Struggling with where to eat w/ 2 YO

[uremol]

Hi All,

We are a family of four with a 2.5 YO, we will be eating mostly off site, but want to do a special lunch or dinner, just no sure where. He does not like characters yet (afraid of them). We're looking for somewhere with a fun atmosphere for young toddlers, but not on the higher price range. I've reserved BOG for now for lunch, but not sure what the big deal is with BOG, maybe I'm missing something.

TIA

 

[HappyHaunts999]

Hi All,

We are a family of four with a 2.5 YO, we will be eating mostly off site, but want to do a special lunch or dinner, just no sure where. He does not like characters yet (afraid of them). We're looking for somewhere with a fun atmosphere for young toddlers, but not on the higher price range. I've reserved BOG for now for lunch, but not sure what the big deal is with BOG, maybe I'm missing something.

TIA

You can try Coral Reef in Epcot.If you book an ADR for when it opens at 11:30 you will probably get a table next to the tank. If he love fish it will be a lot of fun.

 

[uremol]

Sorry, I forgot to mention, we are going to MK and AK only.

 

[JZCubed]

Sorry, I forgot to mention, we are going to MK and AK only.

Within MK, there is nothing 'fun' for a toddler.

Inside AK, I would only (maybe) suggest Rain Forest as potentially being 'fun'.

Only place I can think of is Sanaa inside AKLodge. Daytime meals (lunch or early dinner) allows you to view the animals on the Savannah (outside the restaurant windows). Also, the Resort also offers some additional animal 'touching' and 'viewing' opportunities just walking around the Resort.

But keep in mind - toddlers are capable of ruining any plans you have. That's their job.

 

[cmoliver5]

From a speed and attention span perspective, BOG is probably not a bad idea, especially if you are wanting to stay inside the park for your meal. The fact that you place your order before arriving means that you aren’t waiting for your food too long. I might suggest sitting in the main ballroom as the west wing can be dark and possibly a little friggtening for little ones.

We took our then 18mo DD to Yak and Yeti and she really seamed to enjoy it. You could request a table upstairs by a window and then everyone can watch the hustle and bustle outside without the noise of the downstairs dining room. All of that has the caveat of having to enjoy Asian cuisine. We really liked it and my DD enjoyed her egg roll with a side of corn and apple sauce.

 

[Happiest.Haunt_999]

Within MK, there is nothing 'fun' for a toddler.

Inside AK, I would only (maybe) suggest Rain Forest as potentially being 'fun'.

Only place I can think of is Sanaa inside AKLodge. Daytime meals (lunch or early dinner) allows you to view the animals on the Savannah (outside the restaurant windows). Also, the Resort also offers some additional animal 'touching' and 'viewing' opportunities just walking around the Resort.

But keep in mind - toddlers are capable of ruining any plans you have. That's their job.

"Touching" the animals at AKL just walking around? How? Never in my stays at my home resort have I known about this.

 

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

Hi All,

We are a family of four with a 2.5 YO, we will be eating mostly off site, but want to do a special lunch or dinner, just no sure where. He does not like characters yet (afraid of them). We're looking for somewhere with a fun atmosphere for young toddlers, but not on the higher price range. I've reserved BOG for now for lunch, but not sure what the big deal is with BOG, maybe I'm missing something.

TIA

A 2.5yr old that does not like characters probably isn't gonna care too much about any kind of atmosphere.
Go where you want.
My family absolutely adores BOG but we all love BATB and when the now 4yr old was 2 she couldn't have cared less.
But for those of us that could care we loved seeing all the detail and the food is delicious. Even my dad 74yrs old and a hard one to impress with food that's not home grown and home made loves it there.

 

[unrequited23]

I would review menus plan on going some where that has food your child would typically eat. Several QS locations now have mobile ordering, which will speed up time waiting for food, helping to avoid the dreaded hangry toddler. My boys (5 & 2.5) at the time were not impressed by BOG. They loved TRex and ended up going twice--once with us, once with the grandparents. They have requested the Rainforest Café for our next trip.

The Plaza ended up being a nice surprise for our group. It was barely half full, calm and cool--a complete break from all the stimulation in the park. The fact that the kids meals included a mickey ice cream sundae didn't hurt either.

Pinocchio's Village Haus has tables that overlook the loading area for It's a Small World. My boys really liked watching while we dined.

 

[TheRustyScupper]

1) If at MK, take the boat to Fort Wilderness.
2) Trails End has a good buffet for breakfast and dinner, and in rustic atmosphere.
3) If doing dinner you can slide over to the Chip-n-Dale Campfire afterward (campfire, s'mores, sing-along, outdoor Disney movies)

 

[LovesTimone]

In January we took my DGS to celebrate his second birthday and first trip to see Mickey and the Gang, and we ate every where. It was our first big family trip

The biggest tip is go where you want to go... he will be fine where ever you choose to go. If you are relaxed he will sense it and he will be relaxed too, if you are apprehensive he will be to.... Kids might not understand it but they feel it.

