Toddlers at F&W

[CastleLight]

Have you taken your toddler to any of the special events/lunches, etc. during the F&W fest? We are going to WDW this year with our then 16 month old and I'm not sure if we could all enjoy ourselves at any of the special events.

 

[BriarRosie]

The only place I've seen kids was at the Party for the Senses, but they were usually not younger than 7 or so. Their parents must have had to shell out $135 admission per child to bring them in. And the food is not kid-friendly. It's still very difficult to enjoy the event and try to keep a toddler entertained. I definitely would not recommend bringing young children!

Daytime wine lunches...I've never seen a kid there. There might be restrictions I'm not aware of. I would suggest if you want to participate, you can arrange for in-room babysitting with Kids Night Out or the Fairy Godmothers services. There might be a minimum amount of hours required, but that's worth investigating.

 

[TDC Nala]

I am going to agree with Briar Rosie here, if you are posting regarding the special events that you book ahead of time and pay separately for (PFTS, pairings in restaurants, signature dinners, wine schools, French Regional Lunches, etc.) Although there is no regulation that I know of stating children may not attend (Disneyland F&W has a very strict 21 and up only rule for any event that serves alcohol, which WDW does not have), these events are not suitable for children, especially very young children. I don't recommend taking any kids younger than a teenager, and even then a teenager who is not interested in the culinary arts will be bored. I don't know what the pricing policy is on children under 3, but they do charge full price for anyone who signs up, there is no child's price.

If you want to take a baby or toddler to the Festival Center culinary seminars, that is done all the time, although I do not know if you will have to buy the baby a ticket.

 

[ElizabethB]

The only time I ever saw a child at an evening dining/wine event, it was at an Exquisite Evening at Epcot (these events were wonderful, but are no longer held). A couple brought their baby in a buggy. They were up and down throughout the entire evening keeping the baby quiet. To their credit, the baby never disturbed the dinner, but I think the couple ended up having a stressful evening and actually could not have enjoyed the food and wine much at all. Since the evening was about $185 a person, it seemed like a waste.

Upshot -- the signature dinners, the French regional lunches, the wine schools, etc. are really only for adults.

 

[LilyWDW]

These events are long and more focused to adults. There is usually information about the food and wine presented before each course. The food is not child/toddler friendly. There are no options of kids meals, nor is there a childs price for the event. This would suggest to me that they are not meant for kids at all.

These are expensive events and I personally would be upset if I paid that money and a child/toddler interrupted the meal and atmosphere. These are not normal meals.

 

[djp0630]

We were at Epcot during F&W with my 13 month old DS and 3 year old DD last year. WE didn't do any exhibits, but just had a few drinks around the countries while DS slept. We also saw characters, etc throughout the countries so DD wouldn't be bored. We were not hungry as we had 2 big meals planned at Epcot, so we didn't try the food, but the drink was great! My favorite part of Epcot is drinking through the countries (granted, we didn't drink TOO much!).

 

[gamomof2]

We went to a cooking school last year. Something to do with figs if i remember. there was one or two young girls in the audience, probably 9 or 10 years old. Both were very well behaved and seemed interested. If the young person has an interest in cooking and understands that it is a paid event and everyone there is there for a reason then I would think it is ok. But that's probably the youngest I'd consider for my own children.