Dinner with a 2yr old. Where??

[kenny]

We are going in Oct and my daughter will be just over 2. I am going with the expectations of not being able to have many TS dinners.

That being said I am still going to make ADR's for each night, just in case she surprises me and is not too tired for a sit down dinner.

Where would you recommend? Thanks

 

[DisOrBust]

You can go anywhere!! That the beauty of WDW. Unless you child is in melt down stage there is no problems eating anywhere in WDw(except V&A). Most of the TS restaurants have plenty of kids!! go and enjoy!!!

 

[MareQ]

Our past three trips we have had either a 2 yo or not quite 2 yo and we had no problems with TS meals.

With our children at various stages we have eaten at:
Prime Time
Hollywood and Vine
Mama Melrose
Big River Grill
Le Cellier
Rose and Crown
Marrakesh
Teppanyaki
Biergarten
Garden Grill
'Ohana
WCC
Tony's
CRT
Chef Mickey's
Concourse Steakhouse
Rainforest Cafe
Seasons
Artist Point
Bonfamilles
and I'm sure a few more I am forgetting

The key to dining with little ones is to make sure your dinner isn't too late - don't try and eat at 9 pm if your child is not a night owl - it just won't work. Also places like 'Ohana and WCC have activities for the kids so it gives them an opportunity to get out of their seats and blow off some steam and act crazy for awhile

If you know your child is ok but you MAY end up with a problem with a long drawn out meal - tell your server that you'd like the courses close together and why

 

[vicb]

You can go anywhere!! That the beauty of WDW. Unless you child is in melt down stage there is no problems eating anywhere in WDw(except V&A). Most of the TS restaurants have plenty of kids!! go and enjoy!!!

My thoughts exactly! Just make your ressies early so DD won't be in over tired, over hungry meltdown mode!

 

[Deweysgirl]

My only suggestion is just be careful about too many character dinners. At that age my DD was PETRIFIED of the characters and if they started coming toward our table she would freak! (Of course she loves them all now! ) I would plan a few TS ADR's that don't have any characters, just in case.

Have fun and just take it slow, you'll have a wonderful time!

 

[disnut8]

I'm going to agree with all the other posters. It's just my husband and me at Disney World now. But do not reject a restaurant just because you have a child. That's what Disney does best. I have seen unhappy children at Disney World restaurants. It lasts about five minutes at most. Big deal. But most of the time, it's a very positive experience and trust me, I'm not a kid person anymore. Seeing the little ones there is a great treat for us. Go with what YOU want.

 

[jann1033]

have you considered maybe doing sit down lunches for anyplace you really want to eat? the menus are usually very similar and you don't have the over tired-ness factor. a long leisurely lunch really refreshes us all when go ( and we are just adults now.) then you can do a food court/cs type dinner and get the baby to bed early

 

[budbeerlady]

I would suggest anything that would give her something to watch as you wait for your food. So maybe the Garden grill, coral reef, 1900 park fare (is a buffet so you can go as quick as you need to with the food part.) Rainforest scared the daylights out of dd untill she was older, so that one depends on your child. If you are worried about dd holding up while waiting for food then lean towards buffets.

 

[madalex]

You'll be fine anywhere with a 2 year old at WDW, so don't let that be a limiting factor in deciding where to go. If, however, you make an ADR for someplace and decide not to do dinner (for whatever reason), make sure to call and cancel the ADR.

 

[djett626]

We took my 2 1/2 year old to Crystal Palace twice last year. He loved it so much! We didn't make reservations, we just tried the day of our plans. The second time, before we even got into the restaurant, our son was saying "Where is Winnie the Pooh?" He would just flock to the character. I think it just depends on the child.

I made 3 different Character reservations this year! We have two different children going with us. I'm a little nervous that my 4 year old neice might have problems. I'm crossing my fingers that it will be a positive experience for her. It's so wonderful to be able to sit and enjoy your food and the kids still get to see the characters!

 

[FSUGrad97]

You can go anywhere!! That the beauty of WDW. Unless you child is in melt down stage there is no problems eating anywhere in WDw(except V&A). Most of the TS restaurants have plenty of kids!! go and enjoy!!!

Exactly!

Our DD had just turned 2, and she did really well at all of the places we ate. We did a lot of character meals and buffets, and she loved them all.

We ate at Whispering Canyon Cafe, Liberty Tree Tavern, Crystal Palace, and 1900 Park Fare. All were great!

The character meals are a great way to introduce the little ones to characters, at least in my DD's case, because the characters moved slowly and were able to read whether or not she was apprehensive. I was a bit nervous at our first ADR (CP), but I soon realized she was cool with the characters when she began calling out for Pooh and Tigger when she saw them.

 

[lillygator]

Our DD's have been going (one) since a month old to TS restaurants at WDW...one reason why we love to eat at Disney is how accomodating they are to children - it makes meal time great!
Also - we make ADR's for 7:30 to 8 so we can rest in the afternoon and then head back out refreshed!

 

[disneymomnj]

We make our ADR's for 5:00 or 5:30. We do a long day at the park, getting there at or close to opening. By 4:00 or 4:30, we are at our park limit (or at least the kids are), and we head to wherever our dinner reservations are. We took our kids everywhere we wanted to go, and overall, they did well everywhere we went (Spoodles, Le Cellier, Boma, Kona Cafe, etc.). Every restaurant we went to, without exception, had kids menus that were also coloring/games on a placemat. They had quiet time coloring or drawing, since they were work out form the parks. We enjoyed our early dinners, then headed back to Wilderness Lodge. We were back at the hotel early enough for a swim before bed time.

 

[jpolak]

My only suggestion is just be careful about too many character dinners. At that age my DD was PETRIFIED of the characters and if they started coming toward our table she would freak! (Of course she loves them all now! ) I would plan a few TS ADR's that don't have any characters, just in case.

Have fun and just take it slow, you'll have a wonderful time!

I agree. DD was so afraid of the characters she couldn't eat. she would spend the entire meal looking out for who might be coming by next. That being said we did have the best luck at the buffets. Alot of action and variety.

 

[Goofygirls4God]

When we came with our 2 yr olds we ate fairly early=like 4:30ish...that helped thing for us and we would take a ziploc and put her left overs in it esp. fruit for later!
Then everyone was satisfied and she could snack later and we could tootle the kingdom with out getting in the supper rush or before melt down as well as she would fall asleep right before parade time of fireworks and felt better if we stayed until close!

We loved Crystal Palace-buffet was good for all of us
The spag. at Tony's really was a good thing for my girls

Also, 1900 Park Faire was a good buffet option
at the beach club Cape May buffet was also good and the kids colored on paper table clothes...the characters were fun there too!

We also like 50's Diner in MGM- it was busy enough with colors and people that she stayed occupied...

We did not have many successes at Epcot...but maybe you will with your 2 yr old.

 

[las3888]

The buffets are a nice choice because children under 3 can eat off the buffet for free. If you go to restaurants where you order off the menu, you will pay for a child's meal (if you order one). However, the buffets aren't cheap either, but they have a nice selection for toddlers.

Good luck!