Tips for Positive Disney Dining Experiences with Children

[jbmgsdmom]

Children have meltdowns and I have honestly seen grownups have them too.

 

[DisneyFamily123]

The bottom line is that it is Disney and with that comes children. Children have meltdowns and I have honestly seen grownups have them too.

Ha! Ha! I've seen the adult meltdowns too! I had one myself, but it wasn't in a restaurant! So, it doesn't count.

I'm eager to go to Disney a third time because I learned so many lessons the hard way the first time! Most of all, I learned to better pace myself and not expect to do too much and to be flexible. I planned forever for the last trip, but we still changed our plans and 2 ADRs while we were there to slow it down a bit.

I also found some of the fun things at Disney are the simple things... like getting our haircuts at MK Barber Shop, riding the Ferry Boat, and looking at the window displays on Main St.

 

[TinkerBelle920]

I expect "service". In addition to just being friendly, that means...

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  I agree with this completely I am a huge service snob. I actually think it comes from the fact that I used to be a cast member at Disney so I have set the bar high for my expections with service. I think an example I have of a great experience with this was at O'hana for dinner. My son loves shrimp and was not to found of all of the appetizers so the server brought him some shrimp right away. Then continues to stop back every 10 mins or so to replenish the shrimp supply. I swear my 6 year old at that time ate an entire skewer of that shrimp. But it really does make a much more enjoyable experience when someone else can help please your child. These are the things that us adults look for in Disney service and I bet that our kids enjoy that as well. It creates a future generation of Disney lovers!

 

[gogo]

OP:

After rereading your post, I wanted to comment on something else you mentioned.

l. RESPONSIBILITIES FOR DINERS WITHOUT CHILDREN - Your putting responsibilities on me that I did not ask for. When I go out to dinner if I have to complain about another parties' children that right there has pretty much ruined my dinner for two reasons. a. I don't want to feel like a big, old nasty person complaining about a child's behavior. This puts me in a very uncomfortable position that I did not ask for. b. If a child's behavior is so disruptive that I have to flag a waiter down to complain, this also pretty much ruins my dinner. Please take responsibility for your child.

I don't think the majority of people will complain if dining in Disney and a child is cranky or restless. But, if they are truly disruptive you certainly should know it and should take the appropriate action. Why would someone wait until the waitstaff or other diners have to step in. What are the parents doing while all this is going on.

If a waiter sees that your child is uncomfortable sitting for so long and tells you nicely that you should or could step out to the lobby, etc. some people (parents) would complain that they have a right to stay at the table because they are paying for dinner. Again, you are asking the waitstaff to put themselves in a very uncomfortable position. They could not possibly know how the parents would respond. Some parents may welcome the suggestion and others could complain to management about them.

I really hope you get the input you are looking for.

 

[gogo]

OP:

After rereading your post, I wanted to comment on something else you mentioned.

l. RESPONSIBILITIES FOR DINERS WITHOUT CHILDREN - Your putting responsibilities on me that I did not ask for. When I go out to dinner if I have to complain about another parties' children that right there has pretty much ruined my dinner for two reasons. a. I don't want to feel like a big, old nasty person complaining about a child's behavior. This puts me in a very uncomfortable position that I did not ask for. b. If a child's behavior is so disruptive that I have to flag a waiter down to complain, this also pretty much ruins my dinner. Please take responsibility for your child.

I don't think the majority of people will complain if dining in Disney and a child is cranky or restless. But, if they are truly disruptive you certainly should know it and should take the appropriate action. Why would someone wait until the waitstaff or other diners have to step in. What are the parents doing while all this is going on.

If a waiter sees that your child is uncomfortable sitting for so long and tells you nicely that you should or could step out to the lobby, etc. some people (parents) would complain that they have a right to stay at the table because they are paying for dinner. Again, you are asking the waitstaff to put themselves in a very uncomfortable position. They could not possibly know how the parents would respond. Some parents may welcome the suggestion and others could complain to management about them.

I really hope you get the input you are looking for.

 

[jenjersnap]

I am also in CA time. When we were in WDW in Dec we kept our kids on CA time... we had breakfast at 11am, lunch at 3, a snack at 6 and dinner at 9.

Yep, we are in Mountain time so we always do dinner after 8 p.m. That is what works best for us and my kids are NOT falling asleep or misbehaving because of exhaustion, etc. so perhaps it's wrong to make generalizations about the times families should be eating.

