Dining with toddler and infant

[harrowgirl]

We will be spending one afternoon/evening, and a second day at Magic Kingdom (with breaks back to our hotel (POP Music).

I'm looking for the best places at Magic Kingdom for getting food for our family for lunch and dinner. Obviously, long, sit down meals are out.

 

[lilandvisma]

We will be spending one afternoon/evening, and a second day at Magic Kingdom (with breaks back to our hotel (POP Music).

I'm looking for the best places at Magic Kingdom for getting food for our family for lunch and dinner. Obviously, long, sit down meals are out.

Are you looking for quick service or table service? We love Crystal Palace as they have a great buffet and Pooh and Friends for characters. You could also try Tony's for TS as well. If you are looking for just a quick bite to eat pretty much any place that serves QS there, they are all pretty much the same. Cosmic Rays is popular, esp if on the dining plan (good value).

Hope you have a great time!

 

[tryinginaustin]

Crystal Palace for us was a total waste. The food was fine, but lunch took 2.5 hours by the time all the characters got around to us. We have a toddler and it was one we will not do again.

 

[winterman]

(with breaks back to our hotel (POP Music).

I know this has nothing to do with you question but there is no POP Music resort. There is Pop Century and there is AllStar Music. Two totally separate resorts. Just thought you should figure out which one you'll be at.

 

[harrowgirl]

I know this has nothing to do with you question but there is no POP Music resort. There is Pop Century and there is AllStar Music. Two totally separate resorts. Just thought you should figure out which one you'll be at.

You are right - it is All Star Music we will be at!

 

[jasonfc13]

Pecos Bills

 

[bonoriffic]

Obviously, long, sit down meals are out.

It depends on what a long sit down meal consists of. With a 1 year old and 3 year old, we targeted sit down meals that would work for that situation. This meant, kid friendly food, fast service, noisy so we didn't disturb others, and hopefully with some entertainment value.

At Magic Kingdom Crystal Palace is an ideal option, and despite what others will say I have never spent more than an hour there. We have done Liberty Tree Tavern for lunch and dinner. With the family style, dinner was a bit easier. Very kid friendly meals, with food brought quickly to get everyone started on something. If eating lunch, order the kids meals with your drink order to get that ball rolling.

Chef Mickeys is a 2 minute monorail ride away and very kid friendly. A 5 minute walk back gets you right back to the park.

 

[candielips]

I, too, would recommend anything with characters and a buffet. Especially since our last trip my children were 3yrs and 9 months.
My DS 9 months, loved Crystal Palace and Chef Mickeys, the best, which I have never been more than an hour at.
If your toddler is a girl, maybe you might want to consider doing something with princesses. There is 1900 Park Fare at the Grand Floridian which is a short monorail ride away.
If I had such a short stay I would probably eat dinner at Chef mickeys on the arrival night. The next day, I would grab breakfast at the resort and head to Magic Kingdom, where I would make a lunch reservation at Crystal Palace. And then just play it by ear for a counter service dinner at the park or resort, depending the mood of the kids.

 

[Tinkerbellie16]

Magic Kingdom has one of my favorite restaurants - and it is quick service! Make it easy on you and the family and grab some yummy food at Columbia Harbour House (great fish & chips, chicken tenders, sandwiches, and mac&cheese for the kids). Take your items upstairs and eat in a quieter part of the restaurant overlooking the walkways. Great theme, great food, and upstairs has its own bathroom too

In all my trips, I have never eaten a table service meal at Magic Kingdom! I would prefer going to one of the monorail resort hotels like 'Ohana at the Polynesian - great atmosphere for kids!

 

[candielips]

In all my trips, I have never eaten a table service meal at Magic Kingdom! I would prefer going to one of the monorail resort hotels like 'Ohana at the Polynesian - great atmosphere for kids!

I had a really hard time keeping my little ones entertained through all of the meal, as it takes some time for them to come around with everything.

But I agree, that it has some of the yummiest food on all of Disney property.

