Is Jiko ok for a 2 1/2 year old?

[missmun52]

I really want to go to Jiko but I dont want to take my DS if it would not be appropriate. He is well behaved in resturants but he likes to talk and laugh. He does not run around and does not cry.

What do you all think? Have you seen children there? Would it be ok maybe for an early dinner when maybe its not crowded?
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I posted this on the dining board but thought I might get better responces here.

 

[mcco5543]

First of all I must say I have never been to Jiko, but from what I've read and the pictures i've seen, there's no way IMHO would I take a young child to Jiko. It's a fancy upscale romantic, sophisticated place to dine.

 

[3boyzmom]

Hi,

We've taken our childen to Jiko twice. The first time, our youngest was about 2 1/2. Our children are also well behaved and quite used to dining out. I think Jiko has one of the best kid's menus around. I think you will have fun with your child at Jiko ... just dine early, as you suggested. The more adult crowd tends to dine later. Also, I found the CM's at Jiko really friendly and good with kids.

 

[DISNEYFOS]

Never been to Jiko but I agree with the previous poster. The romantic diners are usually after 7PM, there is a kids menu and its Disney World.

Enjoy yourself!!

 

[CocozMom]

We went in march with DD (3 1/2), DS (16mos) and DN (2 1/2). The kids loved it and the restaurant was very child friendly. The kids even got a little out of hand waitign for dessert. We just took them to walk around outside and they were very happpy. We did not feel like we were disturbing anyone's meal. Don't let the fancy atmosphere keep you away, Jikko was wonderful.
I agree with going early, we had ADR's for 5:30 and the restaurant was almost empty.
Have fun!!

 

[amarberry]

A lot of whether or not itn is appropriate depends on your child. We took DD to Jiko in March (she was about 2.5 yo) with no problems, but she is generally very good at restaurants. We also took her to California Grill when she was 14 months old with no problems.

In both instances, we ate early and were ready to remove her from the restaurant if she started acting up. I always bring snacks and tons of little restaurant friendly toys to keep her occupied. She is expected (and does) stay in her seat. If she was being loud or trying to run around, DH and I would have traded off taking her for a walk outside the restaurant.

 

[*KeepMovingForward*]

With the popularity of the dining plan, I'm sure you will see plenty of kids at Jiko. We have dined there with our two older kids and they hated it...but maybe the kids menu changed since we were there in October. (Side note, we loved it there). I kind of have to agree with mcco5543 that IMO it is geared more towards being the romantic/sophisticated adult type of place, but like I said, that is just my opinion. We take our kids to all the restaurants in Disney, but they did not like Jiko...maybe because it really lacks anything child friendly-other than having a kids menu. The kids liked the cool light fixtures, but that was about it. We have not taken our 2-year-old and I probably wouldn't anytime soon. If you really have your heart set on dining there, you should go. Trial and error...that's how we learned what does and does not work for us.

 

[homedad]

went to jiko with our 4 1/2 and 2 1/2 year old last trip, kids were great but I say the meal was almost 2 hours total.. only tip I'd give is get early dinner ressie after a late nap....enjoy

 

[james'mommy]

I'd say go for it. We took our DS when he was 3. The waiters were wonderful with children. My son is generally very well behaved at restaurants and is okay with extended dining experiences since we cruise alot. Jiko's mac and cheese is fantastic.

 

[Golden Rose]

We booked Jiko for the last night of our trip, so we'll have a fairly good feel by then how our son is behaving in nicer restaurants on vacation then. He is a little unpredictable in restuarants. We take him out a fair amount and sometimes he is a perfect angel and sometimes he wants to get down and explore the restuarant. He isn't precisely naughty, he just wants to wander around looking at things. We took him to San Antonio for a few days a couple of weeks ago and he was perfectly behaved three days out of four, but one day he missed his nap and his patience for sitting at the table was almost non-existant.

We'll definitely be prepared to slip out to the nearby pool or a up to viewing area at the first sign of trouble.

 

[missmun52]

Thank you all so much! I think that I will make a ressie for Jiko towards the end of our stay for the earliest seating. This way I can have an idea of how he will be. Last year we went to disney when he was 1 year 8 months and he was super great every where! No problems at all. when we went out people would comment on how great he was. Well he changes everyday and for the first time yesterday he decided he wanted to play under the table, but only for a little bit. He also decided that he had to shout at the baby who started to cry because the baby was too loud for his liking. Overall he was good though so we will see.

 

[*KeepMovingForward*]

He also decided that he had to shout at the baby who started to cry because the baby was too loud for his liking. Overall he was good though so we will see.

Sometimes I wish I could do that too, but I don't think I could get away with it as easily!