what restaurant/ meals for a 2 year old?

[walkerford]

In two weeks time we will be back at the VWL with our 2 and a half year old dd. She is quite happy(most of the time!) to sit at a table and eat but what restaurants would people really recommend are best both with regard to food for a 2 year old and also with regard to just which are appropriate to take a young child to. We are lucky enough to have a reservation for cinderellas table for our last day and we are booked into o'hanas for breakfast on our 1st. Any suggestions very gratefully received thanks in advance.

 

[CK1]

We went to WDW in Aug with my then 2 yr old (now soon to be 3!) dd. If you're at VWL, you can try Chef Mickey's (just hop on the boat to Contemporary). It's buffet, and there's lots of little nibbles to entice a youngster (tho' my dd couldn't get enough of the seafood sauce on the penne pasta... I admit, it tasted A LOT like my lobster bisque the night before at Coral Reef, so who could blame her!) Plus, all the characters and "napkin twirling" are such fun. Whispering Canyons at WL is also fun (but if loud noises bother her, maybe skip it... it is a rather rowdy joint!) The Garden Grill at Epcot was good -- again, more characters, but this time, skillet-at-your-table service. Caroline liked looking at the scenery as the restaurant rotated. Sci-Fi (MGM) actually intrigued her (in the dark, in a car, watching weird movies...) but the seating wasn't optimal for a 2 yr old. She just wanted to stand on the seat between dh and I, which got a bit taxing for us, and poke her brothers' heads (ages 6 and 7) in the seat in front of us (which definitely got to be a pain for them!) She enjoyed Coral Reef (Epcot) and was mesmerized by all the fishies, but dh and I felt it was over-priced, so look before you leap on that one.

Just some quick thoughts.

Cindy

 

[Gillian]

Our DS, 2, liked garden grill. We had a lower level booth & put him on the outside. He loved the characters! They have a kids plate and special dessert. We did lunch, but dinner is exactly the same. It costs a little bit more, but includes a salad. You can also order & pay extra for the salad at lunch.

At beaches & cream he liked the onion rings, but not the ice cream (he recently decided real ice cream only comes in a cone).

Cape May for breakfast was fun, but in general, we don't like buffets with a little one. We find we take turns getting food & helping him eat, so it's rather stressful. I'd rather have the food served! It's sooo much easier! But they're free at the buffets (and preplated places), so it's hard to decide.

Some 2 year olds may not like the characters. It took DS a while to get used to them!

 

[ducklite]

We're going in August with a 1 1/2 year old and a 4 1/2 year old, and here's where we are planning on eating:

Cape May Cafe
Donalds CB
Kona Cafe
Bongo's
Jiko (5:30 ressie--we'll be gone before most people arrive!)
Mama Melroses
50's PT
1900PF CD
Le Cellier

DH and I are having dinner by ourselves one night as well--we'll be eating at Narcooses that night.

Anne

 

[tink2]

Here's where we've eaten with a two year old-
Crystal Palace- our favorite- she loved the characters and a great choice of kid's food (adult too)!
CRT- breakfast with the princesses- need I say more? Her eyes were wide with awe!
Garden Grill- great character interaction!
Donald's Breakfastsaurus- pretty good- mainly for the characters
Hollywood and Vine- this was when they had characters for lunch- loved this meal

She did great at each of these- the characters really made the difference. FYI- She was terrified of the characters our first meal. But, the character meals definitely helped her overcome her fear and by the end of the second meal she was running to them!

 

[s&k'smom]

I agree with a lot of the past posters. Especially Chef Mickey's and Cape May (well they are my favorites). Just wanted to add Trail's End at FW (also a buffet). It has a very relaxed atmosphere and the food is good (not fancy) but very good, which is nice with little ones. Plus they have a playground right outside and the kids just seem to love it at FW.

 

[eeyore65]

We have gone MANY times when my DS was 2. What we love about Disney is you can bring little kids practically anywhere. My DH and I enjoy good food and wine - but we also enjoy family vacation time. We have seemed to have passed along our culinary tastes to our now 3 yo who lists Mussels marinara as his favorite food!

That being said the places we all enjoyed were CG - lots of action here - we get an early PS and my DS likes the crayons, goldfish and the view. Lots of walks you can take during courses if necessary. 'Ohana - also lots of action and good food. Jiko - early PS and a walk around after dinner to view the animals.

Places we didn't like - Spoodles - not enough action. Most anything at Epcot - too long of a walk to get from one thing to the next and my DS refused strollers. Also not enough attractions for him to be entertained. However this has changed now and we all really like Marrakesh.

