Disney bans kids from restaurant!!!

[StrollPatrolMom]

Well, except that the hotel guest has just as much right to that restaurant to anyone else visiting Disney. No tables are held for hotel guests so it's really not a "perk" of staying at that hotel. Convenient? Yes, but not a perk.

convienence is a perk.

 

[lilyv]

[/QUOTE=BettyCv;22457506]This statement makes me wonder if maybe in some cases what people consider a well-behaved child. I agree the children out of their seat, in other diner's space, and screaming nonstop should be removed from restaurant. On the other hand a child does not have to be a perfect angel to be well behaved.

I agree. And to tell you the truth, I just don't notice other patrons that much (unless there is a disturbance.) I just picture all these people sitting around at V&A mentally criticizing the other patrons - rotten kids, yucky clothes, ugly woman. I am guessing that the ambience they are looking for is a room full of people who are "just like them." Yuck.
Oh, and I'd love to go back and replace the word "child" with "Brazilian" in some of these posts, and see if that changes anything for people.[/QUOTE]

Edited to fix the "quote".

I think it's OK for Disney to have ONE lovely restaurant that is small child free. If someone really need to take their child there, schedule it around their 10th birthday.

Disney doesn't do anything without a lot of though and research. There must have been enough difficult situations and problems for them to finally take this step.

Brazilians?? Sorry you lost me there. I believe they would appreciate and enjoy a lovely,peaceful date with their significant other just as much as I would.

 

[jenm2878]

I agree. And to tell you the truth, I just don't notice other patrons that much (unless there is a disturbance.) I just picture all these people sitting around at V&A mentally criticizing the other patrons - rotten kids, yucky clothes, ugly woman. I am guessing that the ambience they are looking for is a room full of people who are "just like them." Yuck.

Oh, and I'd love to go back and replace the word "child" with "Brazilian" in some of these posts, and see if that changes anything for people.

Edited to fix the "quote."

It's the disturbances that most people are referring to.

Seriously? Are we back to calling people discriminating child haters? Just because I don't want 'little precious' climbing under my table or shrieking for 1/2 hour straight while I eat doesn't mean I discriminate against children. Someone's nationality, religion, color of eyes, style of dress doesn't affect my dinner in the least. Having 'precious' walk up to my table and take bread from my bread bowl (yes, it happened - with her parents giggling and saying 'how cute'), or having a child pull my hair while I eat (also happened with no reprecussions) does disturb my dinner.

 

[Planogirl]

I agree. And to tell you the truth, I just don't notice other patrons that much (unless there is a disturbance.) I just picture all these people sitting around at V&A mentally criticizing the other patrons - rotten kids, yucky clothes, ugly woman. I am guessing that the ambiance they are looking for is a room full of people who are "just like them." Yuck.

I just had a mental picture of people dining in pajamas thank to your comment and that other thread.

As for what is disturbing, I'm speaking only of the screaming and the kids running around. Oh, I'm not wild about the kid that hangs over the back of the booth seat and wants to grab my hair with his food-covered hands either. Yes, that happened and I didn't like it. The parents of course thought it was SO cute.

 

[goofygirl]

If it's a written policy, and it's made clear to the parents BEFORE they choose to make an ADR or enter-then they can scream all that they want. People scream about rules all day long, but it doesn't mean that they shouldn't be enforced.

Remember that incident with the airline that threw the family with the tantruming 3 year old OFF the plane?? Remember how many people sided with the airline??

I've been at a couple of dinners where throwing a family out would generate applause from enough people to offset the whining of the ousted family.

Kudos to Disney and
AMEN to your post!

But you know how it goes. If you dare to complain about children, you're an evil child hater.

 

[StrollPatrolMom]

It's the disturbances that most people are referring to.

Seriously? Are we back to calling people discriminating child haters? Just because I don't want 'little precious' climbing under my table or shrieking for 1/2 hour straight while I eat doesn't mean I discriminate against children. Someone's nationality, religion, color of eyes, style of dress doesn't affect my dinner in the least. Having 'precious' walk up to my table and take bread from my bread bowl (yes, it happened - with her parents giggling and saying 'how cute'), or having a child pull my hair while I eat (also happened with no reprecussions) does disturb my dinner.

well, with all due respect I'm quite certain that poster was refering to the behavior of certain tour groups, not that particular nationality in general....which is kind of the point...

 

[jenm2878]

well, with all due respect I'm quite certain that poster was refering to the behavior of certain tour groups, not that particular nationality in general....which is kind of the point...

I'm not sure I follow. If the tour groups are being disturbing, they should be asked to leave/quiet down as well. A disturbance is a disturbance whether it's a chanting tour group or a screaming toddler. If Disney does nothing to control these groups behavior it doesn't mean we can all be rude and inconsiderate to eachother because 'they can do it.'

