Ever wanted to dine in a little peace?

OKW Mom

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Oct 7, 2007
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273
I know we are at Disney, I know it is Child Central. I love the giggles of the children as the characters swing by, we raised 3 who were excellent TS diners.

The sad thing is any one with a credit card or meal plan can occupy space in many of the most un-mannerly ways.

I do not need Mary Poppins behavior, I'd just like to sit in the Turf Club dining room and have a quiet meal that equaled the food we ordered. We had great service, excellent food and wine and horrid table neighbors.

The young couple rolled in with a toddler and infant. The toddler was encouraged by his father to bang the large knife and fork on the table top, the mother so giddy from heatstroke (?) she giggled and kept it going. for 45 minutes. The knifes in this place are humongous! The forks had 3 long sharp tines and the boy was never stopped from slamming them up and down.

That sound was met with the party of 4 across the path, whose 2 boys began to run in circles around their parents table. The Dad was soaking wet with sweat (Sept.) and wearing cotton shirt and loose knit shorts. I had hoped for long table clothes after "the show" I got as he dwarfed the chair itself. The Mom was so fed up she just kept eating, ignoring the other 3.

The party next to us was in their 50's with a child with severe CP. He was getting agitated by the children and you could see the noise was getting to him. The parents were doing everything to calm him and shortened their meal.

I really saw no way for management to enforce any level of decibles, as the room stated it was non-smoking - not non-screaming.

I know the DDP brought alot of families who did not previously eat in the TS restaurants into these dining areas. They paid for it and they are using it. It is an excellent way for children to grow up with white cloth table manners that will serve them in their professional life.

I just wish the dining rooms were better separated for adult parties to have a meal with conversation.

This may all be a moot point if the 2008 DDP loses its luster and the TS rooms return to quieter times.

In Sept. we tried eating early (Turf Club 1st reservation - pandemonium within that hour). We tried eating late (EPCOT Biergarten - small children running between buffet and tables while parents drank....)

Every family has a bad meal every now and then, it would feel special if WDW took that into consideration when planning their seating areas, etc.

With their experience they should really know how to accomplish this!
 
I know we are at Disney, I know it is Child Central. I love the giggles of the children as the characters swing by, we raised 3 who were excellent TS diners.

The sad thing is any one with a credit card or meal plan can occupy space in many of the most un-mannerly ways.

I do not need Mary Poppins behavior, I'd just like to sit in the Turf Club dining room and have a quiet meal that equaled the food we ordered. We had great service, excellent food and wine and horrid table neighbors.

The young couple rolled in with a toddler and infant. The toddler was encouraged by his father to bang the large knife and fork on the table top, the mother so giddy from heatstroke (?) she giggled and kept it going. for 45 minutes. The knifes in this place are humongous! The forks had 3 long sharp tines and the boy was never stopped from slamming them up and down.

That sound was met with the party of 4 across the path, whose 2 boys began to run in circles around their parents table. The Dad was soaking wet with sweat (Sept.) and wearing cotton shirt and loose knit shorts. I had hoped for long table clothes after "the show" I got as he dwarfed the chair itself. The Mom was so fed up she just kept eating, ignoring the other 3.

The party next to us was in their 50's with a child with severe CP. He was getting agitated by the children and you could see the noise was getting to him. The parents were doing everything to calm him and shortened their meal.

I really saw no way for management to enforce any level of decibles, as the room stated it was non-smoking - not non-screaming.

I know the DDP brought alot of families who did not previously eat in the TS restaurants into these dining areas. They paid for it and they are using it. It is an excellent way for children to grow up with white cloth table manners that will serve them in their professional life.

I just wish the dining rooms were better separated for adult parties to have a meal with conversation.

This may all be a moot point if the 2008 DDP loses its luster and the TS rooms return to quieter times.

In Sept. we tried eating early (Turf Club 1st reservation - pandemonium within that hour). We tried eating late (EPCOT Biergarten - small children running between buffet and tables while parents drank....)

