How do you feel about small kids at some of the nicer restaurants?

[ogreenlee]

We have two character meals set up as of right now: CP and CRT YAY!

Anyway, I JUST NOW added an extra night to our three day to make it four day. I had no idea that it would only cost an extra $129 to do so for the entire family of three!! How 'bout that???? I'm so clueless sometimes. I can't believe I got an extra night booked with three more park tickets for so little. Made my day. I'm so excited.

Now I need to rearrange some of my reservations, I think. I, however, will not be canceling our reservation at 8:30 with Le Cellier, but now I can make sure my daughter is well rested for that dinner instead of cramming in another full day before we eat so late. I was worried about that one b/c it was such a late reservation, but the only one I could get.

 

[The Sweetness]

WDW is a family resort. People who want a *kid-free zone* should seek elsewhere. Ofcourse, we all try to keep our little **angels** as calm and content as possible in restaurants (even CS, IMO, Its just not safe or appropriate to let shorties run around like wild animals in a restaurant, and any place where people are trying to eat, I always try to keep my diapered darling as peacefull as possible

 

[asmarykay]

I'm sure they wouldn't at home, so why would they in a restaurant?

As a substitute teacher I learned to stop asking children if they would use this same behavior at home - because too often the answer was yes!

I agree with the majority of posters - WDW means kids and they should be welcome anywhere. That being said - parents should make them behave - this should carry over to other areas also - not just restraunts.

 

[Christine]

I've seen folks with kids who sit patiently and wait. It's unbelievable. I'd pay top dollar to get a lesson on how the parents managed that.

Hey, I hear you and don't feel alone. I had a child who was like that for a few years. He just HATED being in restaurants. He couldn't keep still, wouldn't stop moving, basically a real pain. I pride myself on being a good disciplinarian but he just couldn't deal. We finally stopped trying with him and didn't take him back out until he was about 6 years old.

I always envied those really calm kids too!

FWIW, my "bad diner" is now a very nice, well-behaved 12 year old boy who enjoys the Grand Floridian Tea, so there is hope!

 

[tanyaandallie]

That's why I ask. I worked in restaurants for the better part of my twenties. Kids running around was my pet peeve. I always said that I'd never let my kid act like that.

Well, here I am with a 4 year old, and while I'd never ignore her as she ran around, it's a lot harder than I ever expected to make her behave the way I want her to behave. Some days while dining.... a perfect angel. Some days...

She's unpredictable, but I'm always prepared to walk out.


I've seen folks with kids who sit patiently and wait. It's unbelievable. I'd pay top dollar to get a lesson on how the parents managed that.

Ha! Ha!!! It's all those comments coming back to get you!!! I said the exact same thing when I was in my 20's. Then I had kids. They are unpredictable. All you can do is be prepared and hope for the best!!

 

[BCV23]

But you can practice. Make the rules the same everywhere. If your child gets up from the table at home, McDonalds, or California Grill,the meal is over for that child. Kids learn fast.

Good luck, ogreenlee!

 

[surfergrl31]

We plan on doing Citrco's (sp?) this time around so I had the same questions you did. I'm trying to make our ADR early so they won't be starving when they get there. That being said my dh and I take the kids out when we are at home and usually have no problem. Kids are unpredictable, but taking the proper steps there should be no problem with them being at the meal. After all it is disney world and you would think that kids should be welcome anywhere!

I agree that some parents just let their kids run wild case in point our trip to Coral Reef. We were seated by the glass and kids were coming up to look at the sea turtle that was sleeping. I had no problem with them looking, but their parents let them stay there for 30 min (est.). When one comes the rest of the party let the others come so they were bumping my chair and elbows. Finally I turned and looked at the parents like "What are you thinking?" They finally brought the kids back to their table. A simple "Can we look at the fish" would have been nice or even a 10 min rule, but that was just too much.

On the other hand I've been at resturants where my children and our other parties children were behaving very well, but we were treated snotty by our waiter because I guess there is not normally children there. I think that is ridiculous they are just little people and they should learn how to act now.

Sorry for being long winded, but I say take your kids and enjoy yourself. The old saying goes plan for the worst, but hope for the best. I'm sure you will be just fine.

 

[TDC Nala]

Not Victoria and Albert's nice, but for some of the places in Epcot?

Does it come with the territory being that you're at Disney?

I try not to go to nice places with my 4 year old b/c she's so unpredictable. I know that some folks can't even stand being in a restaurant with kids. However, I don't feel sorry for folks who get annoyed with kids in restaurants like Carrabas or something like that. If there's a kid's menu, then kids are welcome, imo.

We have reservations at Le Cellier. Can I expect to see the restaurant full of kids? I'm taking mine and my friends are taking theirs. I've never been, so I don't know what to expect.

We usually do buffets or whatever.

Fine as long as it isn't Victoria & Albert's. I personally don't agree with parents allowing kids to run around the restaurant or throw food or scream (not cry, but scream) incessantly. But someone's pretty much always going to be doing these things at Disney.

