Dining with little ones...tips?

[twinboyz]

Ok all you parents of little ones.....need some tips on how to keep the kids occupied during TS meals. I'm a mom of twin boys (DS2, DS2)...we go out to eat occasionally....and always rush dinner before the boys get really squirmy. We got the DDP for our upcoming trip in April. So obviously we will be doing much more eating out. Does anyone have any tips...for things that work for you? Thanks ahead of time!!!

 

[WDWorBUST]

This is probably "against the grain" but I would try to minimize my character dining. We found that trying to eat and see characters just didn't work for us. Sam just was so occupied she wouldn't eat (and although she was still free then it was frustrating to have to buy something for her 15 - 30 minutes after we had just eaten at times). And we didn't get to enjoy meals because we were constantly picking up and putting down the camera. It really doesn't make for a very enjoyable meal. The idea of trying it without a camera appeals to me - but I know I could never actually do it....I'm too big on pictures So I'm not saying don't do character dining - but I definitely wouldn't do all character dining. Other than that Sam liked to people watch and just have a few little toys with them and maybe go at off times if you can.

 

[tadamom]

Here are some things that I do/try to do and it is what I plan on doing when we are Disney in May.

1. Keep colors, stickers, plain paper or several coloring sheets in your bag. Just in case the restaurants don't have anything.
2. I keep old gift cards and any type of plastic credit card types in my wallet for my kids to play with - they play restaurant.
3. When you order your food, ask the waiter if they can bring the kids food out first (as soon as it is done) so that they can go ahead and be eating. It always takes us longer to eat b/c we have to wait on the kids food to cool and feed them and feed us at the same time. I find when their food comes out first, we wind up all finishing about the same time.
4. Take some little Hot Wheels cars for them to play around with.
5. If they are antsy about the highchair, I try to let my DD sit in my lap or other chair until the food comes. She will usually sit right in the highchair when her food is there and ready to eat.
6. Make or buy some flash cards/playing cards that have Disney characters on them and play the "guess who it is" game. My kids always love this.
7. Buy some postcards and let the kids decorate them to send back home for loved ones.

This may sound like a lot of stuff to take but you can usually fit all this stuff in a ziplock bag.

Good luck and have a great time!

 

[loopner67]

I agree about having crayons and paper available. You can always ask if they have any coloring pages because some Disney restaurants will have these.

Definitely ask for food for the little ones to come ASAP. Even crackers would work for my two boys when they were little.

The other thing is to remember this is Disney and I think there's more tolerance for "kids being active" than at a regular ole restaurant at home. I wouldn't take them to the fancy schmancy places, but other TS places will be full of other kids, which always made me more comfortable when my kids were antsy.

Have a great trip.

 

[Dannielle_1]

My one tip would be that you give your sons a chance to run around and let off some energy before sitting down to eat. Don't make them go from sitting in a stroller to sitting in a highchair. Maybe plan to visit one of the play areas before your meals.

My DS (15months) does much better at sitting for a period of time at a restuarant if he's had a chance to release that energy before making him sit in a highchair. KWIM?

Also, since you'll be on the dining plan, if you want, you'll be having three-course meals which take time. Think about ordering apps & entres at the same time. And last year when my husband and I were on the plan, we often got our desserts to-go because DS wasn't going to sit any longer (10 months at that time). We would then go outside and sit on an out-of-the-way bench and eat our dessert while DS crawled around. All the restaurants where we asked to do this were more than happy to help. Make sure to also ask for some plasticware so you can eat your dessert. The CM's seem to recognize when you have a little one that has had it.

Also, be prepared to have the possiblity of one parent exiting for a little while with a son or two! I think its a little bit tougher on the little ones at Disney, because it is night after night of eating out so you just have to be flexible as parents and realize there will probably be at least one meal where you are eating portions of it on your own while your SO is running around (preferably outside of the resturant) with the little ones. And to be honest, one of my son's favorite moments from our trip last fall is when I was finishing up dinner at the Rose & Crown. DH took him outside and he found the joys of splashing in the water fountain across the way. I came out after settling the bill and he was soaked, but having a ball!

