Why would someone do this?

[Luv2Roam]

I agree mndisfam. I don't think any family wants to have a meltdown. And it is nice to be able to help a family in need. They want to enjoy a relaxing meal too. Glad it worked out and you did not feel isolated.
I have seen adults have meltdowns. And that is a far more an unmagical sight than seeing a kid have one.

 

[webray]

We agree with you, ducklite, completely. Being locals, we eat in disney's finer dining establishments on a regular basis. We drop hundreds on a meal after dde including wine/drinks and all the courses, much much more if we have our adult children with us. If we get great service, hubby will tip 50% in a heartbeat, if not more. (we believe in rewarding great service). More and more we find tables of adults with children who would rather not be in that restaurant at all. What is up with that..if the dining plan is to blame, it needs to go away now.

 

[Wafflestoo]

Hi there,

We have skipped many a nice restaurant because of having young children. Having young children is a temporary thing and being a parent means heeding to their needs. I have left diners with my young children in hand due to their minor "meltdowns" I feel uncomfortable ANYTIME my child acts up, but it is bound to happen and as a responsable parent I need to make sure that others are not put out by their "acting up". As management, I think that the family should have been offered their meals to go due to their children's unruly behavior. Maybe the parents would have gotten the hint, but probably not. Parents like that tend to be oblivious to the needs of others except themselves.

Last year, my DH and I ate at Artist Point. Where were our young ones? They were at the WL camp having a blast with their pizza and video games.

Meg

 

[luv2playallday]

People who don't understand the items on the menu, have kids who have obviously never eaten anywhere but a barn trough, and even adults with no manners.

WOW! I think that was a little harsh to say the kids haven't eaten anywhere but a barn trough. Granted the kids probably needed to go home to bed, but you don't know the exact situation of why they were there, or what they were doing. I agree noone likes to hear crying or yelling kids while they are eating, but sometimes things happen. This is Disney World, and you should expect to see children while you are there, and not all of them are going to be happy all of the time. Maybe that was the one dinner the parents planned for themselves, and they were just doing their best to get through it. I'm sure they weren't exactly happy with the situation either. It doesn't make it easy when you have to plan 6 months in advance what time your children will want to eat, and if they will be tired or not. Maybe at home that is the perfect time for them to take their children to dinner, and they act Great so they planned accordingly, and after actually being a Disney things happened, and that time turned out to be Terrible! Well they already had their reservations, they already made the voyage to the restaurant, they already waited in line. Maybe they figured once they sat down the children would calm down. Maybe when they went there the children were being very well behaved, but after a long wait they got upset. Really you don't know the exact situation, and unless you do you shouldn't pass judgement on these parents or their children. They may be the best parents in the world, and things just didn't work out. Things happen. I'm sure noone was happy about the situation.

 

[2 princes 1 princess]

Yesterday we ate at Wolfgang Pucks. They originally tried to seat us next to a table with what looked to be three kids under age five and their obviously overwhelmed parents. We asked to be moved before we even sat down. I'm glad we were as five minutes after we were seated the 14 month or so old hurled her plate to the ground, shattering it and sending the contents flying through the air at other people. And the parents were the ones who had the nerve to give US dirty looks when we asked for a different table before we actually sat down.

Anne

We do this all the time and we have three young kids of our own. When the children are with us, we don't want to sit next to a family with kids who will add "fuel to the fire". It's hard enough getting three hungry little ones to behave without the added pressure of "Mommy that boy is eating ketchup with a knife, why can't I?" or my favorite that happened at O'hana was when a toddler next to us screamed and our toddler would scream and it became one big game for the two of them. I had to take my baby out of O'hana and it was a drag.
Whenever we go out alone without the kids I never want to sit next to a family with kids. I always ask to be moved. Once at a local resturaunt the hostess tried to sit us next to a fmily with three kids the same age as ours and we were paying a babysitter at home so I asked to be seated somewhere else. The mother over heard me and said "I don't blame you. I wouldn't be sitting here either if I didn't have to."
We don't allow our kids to have tantrums in resturaunts. When it happens, one of us takes the child out or we just leave.

 

[ducklite]

People who don't understand the items on the menu, have kids who have obviously never eaten anywhere but a barn trough, and even adults with no manners.

WOW! I think that was a little harsh to say the kids haven't eaten anywhere but a barn trough.

Trust me, I've seen lots of kids (and their parents) over the years at WDW that have obviously spent plenty of time eating out of troughs and at Mc D's. If your kids have never eaten anywhere nicer than Chuck-E-Cheeses, then a nice restaurant when they are wiped out from a day in a theme park isn't a good choice. In fact it's a STUPID CHOICE made by STUPID and INCONSIDERATE people.

Granted the kids probably needed to go home to bed, but you don't know the exact situation of why they were there, or what they were doing. I agree noone likes to hear crying or yelling kids while they are eating, but sometimes things happen. This is Disney World, and you should expect to see children while you are there, and not all of them are going to be happy all of the time.

I don't expect to see them always happy. I do expect parents to have common sense and not take already menlting down kids into a nice restaurant for a meal that's going to take 1.5 to 2 hours.

Maybe that was the one dinner the parents planned for themselves, and they were just doing their best to get through it.

