Which of the 2TS restaurants would be appropriate for 2 almost 3 yos?

[molly2004]

We already have ADRs for Brown Derby (Fantasmic package. Anyone know where there's a Fantasmic menu for BD?). We have four TS credits left that we don't know how to spend. It'll be DH, me and Dtwins who will be almost 3 (and will not be on DDP). They're well-behaved, but being their age, they're a bit scootchy (if that's a word, if not, it is now! ) We've never dined in any TS restaurants before (although I vaguely remember an italian place in MGM back in 2000).

We will be at the BWV so I was thinking FF. Are any of the others suitable for children this age? If not, I'll stick with FF because of proximity. If others are better, we'll take the trek.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Mickey1122]

FF is a bit fancier than other restaurants. Your kids seem a little young for a character meal though. I would recomend Spoodles over FF. The food is better.

 

[webray]

When we take our grandaughter to Disneys fine dining establishments we just be prepared to rush through the meal and leave early if she isn't in the mood to sit (which is rare).

At Artist Point, hubby and I were alone. There were two other tables beside us, both with young children. One table had kids acting out while the adults ignored them, the other had very considerate parents. Kids weren't in the mood for sitting for a couple hours so the parents had the entire meal packed to go and they left so as not to disturb other diners.

Just remember, Flying Fish, Artist Point, Jiko are a good two hour meal. Can your twins sit that long, as roaming the restaurant would definately be unacceptable.

 

[BCV23]

Any of the 2 TS restaurants are appropriate for children. When ours were young we found the WDW servers to be great about pacing the meals for young children. And we used to always do the Gold Key plan so we were getting appetizer/entrees/desserts.

We were just always prepared to take our children out if they did get antsy. That was only ever an issue with DS2 and so he did miss a dessert or two.

Pick FF or any other 2TS and enjoy!

 

[BroadwayGirl]

If you've trained your children to behave properly in a restaurant and expect appropriate behavior from them then any restaraunt you choose should be fine. If, on the other hand, you feel it is perfectly acceptable for them to run circles around your table, scream at the top of their lungs or otherwise disturb your fellow patrons while you sit ignoring them then I would have a hard time recommending any of the signature dining locations.

It sounds to me like you are in the first category however, so I will suggest trying Jiko as the food is excellent and the dining room is lovely. It is also well designed so if the kids do get a little "scootchy" and loud the sound doesn't echo throughout the restaurant. I'd actually think twice about Flying Fish as their decor features mostly metal, glass and tile from which the sounds bounce and echo making quite ruckus if the kids start getting antsy.

 

[gigi1313]

personally, i would either go to the HDDR or Luau... or do two 1TS restaurants... esp Garden Grill!

the one theme i see here is "rush thru" or "get part packed to go" etc... well, who wants to spend that kind of money (and credits are money, kinda sorta) to "rush" or have part packed to go? that doesn't sound fun or prudent...

we took ds to the luau when he was 4 and he LOVED it (dd was 6 and loved it also)... i think a 3yo would love it as well... and HDDR is just great... and perfect atmosphere for 3yos!

 

[TigerKat]

As a previous post suggested Spoodles, I would agree. I think the Boardwalk experience would be enjoyed by all!!

 

[TigerKat]

Sorry, I misread your question (2TS). Go for FF!!

 

[kidsister]

Just wanted to say in response to a reply that questioned whether the kids were too young for a character meal....I understand that you didn't ask about that, but if they havent' been to a character meal....now is the perfect time (IMHO) to take them!

 

[*~ellagirlsmama~*]

Cinderella's Royal Table! Or one of the dinner shows

 

[Elmo888]

I think that if you dine early enough (after an afternoon rest), your children would probably be fine at the TS restaurants. We are planning to go in January, also, with a 2 yo, and, knowing her, she'll be fine eating at a restaurant if we eat early, around 4:30 or 5, after we take an afternoon rest. Even if your children have dropped their afternoon naps by then, you might find that they need the rest at WDW.

The poster that said to skip the restaurants with the longer meals also had a good point.

Every restaurant at WDW seems to have children. We ate at the California Grill (a 2 TS restaurant that I highly recommend, esp. for the view of the castle) at around 5:30 pm in January a few years ago, and there were children, but I don't remember that they were ill-behaved.

