Dining with a 15 month old (X-posted)

[Missus Toad]

We love sit down dining at WDW, but we've not done it with such a little one. Will we be able to do some of our faves (Ohana, Le Cellier and Teppanyaki) with our little girl or should we skip it? She's great in restaurants, but I'm concerned about the convenience, menu, ambience (and in the case of Teppanyaki, safety!) of it. I'm thinking Teppanyaki may be out. Any experienced mommies and daddies of young'uns have some advice? Thanks!

 

[ahutton]

We've taken our girls (as young as 6 months) to Teppanyaki and they do fine there. They seat the kids on the corner so it is a really long reach to the grill. They have a kids entree (Donald Duck Chicken) that is $6.99 and is some frozen mixed veggies they cook on the grill, along with some finely chopped chicken breast also done there in front of you and is served with steamed rice. It is a big meal though, my 2 & 4 year old shared it twice last trip and neither could finish their portion. When mine were that small though I just ordered a fruit cup for them and fed them off my dish. The fruit cup had mandarin oranges, apple pieces, grapes and I believe some pineapple. They also (at all the Disney sit downs) were very accommodating about you bringing/opening your own food for the little ones. We had our own fruit cups, applesauce, crackers, cheerios, and then gave the kids some of our entree.

 

[Missus Toad]

Thanks for your response and the great info! Much appreciated!

 

[Gluman11]

Our last trip included our little guy (16 months) and he's a maniac if he has to be in a seat for too long..........basically we handled it this way because, like you, we love 'sit down dining' in WDW....

If we were going to a relatively quiet place: Yachtsman Steakhouse, Tony's Town Square, Castle, Le Cellier..........we tried to get a PS for an "off hour" 4 pm 4:30 pm ish........this way the restaurants were not too busy yet and there would be less chance that the place would be packed.......

When we went to places that tend to be loud and raucous: Whispering Canyon, Rainforest, Biergarten, Character Breakfasts.....we didn't worry about it..........we just let our little fella 'go with the flow'.............we figured it was already loud enough in there, another little guy with a big voice wouldn't make much difference...


And it worked out well......

 

[AppleSister1]

I think the last poster made an excellent point. We've been taking my nephews (now almost 3 and 5) since they were born. We try to schedule "nice" dinners for as early as possible. And then take turns taking little walks outside when necessary.

But everyone at Disney restaurants is super-cool about kids. I wouldn't worry too much.

Have fun!!