Every family has a bad meal every now and then, it would feel special if WDW took that into consideration when planning their seating areas, etc.

With their experience they should really know how to accomplish this!

Say something. I was eating at the Blue Bayou in DL, and this large family was seated next to us, one of the kids was playing their iPod so loudly that I could hear it at my table. I simply asked the waiter, if I really had to listen to that noise for my entire meal. Pretty quickly one of the managers went over and spoke to the dad, the ipod was turned down. I got a few nasty looks, but I got to eat my meal in peace.
 
I know we are at Disney, I know it is Child Central. I love the giggles of the children as the characters swing by, we raised 3 who were excellent TS diners.

The sad thing is any one with a credit card or meal plan can occupy space in many of the most un-mannerly ways.

I do not need Mary Poppins behavior, I'd just like to sit in the Turf Club dining room and have a quiet meal that equaled the food we ordered. We had great service, excellent food and wine and horrid table neighbors.

The young couple rolled in with a toddler and infant. The toddler was encouraged by his father to bang the large knife and fork on the table top, the mother so giddy from heatstroke (?) she giggled and kept it going. for 45 minutes. The knifes in this place are humongous! The forks had 3 long sharp tines and the boy was never stopped from slamming them up and down.

That sound was met with the party of 4 across the path, whose 2 boys began to run in circles around their parents table. The Dad was soaking wet with sweat (Sept.) and wearing cotton shirt and loose knit shorts. I had hoped for long table clothes after "the show" I got as he dwarfed the chair itself. The Mom was so fed up she just kept eating, ignoring the other 3.

The party next to us was in their 50's with a child with severe CP. He was getting agitated by the children and you could see the noise was getting to him. The parents were doing everything to calm him and shortened their meal.

I really saw no way for management to enforce any level of decibles, as the room stated it was non-smoking - not non-screaming.

I know the DDP brought alot of families who did not previously eat in the TS restaurants into these dining areas. They paid for it and they are using it. It is an excellent way for children to grow up with white cloth table manners that will serve them in their professional life.

I just wish the dining rooms were better separated for adult parties to have a meal with conversation.

I have to agree with you--while it's a joy to see the smiles on faces of children at DL, and while I understand that there are going to be times when a child is going to have a meltdown and there's nothing the parent can do in the moment to stop it, the parents need to teach the children manners and that includes not disturbing other people. A few years ago I was at a California Pizza Kitchen--the parents were enjoying their dessert while their four year old ran around crazily and at one point was lying on the floor in the aisle in the way of servers and patrons--right next to our table. (Yuck--wouldn't want a child of mine on the floor!) I asked the server whether there wasn't something they could do and was told that they couldn't say anything unless the child was in danger -- I guess getting tripped over by a server carrying a heavy load of hot food wouldn't be dangerous enough!
 
when you arrive at the restuarant - tell the CM that seats you - you would like a seat in the adult section.

now some don't have an adult section. but you may be surprised with others.

avoid character meals.

the old Yacht Club is surpose to be good too - got a new name? - Captain Grill.
 

We will be more up front with the host.

Casual conversation with a server sometimes misses the mark.

Thank-you for acknowledging I have not lost my mind and that enjoyable adult hours can be out there at WDW.
 
I love kids dearly and would never stop a parent from bringing kids to any restaurant. And I would never ever want any parent no matter what is going on not to come to a restaurant. But, it would be nice if later in the evening after say 9:00 that they had an adult only area.

Don't get me wrong I know kids have melt downs I've raised 3 and have 2 grandkids but it would be nice if later in the evening there were some quiet areas.
 
I love kids dearly and would never stop a parent from bringing kids to any restaurant. And I would never ever want any parent no matter what is going on not to come to a restaurant. But, it would be nice if later in the evening after say 9:00 that they had an adult only area.

Don't get me wrong I know kids have melt downs I've raised 3 and have 2 grandkids but it would be nice if later in the evening there were some quiet areas.

When I mentioned this at another discussion board I was nearly beaten to death.

They can build rooms and dividers that could insulate sound. Do they realize the adults would spend more $$ if they were comfortable dining?