 

[kribit]

minimize my character dining

I totally agree with this. Even with my 4yo twins, the character meals we did last time were nice, but neither of them ate. As a result of all the excitement/nervousness with the characters coming to our table(s), they were then grumpy 2 hours later because they were hungry.

 

[northriver]

The key for us is to eat before the kids get really hungry. I have always paid out of pocket and I like the late breakfast times for character meals. We get to the park early and then by 10:30-11am we are hungry and ready for a break. But making sure they are not too hungry or tired is key with both of my kids. You'll need to make your ADR's right away, and keep calling back if you can't get the time you want, there are always cancellations. We pulled off a 7:30pm ADR this trip with a 21 month old but I was prepared to grab her and run back to our room if she got too fussy while the rest of our group enjoyed the meal. The rest of my dinner ADR's were all before 6pm so I could get my little one to bed on time.

The previous poster had a good point about not eating enough during the character meals. I always try to remember that we are there for the meal. We don't always stick around to see that last character. We don't always take pictures. We didn't do any autographs this trip either. That helps the parents have a chance to eat. For the kids, I pack nutritious snacks in my bag for between meals or even when we get seated if they seem really hungry, cheese stick for early in the day and I toss it if it doesn't get eaten right away, pretzels, rasins, granola bars. Sometimes I'll take fruit but again I'm sure to eat it or toss it right away, who needs squashed banana in your purse, kwim?

If they do get fussy while you are waiting for food to arrive, take a nice walk, or even a bathroom break, something just to keep them occupied until they can eat.

I always like eating a little before the meal time rush - we get seated sooner and the food seems to come sooner - a win win for everyone. You can always show up early for your ADR's too.

 

[flying_babyb]

Cars would be cool but I have this image in my head of a excited child sending one flying and mom or dad spending alot of time playing pick up. Or someone tripping on it.

 

[MSSANDRA]

When our DS was born (15 years ago now) we were used to eating at nice places and wanted to be sure that we could continue. We started resturant rules about 18 mo-2yr. Made them simple, stay in your chair and use inside voice was it to start with. Added as he got older. We had special toys that we only took to resturants.A favorite book, a tiny set of dinosaurs (watch the choke warnings), a few cars. We also resigned ourselves to interacting mostly with him to start with. Include them in the conversation, play I spy (toddler verson), people watch. We never put DS in the high chair till the food came. If there is a wait for the table, one parent can walk outside or in the case of WDW even into a gift shop while the other parent waits for the table. HAve a few different toys for after he finishes eating. If we saw DS was going to finish way before us we would order him a small desert so we had more time to finish. Do not count on lingering over coffe. AS another Poster said, desert for you might need to be to go. Another idea I heard one family try was picking up a small toy at a gift shop right beore dinner and that way the child had something new to play with while waiting. Reward anything close to good behavior but stop obvious bad behavior as soon as it starts. Do not expect perfection, there will be kids much louder than yours. WE found with the DDP there are more children in even the signature resturants and the staff are getting more use to dealing with them!!

It will be great, just have fun.

 

[alicenwonder99]

The WDW restaurants are used to the kids. But I think there are some restaurants at WDW that are better for small kids. LTT at MK, Biergarten at Epcot, and Chef Mickeys are a few that are PERFECT for small children. It's so loud at those places (especially Chef Mickeys) that adding another loud toddler is no big deal...lol. Also, you can get your food quickly and get out of there quickly.

We were at the Rose & Crown on our last trip and it took HOURS. We finally told the waiter to forget our dessert, we just wanted to leave.

HTH

 

[twinboyz]

thanks for all your tips!!!

 

[powellrj]

there are several buffets that aren't character meals and I would try to stick with those. You are on your own schedule and you don't have to wait to eat.

There are also several resturants that aren't as kid friendly like Le Cellier. While its fine to take kids there, they aren't quite as kid friendly.

