Restaurants for a fidgity 2yr old????

[emsip]

What restaurant would you recommend for a 2yr old that won't sit at a table for verly long?

When went to WDW last year, my then 1yr DS would sit at the table for a maximum of 30 minutes before wanting to roam around. We had my inlaws with us so we would take turns walking around with him while the others ate. For this year's trip it will just be me, DW and DS.

Last year we went to:

Crystal Palace - breakfast
Chef Mickey's - breakfast
Ohana - dinner (DS sat for the appetizers then wanted out by the time the meats came around)
Whispering Canyon - lunch

 

[cinmell]

Anything with characters worked for our daughter. We also brought crayons and coloring books. She also loved using her stickers, she went thru so many of them. We brought disposable placemats and she stuck the stickers on those.

The character meals were great with her b/c she would watch the characters and didn't want to move b/c she was afraid she would miss them when they came by.

 

[jwfla422]

Your choices previously were good ones because I would recommend any of the character buffets since they're pretty lively.

I'd still recommend:
CM-breakfast or dinner
O'Hana-try breakfast, similar to dinner but they have characters, they parade with the kids around the restaurant with marraccas (my spelling is terrible sorry), it's fun
CP-definitely any meal there (and it's good)
Also:
Cape May Cafe-character breakfast
WCC- dinner is good too, even more rootin' tootin' fun, when he gets antsy (if you haven't already), take him to that lincoln log table
AK's Donald's Breakfastosaurus-another character buffet
AK Tusker House-really good counter service, you can sit outside and he can run around a bit or watch the show they put on right by the porch area

They're all pretty lively meals so he should pretty much blend if he needs to get up and walk around the table...

 

[sleepydog25]

I hesitate to recommend Coral Reef for a few reasons, but it's still a place you might consider. My wife, young daughter, and I really enjoyed it last year; we managed to snag a table right by the tank so that kept our daughter quite enthralled. Further, our server was excellent and engaged our daughter in conversation, brought her two sauces on the side when she couldn't decide which one to go with her pasta, and made all of us feel special. The ambience, though very nice, is still fairly noisy, so having a restless child wouldn't seem out of line.

All that being said, some find the prices too high (though not inexpensive, neither does CR break the bank. . .it's comparable to any nice restaurant in a major city), the portions too small (we're average eaters and found the portions filling), and the service lacking (see my comments above). Finally, there is no guarantee that you can get a table tank side, though if you show up early for your ADR it increases your chances as long as you don't mind waiting a bit. At any rate, it's worth considering depending on what you enjoy eating and the experiences you like to have as a family.

 

[Bird-Mom]

Both of my dds love the Rainforest Cafe. They are just turned 4 and 21 months. We have an RFC near us-we probably go every 6 weeks or so because it is the only place that we can actually concentrate on eating instead of entertaining! That said, I have read that some children are afraid of the "thunderstorms," so YMMV.

 

[Selket]

Biergarten in Epcot was (and still is) very entertaining for our kids. I remember that when he was 20 months old he enjoyed this one the most. The place is lively on the inside and they have a German band that plays for dinner. He absolutely loved the band. You can also take your daughter out on the dance floor and dance with her there - lots of the kids get up and dance when the band comes on. This is one of our favorite restaurants at WDW.

 

[Maribel]

I just came back from a weekend trip with my 27 months dauther that is exactly like your son. She would fight me just to get inside the high chair because she knows once she is in there, she will not be able to get out and run around.
I found that getting a booth kind of table helps her at least to be outside the high chair, but still be able to move a little.
In any case, in this last trip, the character dinner worked wonders. I would recommend the ones were you have the food brought to the table instead of the buffet ones. For once, if your child sees you standing up from the table, he might just want to follow you.
Keeping the child entertained is always the other matter. We use either crayons, books, toys, or even pictures. She was very entertained watching the pictures we just took of her with the characters during our dinner at Liberty Tree Tavern.

 

[Uncleromulus]

Some good suggestions already--that fish tank at the Coral Reef can be mighty entertaining to kids. But so can the animated animals at Rainforest.

 

[eeyoreiscool]

DS is terrified of Rainforest Cafe. He doesn't like thunder so that eliminates that restaurant really quickly. Doesn't matter that there are fish or animals around, the thunder turns him off immediately. We have taken him to almost every other restaurant and he hasn't had a problem in any of them. The servers are aware of him and make sure we don't have to wait too long.

 

[chilerobin]

We're taking our very active 2-yr-old in late May/early June.

One of the places we're booking is San Angel Inn inside Mexico at Epcot. Why? Because it's right beside the River of Time boat ride attraction. My DW and I will take turns taking him on the ride while we wait for our food to arrive. We did this with my niece a few years ago and it worked well.

 

[emsip]

In any case, in this last trip, the character dinner worked wonders. I would recommend the ones were you have the food brought to the table instead of the buffet ones. For once, if your child sees you standing up from the table, he might just want to follow you.
.