Aha, Disney has to be approached that they can make more $$ if they provide this service. You can bet it will be on my comment card!
 
the cm's that seat are not always thinking.

you would be surprised how many times as a solo - I was seated next to or across from a single male. Now at my age that is getting silly.

they think they are helping.....

just explain that you want as far from guests with children as possible.

the problem is that group come in all shapes. Sometimes it is necessary to put a group with children in a most adult area - just because they need that size table and it is the only one left.

besides you can also take the approach - thank goodness once I leave this restuarant - leaving behind those loudy and rude children - their parent can't ever leave them.

of course some people think it is the parents fault - there is a lady (and I mean a lady) here at work who will disagree. Her son was raised correctly - they went to church he definitely understood what right and wrong was - then as a teen he got involved with the wrong crowd. they tried to stop it. had some of his friends arrested. but that only seem to increase his want of these friends. so not only did he end his life as a drug addict he was murdered too.

some things you can control - but your children's life you can't. You have to hope and pray that they turn out to be good citizens.
 
. . . . of course some people think it is the parents fault - there is a lady (and I mean a lady) here at work who will disagree. Her son was raised correctly - they went to church he definitely understood what right and wrong was - then as a teen he got involved with the wrong crowd. they tried to stop it. had some of his friends arrested. but that only seem to increase his want of these friends. so not only did he end his life as a drug addict he was murdered too.

some things you can control - but your children's life you can't. You have to hope and pray that they turn out to be good citizens.
I know this is a little off topic, and certainly not directed at spiceycat but rather just making a comment about the parents fault thing that spiceycat mentioned. I will most certainly agree that how teens into adults turn out (to a degree) is not the parents fault if they raised the child right, as appears to be in this lady's case. After all, I was raised right to have good manners, to know how to behave in a resturaunt and in church and in public and to just have an overall great idea of what was right and what was wrong. There was a time in my teens and even into my early 20's that I found the wrong crowd. There was not much my parents' could have done about it and I chose to do the things I did. I know several others where this is the case as well. So, no in that instance it is not the parent's fault.

However, with that being said, when the child is 2, 3, 4, 5 up to say 10 and they're misbehaving and just being undisciplined brats then yes, most of the time it is the parents' fault. There is NO excuse for allowing your child to lie in the middle of the floor in a resturant while you finish off dessert. There is NO excuse to allow a child to scream just to hear himself scream and bang on the table and be loud (barring the child is perfectly healthy with no mental issues) and run around disturbing and disrupting other people in public. It is clearly the parent's fault for not parenting that small child.

OK, :goodvibes now we may return to our regularly scheduled thread.

OP, I agree, there needs to be adult only sections and I would pay more for the privelage. We don't have kids and there is a reason for it. I like kids and I love my nieces and nephews but I don't want to put up with them all the time and I certainly don't want to put up someone else's misbehaving child. I mean there could be a chance that the family we're being seated next to will have a very well behaved child who's a joy to be around but do I really want to take that chance? :scared:
 
I am not a stick in the mud, but I am also all for children being controlled during dinner. I also don't think children should be allowed in the hot tubs. When we get back late from the parks and DH and I want to relax, the hot tub is swarmed by kids!
 
WOW! I am not alone.:worship: :worship: :worship:

I do like kids, just not enough to have ever wanted my own. I adore my neice and nephews. But with that said, when I go out to dinner, I do not want to be seated to the family area. I have refused tables where there are a group of toddlers next to it. I have asked to be seated in the "child free zone". Do I get nasty looks? You bet. I simply want to enjoy my meal, my company or if I am dining alone, chillout with out hearing little Johnny or Mary banging silverware, throwing buttered noodles or going into a tantrum. I realize that kids will be kids, but sometime parents need to step up to the plate and be the parent.
 
OMG! There ARE people who think my thoughts! I've even suggested to Guest Relations at Disney that there are some of us who would pay big bucks to have just one or two on property meals without some child crawling under our table! Many, many parents teach their children manners. The ones who do not, however, are horrid.

