Single parent at character buffet?

[crusoe2]

Looks like DD and I will be having lunch at Crystal Palace while DH and DS are doing the Keys to the Kingdom tour. I had hoped to get CRT or the O'hana character breakfast for that day but so far no luck. I'd love some input from anyone who has taken their child to a character buffet (esp CP) without another adult along to help. I'm sure folks do it all the time - I'm just a little apprehensive about doing it without DH along to help with the trips to the buffet, taking pictures as the characters come around, etc. So, any suggestions from parents who've done the buffets this way? TIA

 

[Tinkerbelle's Mom]

DD and I travel to WDW all the time, and I am a single mom.

I will be honest buffets are tricky - most depends on the age of the child. (But not as tricky as counter service in my opinion.)

As we are seated I put dd on the outermost part of the table so the characters have easy access to her and I can get a good pic.

After the waiter takes our drink order I take dd up to the buffet. (After checking out where the characters are.)

I get both our plates at the same time. DD is only 8 so I do not feel comfortable leaving her at the table by herself yet. It is a little easier now because she can carry her own plate. When she was younger I had to get both myself.

I try to get as much as possible to avoid too many trips up there. I do take my purse with my camera in it with us to the buffet. Once we return to the table I get out the camera and the autograph book.

Meal time is easy - dd picks inbetween characters and I enjoy mine between shots.

After the characters have gone by once I take her up to get dessert. It makes for a long meal time but more relaxed than trying to rush to the buffet between characters.

We do it all the time and are fine. You'll do great! Enjoy this time with your daughter.

 

[MPHARJ]

I have been taking my children to WDW for the past several years as a single parent. CP is one of the easier ones IMO. you can see the characters coming form a distance. What I always do is watch for them if they are close we wait and take care of pictures, than while we wait for the next we go up and get some food. Another way to do it is when they do their parade if your child isn't involved or doesn't want to participate, go up and grab some food then. We love CP, however if we miss a character chances are we won't se them again since the place is rather large.

 

[crusoe2]

Thanks so much. DD is only 6 so leaving her at the table alone is out of the question. Fortunately she has gotten accustomed to carrying her own plate at school this year so maybe that will help. I like the idea of getting all we want from the buffet before we sit down to eat. One other question comes to mind, tho. If DD participates in the parade, will I be in the way if I get up and follow her around? From the pictures I've seen, I would not be able to keep her in sight if I stay at the table but I'm Pooh-sized myself and don't want to be bumping into other diners as I follow the parade.

 

[Tinkerbelle's Mom]

Thanks so much. DD is only 6 so leaving her at the table alone is out of the question. Fortunately she has gotten accustomed to carrying her own plate at school this year so maybe that will help. I like the idea of getting all we want from the buffet before we sit down to eat. One other question comes to mind, tho. If DD participates in the parade, will I be in the way if I get up and follow her around? From the pictures I've seen, I would not be able to keep her in sight if I stay at the table but I'm Pooh-sized myself and don't want to be bumping into other diners as I follow the parade.

I let dd go in the parade by herself. I just try to keep an eye on her from where I am at.

 

[mommycrawford]

I have taken my DD alone and some things to do are :

to go to family style all-you-can eat : O'hana breakfast, Garden Grill, akerhaus
(and formerly LTT)

ask to be seated facing the buffet: Chef Mickey's, Cape May, 1900 Park Fare
(Cannot guarantee this)

All the characters have handlers. Let the CMs know you are on your own and need a little extra help so you can be in photos, etc.. Generally Disney CMs try to be helpful!

Also, at O'hana dinner, the entertainer, Lipoa, is very sweet and will take your child in hand to participate in activities if you want her to! My DD10 has loved her for the past 4 years!

Take a breath and think about if she needed to use the bathroom....You wouldn't let her go alone, but you might let her use the stall and wait by the sink for her. You will figure it out. Besides, if she's anything like mine, on the buffet line she'll probably need you to hold her other plate.

 

[SmallWorld71]

From the pictures I've seen, I would not be able to keep her in sight if I stay at the table but I'm Pooh-sized myself and don't want to be bumping into other diners as I follow the parade.

They only parade around the side of the restaurant that you are sitting on. I was able to see my kids the whole time just by standing up. Not sure if this is true from every table, but the two times we did this we were on different sides of the restaurant and could see fine.

 

[disneydreamin247]

I took DS alone last year when he was 4. We managed very well, getting food between characters and during the parade. We ate at CP twice on our last trip and both times we managed to see every character. Things went so well last time that our next trip we have ADRs at CM, CP, and TH. It can be overwhelming, but it is much more easily managed than you would think- and that's coming from the parent of a preschooler with ADHD!