Which buffets bring the food to your table?
We are thinking of trying out the Cape May clam bake. Are their buffet lines very long? I am worried that DS will get tired of waiting for me to come back with the food.

 

[Minnesota!]

Just marking my place - I am in the same situation. My very active DS will be 23 months at trip time. Already fretting about keeping him occupied while waiting for food, etc.

I love the suggestion of the River of Time ride.

 

[golden1]

I also have an active 1 year old who will probably be an active 2 year old so I am interested in the responses on this thread. I am thinking of bringing him to Breakfastosaurus on the day we hit AK and maybe Crystal Palace at MK. I figure we'll be doing a lot of walking with him. I like the idea of eating mexico and taking him on the ride there.

 

[ms.ojo]

We've traveled w/ ds 2.5, ds 4 and dd1, ds 5.5 and dd 2.5....and ds6 and dd3 so lots of experience w/ young children at Disney and dining. Our favorites:

MGM Pizza Planet. Very quick and good pizza. We also like booking the FDP at H&V. Buffets are nice as the food is readily available...but you do need to take turns getting food...or bring your young one up through the line w/ you. Oh, we also enjoy the Sci Fi Drive in for the ambiance. It def helps soothe a young over stimulated child and is very relaxing. but the waitresses can be terrible, and so can the food if you don't stick w/ the basics like burgers and fries w/ shakes.

MK Our fav is Crystal Palace for a late b'fast or early lunch. It's SO nice to have a place to sit down and relax after a morning at MK. It is the park of most interest to young children and you really feel refreshed after a sitdown meal in the A/C. Again, buffet style and you get the added bonus of pooh and friends!!! Have also found Cosmic Rays good w/ young children. Varied menu, good food, and entertainment!

AK I guess at AK you already have good suggestions. Personally we like Flametree BBQ.

Epcot Coral Reef was great but we went at lunch...early...also had an outstanding waitress and were right next to the tank. The luncheon specials can't be beat...and the mac and cheese for kids was a huge hit! Germany was too loud for our DD...but both kids LOVED Mexico's Rio de tempo. We lucked out w/ a table right by the water and volcano. The 2 children shared some sort of cheese quesadia....and dh and I commented it was the most relaxing and romantic dinner we had all trip. Food was wonderful and so was the ambiance.

We have had TERRIBLE luck at O'Hana's for b'fast. bad svc, bad food.

Chef Mickey's is another great choice for a char meal. Dinner is really good and a nice way to start vacation

The Clam Bake at the Y&B club was just OK. The "steamers" are little necks, not steamers. The chili was very good and everything else was adequate....not super...but adequate.

That's our take....

 

[jwfla422]

Which buffets bring the food to your table?
We are thinking of trying out the Cape May clam bake. Are their buffet lines very long? I am worried that DS will get tired of waiting for me to come back with the food.

O'Hana's, LTT and GG in Epcot bring out the food to you (for dinner).

Our last experience at Cape May's dinner in December was not a good one, it was just my 7 yr old dd and myself. We were sat around 7:30 and the place was a madhouse, the buffet lines were not only long but they were out of a lot of stuff, pretty much everything my dd ate which was kinda tough because she gets to be like a lion when she is hungry.

The salad bar was majorily picked over and it took a good 1/2 hour until things started getting stocked up again. By the time they finally got fresh stuff out we had made about 4-5 trips back and forth to the buffet to keep checking on what was brought out.

We were pretty disappointed because it seemed like a lot of "work" to eat dinner. We felt like we spent more time in line than sitting and eating.

If you do this dinner I would do it early as you will probably have better luck with the crowds and the food should still be pretty full. We have eaten here a few times prior but not recently and it was ok, but I do remember eating early.

IMHO I think the mussels at FF are 10x better, no comparison. Of course, you don't have the same choices and you're talking about a totally different atmosphere, but I'd definitely go back to FF before Cape May again. (breakfast at Cape May is a different story--always has been good and we do this there regularly).

 

[idreamofdisney24/7]

Our 2 year old screams as soon as she realizes we are going into a restaurant. We are nervous about our June trip with her..It's going to take a lot of markers!! She is fascinated with them..but, we are planning to try:
Crystal Palace
Chef Mickey's
Donald's Breakfastsaurus
Ohana
Planet Hollywood
We figure the louder and more entertaining the better for her! We'll be the family that eats and runs! Check please!!!
We have a rainforest in a local mall. My 2 year old won't let us even walk by the rest. How disappointing!

 

[Skroops]

We really had luck with the character meals AND any buffet. We aren't crazy about buffets, but they worked like a charm for a toddler because we could get him eating very fast. The character ones worked double time because after he was done eating, he'd have the characters to look for. Unfortunately, we usually have to eat pretty fast too. We truly didn't get to "dine", but we definately got a moment to breathe.
We usually didn't get a chance for an adult beverage and relaxation until after his beddypie time. Thank goodness for an in-room 'fridge! Ah well, these days will be gone before we know it.