 

[LilGMom]

I have no problem with kids in nice upscale restaurants as long as they understand, or rather are made to understand, that it is not McD's and not romper-room. If a child gets unruley a parent needs to remove that child from the area so other patrons don't have to listen to it. We have done that and while it might interrupt our meal, I would rather do that than disturb everyone around me.

 

[lustergirl]

 

[Lynne M]

I think it's fair to say that well-behaved children are welcome in just about any restaurant. The reverse is also true - badly behaved children are going to be unwelcome in any restaurant.

It doesn't bother me at all to see children in expensive restaurants. So long as they're sitting in their seats and not invading my table, and they aren't significantly louder than the general noise level of the restaurant. The only thing that bothers me is when a child is screaming/crying for an extended period of time, or running around, and the parents do nothing about it.

I think that it's a risk you take as a parent, when you take a very young child out to dinner......you may have to take them out of the restaurant for awhile. You may have to give up and leave altogether. If you're not willing to do that, then you don't need to be taking the kid to a nice restaurant.

I mentioned the noise level... I think the wise parents take their 'iffy' kids to the noisier places. Heck, at a place like Chef Mickey's, noise is expected. If a little one is yowling, who's even going to notice? At WCC, the servers are louder than most of the kids are. Those sorts of places are great for little ones, no one's going to care if your kids are a little noisy.

A place like Bistro de Paris, or Citricos, or the GF afternoon tea.....if you've got a noisy kid in those intimate, quiet places, it's going to stick out like a sore thumb, and you'll have the full attention of everyone in the restaurant.

 

[PlutoLuvr]

I have no trouble at all with little ones in restaurants. I mean, if a child is having a meltdown anywhere, I'd hope the parent(s) does their best to remedy it.

One of our most memorable experiences at Jiko involved a young boy at the table next to ours. He was between the age of 4 to 7. He wasn't loud at all, but we did hear him, just as we would have slightly overheard anyone sitting next to us. He was well-behaved and used his indoor voice. I have never, ever heard or seen anyone enjoy macaroni and cheese so much (Jiko's mac & cheese is very different). DH & I were trying so hard not to laugh too loud, but even our server found the boy adorable and so very funny.

DH & I don't have kids, BTW, but we enjoy them very much

Little kids should be able to enjoy as much as us big kids do -- as long as we're all well-behaved

 

[Lewisc]

For the benefit of people with kids who want to know what restaurants to avoid and for guests who want to patronize restaurants less likely to have kids:

1) Bistro de Paris (EPCOT) discourages kids by not having a kids menu. It's not clear if they offer high chairs.

2) Shula's (Dolphin) doesn't off a kids menu and has a $10 plate sharing charge. Shula's and bluezoo will reimburse you if put your kids in the kids club.

3) V&A discourages kids, no kids menu.

Other then that small kids are welcome. Parents should know their kids. Use common sense. Don't make a reservation 2 hours past your kids normal bed time because that's the only ADR you could get at Le Cellier's.

 

[Colleen27]

Not Victoria and Albert's nice, but for some of the places in Epcot?

Does it come with the territory being that you're at Disney?

I try not to go to nice places with my 4 year old b/c she's so unpredictable. I know that some folks can't even stand being in a restaurant with kids. However, I don't feel sorry for folks who get annoyed with kids in restaurants like Carrabas or something like that. If there's a kid's menu, then kids are welcome, imo.

We have reservations at Le Cellier. Can I expect to see the restaurant full of kids? I'm taking mine and my friends are taking theirs. I've never been, so I don't know what to expect.

We usually do buffets or whatever.

I think at Le Cellier (and any other restaurant in the parks), you'd see loads of kids. Probably fewer at the signature restaurants in the resorts, but I assume there will still be some. At least there will be when we go - we're doing Narcoossees and maybe Cali Grill on our next trip.

We've gone out to a lot of very nice restaurants with our children, even when they were very small, and I always get annoyed with the people who assume that kids cannot behave in a restaurant. Between personality, parenting, and experience, my kids have learned acceptable restaurant behaviour and enjoy a nice meal. It was something that was high on my list of parenting priorities after growing up with a brother who was the stereotypical kid - couldn't sit through a nice dinner and wouldn't eat unless chicken nuggets were on the menu. And I am very proud of my kids, both in terms of behaviour/manners and willingness to try & enjoy more exotic foods. DD5 is a seafood nut, and DS9 is my little sushi buddy!

 

[ogreenlee]

My DD is a really picky eater, to boot.

However, we never go to places like McD's because she doesn't like anything besides french fries at those places. I'm kind of thankful for that.

I've developed a monster, though. I got in the habit of taking snack foods into restaurants just in case she didn't like what she was served, and she could sit there and eat the junk that I brought just to keep her quiet and occupied. That was a mistake b/c she kind of expects it, even though I stopped doing that awhile back.

She's usually pretty good in Mexican restaurants because she loves chips and cheese, and quesadillas.