 

[StrollPatrolMom]

I'm not sure I follow. If the tour groups are being disturbing, they should be asked to leave/quiet down as well. A disturbance is a disturbance whether it's a chanting tour group or a screaming toddler. If Disney does nothing to control these groups behavior it doesn't mean we can all be rude and inconsiderate to eachother because 'they can do it.'

no, the point is you cannot ban all Brazilian tour groups because some Brazilian tour groups behave badly...

I think the potential problem with CM's having to "police" restaurants for misbehaving children is thats its somewhat subjective as to what is "enough" of a disturbance to warrant getting tossed.

I think thats a potential nightmare, and a sad state of affairs that so many people have witnessed such egregious acts from kids in restaurants that they ought to be banned from certain restaurants. I just haven't personally experienced it...so I guess my perspective is jaded

 

[Mrs.Toad]

I for one would like to know EXACTLy where you went. It sounds like you are saying that every single child was a perfectly behaved angel at the restaurants you went to. I would like to make ADR's at those restaurants if they are so quiet.

This statement makes me wonder if maybe in some cases what people consider a well-behaved child. I agree the children out of their seat, in other diner's space, and screaming nonstop should be removed from restaurant. On the other hand a child does not have to be a perfect angel to be well behaved.

I agree completely. We eat out a lot at home, Disney and other vacation spots, though usually at more family-friendly restaurants. I honestly cannot think of a single occasion where a child ran around a restaurant with parents ignoring him. I've seen a very small number (maybe in 5% of restaurant outings) take off running, but mom or dad is right behind them, dealing with it and it doesn't happen again.

I have a BIL who really overreacts not just to kids in restaurants, but to just about anything that isn't perfect. If the waiter doesn't notice his iced tea is almost empty and have it refilled within 30 seconds, he *****es and moans about it. If someone turns away from the salad bar and sneezes into his shoulder, then picks up the dressing ladle with the other hand, he gets grossed out, tells the staff that the man sneezed in the dressing and asks them to replace it. And if a kid at a nearby table laughs loud enough for him to hear, he shoots dirty looks at that table for the rest of his meal.

That's not an unruly kid, a bad waiter, or a gross customer. That's all BIL, there. I feel sorry for him, because he can't just have a good time, he's too busy looking for things to be bothered by.

In general, I haven't noticed any more bad restaurant behavior from kids than I have from adults. So when people talk as if meals being "ruined" by kids are commonplace, I can't help but wonder if they are like my BIL.

Even so, I have absolutely no problem with Disney's making V&A's child-free, nor would I have a problem with them making a couple of other signature restaurants child-free, if that's what they feel will get them the most business. From a practical standpoint, I think the best way to do that would be to make certain restaurants child-free a couple of nights a week, rotating, so that there was at least one child-free choice (other than V&A's) each night of the week. For families who want to take their kids to those restaurants, or stay on their own time zone, there will always be at least one child-inclusive choice each night of the week as well.

It should also be remembered that Walt and Lillian Disney used to go on vacation without their children, go to Europe without their children, and (yes) even spend quiet dinners at upscale restaurants without their children. Walt and Lillian knew the value of quiet adult time. Perhaps that's why they stayed married until the day Walt died and their girls turned out to be well-behaved, respectful, delightful assets to society.

That is completely irrelevent and really ridiculous. My mom and dad almost never went out to dinner without us kids, and never on vacation without us, yet they also stayed happily married, laughed together and held hands in public until the day my mother died. And I won't try to judge myself here, but I'll tell you my brother is probably the single most responsible, polite, compassionate, caring, asset to society I have ever met in my life.

 

[maxiesmom]

Heck, I think that the Patriots should have televised locker rooms, but I don't think that will happen either.

Is there a petition? Where can I sign?

I don't remember if it was on this thread or another, but I agree with the poster who thinks Disney put an age limit on V&As to up the snooty factor. If they were getting only 3 kids a month on average, it sure wasn't because they were having a huge amount of problems with unruly kids. Having a 10 and up policy just makes the restaurant seem more special.

 

[chobie]

I agree completely. We eat out a lot at home, Disney and other vacation spots, though usually at more family-friendly restaurants. I honestly cannot think of a single occasion where a child ran around a restaurant with parents ignoring him. I've seen a very small number (maybe in 5% of restaurant outings) take off running, but mom or dad is right behind them, dealing with it and it doesn't happen again.

I have a BIL who really overreacts not just to kids in restaurants, but to just about anything that isn't perfect. If the waiter doesn't notice his iced tea is almost empty and have it refilled within 30 seconds, he *****es and moans about it. If someone turns away from the salad bar and sneezes into his shoulder, then picks up the dressing ladle with the other hand, he gets grossed out, tells the staff that the man sneezed in the dressing and asks them to replace it. And if a kid at a nearby table laughs loud enough for him to hear, he shoots dirty looks at that table for the rest of his meal.

That's not an unruly kid, a bad waiter, or a gross customer. That's all BIL, there. I feel sorry for him, because he can't just have a good time, he's too busy looking for things to be bothered by.

