help with dining choices for 4 year old -

[peanut1967]

Hi
we are in the middle of adopting a little boy who is in our foster care, the most wonderful little boy you would ever meet ( yes I am bias), he will be 4 when we visit at present he is 3 and has some issues as you can imagine. His main problems are around meal times, not being able to sit down for long etc, I think he will be much better by the time we go, hes improved so much already, but its been a long time since I took a little one to WDW, my birth kids are 18 and 22 - so somewhat out of the loop - so looking for recomendations on where to eat, we are on ddp but dont mind paying if its a good choice.

thanks
Angie

 

[MSSANDRA]

If you think he will be ok with the characters, I would do a lot of buffet character meals. You can have food in front of him very quickly and the characters keep him entertained! Oh yes.. CONGRATULATIONS!!! Our "birth child" is 19 and we are raising a 4 year old too so I GET it!!!!

 

[disney*mom*82]

Congrats on the upcomming adoption!

My dd is almost 4, we have been to WDW 6 times and booked again in March. Some of her favorite places are the ones with characters of course. This is great as long as your child is not scared of the characters. If you are not sure how he will react, plan on having a back up plan. As for character meals, I reccomend:

Chef Mickeys (breakfast is our favorite)
1900 Park Fare ( we like dinner here-has Cinderella, Prince charming, and sisters)
Tusker House (breakfast has characters)
Ohana (breakfast has characters)

Our dd sits well so we dont have to worry about it, but she also enjoys Via Napoli at Epcot, they have the best pizza. She likes Raglan Road at DTD, it is so loud in there in the evenings from entertainment wouldnt matter if child fussed. Same thing with Planet Hollywood and Rainforest Cafe.

Hope some of this helps. GL and congrats!

 

[2binak]

Congratulations on your upcoming adoption! Friends of ours just adopted their foster son and they are all just over the moon about their new family!!! You're doing such a wonderful thing for that little boy!!!!

At meal time, you could using things like activity books, sticker books, flash cards or something like bendaroos to keep him in is seat and his attention focused on the table until the food comes. DD is 4 and does very well in resturants but we do give her things like this to keep her occupied until our food arrives.

This is just my opinion, but I would think that character meals might be too much for him if he's having trouble staying in his seat. He may see the characters and want to run over to them before they get to your table. Will he get upset if he can't get down and run over to them?

 

[BW0922]

Congrats!!

My little one was 2 so a bit younger but we definitely had the issue of sitting for length of time to deal with. What we found was that character meals were best. He loved not only interacting with them but even watching them across the restaurant. Also, he enjoyed the Coral Reef. Thinking about what your little one enjoys and plan accordingly would be my best suggestion. In particular, is there characters or shows he prefers over others. The breakfast/ lunch at Hollywood Studios was great because not only was there character interaction but every half an hour or so they do a parade and a dance in the restaurant where they encourage the kids to participate. Perhaps your son would enjoy this.

Good luck & have fun!

 

[Diegosmom]

No real advise at Disney (I havent been in 25 years) but my 4 year old has problems sitting still (we are getting much better) but a trick I have learned is to always figure out what DS wants before sitting down and as soon as we sit we order drinks and we try to order all food but at least DS food and we tell the server to bring ASAP. We also get DS a freeze drink (or milk shake) most of the time and that keeps him busy.

Once I was meeting up with a friend from out of town that I hadnt seen in over a year so I brought along DS's leapster. You could also bring a DVD player or itouch with head phones.

Also at home we tend to get take out a lot. doesnt help for your sitdown meals but perhaps do your TS for breakfast or lunch and then plan dinner from the QS at your resort and take it back to the room. Or if you plan on doing an afternoon break.

I have heard rainforest cafe and T-rex are fun for the kids but they dont take dining so that would be OP.

Oh another thing we do is sit down and order and then hit the bathroom and wash hands and I always take my time and let DS dilly dally there and back. By the time we get back drinks are always there and apps if we ordered them. We often take dessert to go.

Important to know your child and take cues from them. I can tell when my child is about at his melt down point. We have been out to dinner and not even received our food and I saw a melt down coming. Told our waitress to box up the food and not even to bring it out. DH took DS outside while I paid the bill and got the food and we went home and had a nice enjoyable dinner. And no one was upset or angry cause we got DS out before any problems occurred.

A big lesson I have learned over the last year or so is to know what my child can handle. Every child is different and I try not to set up my child to fail. Being able to change plans even when you have your heart set on something is important. We plan on going to Disney in Jan. One thing I really want to do is go to Ohana. I have it scheduled for the first night but know that might not work out. So I booked it again later in the week just in case and if that doesnt work either well I just wont make it. I would rather have happy kid (and mom and dad) then push DS to sit thru it and have it be miserable for everyone.

Good Luck.

 

[labdogs42]

The family style meals and buffetts are awesome for antsy kids. You can get them food right away which is great. Most of them have characters which help to keep the kids entertained. Also, most of the people in these restaurants also have young kids, so it isn't like oyu'll have the only 4 year old in the place that can't sit still!!