 

[disneycruising]

2. DON'T BRING BABIES TO DISNEY!
QUOTE]
Honestly, coming with our teenagers in 2008 was a LOT of work!

The first time we tool our kids to WDW they were 6, 4, 2, & 4 months and had a great time. We would put everyone in their stollers and off we would go. If they got cranky we would eat or go back to the room. We in went in Dec with our children and 2 cousins:16, 14, 13, 11, 10 & 9. Not so fun! Eveyone has their own opinion, they are fighting, the emotions are all over the place. Let me apologize to anyone that happen to be subject to all our family drama....I am sorry from the bottom of my heart!!

GIVE ME A BABY ANY DAY!

 

[WDWjen]

The first time we tool our kids to WDW they were 6, 4, 2, & 4 months and had a great time. We would put everyone in their stollers and off we would go. If they got cranky we would eat or go back to the room. We in went in Dec with our children and 2 cousins:16, 14, 13, 11, 10 & 9. Not so fun! Eveyone has their own opinion, they are fighting, the emotions are all over the place. GIVE ME A BABY ANY DAY!

LOL I was just thinking the same thing!! We took babies to WDW for a few reasons. 1) big family reunion with 10 adults and we already had a 7 month old.. so he tagged along. I wasnt going to miss the big reunion and I wasnt going to leave him home
2) OLDER Siblings!! When I had the 4 yr old I also had 2 babies... Was I not going to bring my older kid to WDW until I stopped having kids for sure?! For some people it would mean that their kids wouldnt get to be there until they were teens!

And I have a 13 yr old Niece that went to WDW and HATED it... imagine waiting to go until your kids were older and then having them sulk all day!!!

 

[DisneyFamily123]

Meals that interrupt the fun equal less cooperation from young children?

Thinking back... having regular table service in the parks was the most difficult to get DS4's cooperation... because it interrupted all the fun things to do. Eating to a young child can be boring.

For us, this was true at Yak and Yeti, Mama Melrose, and Liberty Tree. DS4 did not want to eat lunch at Liberty Tree when there was so much fun to be had outside especially being near his favorite ride - Haunted Mansion! On our last trip, DS4 was really giving us a hard time about eating there, I walked outside with him twice (once before we were seated, and once right after being seated) due to crying/whining about not wanting to eat. One of the CM sidewalk sweepers saw me with him (crying) and tried to cheer him up with a sticker and it didn't work. I set the limit that this was lunch time and no rides until we are done. Eventually he stopped and agreed to cooperate (to get lunch over with, I guess!).

While I think limits are important, it might have been better to just do some counter service "on the go"... or to check with Liberty Tree to see if we could do our ADR 30 minutes later and get DS's agreement to 1 ride, then lunch. This might seem like giving in... but if everyone is happier....

Next trip, we will probably have character breakfasts some mornings and do some fun lunches (Crystal Palace, Biergarten, Coral Reef, etc.) but maybe eat some "on the go" lunches or get counter service and eat outside in a fun park spot. For dinner, we will have a couple "boring" meals like Citrocos and Narcoosees but will be at the end of the day, back at our resort, so it's not interrupting anything fun.

And next year, DS will be 5 so it may be a different experience. He is old enough to remember and I'm going to have him help pick some of our dining spots.... so he is looking forward to going there.

 

[hoverpumpkin]

This is a sticky situation indeed.

I owe my love of good and adventurous food to the trips I took with my dad when I was little, to Disney and elsewhere. I NEVER had to order off a kid's menu. I was given adult menus from the very start and was eating everything from carpaccio to wild game when I was only a wee kid. (I don't think I even once ever ordered chicken nuggets in a restaurant.) I credit these early experiences for my extremely well-developed palate and the fact that I literally eat and enjoy everything and will try anything.

Yet nowadays I am torn when kids are in fancy restaurants while I'm eating. I am happy that they're there and I hope they are trying things and learning about food like I did. But on the other hand, I get really angry and stressed when there is a screaming kid in a restaurant, or one who is running around without restraint and seemingly without being noticed by his parents. I have an anxiety disorder that makes it extremely difficult for me to try to tune those things out. It gets to the point where sometimes I have to leave because parents cannot seem to grasp that it's impolite to let their kids disrupt the meal for all the other diners, not to mention that it generally sucks for the kid, too.

So I definitely want kids to be welcomed in all Disney's restaurants. It's not the kids (nor the babies) that I have a problem with, it's when they have inconsiderate parents. I think it's a great idea to compile a list of suggestions for people to follow to ensure that their kids AND those around them are able to enjoy their vacation meals equally.