Finally, a character breakfast, usually CP or Chef Mickey's. Food is good - it is just breakfast - and my DS has always loved the characters. (I have seen many 2 yo that do not!) We have a priceless video of him asking Goofy if he would like to see his belly button and asking Goofy where his was. Good bribery material when he gets older.

My other advice is eat when you normally eat - a hungry toddler is never good.

 

[Gillian]

Trails End doesn't have french fries at lunch, if it matters to anyone. DS chose that meal to not eat anything. He wanted to pretend all the food was a car. I don't know what happened to him that day! It was awful for us, but otherwise a decent place to eat. And very inexpensive for lunch - just $10!!

Anne, I think you're brave to take 2 toddlers to Jiko! I'm sure it will be fine, though. We eat out 1 or 2 times a week with our little angel, and sometimes he's a devil!! Luckily it's rare, but it does happen. And it sound like you'll have some extra hands to help out.

eeyore65 -- DS the cheeseburger lover has a new favorite food: five spice chicken! We decided he is our child after all.

 

[ducklite]

Originally posted by Gillian
Anne, I think you're brave to take 2 toddlers to Jiko! I'm sure it will be fine, though. We eat out 1 or 2 times a week with our little angel, and sometimes he's a devil!! Luckily it's rare, but it does happen. And it sound like you'll have some extra hands to help out.

Well, like I said we booked for when they open, and we won't be lingering. And if they are having a bad day we'll be cancelling for sure...

Anne

 

[jel0511]

I've taken both of my children at varying ages to some of the better WDW restaurants. They are now 5 and 2 and are used to eating out, since we eat out once a week. We've taken them to Jiko and I also do what Anne is going to do. When we are going to be eating at one of the more adult oriented restaurants, we always make one of the first PS's. This way, I ensure myself that my kids won't be tired, and I'll also be out of the restaurant before it gets too crowded. At Jiko, we had a 5:50 PS (all that was left) and we didn't get out of there until almost 7:30!!! Luckily for us our kids didn't act up!!! I also re-asses my kids attitudes before we go to a longer meal. If I don't think they are up to it, I cancel and eat somewhere else. Basically, I guess my advice is to eat wherever you want, except V&A's, and just make an early PS. This is one of the reasons we vacation at WDW, DH and I can get a excellent quality meal, with our children.

 

[erinch]

at that age both my kids LOVED the Coral Reef. We go for lunch and get the very first ps of the day, so we're sure to get a table right next to the FISHIES. Kept my very active ones glued to the window (bet the nose prints are still there)

 

[MinnieGi]

We've found all the restaurants to be great for a little one!

DD loved all character meals! We did:
CRT breakfast
Chef Mickey's
CP
'Ohana's
Just as a side note as a 2yo she is free for character meals, a nice little bonus. Buffets are also free for the under 3 crowd.

We also ate at:
Boma - DD loved the three selections of hummus and flatbreads!
San Angel Inn
LTT
Alfredo's
Olivia's
RFC

Have fun!

 

[cinmell]

Our daugther was 22 months old her first time in Disney. She loved Chef Mickey's, 1900 Park Fare, CRT, and Princess Storybook. In a couple of weeks we're going to try Crystal Palace with her for Pooh and Ohana's. We found that she did better at character meals because she was entertained. We always tried to make PS for earlier seatings and stickers and crayons were a savior! She also enjoyed Trails End in Fort Wilderness.

 

[Gillian]

I have no problem with people taking kids of any age to nice restaurants! I didn't mean to imply that! It's a matter of knowing what they can handle & when they are disturbing others.

Personally, I find restaurants much more relaxing without DS, but at home we are blessed with a large family of babysitters. At WDW, we try to plan around him more, and limit meals that take a long time or where others are celebrating special occasions.

 

[ducklite]

Originally posted by Gillian
I have no problem with people taking kids of any age to nice restaurants! I didn't mean to imply that! It's a matter of knowing what they can handle & when they are disturbing others.

Personally, I find restaurants much more relaxing without DS, but at home we are blessed with a large family of babysitters. At WDW, we try to plan around him more, and limit meals that take a long time or where others are celebrating special occasions.

Gillian- I knew that

I'm a little leery myself--it's my BIL/SIL/and their two. I'm hoping for the best, but like I said, won't be afraid to cancel at the last minute if we need to. We planned in nap time every day for the kids (even through the one year old NEVER naps) it will at least be out of the parks time, so that should help.

Normally it's just DH and myself, or the two of us and our DS 17. He doesn't eat with us about half the time anymore--unless we are eating at one of the two or three places he REALLY loves, or insist, he'd rather grab a quick burger someplace in order to maximize thrill ride and DQ time.

Ah well, this will give us the chance to eat at a bunch of places we often skip over in favor of some of teh mroe upscale places.

Anne