Help decide dining with 1 year old

[justme0729]

We're going to Disney for Christmas with our 13 month old. We are looking for restaurants that would be entertaining to her but not necessarily overly loud/ overwhelming. Which character meals are not so loud that you can't have a conversation? (i.e. we went to BOG main dining room when she was 5 months and it was sooo loud). Some restaurants on our list now are:

• Chef Mickey's (A must do because she loves Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and we're staying on the monorail)
• California Grill (must do for us)
• Citricos (must do for us)

Thinking about...

• Epcot Day: Coral Reef, Space 220, Teppan Edo, or Garden Grill
• Animal Kingdom Day: Rainforest Cafe
• DHS Day: Brown Derby, Hollywood & Vine, or Topolino
• Artist Point Storybook Dining
• Ohana
• Room service (staying at GF)
• Other spots?

 

[igrsod]

I think Coral Reef is a nice option. The fish tank is mesmerizing.

 

[B-Ride]

Entertaining for a 13 month old? Surely this isn't a tall order.

 

[Tink9721]

Garden Grill tends to be pretty quiet for a character meal.

 

[Marthasor]

We're going to Disney for Christmas with our 13 month old. We are looking for restaurants that would be entertaining to her but not necessarily overly loud/ overwhelming. Which character meals are not so loud that you can't have a conversation? (i.e. we went to BOG main dining room when she was 5 months and it was sooo loud). Some restaurants on our list now are:

• Chef Mickey's (A must do because she loves Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and we're staying on the monorail)
• California Grill (must do for us)
• Citricos (must do for us)

Thinking about...

• Epcot Day: Coral Reef, Space 220, Teppan Edo, or Garden Grill
• Animal Kingdom Day: Rainforest Cafe
• DHS Day: Brown Derby, Hollywood & Vine, or Topolino
• Artist Point Storybook Dining
• Ohana
• Room service (staying at GF)
• Other spots?

None of the EP restaurants you list are loud. For better food, I would probably aim for Space 220. AK - I would avoid Rainforest Cafe - the food is mediocre at best and it can get pretty loud in there. Tusker House is good if you want a character meal, otherwise, perhaps try Yak & Yeti.

DHS - if you don't want to leave the park, I would do Brown Derby - very quiet and good food. Topolino's is fine, but I think the food at HBD is better.

 

[julie-o]

We LOVED the Garden Grill. Our little guy was 20 months. It was a huge hit. And not at all loud.

 

[Aimeedyan]

When mine was that age, dining out was HARD. He was a new walker and struggled with containment. We did very, very little table service but when we did, we hit character meals and family style meals. Family style because the food came almost immediately. Once I got him eating, we were okay for awhile. The lull between ordering and food was rough. Characters because it gave us something to look at, at least.

'Ohana (dinner can be loud), Topolino (breakfast - though we did dinner at that age, too, and the terrace was a great distraction!), Chef Mickey (breakfast), Whispering Canyon (skillets - but it's loud, which was a plus for us at that age ), Garden Grill were all fairly successful.

 

[Jfsag123]

We took our then-13 month old in June. His favorites were Biergarten (he loves music), Topolino's Terrace, and surprisingly 50s Primetime. There was a lot for him to look at there and he seemed to really like the food as well.

 

[sponica]

My favorite character meal is garden grill. I don't even know if they've resumed seating on the upper level, but the lower level is all booths, so you're not really disturbed by the other parties. It's family style, which I think is a bonus.

I found Ohana breakfast to be pretty loud in 2018, but it could have just been where we were seated.

 

[KrazeeK120]

Another vote here for Garden Grill. We took our son there at 18 months and he loved it. We were able to converse just fine and all 3 of us really liked the food!

In my experience, ‘Ohana dinner is loud. I’ve never been there for breakfast. Kona Cafe is quieter if you are looking to dine at the Poly.

 

[FSU Girl]

My daughter loves the character dining. Topolinos was her first one at 10 months. She also really liked space 220 the elevator really entertained her.

 

[Peaseblossom36]

I’ve not been to the one at Disney but Rainforest Cafe is VERY loud. There’s usually thunderstorm portion and that can be scary for little kids. I’d avoid it until they’re older.

If they still have the characters coming through on boats maybe Flame Tree BBQ? And grab a seat outside by the water. I know my toddler would love that.

 

[Jacq7414]

I would not recommend Space 220. I didn’t think it was worth the price.

At that age my daughter enjoyed the character meals. especially the ones with Mickey. I’d do garden grill on your Epcot day or even Topolino’s

 

[Lisa_lvspplmvr]

Crystal Palace will be back with characters and breakfast by then . It’s my kids favorite and they are 16 ! I would definitely recommend it .

 

[DizneyFamof4]

Crystal Palace, Garden Grill and we also really liked Tusker House at AK for character meals.

 

[Kerr84]

I know you didn't list it, but my daughter loved Biergarten at 15 months and 23 months. She loved watching the polka band.

Brown Derby has really went down in quality lately, so I would recommend a brunch at Topolino's on that day.

 

[ofcabbagesandkings]

Crystal Palace with the Pooh characters is so perfect for that age range. Garden Grill is quiet and the moving scenery (well really you're moving) keeps kids entertained. I also like that it's family style so no one has to stay with the child while the other goes to the buffet. Hollywood and Vine is our favorite Mickey and Friends buffet, the seasonal outfits are cute and the food has always been surprisingly decent. At Christmas, you can get a special picture with Goofy in his Santa outfit. That alone is worth the price of admission, it's too adorable.

One other option that you might not have considered is Sanaa for lunch when it's still light out - great food and animal watching out the windows, you can also take her outside to look at the animals.

 

[tinkerhon]

We LOVED the Garden Grill. Our little guy was 20 months. It was a huge hit. And not at all loud.

GG was our "go to" when my kids were younger !! They loved it, and the character interaction was best on property, IMHO.