Disruptive children in restaurants

[kandb]

I don't want to start a debate but I was reading restaurant reviews for a few signature restaurants that we are considering going to in October and having a 1 year old, I wanted to make sure they allowed young children into the restaurants. Anyway, I couldn't believe people who were writing and saying there were screaming/fussy children/babies at nearby tables throughout the entire meal. I will be honest, I think disney should have a policy, especially at a signature restaurant for this issue. If I was spending $100+ for a meal, I would not want to listen to a child crying/screaming/fussing etc. It's just not fair to the other guests and some parents apparently don't care about the other guests. My dh and I were going to a nice casino with a great steakhouse 4 years ago with our other children who are twins (they were 3 year old at that time). I called to make reservations and when I told him for 2 adults and 2 children, he asked how old the children were and when I told him 3, he said "sorry, no children under 5 allowed". I said to him, "thats a great idea". What is one to do, if they are trying to have dinner and throughout the whole dinner, there is a crying/screaming child nearby? Personally, I would leave, it would ruin my meal. Can the restaurants do anything about it? I know it's disney but one of the parents could leave with the child and take a walk, while the other eats and then switch after that parent is done. I think that would be the fair thing to do. Linda

 

[RMulieri]

The only place where children are NOT allowed is Victoria and Alberts.Otherwise, kids are the rule not the exception, even at signature dining.I have to say ( I am a parent too) that I rarely have witnessed appalling children behavior in the restaurants, more often I see adults behaving badly.But maybe I am simply not paying close enough attention to what other people are doing.

 

[Kay1]

My son was one of those screamers and ruined many restaurant meals for us. We did what you suggested and took turns eating. I haven't noticed a lot of parents who just sit by and let their kids screech, though I have heard fussing toddlers in the Disney restaurants and attractions.

I can tune that sort of thing out, but if I couldn't, I think I'd just ask for a table far, far away. I certainly wouldn't worry too much about this situation in advance. You have no control over the outcome and you may end up surrounded by quiet people.

 

[Leota]

We don't really consider it appalling behaviour by the kids, it's the adults who refuse to take action that bother us. The place we see it most is CA Grill. The parents are so bent on the CA Grill View of Wishes that they expect their kids to sit thru a 2 hour meal - and then stretch that out if they need to to see the Fireworks. The poor kids are tired, over-stimulated from a day at Disney, then required to sit quietly in a fine dining establishment.

I don't see it as much at the signatures that don't have the Wishes view. It seems like the other places, parents are more willing to get up & walk the kids or even just finish quickly and go. Or the eat earlier when the kids aren't so tired.

What would be nice is that if the staff sees a disruptive child, they would say something to the parents along the lines of "Could you please take your child for a walk until they calm down so that our other patrons may enjoy their meal" But that would never happen. The other thing that I think would help is that they either made CA Grill adult only or changed it to a regular TS, not a Signature.

I love seeing kids at restaurants, learning about good food & dining etiquette. I just sometimes wish that someone would teach the parents first.

 

[Jessica14]

I agree its the parents response rather then the children. I have two kids almost 6 and almost 8 and our policy has always been leave if they get unruly and also schedule early dinners. I think we have all our ADRs early-dinner at 5, lunch at 11:30, that kind of thing. I think its fine to not have kids under five at certain restaurants or again, maybe between the hours of 4-6 so that the grown-ups can have a nice quiet meal later.
Jessica

 

[TDC Nala]

Most parents have a good eye for when their children have had enough and they need to take them out and calm them down. Most parents don't allow their children to get out of their seats and play around the tables, sit on the floor, bang silverware, run around the restaurant or throw food. The parents who are the exceptions are the ones who get the mention here. Some do sit by and let the children or babies scream (not talk, scream) loudly for a long time. Not a few minutes, but a long time. Some don't care what the children do so long as they're not bothering the parents. Some just don't have a clue and think the kids' antics are cute, even when they affect others.

The group of kids around 10 and under who were permitted to push a baby in a stroller at full speed around Bluezoo - which has no fireworks view, isn't a Disney restaurant and isn't even on the dining plan - while the parents laughed and did the "aren't they cute" thing was a case in point. Of course the Bluezoo staff said nothing (I wouldn't have expected them to, it wouldn't have done any good), the servers just had to dodge them.

The only restaurant anywhere on WDW property with an age restriction is Victoria and Albert's. Diners there must be age 10 or older.

 

[TheRustyScupper]

I couldn't believe people who were writing and saying there were screaming/fussy children/babies at nearby tables throughout the entire meal.

1) That is one reason we do not patronize many WDW eateries.
2) In fact, we go to ONLY five eateries in WDW.
3) And, only two of them are owned by Disney.
4) If I pay big bucks, I want
. . . ambiance
. . . serene atmosphere and surroundings
. . . kids to be seen, not heard
. . . unique food

NOTE: The other reason we avoid WDW dining is that DDP has ruined the quality and uniqueness of the menu items. But, that is another story.

 

[mrsltg]

Like others have said, it's the adults that are the problem. A screaming baby is not unreasonable. The parent of the screaming baby who sits there and thinks it's cute is unreasonable. My then 6 month old started crying at Le Cellier. She wanted lunch and we were working as quickly as we could to prepare the bottle and get our hands on some bread. We were ready to go within about one minute but it was still a screaming infant for one minute. I apologized to each of the tables around us and it was amazing to see the faces go from stern and annoyed to, "don't worry - we've been there, too!" People just need to be polite!

 

[tony67]

I think the best thing to do is remove the kid from the situation.

Take them out for a short walk and come back, that usually works for us.

I cut people a lot of slack in Disney when it comes it kids now.

