it was an experience in itself. We show up on time for dinner each night and come prepared knowing what we're going to order. We order everything at once to expedite the process a bit, which could be why 1.5 hour dinners were not normal for us.

 

[thinkoflaura]

bring a coloring book or a couple little toys as a buffer. she'll do great!

 

[PrincessShmoo]

bring a coloring book or a couple little toys as a buffer. she'll do great!

The kid's menu has coloring pictures, and the servers will supply crayons. Special crayons that you can even draw on the tablecloth with.

 

[cheermom2four]

The kid's menu has coloring pictures, and the servers will supply crayons. Special crayons that you can even draw on the tablecloth with.

Wow, I just learned something new! I knew about the kids menus can be colored but I didnt realize they provided crayons that were ok to use on tablecloth (my daughter is good at it but sometimes goes off the page).

 

[AndreAggie]

We just got off the Wonder with 2 5-year olds and an 8 year old (2 families....I don't have twins!). The kids did great! The wait staff keeps them entertained and there are coloring activities on the menus. There will be crayons on the table. In Animator's Palate, there's a lot to take in too. Like someone mentioned, you have the option to sort of fast-forward their meal and take them to the clubs between courses too.

 

[CB Ace]

Also you can request to be seated with another family with a same-age child. We did that and our daughter became best friends with her table mate. They played together while waiting for dinner, then we ran both girls to the kids club when they were done eating. Also, we brought stuff for them to play with each night: stickers, extra coloring books, etc.

 

[NJMomto2]

I brought the ipad when dd was 2 on the fantasy.

 

[asamklove]

We did main dining last fall with our kids (ages 4 & 6). At least twice, the kids finished quickly & I (or hubby) was able to slip out & check them into kids' club b/n app & main course.
They do make mealtime fun, so based on your description of her restaurant temperament, I bet she will be amazing

 

[delo4]

We just did a 7 day on the Fantasy with a 4 year old a newly turned 2 year old. They managed to sit every night for dinner without a problem. Their Mom explained to them ahead of time what was going to be happening and what behavior she expected from them. If they started to get grumpy, she would like just take them out of the dining room for a few seconds for a little chat. That usually ended any grumpiness or complaining.

As the grandmother, I brought my "bag of tricks" to dinner every night. It usually had a new activity,, game or toy to occupy them in between dinner and dessert or while waiting for the adults to finish. They knew if they were good, I usually had a surprise for them in my bag. They were very simple things like dot to dot books, activity books, a magnetic Minnie Mouse type of paper dolls. I found some things at Michaels that they could put together, like felt animals with stickers, etc.

The iPad was a last resort, but we did not have to bring that out until night 7. That was because they had been at Castaway Cay all day, didn't get a nap and it kept them from falling asleep at the table.

They usually are well behaved children, but we weren't sure what would happen when you take them out of their normal routine. Animators was their fav restaurant, there are many things to see there and they loved watching the screens. All in all, they loved the cruise and everyone had a great time.

 

[hpsalb]

ODS has been on three cruises with DCL (at 1.5 yrs, 2.5 yrs, and 5 yrs). I feel like the servers keep things moving pretty well. Kid's food always comes out quick, usually with the appetizers. They have crayons to color on the menus. At 2.5 years he made friends with the other boy we were seated with and they interacted. They even played under the table one night and we just let them go for it. This past cruise we were seated with just our family (now 4 of us). The kids did fine for the most part, although DH did end up taking ODS to the kids club one night. I have never felt that the whole thing takes much longer than any other restaurant experience.

 

[Love2Cruz]

My DD was 5 on our first cruise with Disney (though we've been cruising since she's been 2, so she's an experienced cruiser). She wore Princess dresses to dinner and though she's better now, she was a picky eater, so she ordered mac n cheese every night in the restaurants. We had first seating, so I thought dinner went by pretty quickly, so time wise, it was fine. I don't allow ipads at dinner, but we sat with a nice mom/son so we had good conversation and it went by quickly. She loved the ambiance of the restaurants, as she's very girl and felt very special in her full princess gear.

Here she is all dressed up before dinner:

 

[Love2Cruz]

Here is what she ordered every night. lol