 

[formytinkerbelle]

I have a 1 year old and a 3 year old and was actually dreading eating at the parks as we really don't eat out much once they became terrors at restaurants. It was just so different at Disney though. One of their favorite things was the Crystal Palace, so much to look at and they would just stare around at the room and were too distracted to fuss but they still ate too. We also did Cosmic Rays where DD did have a meltdown but it was not food related. This was about 3 weeks ago now.

 

[lynnebla]

We always eat at Columbia Harbour House, for a little variety & it's generally not as crowded as some others (like Cosmic Rays). Our other favorite is a generally quieter spot, Pinnocchio Village Haus. The kids love to get a table near the windows and watch the Small World boats go by.

 

[MSSANDRA]

CP is perfect if you want a sit down/buffet. I notice you said breakS back to the resort. Remember this takes quite a bit of time. Depending on time of year you might limit trips back to one. One option might be a breakfast at CP and later head back to your resort for naps and grab lunch at the food court. It is not busy at lunch time and the food is pretty good. Most CS at the MK is good for a quick dinner. We like Comic Ray, Columbia House and Peco Bill's

 

[EvilQueenT]

if you're staying inside the mk to eat then cp is fun for younger kids and it's a buffet so they can start eating the moment you're seated. waiting for the characters to stop at your table i've noticed the time can really vary here but they're really geared to playing to the younger kids. they don't say hi pat them on the head and move on, they stop and take pics and interact a little more than, say the princess dining places, imo. liberty tree tavern or diamond horseshoe aren't bad with kids either. it's about the length of time you'd spend at an applebee's or similar type place. the quick/counter services places are all pretty much the same. the sandwiches at the bakery on main street are big and not to bad. we've done a picnic sitting along main street with young ones before that was really low key. if you leave mk consider the gf cafe at the gf or the kona cafe at the poly. both have quick service, they're sit down meals that gives the adults a chance to catch their breath and it's only a quick ride on the monorail.

 

[suz_cute]

You can't go wrong with CP if you can get ADRs for the buffet. We've dined there many times before, but this was the first time with our son (14mos). You need not worry about keeping your toddler and infant entertained during dinner, the roaming characters will do that! In fact, my son was so enthralled, I have to keep reminding him to eat! He had a BLAST! It's also great because you can get them food immediately, and not have to wait for service coming from the kitchen. Also, if your little ones are under 2 they can eat off your plate for free. My son never ate so much in his life. He loved it so much, and we loved seeing him interact with the characters, that we called the dining line at the end of our trip, to see if someone had canceled a reservation. Sure enough, someone had. We ended up getting a lunch at 1230 on a super busy day. We were SO happy to go back. Hope this helps reassure you. Have a great trip!!

 

[jjman101]

We have ate at Pecos Bill's several times with my two year old. we usually sit outside so she can do some people watching and that has worked out great for us.

 

[*QueenB*]

Well this wont help but the best meal I had at Disney when I had a toddler and an infant was at Le Cellier. My infant was sound asleep the whole time (On my shoulder, but hey she wasn't loud.) Food was good and it was a great day. However this was at Epcot and not helpful.
At MK I really liked Columbia Harbour House for QS, Cosmic Rays has several options and is loud, plenty of seating. I really do want to try Crystal Palace this next trip. We did Chef Mickeys when our kids were that young and it went pretty well. Its mostly families with small kids so noise isnt an issue.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Pecos Bills

perhaps your experience was different than ours, but that is the one place I would say to avoid - it was by far the worst dining experience of our last trip to The World

The food was flavorless, of bad quality, and not cheap. Plus, the place was so crowded it was hard to find a high-chair and a table to sit at.

 

[robinsegg]

We went on the DxDP with 10yo, 8yo & 17mo. We actually *used* sit-down meals as a way to sit and rest! We enjoyed Tony's for dinner one night (I think it took about 1 hour). The other places we ate there was Main St. Bakery (breakfast) and Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe & Columbia Harbour House (lunches). We had no problems, but we are also *very* flexible, as a family, and tend to accommodate whatever any family member's needs might be.