Before I had kids I was a lot less understanding of people that just let it go on, but I think sometimes these people are shell shocked in Disney.

Kids are tired from being dragged around the park, they are over stimulated and probably very hungry because they could not get a 5PM ADR.

These are not excuses, but kids that have not been a problem in restaurants in the past will all of a sudden be maniacs when they get to Disney because of these factors.
The parents have not dealt with this situation before and they have to figure it out.

I am far more annoyed by the people that let their kids walk around the restaurant and annoy other people well they eat their meal.
I do not find your kids cute.

As for the waiter it is really not their place to say something and if they did they would probably be fired or reprimanded.
If anyone should address it it is the manager, but it best be really bad.
Disney does not want someone writing review that their kid was kicked out of a Disney restaurant for being a kid.
You know in this case the parents would not give the full story in reviews.
Even worse the people could say it was because of some other factor and have a lawsuit.

 

[DCDisney]

For the most part we see lots of minor unruly stuff we won't allow our kids to do but rarely is it enough to impact our meal. We did though have a horrific experience at CRT for dinner where a child sitting in the table across the aisle from us came in complaining loudly about not feeling good and was shushed multiple times then vomited all over their food on their table and the floor next to us and along the way to the restroom completely spoiling the meal for many many people. It took quite awhile for the clean up crew to show up and you know what those folks just switched to an empty table behind them and kept eating! No one even took the sick child out and she did get sick again when we gave up on our meal and left. I think no matter how sick or out of sorts kids are some people want to get their money's worth and their enjoyment out of it and don't really care about the impact on others.

 

[shalom]

you know what those folks just switched to an empty table behind them and kept eating! No one even took the sick child out

Some parents need serious retraining, I swear...

 

[tony67]

Some parents need serious retraining, I swear...

Some people should not be allowed to have kids!!!
That is disgraceful.

 

[shannonstar]

I personally bring the digital babysitter along. I don't see anything wrong with bringing in an electronic device if it will keep the kids quiet and happy. We don't let our son turn up the volume so as not to disturb other guests, but sometimes just that little screen our his Didj (game) is a life saver.

 

[redzinner]

Like others we have seen it a few times ... once in FF in the round room toward the back. The children (2) were allowed to run all over the booth seats, got down, went to the candy shop with a parent and came back with more sugar! Wonderful. When they came close to me I just asked them to go back to their seat. I could care less what the parents thought since they obviously were oblivious to their darlings' antics.

On the other hand, I always make it a point to thank parental units if their children are polite and behaved, when sitting next to us.

 

[Ava]

...those folks just switched to an empty table behind them and kept eating! No one even took the sick child out...

That poor kid! I can't believe those parents could be so selfish!

My DD is 16 months old and in the throwing food on the floor phase. Other than that she's quiet & well-behaved, lol.

 

[TheNewMrsB]

The group of kids around 10 and under who were permitted to push a baby in a stroller at full speed around Bluezoo - which has no fireworks view, isn't a Disney restaurant and isn't even on the dining plan - while the parents laughed and did the "aren't they cute" thing was a case in point. Of course the Bluezoo staff said nothing (I wouldn't have expected them to, it wouldn't have done any good), the servers just had to dodge them.

And I'm sure that had a server spilled something hot on them as a result of this behavior, Disney would have seen a lawsuit. Unbelievable.

 

[dburg30]

I don't want to start a debate but I was reading restaurant reviews for a few signature restaurants that we are considering going to in October and having a 1 year old, I wanted to make sure they allowed young children into the restaurants. Anyway, I couldn't believe people who were writing and saying there were screaming/fussy children/babies at nearby tables throughout the entire meal. I will be honest, I think disney should have a policy, especially at a signature restaurant for this issue. If I was spending $100+ for a meal, I would not want to listen to a child crying/screaming/fussing etc. It's just not fair to the other guests and some parents apparently don't care about the other guests. My dh and I were going to a nice casino with a great steakhouse 4 years ago with our other children who are twins (they were 3 year old at that time). I called to make reservations and when I told him for 2 adults and 2 children, he asked how old the children were and when I told him 3, he said "sorry, no children under 5 allowed". I said to him, "thats a great idea". What is one to do, if they are trying to have dinner and throughout the whole dinner, there is a crying/screaming child nearby? Personally, I would leave, it would ruin my meal. Can the restaurants do anything about it? I know it's disney but one of the parents could leave with the child and take a walk, while the other eats and then switch after that parent is done. I think that would be the fair thing to do. Linda

Well see, now you are assuming that the parents really give a rats butt about what others think. Too often you have those that feel "it's disney what did you expect" or just dont care if they are annoying / affecting others around them.

 

[princesspeach]

We ate a 7 signatures our first trip in May . I did not notice any bad behavior by any kids. The restauraunts were very noisy in general unless a kids starting screaming our running around the restaurant I don't think anybody will notice. I will admit though I don't pay attention to whats going on at other tables. I just focus on my own family and enjoy myself.

 

[Sunnywho]

The more kids you have, the harder it is...their energy gets each other going. We have three kids, we're opting for QSRP this time around although I'd upgrade to DP if I thought my youngest (age 3) could handle it. Nope, we learned otherwise on last year's trip!

 

[Debbie Jean]

I have to say in my experience, I am always impressed by how well behaved overall children are even in the fanciest restaurants on property. Sure, there have been a handful of times I can recall seeing a meltdown but by and large, parents handle this quickly and quietly.

Honestly, when you think how tired, overstimulated and cranky kids can get at WDW, it really is remarkable. Come to think of it, when you think of how tired, overstimulated and cranky the parents are, it's even more remarkable I'm sure there are moments when mom or dad wants to say, oh to h*ll with it, just bring me another beer