She controls me with her food choices. I know she does it. She even gives me 'eat dirt' looks as she pushes anything I try to give her away.

Is there a secret to moving past the pickiness? She'd rather skip dinner than to try something new. She won't even put the fork to her mouth and take one bite. She went thru a phase of spitting out something she didn't "want" to like after chewing it up. We did stop going to restaurants during this phase.

 

[raidermatt]

Is there a secret to moving past the pickiness?

I don't think so. My daughter(2) is pretty picky. We don't make her eat anything she doesn't like, but we do make her try new things. We do this by either not letting her have something else until she tries the new thing, or if necessary with timeouts until she tries the new thing. Sometimes she ends up liking the new thing, sometimes not. If not, we don't make her eat anymore of it.

For restaurants though, we do bring snacks and we either order something we know she already likes, or give her the snacks.

As far as Disney resataurants go, yes, kids come with the territory. If its a quiet place and one of ours is having trouble, we will take them outside until they settle down, but its usually not a problem.

As far as other kids go, no biggie. As long as they aren't running around biting ankles I'm not going to let it bother me.

Le Cellier is nice, but it's still a theme park restaurant. There will be plenty of kids.

1) Bistro de Paris (EPCOT) discourages kids by not having a kids menu. It's not clear if they offer high chairs.

2) Shula's (Dolphin) doesn't off a kids menu and has a $10 plate sharing charge. Shula's and bluezoo will reimburse you if put your kids in the kids club.

3) V&A discourages kids, no kids menu.

Bistro does offer high chairs, or at least they did a few years ago. We didn't need one but they did ask. We went there when my son was 4 and they treated him and us very well. They even gave him some crayons and a menu or something to draw on. Don't remember if they already had it or if they got it from downstairs.

It wouldn't be a good place for a meltdown, but its fine for reasonably well-behaved kids.

Shula's is fine as well. We've been there several times with my son and daughter, with my daughter being as young as 16 months. They have not charged us the $10 fee when we didn't order anything for them, but we did order appetizers so maybe that's why. The staff here has also been nothing but nice and accomodating to us and the children.

Its not as quiet as Bistro, so some noise is fine, but a complete meltdown or prolonged crying would require some quiet time outside.


Haven't been to V&A so can't comment there.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Kids being kids, even in the fancier places, no problem. Kids getting away with being brats because their parents are over-indulgent, or ignore them, or think they're "cute" when they play basketball with the next table's bread or (as reported above) run around getting under the servers' feet? Nuh uh.

 

[want2bamommy]

Not Victoria and Albert's nice, but for some of the places in Epcot?

Does it come with the territory being that you're at Disney?

I try not to go to nice places with my 4 year old b/c she's so unpredictable. I know that some folks can't even stand being in a restaurant with kids. However, I don't feel sorry for folks who get annoyed with kids in restaurants like Carrabas or something like that. If there's a kid's menu, then kids are welcome, imo.

We have reservations at Le Cellier. Can I expect to see the restaurant full of kids? I'm taking mine and my friends are taking theirs. I've never been, so I don't know what to expect.

We usually do buffets or whatever.

As just about everyone else said I have no problem with children in ANY of the restaurants as long as they aren't horribly acting out with no response from the parents. Keep the ressies and have a great dinner!

Missie

 

[momstable]

I'd add to the previous posts...

I have 2 DS 13&9. Both are picky eaters. The older has sensory issues, so we know why he is the way he is. The younger does just about everything that his brother does, because he idolized his big brother. The real problem is DH is ALSO picky. So, no, they don't outgrow it.

What we are doing is pre-screening the menus on line. Everyone will more than likely have a good idea what they are ordering before we even step foot into the food establishments. Well, except for me. But I'll have it narrowed down to 3 or 4, tops 5, choices. If we think that there isn't a good choice for one child or the other, we will feed that one a snack before we get there. DH is on his own on that one.

If the children are hungry and are planning on eating food at the resturaunt, ask for bread or crackers early on. And for their meals to be brought out as soon as they are ready, not to wait for maybe fancier adult meals. We bring small toys, such as lego kits - in a sealable container - to keep the boys amused if they finish before the adults. Or often DH takes the kids outside while I finish up and pay the bill.

Good luck and enjoy your meals

Mer

 

[Forevryoung]

I don't have a problem with quiet kids either

I do have a problem with this one:
We were out to eat at a nicer restaurant with a ton of outdoor seating on the water (not in Disney). We had an 8:45pm dinner reservation, beautiful night to sit outside. Two parents and a young (2 or 3 year old) child were next to us and the little one was already crabby. So when the kid finally started to really howl, the dad took him closer to the water. That wouldn't have been a problem except it was a few steps away from the restaurant and we were sitting outside!!! Even though the kid no longer had to sit, he still screamed and cried until the mother finished eating, switched with the dad, he ate and then they left

We were so glad when they left to say the least. They should have packed up their food and left. Why make an 8pm dinner reservation with a toddler??