The end to our dining in the Castle (anyone remember when they had just a "normal" meal for dinner? With good food, butter shaped like Cindy's coach, etc......:sad:) came the night that a father and mother spent the entire meal engulfed in conversation with each other, never interacting with their children, while the kids were running around their table (and some of ours) in circles...I swear I am NOT making this up...while the father held food out on a fork, yes a fork, and the kids would grab the food off of it as they ran by!

I'm probably a sandwich short of a picnic here, but I'm beginning to think that perhaps, by no longer voicing disapproval of bad behavior (not just by children) we are giving tacit approval of it? What would happen (besides having a gun or two pulled on us or, of course, being continually saluted by an interior digit) if we actually politely requested someone stop offensive behavior? Would anyone here actually do it, or do you already?
 
I'm probably a sandwich short of a picnic here, but I'm beginning to think that perhaps, by no longer voicing disapproval of bad behavior (not just by children) we are giving tacit approval of it? What would happen (besides having a gun or two pulled on us or, of course, being continually saluted by an interior digit) if we actually politely requested someone stop offensive behavior? Would anyone here actually do it, or do you already?

I have to admit I'm a wimp and the most I do is give the "look"--sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. And not to transfer the responsibility to Disney or the restaurant owner (as the case may be) I feel that I, as a customer, deserve to have the owner exert some control over their establishment and protect my right to enjoy my meal in peace as much as the next guy. If someone's kids were running riot around my table (and the pulling food off the fork thing is just incredible) I would ask my server, and then the manager, to do something about it. Not sure what I would do if they didn't--in the CPK case the guy I was with didn't want to make an issue, so I backed off. Otherwise I would have probably asked for the manager.

I guess I would either ask to be moved or (for something like the castle experience) be refunded some or all of my meal cost because I would certainly not be getting the benefit of what I paid for.

Sadly, parents like you describe get away with this because polite people do not want to make a scene. They will continue to run roughshod over the polite people until there are consequences for their actions (or lack of action)--I think in this circumstance it should really be up to Disney (or any other restaurant owner) to establish a certain level of decorum in its dining establishments. I've certainly seen drunk and obnoxious people removed from premises; I would not think there should be a different standard for children who are interfering with the enjoyment of an experience by other families and whose parents are unable or unwilling to exert control--especially at the price point of some of these meals!
 
High Five! :thumbsup2 Just say no. Takes a village. :)
 
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High Five! :thumbsup2 Here is what is working for me lately....I look into the child's eyes and say NO. And so far....every single child got it. Don't forget they are testing us ALL THE TIME. ;) Mine are teenagers - actually 20 & 15, and I don't believe they ever acted like that. Not in my presence anyhow. Just say no. Takes a village. :)

Just curious--you actually tell other people's kids "no"? (If you do--you're my new hero!)

I'm pretty assertive but I don't know if I would have the guts to do that . . . .
 
AS parents of 2 small children (now I bet you are sitting there thinking here we go) I totally agree that it would be great if there were sections where adults are seated together.

Now if I could just get them to seat me there and my two kids in the family section :lmao:

This would allow families to eat in nice places without the worry of disturbing someone elses dinner. And allowing children the opportunity to learn how to behave and eat in public. I have reasonably behaved children well considering they are only 3 months and 2 but as with all kids they do sometime hit the roof over something you just didn't see coming.

Cullen likes to bang his cutlery (and it gets taken off him which sometimes can produce a tantrum hopefully after a few times of them being taken from him he will learn and not do it who knows however :confused3

I am always worried when dining out that I will disturb someone else and it does make the trip a little less enjoyable that an the heartburn from eating so fast.

OKW Mom - I saw a few near death experiences on a discussion where someone suggested an adult only place on a plane so I can beleive it happened over this subject. (BTW I agreed with this as well)

I will say this while I agree with just about everything everyone has said on this subject parenting is easier said than done (just ask the Mum who had a whole stack of things her children weren't going to do or have and now do or have, you learn not to sweat the small stuff) and my parenting style may not be up to others standards and much higher than someone elses. The problem here is if we discipline our children we open ourselves up to comments on how harsh we are, give the kid a break he is at disney, I hate seeing parents yelling, etc at Disney bla bla bla or if we don't discipline we open ourselves up to new comments or there is not discipline in the world today etc.