 

[seelyt2]

Congratulations!!! How exciting

I would try 1 character meal and base it on who he really likes (Pooh, Mickey, Chip n Dale, etc.) I agree to PP that b-fast might be a good option and bring lots to do (coloring books, stickers, autograph book, camera, etc.). You may be able to explain to the reservationist the issue at hand, if need be, and be seated where they come out first. Never done this, but it doesn't hurt to ask!

As far as other meals...I'd probably go with counter service meals. Menu's can be found on the Dis's main site (All Ears has a good listing, too) to make sure he'll eat what's being sold. Not sure if he's a fussy eater or not. We really liked the Flaming Tree BBQ in Animal Kingdom. There's a little terrace below to sit and eat, and the birds beg for food (I'm not condoning it!). It proved for some good entertainment for the kids.

Enjoy!

 

[4HppyCamprs]

Congrats on your adoption! How exciting and it is wonderful that your providing a child with a home and I hope you have a super fabulous trip to Disney!

I have a 6 year old and 2 1/2 year old and we will be making our third trip to Disney. I have to agree with all the others who said Buffett type meals mostly because if your child is up and standing or walking then people are not likely to notice anything. If your child is up and moving at a sit down restaurant more people are likely to be disturbed. That said my children have been to lots of restaurants throughout their lives and sit pretty well for their ages. They have learned how to behave through experience Disney is all about family though except for a few restaurants so most people will be understanding I think (I HOPE!)

Happy Vacation and congrats again!!!

 

[Camshell]

We've adopted too. I understand the issues you are speaking of.

Our child did get overstimulated at Disney which as you know can cause stress and behaviour issues and some difficulty at meal times. Mostly in the fact that routines are very important for you and the lack of routines, foods, etc. can shake things up quite a bit.

I would make sure to have good snacks on hand throughout the day and feed on demand or encourage him to have small snacks throughout the day. He may not be able to sit and eat a good meal at meal time. He may only eat a small portion.

Also try and make sure you have a routine that you go over with him in advance about how meals and taking in food will work. It will cause him less stress and anxiety if he has some game plan ahead of time. Give him some warning that meal time is coming up.

We also had to cut back on the sugary treats. Our child does eat this on a regular basis at home, but seemed to want them every day at Disney. This tended to cause her issues to be 10x worse than they already were. We learned after a few days to limit them to make our day go a little more smooth.

 

[Mama Who]

Buffets and counter service. Tag team parenting is your best bet. Take turns taking him to the buffet while the other eats. Go for more trips with smaller portions so he has more up and around time and less sitting still.

 

[peanut1967]

Thankyou for all the kind words and good ideas. I have been thinking that we would do a lot of character buffets the first week ( we are there 21 nights) and then once he gets used to eating out every night maybe try some others places. I was thinking of Mickeys Backyard BBQ but think it may be a bit too chaotic for him.

Its a year away and I have started making lists of where we want to eat but nothing will be set in stone.

thanks once again
Angie

 

[dhardawa]

I agree with the others, counter service and buffets will be your best bet. Many of the character meals have times where the kids parade around the restaurant and things like that too so they get to get up and move during the meal. That helps a lot. Also, make sure he gets plenty of rest. Being overtired tends to wind kids up and make it hard for them to sit still.

Congratulations on the adoption. My son is four now and was adopted from foster care too. How long has he been with you? Foster care adoption certainly has a special place in my heart.

 

[peanut1967]

I agree with the others, counter service and buffets will be your best bet. Many of the character meals have times where the kids parade around the restaurant and things like that too so they get to get up and move during the meal. That helps a lot. Also, make sure he gets plenty of rest. Being overtired tends to wind kids up and make it hard for them to sit still.

Congratulations on the adoption. My son is four now and was adopted from foster care too. How long has he been with you? Foster care adoption certainly has a special place in my heart.

Thankyou -

He came to us when he was 10 months old, then went back to Mum at 18 months, but we kept in contact and spent xmas and birthdays with him and took both him and his mum out often, but it fell apart middle of this year and he was brought back to us, and thats where we are up to, the adoption will take approx a year but he is with us. We are still continuing to Foster and in all honesty we never thought we would adopt but he is so very special, hard work "lol" but so worth it. Like I said in the original post our two birth children are 18 and 22 years - Christmas will be fun this year I do believe that father christmas will be visiting.

On the resting we will be going back to the resort every day around 2 ish, at the moment he is still having a 2 hour afternoon nap and he is 3 and half, so by then he will have started school so will have stopped them by then but if he wont need one...I will lol.

Angie

 

[Darcy03231]

I took my niece to WDW when she was four and I found the buffet/character meals were great for her. Since it was her first (and most likely only) trip I tried to get most of them in. We did:

Chef Mickeys (Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Pluto, Goofy) - Dinner
Crystal Palace (Pooh, Tigger, Piglet & Eyeore) - Dinner
O'Hana (Lilo, Stitch, Mickey & Pluto) - Breakfast
1900 Park Fare (Mary Poppins, Alice in Wonderland, Mad Hatter, Pooh, Tigger) - breakfast
1900 Park Fare (Cinderella, Prince Charming, Step-Mother & Step-Sisters) - dinner
Akershaus (Belle, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Jasmine & Mulan) - Breakfast

Other places that have characters are: Garden Grill, Tusker House, Cape May Cafe (breakfast only I believe), Hollywood & Vine, and Cinderella's Royal Table (in the castle in Magic Kingdom).

