Formal dining with kids at Disney

[maxiesmom]

I have a niece who will be 9yrs old the next time we go to Disney World. She loves getting dressed up and going out to eat, and is a pretty adventurous eater. I'm sure she would love to go out and have a fancy dinner while we are at Disney, but I am not sure what restaurant to try. So I'm looking for advice. Is there any one restaurant that you can think of that is more formal than the casual sit down restaurants, but would still be fairly kid friendly? I've been thinking about Artist's Point, Narcoosees, or the California Grill. Are any of these a good choice?

 

[SoonipiLady]

and I would say for "Kid Friendliness" choose CG, hands down. Second choice would be AP. Even though you say she loves to get dressed up and is an adventurous eater, Narcoossee's is a bit stuffy for kids.

 

[Pakey]

I think CG and Narcoosees are the most kid friendly of the signature restaurants at WDW. Artist Point is nice too but the decor is not anything to make anyone feel special, even a 9 year old. I would pick either CG or Narcoosees as neither are stuffy, plenty of children dine at both, and the settings are special.

 

[Wendi2000]

California Grill
Jiko
The Hollywood Brown Derby (not fancy, but very good food & service)

 

[jenjersnap]

I think CG and Narcoosees are the most kid friendly of the signature restaurants at WDW. Artist Point is nice too but the decor is not anything to make anyone feel special, even a 9 year old. I would pick either CG or Narcoosees as neither are stuffy, plenty of children dine at both, and the settings are special.

I agree with this. Jiko is also an option since my kids think it has the best kid's menu.

 

[Uncleromulus]

I agree w/ Pakey.

 

[Tricia1972]

I would say California Grill is the most 'kid friendly' and next would be Narcoossee's.

 

[gigi1313]

Cali Grill for sure!
and even if you get an early ADR, you can come back for the fireworks... we LOVED IT! (kids also loved killing time from the end of dinner 'til fireworks at the CR arcade... it's awesome! LOL!)

 

[Minnie824]

We just went to Narcoosees last week and loved it! One of our top 2 of the trip...the other being Chefs de France. We were there w/our DDs ages 7 and 4. The restaurant was very kid friendly and the staff was excellent. Food was great as well.

 

[pilferk]

Jiko's, IMHO.

It has the best kids menu. We're actually dining there in just a few days with our YOUNG kids. We wanted to introduce them to a more formal dining experience, and this is going to be their first "taste". It also happens to be one of our (DW and I) favorite places to eat at WDW.

We did an EARLY (opening) dinner, so we know the kids should be OK, and not exhausted, and we're less likely to disturb others if the kids get out of hand.

In addition, it's AT our hotel....so if they DO get out of hand, it's easy enough to remove them from the table and take them back to the room if we need to. While "to go" isn't high on my list of options.....if I have to eat Jiko's "to go", while DW and the remaining kid(s) enjoy their dinner, I'm OK with that.

 

[ScottJoseph]

California Grill is a great choice. So is Jiko (though I hope your niece is adventurous enough to eschew the kid's menu!).
The key is that you say your niece enjoys getting dressed up, which tells me she knows proper decorum for dining in a nice restaurant. So ultimately she'll be happy with any of these choices.
Be sure to let us know which one you chose and what she thought about it!
Scott
ScottJosephOrlando.com

 

[crisi]

How about Flying Fish? - decent kid's menu - the decor elegant and yet whimsical - the food excellent. And after dinner you can enjoy the Boardwalk entertainment.