Dining with Little Ones at WDW - Help!!!

[mattiew]

At this point I haven't made ANY dining reservations because I just don't know what to even try for. The entire meal planning process has me overwhelmed. How does everyone else handle dining with small children? What works well for your family? Should I just stick with counter service meals?

DD1 will be almost 5 but she is VERY picky.
DD2 will be 1 1/2 she eats but is an active toddler so sitting long doesn't work well.
My parents are going and are willing to watch the girls so we can eat out alone a few times.
My father will have his birthday while we are there.

Thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Stimpy]

Disney table service restaraunts are very children friendly (obviously ) They have all the regular kid friendly type foods and usually they are great about getting the food out quickly. My DS is a horribly picky eater but we've always found something for him.

How do your kids do with the characters? You might want to try a character meal with buffet. Just watching the characters tend to keep them entertained and with a buffet there is a lot to choose from. Alot of the character meals also have activities to keep the kids busry too like games or teaching them dances.

We actually prefer a few sit down meals since they give us all, kids included, a break from the hectic pace. Some of our family favorites are the Sci-fi for lunch, Cape May Character breakfast, Whispering Canyon & Liberty Tree Tavern.

 

[deejohn]

All of my kids eat at WDW!!! DW considers it part of the "magic". Don't worry about it too much. You'll notice that every partent is in the same boat as you, and guess what...the Disney staff has seen it all before.

They are very helpful. In fact, one trip DD4 ate only PB&J the entire trip. Nutrious..not, but it was a vacation anyway.

Fact - No one has ever starved at WDW!

Good luck and enjoy your trip.

 

[fterie4u]

I would definitely book some TS meals! There are so many kids around you will feel comfortable with yours. There is so much to see and do that it is a good way to have them take a break and at least try to relax. When are you going? I would make sure to make ressies quickly!

 

[Lil'DisneyMom]

Our last trip was this past Sept, and DS was 2 1/2 at the time. He did very well (we were worried because he usually doesn't do good when we go out to eat). We did do alot of Character meals though, and they kept him VERY entertained. We also did Coral Reef and requested a table by the aquarium!! Good Luck!

 

[drakethib]

We pack a small portable DVD player at use it at restaurants sometimes.

Little ones get bored at tables at times even at WDW.

I am sure some parents may blast us for doing so, but sometimes we need a break as well.

 

[SeptemberGirl]

My child is much better behaved at WDW TS then anywhere else - not that she is ever not well behaved, but there is more to distract her, and if you want them to be they are QUICK! You might have to tell your server to slow down! The family style and buffets are great, but she also did fine with the paced meals.

You should be fine - she was 2 last year and will be 3 this trip.

 

[*KeepMovingForward*]

For our family we always do TS for dinners and the kids haven't had issues. All the Disney restaurants for the most part are child friendly (although V&A's and Shula's are totally not). My kids are always well behaved when we dine out, although when at Disney, they seem even better. It all depends on how you like to eat when your away and what your budget is. Our rule is always that we will do anything the kids want for breakfast and lunch, but dinner is always mom and dad's choice. They don't complain though...their favorites are California Grill and Artist Point. Chef Mickey's is great and definitely one you may want to consider...every few trips the kids still make me book a dinner there (my two oldest being teenagers...and they still love it). There is definitely something for everyone at Disney...I would not worry.

 

[tweedlemom]

My kids enjoy Cosmic Rays Starlight Cafe TS in MK because it's quick, easy and has all their kid friendly favorite foods. But I think the whole family likes Pinnochio's the best in MK because not only is it affordable TS, but also you can get a window seat that looks right out to the It's A Small World boats, and that could keep them occupied forever! Good luck!

 

[mom*to*2*princesses]

My DDs (just turned 7 and 4) are very good about eating in restaurants and will color and sit still with the best of them. I'd say they are average kid eaters, not terribly picky or especially adventurous.

When we went a few months ago we had the DDP so there were TS meals every day. The only stressful part of our trip was keeping the girls entertained during the very s-l-o-w service in the restaurants, with the exception of the character meals. We will not be doing plain ol' TS restaurants again until they get older. Coral Reef, LeCellier, etc. - it didn't add to our vacation to have long, drawn-out meals at these places with young kids who were not interested in sitting for two plus hours. I wouldn't hesitate to do more character meals, though, because they were very entertaining for the girls (although not conducive to much eating!).

Next time we go we're sticking mainly with CS and a few well-planned character meals. We won't do the DDP either, because it just wasn't right for us (too restrictive).

The restaurants are child-friendly but they just might not be worth it. IMHO, with the exception of a few restaurants that have very a cool atmosphere, the food at WDW just isn't worth making big plans for or sacrificing other parts of your vacation. YMMV, of course.

 

[Stimpy]

My kids enjoy Cosmic Rays Starlight Cafe TS in MK because it's quick, easy and has all their kid friendly favorite foods. But I think the whole family likes Pinnochio's the best in MK because not only is it affordable TS, but also you can get a window seat that looks right out to the It's A Small World boats, and that could keep them occupied forever! Good luck!

Those are great places for kids! But I wanted to add they are counter service, not table/sit down

 

[klineyqueen]

This is what my family does. We have a 4 yo. and a 1.5 year old who also HATES to sit.

