Table Service dinner after a long day in the parks...

[atilley01]

This is a question for the people with younger children (DD will be 5). We're planning RD for most days and we'll be taking rests inside the park but don't plan on leaving for a nap. Dinner will probably be the last thing we do before heading back to the resort for the night. For people who tour the parks this way, is a TS restaurant a good idea after a long day in the park or is it just a disaster waiting to happen? What's been your experience?

Thanks!

 

[mandis77]

I think it depends on what time you are planning to eat. When we planned an earlier dinner (say like 4:30-5) things went well. But, anything later has been pretty rough. The only suggestion would be to do a character meal. That helped a lot.

 

[luvmy2babies]

I have done a TS dinner after a full park day; but one thing to keep in mind. I always say on here and other people say the same is that something that works great for us with little ones is to make the ADRs for around your normal dinner time. For us that is between 5:30 and 6:00. I have done this a few times. We did Epcot from 9:30 to 5, then got cooled down, changed and had dinner at Garden Grill. We did Magic Kingdom from open and had dinner at Crystal Palace around 6. Every child is different; but I wouldn’t have dinner an hour or more past the normal meal time unless you’re from a different time zone.

 

[Alesia]

Have you considered eating at table service restaurants for lunch instead? That will give you more flexibility in the evenings. Table service dinners can be difficult to plan if you're not sure how your daughter will hold up. A counter service dinner will allow you to eat whenever you're hungry and (more importantly) head back to the hotel when you're ready.

We only do a table service meal every 3 days. They just don't allow for the amount of flexibility that we prefer. We like to eat what we want when we want. Saving $500 or so never hurts, either.

 

[atilley01]

Have you considered eating at table service restaurants for lunch instead? That will give you more flexibility in the evenings. Table service dinners can be difficult to plan if you're not sure how your daughter will hold up. A counter service dinner will allow you to eat whenever you're hungry and (more importantly) head back to the hotel when you're ready.

We only do a table service meal every 3 days. They just don't allow for the amount of flexibility that we prefer. We like to eat what we want when we want. Saving $500 or so never hurts, either.

I've got 1 TS restaurant planned a day for most days and some of those are for either breakfast or lunch. Some of them are also character dining which I'm sure will keep her entertained. There are 1 or two nights though where a TS dinner works best with our touring plan so those days were my concern. But I guess it also depends on whether or not we're able to get the reservations we want for an earlier dinner because we're regularly early dinner people at home too.

 

[jtowntoflorida]

When our kids were younger, doing TS for dinner was pretty much a disaster. They were just too tired and so were cranky, but also didn't eat much because they were tired and cranky, which made them even more cranky. If you're not going to take a nap break, then a TS lunch is a good alternative, IMHO. My kids are now 5 and 8, and we're finally to the point where TS dinners work out OK for us, though they still eat more at lunch, so that's still generally my default.

 

[DaniMoon]

If it's early I think it's ok. I know we did a 4 pm Sanaa meal last trip after AK. The kids were fine and not worn out, they enjoyed the animals at the restaurant and behaved well, no whine with dinner.

 

[msmama]

Thats generally how we work. We stay at the parks until dinner time (eat either in the parks or at the resort) and then back to the resort. Always works fine for us.

 

[scrappinginontario]

It really depends on the personality of your DD. We have done Dinner TS many times during our past 3 trips when my DD was 3, 4 and 5yo. It worked out well for us but she is also the kind of kiddo who napped in the stroller in the afternoon (or even on the way to supper) so she'd had some 'down time' before dinner and was refreshed

It would also depend on if your child is used to eating in restaurants. This makes a big difference too.

To be honest, her one and only meltdown in a Disney restaurant was when I booked a 1:00 lunch when she was 3yo. I wasn't thinking that by the time we'd finish the meal it would be after her nap time but oh boy, was it! She started, I left with her and after calming down she was asleep within moments.

 

[piccolopat]

Have you considered TS at your hotel? You might not need ADRs there and might have more flexibility to decide last minute.

 

[Wes1stTrip2016]

I'm planning our TS meals for breakfasts & lunch (except for TRex on arrival day & Hoop De Doo on last night) with our just turning 5yr old son, just in case he is wiped out by end of day.

 

[Minnesota!]

From them being young on up to today - a TS dinner is a must for my crew. It is a way to unwind after a long day. We re-hash what we loved about the day, what our plans for the next day is, etc. Gives us all a breather. And then, back to the resort for swimming or a movie before bed!

 

[msmama]

Oh, and wanted to add, the reason we tour this way is because my son is usually asking to go back to the hotel by dinner. If I tell him we will go after dinner, there is usually no issue ( if I were to say we will do another few hours of rides/attractions, then we'd have a problem).

 

[Happyjen27]

My kids would rather not do a TS after a whole day in the parks.

We did plenty of TS dinners when my pair was 5, but only after a nap in the room. If we weren't napping we would just do CS at the resort and that gave us flexiblity, including not getting hit with the no show fee if the kids were totally grouchy and needed some time in the room.

 

[mkla2015]

Depends on your child... Does she usually take naps? There is no way I would even attempt a TS dinner after a full day with no naps with DD5 & DS3. Remember you may have to wait to be seated then wait for food if it's not a buffet.