I think "booking your meals around the time your kids normally eat" is a really good one, as it will reduce crabbiness and tendency to have tantrums. However, I don't think the waitstaff should have to suggest that you temporary remove your child, even in a kindly way. Parents should have enough awareness to realize that they need to step outside and then take the initiative to ask the waitperson for an appropriate place to do that, not force that waitperson into an extremely uncomfortable situation that they may feel jeopardizes their tip or embarrasses them.

And I think everybody here has been very civil so far!

 

[deerhart]

I expect "service". In addition to just being friendly, that means...

• 
  
  I think an example I have of a great experience with this was at O'hana for dinner. My son loves shrimp and was not to found of all of the appetizers so the server brought him some shrimp right away. Then continues to stop back every 10 mins or so to replenish the shrimp supply. I swear my 6 year old at that time ate an entire skewer of that shrimp. But it really does make a much more enjoyable experience when someone else can help please your child. These are the things that us adults look for in Disney service and I bet that our kids enjoy that as well. It creates a future generation of Disney lovers!

• 
  
  Our waiter last time at Ohana boycotted us at first, all in good fun (he was from Chicago and we were ribbing him about the Cubs as we are from St. Louis and huge Cards fans) but he was wonderful and kept my oldest son supplied with the udon noodles (as he just eats the entire bowl of them)

 

[dmank]

When bringing little ones, buffets are excellent - the little ones can try lots of new things they wouldn't normally try and they can go at their own pace.

Disney is great for every single age

 

[GingerJay]

I was a server all through college (though, alas, not at Disney) and I a few things I did when there were small children at my table were to:
Bring crackers for the kids to munch on while they wait for their food (as long as parents don't mind)
Talk to the kids-but clear their choices with the parents
Coloring papers and crayons
and pacing the meals-sometimes the parents want the meals brought out ahead of time but sometimes not.

 

[deerhart]

and we do appreciate those waitstaff who take the time to ask our children what they want, refill their cups etc.. because it allows us as parents to continue teaching our child appropriately how to do these things and give them practice (very important in our house with one kid who has social skill delays).

It gives us a chance to correct manners, work on proper greetings/etc..

 

[DW2010]

same old story of kids vs no kids - not just at disney but in general!

i'm 23 years old, i'm currently planning my honeymoon for this april. no kids yet, although i do plan on having some in a few years. here are my thoughts:

1. there are kids in disney world. lots of kids. that is the nature of disney world. anyone who doesn't have kids who travels to disney should understand and accept this face. the reason you want to go to disney is because you are a kid at heart, right?

2. DON'T BRING BABIES TO DISNEY! i know this will seem offensive to a lot of people, and i totally understand that. do you really think your 1 year old is going to remember any of his or her experience? do you really want to lug around diaper bags and baby food and all that sort of paraphinalia on your vacation? i know the photo ops are adorable, but please, for the kid's sake and your sake, and everyone else's sake - wait a few years until your kid is mature enough to A)remember it and B) behave properly. Whether that age is 3 or 4 or 5 is at the discresion of the parents. Please know your own kid's limits. I was 5 on my first trip, and I only remember a hand full of things, most vividly how scared I was of everything (especially the trolls in Norway, lol). It's not a kid's fault if they are too tired and too hot because their parents who want to see everything dragged them around from 8am-8pm in 94 degree weather.

c'mon people, this is disney! let's all live in harmony in the place where "children of all ages can laugh and play and learn together"

We're taking DD to celebrate her 4th birthday. I doubt she'll remember it that much, but heck, I barely remember my first and only trip. Um, I was 21...lol!

 

[marielynn724]

Children of all ages who can remember the trip, I think is what you mean. I totally disagree with you on that,by the way, but you're entitled to your opinion. I just thought it was funny that you want children of ALL ages to laugh, play, and learn together...but not if they're babies.

touche. point taken. how many miserable crying babies have you seen in the parks because it was simply too much for them?

 

[frtchr]

touche. point taken. how many miserable crying babies have you seen in the parks because it was simply too much for them?

I honestly don't pay attention to anyone else. I just enjoy the time with my family.

 

[marielynn724]

And I have a 13 yr old Niece that went to WDW and HATED it... imagine waiting to go until your kids were older and then having them sulk all day!!!

LOL! I know there are tons of opinions on this thread that go bo ways - but I just can't imagine ANYBODY hating disney! I guess I'm really biased!