Dining with 3 kids under 3

[Nickstan929]

We are going to WDW in December and we’re looking for recommendations for restaurants that would be entertaining for children under 3. We were hoping to find a place that was entertaining for the kids and had good quality food options for the adults. We were looking at the character meals and it looks like they are still very limited. Any suggestions would be great.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

My kids are 6, 3, and 1 and we have about 15 trips under our belt since the oldest was born.

Because they're so limited due to COVID, I would skip character dining entirely right now. Kid-friendly TS dining we like include Ohana, and Boma, but for the most part we find that TS dining is more trouble than its worth. Disney has lots of great QS dining options and it's much more efficient with the family in our opinion. Kids who are very well behaved at restaurants at home get skootchy when there's a world full of rides and lights and music waiting outside the door.

 

[Duck143]

Family Style (ex: Garden Grill), Buffets (ex: Chef Mickey's) any all you can eat restaurant. Kids under 3 are free and these are usually the places with characters and entertainment.

 

[TheSouthernBelle]

We are going to WDW in December and we’re looking for recommendations for restaurants that would be entertaining for children under 3. We were hoping to find a place that was entertaining for the kids and had good quality food options for the adults. We were looking at the character meals and it looks like they are still very limited. Any suggestions would be great.

For the character meals that are available today, topolino's breakfast is very nice. The food is good but it is pricey but really, all the character dining is, but as I said, it's better food than some of the others. Garden Grill, Chef Mickey's, Tusker House, Cinderellas Royal Table and Hollywood and Vine also have characters now but the food is really nothing special IMO so for those meals, we go into it with the food is secondary, it's really for the experience and/or location mentality.

Non character dining that can be fun for kids is Rainforest Cafe at AK, T Rex at Disney Springs, Another fun choice is Cosmic Rays at MK quick service so long as Sonny Eclipse is working. Sci Fi Dine In, Coral Reef (especially if your kids like fish), Space 220 would also be a fun, haven't been yet but I know it's definitely kid friendly and they'd think they're in space. Good luck, dining with 3 under 3 is like a tag team event.

 

[Ermise]

My kids are 6, 3, and 1 and we have about 15 trips under our belt since the oldest was born.

Because they're so limited due to COVID, I would skip character dining entirely right now. Kid-friendly TS dining we like include Ohana, and Boma, but for the most part we find that TS dining is more trouble than its worth. Disney has lots of great QS dining options and it's much more efficient with the family in our opinion. Kids who are very well behaved at restaurants at home get skootchy when there's a world full of rides and lights and music waiting outside the door.

I second this. My 3 boys are older now but when they were toddlers I feel like the few meltdowns we had always occurred at TS restaurants. They just couldn't handle sitting for an hour, especially by dinner time when they had already had a long day.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

I second this. My 3 boys are older now but when they were toddlers I feel like the few meltdowns we had always occurred at TS restaurants. They just couldn't handle sitting for an hour, especially by dinner time when they had already had a long day.

The worst diaper blowout my oldest ever had was about three seconds after we sat down at the table at Boma. Thank God we were staying at Animal Kingdom Lodge that trip and I was able to take her up to the room to wash off and then come back down, or I would have been out a bunch of money.

 

[hou2009]

The worst diaper blowout my oldest ever had was about three seconds after we sat down at the table at Boma. Thank God we were staying at Animal Kingdom Lodge that trip and I was able to take her up to the room to wash off and then come back down, or I would have been out a bunch of money.

That's a good point, remember the TS restaurants may have a cancellation fee, and I imagine it'd be hard to predict the mood of three littles if you need flexibility in your schedule. I'd pick QS. Or TS that's loud, maybe buffets if you have other adults to help at the table while you get food, maybe like biergarten?

 

[Disturbia]

The best part about Ohana is that it’s unlimited food but it’s brought to your table. It would be hard to manage 3 kids without other adults so I assume you have at least one other person with you. It’s hard to get Ohana, you probably won’t get reservations for first 4 days of your trip. You do need to include the kids in the reservation even if they eat for free (fire code). We like the relaxed Be our Guest atmosphere and it’s a must do for us; Beast doesn’t get near the kids, just waves gently from afar.

Choose something close to where you’re staying or inside the parks. Kids liked Hollywood and Vine because it was sit down and the characters really did a great job but food was just ok (Minnie playing peek a boo behind the exit pillars with our 18 mos old); Goofy being silly with the kids). Tusker house is great. We do not do a big breakfast but I’ve heard Topolinos is good (characters are only at breakfast). Steak at Topolinos went downhill so we will skip it. Boma is a must for us even without characters.

