Parents' Night Out (WWYD?)

[ksoehrlein]

Our youngest is (finally) 4 years old, so we will be able to use one of the Kids' Clubs on our next trip. I'd like to go somewhere special, as we will be belatedly celebrating our 10th anniversary.

We will probably not be on DDP but we will be using DDE.

Which Kids' Club/Signature Dining combo would you recommend for a romantic dinner for us and a fun kids' night out for 7yo DD and 4yo DS?

 

[bzzymom]

I would use the kids club at Poly, and eat at Narcossee's at GF (to use their kids club you must stay there)

 

[budbeerlady]

We preferr to do Yachtsman with the Neverland club.

DD loves Neverland, we take the rail over to Epcot, walk thru it to Yachtclub, then slowly (your full so its very slowly) walk back, catch illuminations with an adult drink and take the rail back to claim your kids at the Poly.

 

[christinou]

I would use the kids club at Poly, and eat at Narcossee's at GF (to use their kids club you must stay there)

That is what we have done in the past and it was great, we have also done the Neverland Club and Victoria and Albert, and that is very nice. Enjoy your night out, that use to be my kids' favorite night of the vacation because it was THEIR night to go to a club.

 

[jakenjess]

We did the CG/Neverland Club combo on our last trip. We had a fantastic meal, and the kids had a blast. Win/win!!

 

[IMDORY]

We stayed at WL and sent DS to the Cub's Den and we went to AP. We just didn't feel like dealing with all the transportation...we wanted to be able to relax and enjoy the time we had together. Plus we love AP!

DS loved the Cub's Den and didn't want to leave when we came to pick him up!

 

[JESW]

Jiko's! It is our absolute favorite restaurant! We will miss being able to go alone when ds ages out of the child care when he turns 13 in November.

With the kids in Simba's Cubhouse you don't have to factor in a lot of travel time to get to Jiko's as it is just a couple minutes walk away.

Jill

 

[toddlerhouse]

Is there a fee for the kids clubs with these restaurants? What times are they open?

 

[kvogel11202]

Since my kids LOVE the SAndcastle Club at the BC we hit the YAchtsman, then stroll over to Jellyrolls for a drink and some tunes. It's a great night!

 

[ksoehrlein]

Is there a fee for the kids clubs with these restaurants? What times are they open?

I'm by no means an expert, but to try to answer your questions:

The clubs are actually affiliated with the resorts, not necessarily the restaurants. I just grouped them in the way that made sense based on their proximity to the restaurants we're considering. Simba's Cubhouse is at AKL, Sandcastle Club is at BC, Mouseketeer Club is at GF (and I thought you could use it if the parents were dining at GF, but in light of the posts above, I may be wrong), Never Land Club is at the Poly, and Cub's Den is at WL.

The minimum age is 4 (which explains why we've never used them before) and children must be potty trained.

According to AllEarsNet, they are open from 4:30 PM until midnight, "with some exceptions," and the fee is $10 per child per hour (but I thought I read it had gone up).

Thanks for the suggestions, everyone -- please keep 'em coming! I hadn't even thought about including Jellyrolls in our big night out before reading it here. That's a great idea!

 

[daisy112878]

We went last May and had our first experience at Citricos. It was awesome from the food, to the service, to the wine. We are definitely going back in Dec. My parents just got back from WDW and I made them go here too. They said it was the best meal they have had in Disney.

 

[La2kw]

When ours were that young, we would have dinner together at a quick serve place before dropping them off at the club, and then go ride those rides together that they were too small for. Either that, or head right back to the room for room service and alone time.

 

[ksoehrlein]

alone time.

Wink, wink, nudge, nudge! But what I'm after is more of a night out than a night in. (There's a bit of privacy in a 1-BR, if you catch my drift.)

The hands-down winner so far is the Cali Grill/Never Land combo. But DH and I are only amateur foodies, and I worry that the food there may be a little too adventurous for us. For example, he doesn't like sushi and although I enjoy it, I'm not comfortable ordering it without a more experienced dining companion to steer me toward the good stuff. Also, DH will balk if the portion sizes -- as they tend to be in more "gourmet" restaurants -- are tiny.

In light of these concerns, would those of you who voted for Cali Grill still recommend it for us? I see that the Never Land Club is popular; would you recommend we put the kids there but eat at another monorail hotel restaurant instead?

 

[jakenjess]

We're not very adventurous eaters, either, and we love CG. Last time we went we were on the dining plan and I had a flatbread for appetizer, the filet for entree, and caramel cheesecake for dessert. I was stuffed!! The portions aren't small. DH had scallops for beets for app., I think a lasagna dish for entree, and the banana dessert. I couldn't begin to eat it all. I think there's plenty of variety there for everyone.

 

[beaker]

We like Sandcastle and The Yachtmen or Flying Fish. The clubs are $11/hour and remember that DVC owners get a 10% discount. What are the ages of your children? Older children tend to like Neverland best. I think you and your husband would like CG and the serving size are not tiny.

 

[jcpuppy.com]

Our kids did WL and Poly and liked both

We went to Kona's and plan to do that again. We enjoyed it a lot. The fancier places don't appeal to us

 

[slk537]

I voted Sandcastle and Yachtsman - DH and I have done that twice now. I also agree that proximity to your room is nice for alone time

We've also done the Sandcastle with Le Cellier.

The Neverland Club is by far the biggest and most elaborate - both of your kids would love it!

 

[CampbellScot]

Artist Point is our favorite place to eat and my step kids LOVE love the Cub's Den. They like Neverland too, but prefer Cub's Den. It's smaller, there are less kids and more one on one attention from the really fun CM's they have there. My step daughter LOVES the arts and crafts. They would rather do Cub's den than any other "kids only" activity. They always ask for it when we go! We have a date for AP and the Cub's Den for our trip in August!!!

We aren't really foodies either...AP is great for that reason. It's great world class food, but it's not stuff like goat cheese ravioli with persimmon gelee (or whatever it might be) either! More like gourmet mac and cheese and pork chops!!! We like food we can recognize!!!

have a good time!!