 

[PatriciaH]

It is also well designed so if the kids do get a little "scootchy" and loud the sound doesn't echo throughout the restaurant. I'd actually think twice about Flying Fish as their decor features mostly metal, glass and tile from which the sounds bounce and echo making quite ruckus if the kids start getting antsy.

Brown Derby has those super high ceilings too. Really makes loud sounds eccoooooo.

 

[foofanella]

we were there with DD 4 and DS 2 and the wait staff was lovely and patient. Ask them to seat you in the back room where the ceiling is a little lower (so when they are loud the sound doesn't travel quite so much) . They have a kids menu and coloring.

Also - be warned - to get to the bathroom you have to go to the candy store!!! So make sure you go in the room - there's nothing worse than trying to convince a 3YO to eat broccoli after they've seen ice cream and candy!

 

[IWISHFORDISNEY]

Our DS 18 months just did great at Boma, CP at MK and he loved Tigger and Pooh, and we are gonna try WCC at WL in the fall. I hear WCC is geared towords the family. We have eaten at FF many times and there are always kids there and the steak is awesome.

 

[travelitis]

My kids loved character meals at that age! That's one of the cutest ages for character meals. I have pics of my 2 yr. old dd going up behind Eeyore to touch his tail which fascintated her. My kids still like the character meals, but now is the time! Mix it up, and have serious, adult dining as well as characters. Kids are expected to be kids at a character meal (minus the running circles around other people's tables and obviously rude behavior, of course).

 

[Fabooliss]

In case you reconsider the 2TS idea:

We haven't been yet, but are planning for February with my 2 1/2 year old DS and 5 year old DD. We decided against the 2TS meals since we might have to remove DS and will be doing both a TS breakfast and TS dinner one day (NO LUNCH I think! )
Based on recommendations from the people here we picked these "family friendly" restaurants that still have interesting food:
1900's Park Fare (Grand Floridian) character buffet
Boma- (AKL) fire pit
Ohana- (Polynesian Resort) Hawaiian luau
Chef Mickey's - (Contemporary) character buffet
And in Park, Coral Reef (so he can watch the fish... great DP value!) and Character Breakfast at Crystal Palace, so we can get started early to MK.

Can you tell we like buffets (they tend to be louder and it doesn't matter so much if DS needs to go for a walk).
Oh and my DS (who turns 2 next week) already says MICKEY when ever he sees those ears! Probably one of his clearest words!!! I can't wait to see his face when he sees Mickey in person!

 

[molly2004]

Also - be warned - to get to the bathroom you have to go to the candy store!!! So make sure you go in the room - there's nothing worse than trying to convince a 3YO to eat broccoli after they've seen ice cream and candy!

Wow! Good tip! It'll be hard to get ME to eat broccoli after I've seen ice cream and candy!

We regularly take our kids to restaurant now, albeit family restaurants like Macaroni Grill. They are typically very good...the kids and the food . Yes, they'll get "scootchy" but a quick walk outside usually takes care of things. The last thing I want to do is to disturb fellow patrons 'cause...heck! it bugs ME to see kids misbehaving, even at McD's!

Thanks for your suggestions. I've already planned on the Coral Reef and a character meal (Crystal Palace). I thought about HDDR but I don't think they'd get the humor at that point. I'll seriously consider it though. Luau? I guess I'll think about that too. And we can't do 2 1TS because we don't have room on our schedule. Parks close early in January and we have to schedule in 3 hours each day for nap/quiet time, that only leaves us about 4 to 5 hours of park time. Spending another 1 to 2 hours for another TS wouldn't be worth it to us.

So thanks again! Lots of great ideas everyone!

 

[SleepyatDVC]

Molly2004,

Well, if you really Have to blow off 2TS, then FF is a very nice restaurant and especially convenient to BWV.

It use to be our favorite restaurant and we ate there many times with our now 5&7 yo DDs when they were younger. We also ate there alone for our 5th anniversary.

AP and Citrico's has now past FF in our favorite restaurant rankings. The kids especially love AP for the Mickey coloring and the puzzle painting dessert. We did not take the kids to Citrico's the one time we dined there.

FF is still good but just not as good as it use to be. Love the mussels. It is super convenient to BWV and with young kids, I say go for it. I would try to get an early seating. Many times we got the earliest ADR (I think it opens around 5 or 5:30pm). I think we were the first ones seated one night! It was like ALL the waitstaff and hosts were taking care of us! Lol!

