List your top 5 restaurants for a toddler!

jacksmommy

Mouseketeer
Joined
Jan 19, 2008
Messages
218
We have booked our condo at WH and I am now looking into the eating aspect of our trip. We'll be there from September 28th-October 5th. We'll be going to MK, Epcot and AK. Please recommend your top 5 places to eat with a toddler - as far as menu options, atmosphere, appeal, etc.

We want to do a few character meals but not all character meals. Any type of establishment is good with us!

Could you include location as well for the restaurant? Thanks so much!
 
The highlights for us were the Hollywood and Dine Playhouse Disney Lunch, Chef Mickeys, Crystal Palace and Cinderellas Royal Table. Of course they are all character meals. As far as non character meals, she did enjoy Ohana. Loved doing the hula and marching around the restaurant. Of course I had to do it aswell.
 
My girls were 2.5 when we last went to WDW.

They loved O'hanas in the Poly for dinner and ate the regular food. (They are pretty adventurous eaters.) I know that CRT is very popular, but we had the Cinderella's Dinner at Park Faire and they were just as pleased.
We did Breakfast at PF one morning. (They love Mary Poppins)

For lunch one day, we did Columbia harbour house. Another day, we did Cosmic Ray's. Both girls enjoyed both. At Epcot we snacked around the world which was great fun for them to try all different kinds of things.

Snacks such as the Strawberry Swirl in Fantansyland (near Belle's Storytime) and the Dole Pineapple Whip were Huge favs for them.

My girls will be 5 when we go in May. We will do O'hana and the Park Faire breakfast again. New places will be Boma for dinner, Scifi for lunch, and Chef Mickey's for breakfast.

Enjoy!!
 
For lunch one day, we did Columbia harbour house. Another day, we did Cosmic Ray's. Both girls enjoyed both.

Enjoy!!

I forgot Cosmic Rays. As far as counter service goes, this was popular with my kids. Not for the food but they loved watching Sunny while they were there.
 

Chef Mickey's
Crystal Palace
Playhouse Disney breakfast @ Hollywood and Vine
Pizza Planet
Rainforest Cafe
 
My DD will be 5 when we go and we are planning on going to:

1900 Park Faire at Grand Floridian for dinner
Crystal Palace at MK for an early morning breakfast (before park opening)
Ohana at the Poly for breakfast with Lilo and Stitch
Sci Fi Theater
may try to do Rainforest Cafe (daughter would love the atmosphere)
 
Crystal Palace at the Magic Kingdom. It is hosted by Winnie the Pooh and friends and all the meals are great...breakfast, lunch or dinner. I personally like the breakfast the best.

Hollywood and Vine breakfast or lunch at Hollywood Studios. The meal features a few characters from Jo Jo's Circus and The Little Einsteins. (oops...I needed to pay more attention to your post. I see you are not planning to visit the studios.)
 
My kids are a bit older now, but, w/ toddlers, these would be my must-do character meals:

Chef Mickey's at the Contemporary (Mickey, Minnie, Donald, & Goofy) for breakfast or dinner - we prefer breakfast

Crystal Palace in the MK (Pooh & friends) - excellent buffet, we prefer lunch but lots of people love breakfast

1900 Park Fare at the Grand Floridian for dinner or Akershus in Norway at Epcot for breakfast/lunch/dinner or Cinderella's Royal Table in the MK for breakfast/lunch - Akershus & CRT will have a variety of the princesses while 1900 Park Fare (dinner only) will have the Cinderella characters

2 other character meals that we also enjoy are Garden Grill (lunch or dinner) in the Land at Epcot and Liberty Tree Tavern (dinner) in the MK.

Following are two non-character meals that we really like and that are kid-friendly with fun atmospheres:

Ohana at the Poly
Whispering Canyon Cafe at the Wilderness Lodge

The Coral Reef in the Living Seas at Epcot could also be fun for a toddler - getting to watch all the fish in the aquariums while you eat.

Boma at the Animal Kingdom Lodge has a great buffet w/ lots of variety - there are lots of offerings for children (chicken fingers, pasta, french fries, fruit, etc.) but coupled with lots of wonderful offerings for the adults as well - especially if you were interested in trying some different kinds of food. The buffet has selections for the more adventurous diners as well as for the not-as-adventurous diner. Plus, the Animal Kingdom Lodge is gorgeous - you can get there early, walk around, and look at the animals in the savannah. It's a great way to wrap up a day at the Animal Kingdom.

A good counter-service location is Restaurantasauras at the Animal Kingdom where kids can get McDonald's Happy Meals w/ special Animal Kingdom toys. We normally get our kids meals to go from Restaurantasauras & then get our meals at Flame Tree BBQ and eat there.

Have fun choosing!!
 
Here are some that we have really enjoyed with our little ones:

Donalds Breakfast at Tusker House @ AK
Sci-Fi @ HS
Rainforest Cafe @ DT or AK
Cape May Breakfast @ Beach Club
Whipsering Canyon Cafe (any meal) @ Wilderness Lodge
Crystal Palace Breakfast @ MK
Garden Grill @ Epcot
Trails End @ Fort Wilderness
 
Chef Mickey's at the Contemporary
Crystal Palace at Magic Kingdom
Whispering Canyon Cafe at the Wilderness lodge
Coral Reef at Epcot
Ohana at the Polynesian:banana:
My kids are 13 and 6, but they love these restaurants!
They are great for children of all ages! (and us fun loving adults too!:goodvibes )
 
Chef Mickey's at the Contemporary
Crystal Palace at Magic Kingdom
Whispering Canyon Cafe at the Wilderness lodge
Coral Reef at Epcot
Ohana at the Polynesian:banana:
My kids are 13 and 6, but they love these restaurants!
They are great for children of all ages! (and us fun loving adults too!:goodvibes )

How did I forget Chef Mickey's... It is great... We love it for breakfast.:thumbsup2
 
Thank you all so much for your suggestions. That helps me narrow it down a lot! There are so many fun places to eat so it will help me get more grounded on my planning for dining. Thanks again!
 












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