Now back on topic of the adults section only problem I see is if

1. space runs out in section you want to be in.
2. like smoking and no smoking section it doesn't make any difference if it just an invisible line you are sat next to the smoke/noise still makes its way to you.

Thanks Kirsten
 
When I mentioned this at another discussion board I was nearly beaten to death.

They can build rooms and dividers that could insulate sound. Do they realize the adults would spend more $$ if they were comfortable dining?

Aha, Disney has to be approached that they can make more $$ if they provide this service. You can bet it will be on my comment card!

I have been nearly beaten to death too for commenting on this subject. I was nice and polite and still I was a child hater, should vacation somewhere else, etc, etc. Apparently on that thread it was ok for parents to want some quiet time but someone without children were just child haters. At least on this board everyone is more reasonable.

It gets frustrating to watch little Poindexter do a back flip off his dinner chair and then scream bloody murder when he gets hurt. Meanwhile "those" parents are still chatting away over a bottle of Chardonnay.:rolleyes1
 
I'm going to chime in here too, now while the old adage "a child should be seen and not heard" would be a bit much at Disney, maybe just a little bit of the "not heard" could come into play when in restaurants. Food for thought!;)
 
Yes- when ours were toddler and early school age there were times when I wanted to be silly to get them to do what I wanted....they never even knew Mom was getting them to do what Mom wanted them to do. People have stared at me for skipping through open areas etc.

We were asked to leave an historic Episcopal church in Williamsburg!
Our 2 yr old was used to greeting people at our church at the Narthex door.
I did not want to leave him at a strange church nursery, so we sat at the last pew.
Before Mass, as people came in he smiled, waved and said "Hi!". Regular parishners did not know us and were fairly reserved-when Bill got no answered he turned up the volumn "HI!". :angel:
After about 3 incidences that we were asked to leave. Mass had not even started and we were whisked out the door. :confused3
I laugh about this now, at the age of 22 if he ever gets asked to leave a bar or a restaurant at least he can say he has been asked to leave better places!! :rotfl:

AS parents of 2 small children (now I bet you are sitting there thinking here we go) I totally agree that it would be great if there were sections where adults are seated together.

Now if I could just get them to seat me there and my two kids in the family section :lmao:

This would allow families to eat in nice places without the worry of disturbing someone elses dinner. And allowing children the opportunity to learn how to behave and eat in public. I have reasonably behaved children well considering they are only 3 months and 2 but as with all kids they do sometime hit the roof over something you just didn't see coming.

Cullen likes to bang his cutlery (and it gets taken off him which sometimes can produce a tantrum hopefully after a few times of them being taken from him he will learn and not do it who knows however :confused3

I am always worried when dining out that I will disturb someone else and it does make the trip a little less enjoyable that an the heartburn from eating so fast.

OKW Mom - I saw a few near death experiences on a discussion where someone suggested an adult only place on a plane so I can beleive it happened over this subject. (BTW I agreed with this as well)

I will say this while I agree with just about everything everyone has said on this subject parenting is easier said than done (just ask the Mum who had a whole stack of things her children weren't going to do or have and now do or have, you learn not to sweat the small stuff) and my parenting style may not be up to others standards and much higher than someone elses. The problem here is if we discipline our children we open ourselves up to comments on how harsh we are, give the kid a break he is at disney, I hate seeing parents yelling, etc at Disney bla bla bla or if we don't discipline we open ourselves up to new comments or there is not discipline in the world today etc.

Now back on topic of the adults section only problem I see is if

1. space runs out in section you want to be in.
2. like smoking and no smoking section it doesn't make any difference if it just an invisible line you are sat next to the smoke/noise still makes its way to you.

Thanks Kirsten
 





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