We did character meals, some days he was really into them, like the morning we had breakfast with the Disney Jr. gang, he was over the moon to see Jake and Sophia, lots of hugs and great character interaction the pics were so good and we took a ton of them, but when we had lunch at Tusker house he was a bit shy and did not want to interact with them, so they just waved and he waved, but we did get a few nice pictures of DD or DSIL holding him next to the character. We just followed his lead on how much he was up for.

For TS - it's just like any other restaurant whether at WDW or at home... and we take him all over when we to go out to eat, He loves T-REX its loud and kinda dark, but he know that they are not real and just pretend, he will ask to eat with the Dino's.. rawr.... when DH and I babysit...we have so much fun.

DH and I always took our DD's with us out to eat from the time they were born, so they started very young being taught how to act in a restaurant and good manners and such... Not saying we did not have some moments with crying or full on melt downs or not wanting to eat. We learned that keeping them on their schedule, if they had lunch at 11:30 at pre school then we had lunch around 11:30 if we were going to eat later we would give them a snack...and never ever planning a meal when it was their normal nap time, things could go sideway at any moment... When we were on vacation the normal house rules we would bend.... okay... we broke several of them, like a huge ice cream sundae that we shared for lunch...

I will share this tip, I have a bag filled with dollar store, Target dollar zone, and clearance toys that I keep for when we go out, this are things that the grandkids have never played with and only get to play with them when we are eating so they are new and not boring... once the meal is over they go back into the bag. Since WDW is a all day adventure I bring a couple and pull out as needed.

Have a magical trip

 

[uremol]

Thank you everyone so much for the advise so far. This is great.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

1) If at MK, take the boat to Fort Wilderness.
2) Trails End has a good buffet for breakfast and dinner, and in rustic atmosphere.
3) If doing dinner you can slide over to the Chip-n-Dale Campfire afterward (campfire, s'mores, sing-along, outdoor Disney movies)

I completely agree with this. Trails End has a great, rustic atmosphere, good food and good prices. Right next to the restaurant you will find a playground and just down the path you will find the Tri-Circle D ranch where they house all of the WDW horses. Your son is probably small enough to do a pony ride. No characters and not chaotic at all. Might be a nice break from the park.

You could also take the boat to WL and eat at WCC. A little more "upbeat" than Trail's End. The servers do some funny antics (ask for ketchup) and they have wooden pony races. Food is good and not too pricey.

O'hana might be a good choice. Good food, a little more pricey than Trail's End and WCC however. They have live music, coconut races and the limbo.

I would NOT take a toddler to BOG lunch. It is really chaotic at lunch and unless you are a Beauty in the Beast fan who wants to see the inside of the castle, it holds no appeal, IMHO. If you would rather stay in MK than go out to one of the resorts, I would go to Skipper Canteen.

At AK, you could try Rainforest Cafe, but there are animals in there that move (they are animatronics, no characters come to your table). I don't know if that would interest or frighten your child. You could look it up on youtube to get an idea of what happens at the restaurant. Yak and Yeti is a solid food choice, but nothing too terribly interesting happening there. Sanaa would probably be your most interesting choice, but you would have to leave AK and go to AKL. The food is very good and they have floor to ceiling windows where you can usually see the animals during daylight.

 

[Dis703]

A 2.5yr old that does not like characters probably isn't gonna care too much about any kind of atmosphere.
Go where you want.
My family absolutely adores BOG but we all love BATB and when the now 4yr old was 2 she couldn't have cared less.
But for those of us that could care we loved seeing all the detail and the food is delicious. Even my dad 74yrs old and a hard one to impress with food that's not home grown and home made loves it there.

I tend to agree with this. My kids all started going to Disney around age 2 and we did a lot of TS meals. They enjoyed everything at that age just about equally. Sure we had a few exciting moments with some characters but outside of that all the restaurants were new and exciting on some level.

Outside of character meals nothing in MK stands out for a 2 1/2 year old IMO. In AK, Rainforest Cafe is usually pretty neat for the kids. But it's also very loud and not all kids (or parents) enjoy that.

If you are planning on one nice meal I'd go with something you think you will enjoy.

 

[smiths02]

My youngest kids are 5 now. We went when they were 2.5 and again at 3.5. The first place my son wants to eat again when we go is Yachtsman steakhouse (and they liked character meals). Mostly for the Mickey puzzle dessert, which he didn't really eat anyhow. Little kids are weird.

I have taken 3 kids at almost 3 years old (at different times). They all like characters, though. They all enjoyed Crystal Palace because of the pretty building, but I understand the character thing for OPs child. T-Rex was iffy, but Rainforest Cafe was enjoyed (although some kids can be scared of those robot animals), Yak n Yeti was enjoyed...some fun statues and you can always get them a slushee drink in a fun cup.

In MK, even the non beauty and the beast fans like Be Our Guest...it really is a neat experience to eat inside a castle.

Ohana for dinner has been a family favorite...some entertainment if they want to participate. Plus visiting the Poly is wonderful.