Suggestions Please 3 & 5 year old boys

[sherry8253]

Hi - Any suggestions you can provide will be greatly appreciated. My DH's step-daugher from a previous marriage will be joining us for the first part of our vacation. She will arrive the Fri after Thanksgiving and will be staying for 2 nights. She has two boys - 3 and 5 years old. My DH and I have never needed to think about kid friendly places when we go to WDW in the past and our usual favorites won't be appropriate for the boys. My guess is that she will probably want to spend Sat at the MK and I am not sure what she will want to do Fri afternoon or Sunday. I was thinking about a charac breakfast at the AK for Sunday morning if she wants to spend Sunday at AK and maybe either Chef Mickeys or Crystal Palace for Sat morning. But I am not sure about what time she will be leaving Sun, so if she doesnt want to do a park on Sunday, what do you think about Bomas for breakfast so the kids can see the animals at the lodge? We are thinking about just doing fast food lunches? Do you know if the boys are a good age for ohannas? Do you have any other dining ideas? Thanks in advance for any help you can give.

 

[Stimpy]

My DS-3 loved O'hana's for breakfast. The characters really interacted with him and he got to be in a "parade" with instruments and stuff. He also loves Whispering Canyon for dinner. They have stick horse races and the wait staff is a lot of fun.

If you are going to MGM, try the Sci-Fi. He really had fun sitting in the "car" table and watching the big drive-in size movie screen. He also got to take home a glow in the dark frisbee.

And of course Chef Mickey's is a "must" for us.

 

[swilphil]

Are you sure your favs. won't work with the boys? We just took our 3 yo and he did fine, even when we didn't have character meals. It is WDW after all, so all the restaurants are used to kids.

I think the Donald's at AK, Chef Mickey's and Crystal Palace are all fine choices, but I would stay away from MK on Saturday. Since you're staying at the Swan, you could take advantage of the many choices at Epcot--Garden Grill and all the WS options. My 3 yo is a big Toy Story fan and loved going to Pizza Planet at MGM. It's counter service, but I found that kids want to eat fast and move on to the attractions on some occassions.

 

[CK1]

Originally posted by swilphil
Are you sure your favs. won't work with the boys? We just took our 3 yo and he did fine, even when we didn't have character meals. It is WDW after all, so all the restaurants are used to kids.

It's counter service, but I found that kids want to eat fast and move on to the attractions on some occassions.

Not only will they want to eat fast and move on, but often they skip the "eat" part altogether! When our boys were 5 and 3 and we would go to WDW, we found that the fast food fares were a stressful experience (waiting in line, getting a table) and that all the surrounding commotion squelched any appetite our kids may have ever had! So there we sat with a gold-plated basket of fries and hot dog -- getting colder by the minute!

We learned a few tricks along the way that helped us. We take some healthy snacks in a cooler with us -- raisins, fruit snacks, pretzel twigs -- easy munchables. We pack some frozen juice boxes with it. We then offer these anytime we're waiting in a line, or for a prade, etc. We saved our moolah for the inevitable "treats" instead -- a Mickey ice cream bar, a frozen drink, etc. And BTW -- my kids all LOVE turkey legs, lol!!

As for sit-down meals, if you do a big b'fast and a dinner, they won't be that hungry for lunch, anyway! I do agree that most any restaurant at WDW caters in its own way to kids, so don't rule out a fave on their account (unless, of course, it's V&A!!) Every year we reivew where we ate with our kids, and each family member tells which place they liked "best". Our boys last year (at ages 7 and 6) voted WCanyon and Chef M as the winners hands down... BUT -- the year prior, their favorite was Teppanyaki (no characters there -- other than our chef, I guess!), with Garden Grille a close second. Our family likes the buffet type meals with kids b/c they get a choice... my sons don't always WANT just a hot dog, chicken nugget, or burger... and my dd has an absolute fetish for Lobster Bisque (Coral Reef) and seafood pasta (Chef Mickeys)! At a buffet, too, it's instant eating, once you're seated -- really good for antsy kids!
As for CM versus CP -- well, do they like Mickey and the classics, or Pooh and friends? THen at the end of your day hop the monorail to ohanas and watch the fireworks...

SO many restaurants .... so little time!

CK1

 

[Epcotgal8]

All the places that you named are good choices, but as swilphil said there are LOTS of kid friendly choices at WDW, not just the character meals. I also try to avoid the MK on Saturdays. Have done it a couple of times but it was frustrating and claustrophobic by noon. If you do go to MK on Saturday I would recommend grabbing breakfast at your resort, getting to MK at opening and doing the rides before it gets too crowded. Maybe do a character lunch at Crystal Palace vs. breakfast, or go to one of the MK resorts for lunch and a break from the parks? On our first trip to WDW we did a character breakfast at CP and by the time we were done it was crowded in the park and I regretted spending the time eating while the lines weren't as long at the rides.

 

[sherry8253]

Thanks you everyone for your good advice. Maybe we can talk them into doing the MK on Sunday instead of Sat. If not a quick breakfast at the resort and the CP or even fast food for lunch and chef mickeys for an early dinner sounds like it would be better than my original plans of a character breakfast. Our favorites include the Yachtsman Steakhouse, Jikos, Alfredo's, Shulas and I don't think the 2 little ones will like to sit for a leisurely dinner. I also dont want them to disturb other diners & thought buffets and fast food would be the way to go with them. I think it will be fun to spend a few days with little ones at Disney. I remember how much fun I had with my son in 1979 when he was 5. She and the boys live in southern Florida now and my DH hasn't seen her in about 4 years. It should be great fun!!! Thanks once again for you help!

 

[swilphil]

Sunday sounds like a good day for MK. It's Early Entry if you can make it, and it often isn't as crowded because it's a travel day for many people. Of your favs, you probably want to stay away from Shula's. They don't even have a kid's menu. It might be fun to try some new restaurants, too. There's a lot of good sitdown places in Epcot and MGM.