Also consider how you would travel back to your resort (car seats, uber); book early dinners. I like booking around 5 (after taking a mid day break) so we can eat and go into the parks. We also enjoyed mobile ordering food and eating in our room.

 

[TwoMisfits]

So, good quality food for you and entertaining and good for 3 under 3 is probably a tough combo to pull off.

If I had 3 under 3, knowing they were all free at family style restaurants, I'd probably book the family style places and just accept that my food might not be great, but it will be kid friendly and filling and relatively quick...and in front of me, so I didn't have to wrangle 3 and myself at a buffet.

So, I would book Garden Grill and Liberty Tree Tavern as my 1st 2 choices. If these went well, I might try adding some "last minute" reservations for later in the trip...if they didn't, I'd probably plan CS or even in room options for later...

 

[sarac87]

We're taking our 3.5 year old and almost 2 year old, and are planning to do QS most of the time, just because they'll be off schedule and eating will be less predictable. We're staying near MK, and the TS we're looking at is Ohana, Chef Mickeys, and Crystal Palace, because it's buffet/family style, so food will be available quickly. The worst is taking toddlers to a sit down restaurant, and having to entertain them for 20-30 minutes waiting for appetizers to arrive.

 

[Disturbia]

I always have something with me like crayons, toys, lucky charms, mini chocolate chips (slowly pace giving out the marshmallows; Disney doesn’t carry Cheerios so pack your own-reduced risk of sugar overload) etc. The phone is a last resort if we are trying to finish dinner/dessert and they have finished theirs. We order groceries from gardengrocers (delivery from front desk can take an hour plus) so we have drinks, snacks, breakfast ready to go (the day in we just purchase in the parks).

It’s hard to manage kids and we will have a 13, 5 and almost 2 year old. In June we ended up cancelling Oga’s and adjusting a BOG ADR because the younger kids were done after just a couple of rides (be flexible). Check out the menus some of the QS has really improved. Landscape of Flavors at AOA has short ribs and bread bowl now (their Turkey dinner was surprisingly good) vs Mara (you would think deluxe would have a better menu). We also cancelled a Sci fi lunch for ABC commissary because their curried shrimp (not to be confused with tacos) was just so delicious.

I took our stroller into Hollywood and Vine so our 18 mos old was comfortable (because of COVID she had never used a high chair, they were not busy so let us use it). The resort food was limited back then so we did TS every night. You can’t run up to characters and our 4 year old was understanding (he goes to preschool and is used to masks and distancing). We had let her out of the stroller for most of the morning so she wouldn’t feel stuck in it.

I can’t get my almost 2 yr old to wear a mask so travel will be out of our reach for a while. Make sure kids are comfortable with them.

 

[Aimeedyan]

That's a hard one! We don't eat much TS at Disney right now because our almost 2 year old is a challenge sitting that long. Do you eat at table service restaurants at home very often? That would give you your best glimpse on how it might go, but then add in exhaustion, being off schedule, and typically slower service. We eat onsite multiple times a month and I've found that Disney table service is sloooooow (even pre-covid). By the time we get our food, he's done as he's been sitting a long time and I've already gone through my bag of tricks/snacks.

We have tried to go with more family style, as the food is typically out faster, but that's even hit and miss. It took 15 minutes of sitting at 'Ohana breakfast a few weeks ago before we got drinks. Augh.

If you wanted to give it a shot, I'd aim for Garden Grill, since they could stand in the booth and stretch their legs + it's family style with characters. Chef Mickey's, 'Ohana, and Topolino's might be worth trying. The quick service spots are really not bad and quite toddler friendly, esp with mobile ordering.

 

[Dismama2boys]

They didn’t ask how to manage it - I’m sure they’ve dined out with their children before. They asked for restaurant suggestions. OP, I think breakfast anywhere where there are still characters in some form or fashion is a good choice. I tend to think most Disney food is average at the very best, but breakfast is harder to screw up. Plus, for us, our kids always act nicer in the mornings than the evenings, and at that time of day we had a better chance of having some sort of schedule, so that’s what we usually do still (my three kids are still all under 10). I don’t really have dinner suggestions as we haven’t done that in a really long time. Good luck!

 

[Disney Fool]

crystal palace is my recommendation-- informal, good food, winnie the pooh characters once they return