Dining with a toddler....

[maxiesmom]

I feel for you, on our recent trip my 1 yr old decided she wanted to feed herself. I was so embarassed by the mess she made, but on the other hand was happy I wasn't the one to pick it up. QUOTE]

Wow, really? When I used to dine with little ones we always did our best to clean up after them, if they made a mess. I would be too embarassed to let them wreck the place, and then leave it sit there. I can't imagine.

We always went the crayon route, and if that didn't work someone would walk around with the fussy child, but that didn't happen too often, thank goodness.

 

[VeroBeachGirl]

Coloring books always work well for my girls (1 & 3). Also, I order their food when ordering our drinks. Their main course usually comes out within 10 minutes of ordering, so they don't have to wait for their food. As my husband and I are finishing our main course, the girls are eating dessert.
Also, the rule in our family is that you may not get out of your chair. So, my 3 year old knows she needs to stay seated so as not to disturb other diners. My 1 year old remains buckled in the high chair from start to finish of the meal. If I'm at a restaurant, I want to enjoy myself without holding a child, the rules we have established make it pretty easy to do that.

 

[pixarmom]

We have three boys and our older two (now pre-teens) have been wonderful in restaurants everywhere from the start. Our youngest (now 4 years old) has lots of energy, so we were concerned when we were planning his first Disney trip a few years ago.

Our experience could not have been more positive on that first trip and ever since!!! We're still trying to figure out how and why Disney restaurants have such a calming effect on our youngest. In part, I think it's because the service is usually pretty fast and they bring out kids' meals first if you ask. He either does wonderfully at dinner (and I'm talking signatures) or he just quietly falls asleep. We've always been prepared to take him out, but it's never been necessary at any time during his seven WDW visits.

In any event, it's gone so well that we've done mostly signature dinners for our past few visits. We stick to a dinner time that's similar to what we have at home (7pm for us) and we've been staying club level so that everyone has healthy snacks a little while before dinner. Also, we don't typically order multiple courses and we're familiar with the menu in advance so that there isn't a long wait between the time we're seated and the time we order. (Although on our recent cruise, dinner was two hours with multiple courses and our youngest was great there too.) Personally, we won't go the electronic route at dinner, and our youngest won't touch a crayon at a restaurant. But I'm not opposed to candy on vacation, so I like MissouriPrincesses' ring pop idea! So depending on your personal preferences, there are several ways to increase your chances of successful dining! Disney dining is one of the factors that led us to purchase APs and make several trips in one year, followed by a couple non-parks visits pre- and post-cruise and at the end of a beach vacation.

I know there are so many factors and experiences vary, but I hope it all goes well, OP!!!