We do lots of character dining. My 4 year old is in love and he really believes! My 1.5 yo thinks they are neat too.

We also did something I can't even believe. We bought a little DVD player and take it into the rest. It works like a CHARM! I never in a million years thought I would do something like that...but I have learned to do what works! Good luck!

 

[NemoMOm]

We stick with the TS that have something to keep DS entertained which is most of the restaurants. Also keep in mind whattime your kids eat and maybe schedule ADRs a little before that, a hungry child can be a cranky child. For example, DS eats at 12 so we schedule at 11:30 so we have our food by 12. I also bring small things to keep him occupied just in case like small play dough or cars. We have never had a problem. Good Luck

Don't forget most restaurants in WDW tend to be loud so no one will notice if your little ones' pipe in

 

[suffolkprincess]

These TS meals worked really well for our daughter at age 3 and age 4 (she is a picky eater who has a good amount of experience with typical family restaurants and diners, but not much experience at all with fine dining.)

Good:
Marrakesh-- cool setting, entertainment with belly dancer
Shark Reef (at Sea World)-- interesting setting kept her entertained-- Coral Reef would probably be similar
Ohana-- lots of action and a great setting and view
Polynesian Luau-- the preseating wait was excruciating, but once we were seated, she loved it
Crystal Palace-- character buffet
Restaurantosaurus breakfast-- character buffet
Cinderella's Royal Table-- fabulous character meal
Cinderella's Gala Feast/ 1900 Park Fare-- great character buffets
Chef Mickey-- character buffet

All of the above kept her happy and entertained and fed the whole family in a nice atmosphere without too much extra waiting or drama.

Not so Good:
Kona Cafe-- nothing special for a little one here. Slower service, too (but not slow in a bad way, just more like fine dining-- relaxed pace.)
Boatwright's at POR-- nothing special in the setting and we waited a LONG time to be seated.
Akershus-- character buffet, but it was very disorganized and slow the night we went, and the pickier adults in our party did NOT like the food (I did though) YMMV!
Pecos Bills-- this is counter service, but the theming did nothing for my daughter and the wait was long, and she could hear Woody's Roundup going by and wanted to be out there... so not a pleasant meal.


That is my 2 cents.

 

[Sorsha]

We are dining with 2 Picky-Pants children in WDW in September, and when we were planning our ADR's I tried to choose TS restaurant based on 1) food available i know they will eat and 2) entertainment so they will not get too restless.
I find that I gravitate towards buffets as far as food choices go. That way, if all my 7 year old wants to eat is cherry tomatoes, bread, and a meat product, she can have it... kids can pick and choose what they want from all the wonderful choices and nOT be limited to pizza or mac and cheese.
As far as entertainment goes, character meals are wonderful IF the characters don't scare your kids. Everyone in my family loves them NOW, but when youngest DD was 2, any completely costumed character (Pooh, Mickey, etc) would cause instant hysterical crying. Other good choices for entertaining restaurants are places when things happen like games or funny antics (Ohana or Whispering Canyon), dinner-show type meals (the Luau at the Poly or the Hoop Dee Doo), or somwhere with a unique atmosphere (Coral Reef or Sci-Fi).
Last but not least, just remember that you are at Disney! My kids are always expected to exercise proper restaurant behavior - they need to stay in their seats, keep the noise to acceptable levels, no food throwing, etc - but Disney is one of the few places on earth where we will be surrounded by SO many kids that I can be reasonably sure that NO ONE will notice if my 4 year old is crabby.

 

[iluveeyore]

We just got back, and had another family with us. Their DS is 3, almost 4, and they loved the Whispering Canyon Cafe when the seven of us went for a late lunch. He is a very picky eater and does not sit still long, but with the colouring pages, the pony express, doing the chicken dance and other antics, he just kept saying he 'likes this place' - they have a kid's menu, and he picked at some things off of our All-you-care-to-eat Skillet. We were there for an hour and a half just because there was so much to eat, and he was great the whole time. Make sure you give it a try!

 

[tweedlemom]

Those are great places for kids! But I wanted to add they are counter service, not table/sit down

Sorry. I got my letters confused. I meant to say counter service. Didn't mean to confuse anyone.

 

[Stimpy]

Sorry. I got my letters confused. I meant to say counter service. Didn't mean to confuse anyone.

No problem. All those abbreviations can get confusing after a while

 

[crazykids]

I have 3 kids ages 19 months, 3, & 4 1/2. They are by no means angels & the oldest has ADHD. That being said, I go to TS restaurants quite frequently, sometimes 2x day. I think the trick is keeping them occupied & try to eat at their normal times. Most places have coloring for the kids & I always carry backup crayons just in case. If that becomes tiresome we try to build small houses using the sugar / equal packets. If they are really out of hand I'll ask for bread or crackers, this usually will hold them over till their meal arrives. Once that happens I just hold dessert over their heads so they finish their food. It just takes some imagination on our part to keep them entertained. The one thing I found w/ my kids is that I will never give in & take them for a walk while we wait, I found that they would act up on purpose so they could get up & walk around.

 

[kelscross]

I like the buffets for my kids because invariably I will order something for them and they'll decide that they don't want it. So, if they want a cube of cheese and a dinner roll they're happy..or if they want meat and vegggies they're happy...lol