 

[Twingle]

Hey, I have twins too!

When we took our girls to Disney the first time, they had just turned two. They did very well at the resturants, we only did Character meals or Counter Service. The things I remember working very well were looking at the photos we'd already taken on our digitial camera, they really liked looking at themselves on the screen. I had a ziplock bag with crayons, paper, stickers, stuff like that. They LOVED sticking post it notes to their noses - they would laugh hysterically looking at each other. Don't really know why they liked it so much, but it worked while we waited for the characters!

I'm sure your boys will do great - have fun!

 

[fan_of_small_world]

Just a couple of quick thoughts...

Keep a special small pack for each child with mealtime activities. Use these only for meals, so they stay "special."

Pack stickers, small pads of paper, and I recommend small pens, since crayons can melt in the Florida heat.

Also consider tossing in a few small cans of paly-doh. That kept my DS and DD amused at many a restaurant! (Heck, they're 8 and 5 and that still works, lol!)

As for when to have their meal come...we usually asked that their meal come when ours did. When the kids meals came early, then they would end up being done, and bored, before our meal even arrived. Use the activity bag, take walks around the restaurant, and/or give them a small "snack" that you brought instead.

Try to plan your meals at non-peak times, so the servers have more time and can give you more attention. The CM's at Disney are great, and when they aren't rushed often chat with the kids.

There may be a meal or two where you and your DH eat in shifts, but with all of the excitement, stimulation, and altered schedules, that's just bound to happen. But, with the planning you are doing you will have an amazing trip! Have a great time!

 

[Princess Roo]

Lots of great ideas!

I want to echo the sentiment of bringing something that they can eat before the meal comes - especially if they're eating off your plate since they're under 3.

We generally ask for the check early, too, so that it can be all paid and we don't have to wait extra at the end. Or, if we don't do that, then one of us will stay and pay the bill while the other takes DS out to play.

BTW, Boma, at AKL, worked great for us. It was a buffet so we didn't have to wait for food and DS could eat what he wanted for free, and there was a lot to look at around the lodge before the meal.

 

[MandM-Mom]

We always get appetizers so that if the kids are hungry they don't get cranky waiting for their food....sometimes they get the appetizers instead of a full meal and if we think they are doing a good job we will get them dessert while we are eating our dinners so that they are not ready to leave, and in Disney my DD loves the desserts that you can do yourself like the painters palette at Concourse, she loved painting the cookie, and it occupied her for the whole time we finished our dinner and got dessert ourselves.

 

[zoomouse]

I'm a fireman and father of 2 toddlers and something that helps me at work and out with the kids is to settle up the bill as early as possible in the meal. Most of the time the meal goes great, but sometimes a fast exit is required.

I've found too that a little roll of tape comes in handy. Tape down the placemat and the kids can color away - less chasing papers for dad. Now if I could just get the crayon to stay taped to her hand...

 

[Ferrillo]

subscribing.

 

[MomNeedsVacay]

The last fancy restaurant we went to for my MIL's birthday...I resorted to our portable DVD player. I hate that I did it, but we literally entertained the wazoo out of my kids and after 45 minutes of coloring, playing with paper dolls, playing "eye-spy", and making funny faces, I decided enough is enough... i ran out to the car, grabbed a movie, and let the kids watch at a VERY quiet volume so that I could eat! I didn't anticipate having a problem entertaining them at DW though. Good luck!

 

[bkreitzel]

hmmm... i always bring in fruit cups for my girls...they eat that while we wait for dinner and have never been questioned on it (and we eat out at least once a week!). we always take a walk around the restaurant w/ the 2 year old and point out all the interesting things once we have ordered...i keep magnet toys in my purse which are great fun...the magnets store inside the metal box and there are pics inside and out. they make princess, disney, zoo, farm EVERYTHING! our latest trick is the electronic memory game set on low volume. once they are ancy the 4 year old gets her leapster and the 2 year old gets the dora memory game. the other toy we take often is a miniback-pak full of princess action figures, you could sub in boy things!
good luck.