ONE of the only times in a WDW restaurant where DD5 (then terrible 2) was acting up and refusing to sit still was at FF one year. She kept getting out of her seat and wanting to "play" under and around the bar stools facing the open kitchen next to our table. We had an early seating and the restaurant was pretty deserted. Even so, we couldn't let her get out of her chair like that, so we took turns taking the kids to the candy store next door. We ate in a lot more that one particular trip.

When she was an infant, we have taken her in her car seat where she slept through dinner. I remember one time when she was slepping in her stroller, they even let us roll her right up next to the table during the meal. Boy, we have eaten there a lot!

After an early dinner, stick the kids in the stroller and walk around the BW or even over to WorldShowcase. You get to walk off your meal and hopefully the kids will nod off too and you can roll them right back to your room.

If I had the time on departure day, I might do Spoodles (just as convenient as FF) one night and have a Cape May character breakfast on the morning you check out.

To be honest, DH does not like buffets at all and doesn't want to do them anymore. But we did A LOT of the character buffets when the kids were young, especially when they were under 3. First they get to eat for free and we could always find something they were willing to eat and we didn't wind up ordering something for them that they refuse to touch. Second because the themed meal kept them entertained throughout meal, WE got to eat our food! Just something to think about.

FYI, January isn't a very crowded time of year, so I don't know if a Fantasmic package is really necessary. But if you have a hankering to eat at Brown Derby anyways, I guess you'd might as well get the reserved seating out of it. We ate at the BD for the first time last trip. It was a very noisy restaurant. Nice, but I don't know if it was worth 2TS.

Just remember that the BD Fantasmic pkg requires 2TS. So, with the FF for 2TS, you would have used up 4TS per person for 2 meals already.

Have a GREAT trip!!!!

 

[molly2004]

Hi, Sleepy! Thanks for your thoughts on FF. I figure that since we haven't eaten at any sit down places there, FF is as good as any to start.

When she was an infant, we have taken her in her car seat where she slept through dinner. I remember one time when she was slepping in her stroller, they even let us roll her right up next to the table during the meal. Boy, we have eaten there a lot!

FUnny, I was just wondering today if they'd let you do that!

FYI, January isn't a very crowded time of year, so I don't know if a Fantasmic package is really necessary. But if you have a hankering to eat at Brown Derby anyways, I guess you'd might as well get the reserved seating out of it. We ate at the BD for the first time last trip. It was a very noisy restaurant. Nice, but I don't know if it was worth 2TS.

Just remember that the BD Fantasmic pkg requires 2TS. So, with the FF for 2TS, you would have used up 4TS per person for 2 meals already.

We were planning on eating at BD anyway. Since we'd be with the kids, noise is good! We figured we'd do the Fantasmic package to make sure we'd be able to make it to the 7 PM performace. Because of the price of the package, we'll be paying OOP for that meal, leaving us with the 2TS credits to burn up. We figured that we might as well pay the ~$40 pp for the pkg and have 2TS credits to burn rather than spend the 2TS on BD and still have to pay OOP for a TS later on in the week.

Thanks again for your response. And thanks to everyone else for your suggestions!

 

[SleepyatDVC]

Hi, Sleepy!
We were planning on eating at BD anyway. Since we'd be with the kids, noise is good! We figured we'd do the Fantasmic package to make sure we'd be able to make it to the 7 PM performace. Because of the price of the package, we'll be paying OOP for that meal, leaving us with the 2TS credits to burn up. We figured that we might as well pay the ~$40 pp for the pkg and have 2TS credits to burn rather than spend the 2TS on BD and still have to pay OOP for a TS later on in the week.

Thanks again for your response. And thanks to everyone else for your suggestions!

IMO, and you can take it or leave it , I would just use 2TS each for the BD Fantasmic and then do a 1TS like Spoodles instead. At the end of the day, you would have saved ~$80 OOP and still had the same number of total meals. Especially, if you haven't eaten anyway on the BW before and are willing to try anyplace. If you wind up having to cut costs, here's one painless way to save at least $80.

Unless you have your heart set to try BOTH BD and FF, then I agree it would be a less expensive option to pay OOP for the BD Fantasmic pkg than for FF.