In general, I haven't noticed any more bad restaurant behavior from kids than I have from adults. So when people talk as if meals being "ruined" by kids are commonplace, I can't help but wonder if they are like my BIL.

Even so, I have absolutely no problem with Disney's making V&A's child-free, nor would I have a problem with them making a couple of other signature restaurants child-free, if that's what they feel will get them the most business. From a practical standpoint, I think the best way to do that would be to make certain restaurants child-free a couple of nights a week, rotating, so that there was at least one child-free choice (other than V&A's) each night of the week. For families who want to take their kids to those restaurants, or stay on their own time zone, there will always be at least one child-inclusive choice each night of the week as well.

That is completely irrelevent and really ridiculous. My mom and dad almost never went out to dinner without us kids, and never on vacation without us, yet they also stayed happily married, laughed together and held hands in public until the day my mother died. And I won't try to judge myself here, but I'll tell you my brother is probably the single most responsible, polite, compassionate, caring, asset to society I have ever met in my life.

I agree that some people are just annoyed easily. And some people are especially annoyed by children in general. I don't have a problem with V &A going child free, but I cannot for the life of me figure out why people who have very low tolerance for children in general would go to WDW. Based on what I have read on these boards there seems to be a lot of them.

 

[tiggersmom2]

Bye, bye Topper, I'm pretty sure your days as a DISer are over......

 

[dcgrumpy]

 

[MrsKreamer]

I don't really get the need for the ban. When I worked at All Star Sports, wow 6 years ago, I had ONE family request a reservation for VA with their kids(maybe 5 and 7 y/o). I explained to them that VA wasn't really kid friendly and that they frowned upon making reservations for families with their children(all of this was part of what we were told to tell guests before we called VA). The Dad was very adamant that his children well very well behaved and quite used to going to 5 star dinning in NY all of the time...so I called for him. I told the person table for 4, two adults and two kids. She refused to make the reservation!

The guest got furious and got on the phone himself and reamed her out until the reservation was made.

Frankly if I had been the guest I would have given up after the front desk CM had said it wasn't a good idea.

We don't plan on going back to Disney for another year or two. I do plan on going to California Grill and Le Celier(sp?), two places I have always wanted to try but haven't been. I could take my boys but if my mom comes with us we might not. Not because my kids are unruly(I do not accept that kind of behavior from my kids in public), but because I like to try new restaurants without having to feed someone else! lol

 

[marshallandcartersmo]

Bye, bye Topper, I'm pretty sure your days as a DISer are over......

Yikes!! I guess what he called the other poster was a bad word..........I asked what it meant and it's deleted.

I'm such a nerd. I don't even know the "hip" bad words anymore.

 

[Mrs.Toad]

Darn, I missed this Topper person's post! I hate when I don't know what people are talking about!

 

[scottishduffy]

I am glad this new policy has been instituted! I agree with the other posters who said it would be nice for Disney to do this to at least one other restaurant as well. Or, rotate the child-free days at restaurants! That way on each night there will be 2-3 options that change. Sounds like a great compromise! Disney already does adult dining on it's cruise ship with Palo.

It is not about hating children, it is about wanting some quiet time to decompress at the end of a long day. Everyone relaxes differently. Disney is just trying to give every one of its guests options for dining experiences. I don't understand why very young kids would go to some of these restaurants in the first place. Wouldn't they just be bored to tears? I would have paid my mom NOT to take me to a place like that when I was very young!

Next time I go to Cali Grill it would be kinda nice not to have the toddler in her swimsuit running around.....

 

[Acklander]

Being that they only had 2 or 3 kids a month, obviously the new rule isn't going to effect many people so I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest that Disney did this as a big publicity thing. Look at all the free press they got over this so now the whole world knows that Disney isn't just for kids.

As far as the suggestion that Disney built an entire new restaurant that's child free - I don't see that as happening. The very first restaurants that get sold out are the character ones (princesses, chef mickey, etc....) so if they were going to build another restaurant, I could see it being characters again. That way they'll be guaranteed that it will sell out. That's where the demand is.

 

[Topper]

Bye, bye Topper, I'm pretty sure your days as a DISer are over......

 

[Fitswimmer]

Kudos to Disney and
AMEN to your post!

But you know how it goes. If you dare to complain about children, you're an evil child hater.

Well, then I must be an evil adult hater too, because I'm just as annoyed by loud obnoxious adults at dinner. I posted earlier about an incident at Tony's years ago with an adult that would have been solved by the same policy.

I don't think it's unreasonable for people to ask that a dining area is safe and that they can hear each other in normal conversation. Whether it's an adult or a child causing the disturbance doesn't matter, it still spoils the meal. Obviously, character dining is a whole 'nother thing-exuberant kids are part of the fun-but regular table service meals should carry the expectation that if you or your child is causing enough of a disturbance that a reasonable person would be disturbed by it-you should be asked politely to quiet the child or yourself down, and if that can't happen-then you should expect to be asked to leave.