 

[JDUB]

Everyone has some great one listed above. I would also add Hollywood & Vine for lunch (Little Einsteins, Oso, and Handy Manny). It seemed every 15 min a CM would have the kids up and dancing with one of the characters. Plus the buffet had the best selections and desserts were great!
Have fun planning your trip!! I'm jealous for your 21 days...

 

[mlacreta]

Hello! I have 5 kids..we go to Disney every 3 years and have had kids with us there at just about every age and attention span!!! I agree with the previous posters about the charecter buffets. IF you are sure your son will be ok with the charecters. Perhaps a test at a local park would be good if you aren't sure? Our last trip we did end up having to cancle all our charecter meals after the first one consisted of our youngest crying the whole time! Luckily there was no penalty for any of cancelations. The first trip we did a charecter meal every day. My favorites were Crystal Palace in MK, Hollywood and Vine at HS, Chef Mickey at the Contemporary, and we also did one in AK that unfortunately isn't there anymore. The buffets are great since your child can eat at their own pace and take a break to have fun with the charecters. Most of our Charecter meals we did at lunch. They are slightly less expensive and it is safer as far as the possibility of a tired, irritable, kid later in the day! Another option you might look into is at AK..they had "picnic in the park" when we went last. You got a meal in a little tote and could go sit where ever you liked. Sounds like you have similar plans as far as staying for a while so you can enjoy all the parks at your pace. You will have a great time! Dining does book up fast though so I recommend checking cancelation policies and booking all possible sit down dining well in advance. You can always cancle when it gets closer if you find that won't work for your little guy. ALSO....I don't recommend booking lunch AND dinner as a sit down. Kids (well some kids) may not want to have their fun interrupted by planned meals. We did that acouple times and found it was much too much work trying to plan rides around 2 meal times. It took so much out of your day. With a younger child and an extended stay I would recommend against park hopping as well. younger kids tend to want to do, do, do and don't care for the transit time in between parks. Unless of corse you plan to do naps mid day. but since you are taking alonger trip it is a cost you could save on! Have a great trip and congrats!

 

[melifeld]

Hi. My husband and I like to eat in restaurants, and we like to take our 4 year old DS with us, so we have become experts at this.

And before anyone chastizes me for this, please note that we are a family that limits our son's computer and screen time. We are actually quite strict with him when it comes to this.

We do the following for 2 reasons:

1. We have respect for the people dining around us and believe in their right to a having their meal without a rambunctious 4 year old boy running in circles around their table.

2. We like to enjoy the meals for which we are spending our hard earned cash!

Question: Do you have a smart phone? A smart phone is a little miracle when it comes to dining in restaurants with our son. I have an Android phone, but an iPhone, Blackberry, or just about any smart phone will work. We have downloaded several age appropriate games for our son to play on the phone while we are in restaurants. We also have the YouTube app on the phone. This means our DS can watch any of the kid's shows that are on YouTube: Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Little Einsteins, Phineas and Ferb episodes are all on YouTube. And there are many many others as well. So if you have a smart phone, this is a great way to go because it has multiple options for the child and is extremely portable.

We normally start with the crayons and activity page provided at the restaurant, if there is one. We don't normally get the phone out until after he is finished eating, which is ALWAYS before we are finished.

This has worked for us in all kinds of sit down restaurants. We have had meals on cruises in the formal dining room (about 1 1/2 - 2 hours long) with our small child happily sitting next to us. This little device lets us eat where ever we like with our child in tow. And everyone remarks at how well behaved and polite our child is in restaurants. The main point is that it keeps him happy and when he is happy he is well behaved. I have even had older couples remark to us that they wish they'd had something like this when their kids were young, so they could have gone out to eat more often with their children.

At Disney, our son also loves the character meals and the buffets there make it easy to get food quickly and keep him entertained. But if you want to try a sit down meal without characters, I highly recommend the use of a smart phone!!

Good luck.

 

[kohlby]

While on vacation, I don't feel up to the challenge of doing sit-down dinners at most restaurants with my kids. We've done three trips so far with kids and there's always been a 3 year old in the mix. There will be a 2 year old on our next trip. Both of my boys have sensory quirks and I've found that sitting outside is much, much easier than sitting inside. We stick to counter service or buffets. We did not do any character meals since my kids really aren't into characters and I didn't want to spend the extra money for it.

 

[2binak]

Everyone has some great one listed above. I would also add Hollywood & Vine for lunch (Little Einsteins, Oso, and Handy Manny). It seemed every 15 min a CM would have the kids up and dancing with one of the characters. Plus the buffet had the best selections and desserts were great!
Have fun planning your trip!! I'm jealous for your 21 days...

Is this character breakfast new? I don't recall seeing this one before.