High Chair or Booster Seat?

[OnThisMagicNight]

We will be heading to WDW the end of this month and I'm trying to figure out what will be most comfortable for my son during meals. He turns 2 in a few days and is somewhere around 34 inches and 30 lbs (we have his 2 year check up before our trip, so I'll find out for sure how much he's grown since we last measured him in Jan.) At home, we still use a highchair and we also use the Fisher Price Healthy Care Booster for traveling, which works well. He does well in the standard wooden high chairs that most restaurants have, however my concern is regarding the newer darker wood chairs with the mickey cutout that WDW seems to be using in some restaurants (we did a resort only stay at AKL in June and those are the type of chairs they had there.) We have a tough time getting him in/out of those type of chairs now and I really think he's too big for them now. They are much smaller/narrower than the other type of wooden restaurant high chair. He's also never used a booster seat without straps though - I'm picturing him diving off, falling off the seat, etc.

What would you do? I don't really want to lug the FP Booster around, but I want us to enjoy our meals. He normally does very well in restaurants so long as he's comfortably contained. Are most restaurants using the mickey cutout highchairs now?

 

[angelmom27]

I dont know about the high chairs at the restaurants but there is a product out called a chair wrap. I forget the company and it basically becomes buckles for regular restaurant chairs. I can search for a link when i get home and share it with you. I think if you search wrap and tie you can find them. They are really nice and since its just material it will fit nicely in your bag.

 

[angelmom27]

I found the name its called a tie chair.

 

[puffkin]

We will be in a very similar situation as you on our June Trip. If we were able to sit in a booth (which very few restaurants have in WDW) I would be ok with a booster seat. But since most of the restaurants are tables, I think the high chair (even if it is a bit snug) is a better option. My DS is excellent at the table with eating and when contained, but can get a bit wild and distracted if he realizes he has more freedom.

 

[Nathansmommy]

DS is 2 and this was the first time we've ever used a booster seat at restaurants, he loved it! I was paranoid that he was going to fall, but he liked feeling tall lol

 

[Feberin]

I didn't realize there would be non-standard wooden high chairs there. We'll probably try to squeeze my daughter (she'll be 23 months and big for her age) into a high chair since she'll eat better contained.

 

[OnThisMagicNight]

I dont know about the high chairs at the restaurants but there is a product out called a chair wrap. I forget the company and it basically becomes buckles for regular restaurant chairs. I can search for a link when i get home and share it with you. I think if you search wrap and tie you can find them. They are really nice and since its just material it will fit nicely in your bag.

I found the name its called a tie chair.

Thanks, I've never seen that before! It's cute, but my son isn't quite tall enough to reach the table well if he's just sitting on the chair itself. (We tried this out last night and he knocked his bowl off the table twice by accident...) I wonder if I could use that in conjunction with a booster seat though...hmmm...

I didn't realize there would be non-standard wooden high chairs there. We'll probably try to squeeze my daughter (she'll be 23 months and big for her age) into a high chair since she'll eat better contained.

If you google "Disney World high chairs", the first link that comes up is to a post on the Disney Food Blog about the high chairs (sorry, I don't have enough posts to post the link directly yet.) You can see the mickey cutout chairs I'm talking about there.

Edited to add: http://www.disneyfoodblog.com/2011/10/20/disney-food-for-families-the-disney-high-chair-situation/

 

[Lilliputian]

I don't think you'll have a problem with the high chairs. The good thing about babies who are getting bigger is that they are also more and more able to work with you and put their feet and legs just right to get in and out of the chair. We were there a few months ago with a baby who's currently just about the exact size of your baby, and I don't remember thinking that he was about to outgrow the seats. His shoes may come off some of the time when you take him out, but that should be the only problem that you have. If he's used to sitting in a high chair, just stick with that.

 

[tourguide81]

I would not overanalyze it so much nor would I ever travel w/ my own booster seat like that. Way too much work/hassle. When you get to a restaurant you'll see which high chairs they have, if you think the chair is too small, get a booster. I've also switched from a chair to booster half way through a meal at a restaurant. They don't care, it's not a big deal at all. By 2 I wouldn't really worry about a booster, they should be fine.

 

[Nathansmommy]

DS turned 2 in January, disney was the first time we used a boost seat and he loved it! he's always hated the high chairs though, we've used boosters at restaurants now.