For themselves? You are freaking kidding, right? Then they should ahve hired a sitter or stopped being SELFISH! Choosing to be a parent means that for many years you'll put the needs of your kids before your own selfish wants. Those kids NEEDED a bed. Their parents WANTED to eat. Stupid is as stupid does.

I'm sure they weren't exactly happy with the situation either. It doesn't make it easy when you have to plan 6 months in advance what time your children will want to eat, and if they will be tired or not. Maybe at home that is the perfect time for them to take their children to dinner, and they act Great so they planned accordingly, and after actually being a Disney things happened, and that time turned out to be Terrible! Well they already had their reservations, they already made the voyage to the restaurant, they already waited in line. Maybe they figured once they sat down the children would calm down. Maybe when they went there the children were being very well behaved, but after a long wait they got upset. Really you don't know the exact situation, and unless you do you shouldn't pass judgement on these parents or their children. They may be the best parents in the world, and things just didn't work out. Things happen. I'm sure noone was happy about the situation.

Those parents had a choice--to get the food to go, or to change their plans. Instead they chose to be rude, ignorant, obnoxious, and have a blatant disregard for common courtesy and the comfort of others.

Anne

 

[PolyAddict]

Once at a local resturaunt the hostess tried to sit us next to a fmily with three kids the same age as ours and we were paying a babysitter at home so I asked to be seated somewhere else. /QUOTE]

Amen to this, we do stuff with friends or alone a handful of times a year. The last thing you want is screaming kids all around you.

 

[dalt01]

well what have we here, first of all its kind of dumb to be within the confines of WDW and not expect negative issues pertaining to children. second, some kids are easier to raise than others, if yours were quiet and peaceful growing up good for you. third, some peoples parenting skills are somewhat less than steller, what are you going to do, shoot em for it?? for the most part i think these people would rather not be on display but once the ride starts you cant get off, are they supposed to just leave and waste all that money? but its not about them really is it? its about us! reminds me of a breakfast a long time ago on property and an older couple were sitting close to us and i overheard them saying," it just cant enjoy my breakfast with all these screaming kids around". DAH............

 

[jarestel]

I can sympathize, we've been seated within earshot of wailing children at times also. But, it is WDW and children probably make up the bulk of the visitor population, bringing with them all of the wonderful things we love ( smiles, wide-eyed wonder, and happy laughter ) and unfortunately some of the things we're not so fond of. If it's any consolation, I'm sure the parents were having an even more unpleasant evening than you were.

Should they have taken the children out of the restaurant? Probably so, but would Disney refund the money for their meal on the dining plan in this case? Probably not. There's nothing wrong with people wanting to get what they paid for when they go on vacation, so the parents probably gulped down their meal and left as quickly as possible.

As I said, I can sympathize with you, but I can also feel for the harried parents who were trying to cope with the situation.

Better luck next time.

 

[luv2playallday]

People who don't understand the items on the menu, have kids who have obviously never eaten anywhere but a barn trough, and even adults with no manners.

Trust me, I've seen lots of kids (and their parents) over the years at WDW that have obviously spent plenty of time eating out of troughs and at Mc D's. If your kids have never eaten anywhere nicer than Chuck-E-Cheeses, then a nice restaurant when they are wiped out from a day in a theme park isn't a good choice. In fact it's a STUPID CHOICE made by STUPID and INCONSIDERATE people.



I don't expect to see them always happy. I do expect parents to have common sense and not take already menlting down kids into a nice restaurant for a meal that's going to take 1.5 to 2 hours.



For themselves? You are freaking kidding, right? Then they should ahve hired a sitter or stopped being SELFISH! Choosing to be a parent means that for many years you'll put the needs of your kids before your own selfish wants. Those kids NEEDED a bed. Their parents WANTED to eat. Stupid is as stupid does.



Those parents had a choice--to get the food to go, or to change their plans. Instead they chose to be rude, ignorant, obnoxious, and have a blatant disregard for common courtesy and the comfort of others.

Anne

WOW AGAIN! That is just so rude to call them ignorant, and I have never met one child who has eaten out of a trough. Your attitude is just not pleasant at all. I have nothing else to say to you.

 

[ducklite]

well what have we here, first of all its kind of dumb to be within the confines of WDW and not expect negative issues pertaining to children.

It's called mitagation or damage control. If your kids are in meltdown mode, you take them to a quick service place, feed them, and put them to bed. You do not take them into a restaurant full of people and subject those people to your kids and make your kids even more miserable. That's common sense and common courtesy 101.

second, some kids are easier to raise than others, if yours were quiet and peaceful growing up good for you.

My son was a handful. But he learned from a very young age what was and was not appropriate behaviour in public, and if he was having a meltdown I wasn't stupid, selfish, or inconsiderate enough to not leave immediately.

third, some peoples parenting skills are somewhat less than steller, what are you going to do, shoot em for it??

Maybe you're on to something.

for the most part i think these people would rather not be on display but once the ride starts you cant get off, are they supposed to just leave and waste all that money?

They hadn't even been seated yet, let alone ordered in my original scenario, so where is money wasted? And they could have always ordered it to go. We quite often bring home an entire dinner for DS when we eat out at WDW. Sometimes he's working, other times he just doesn't want to go.

Anne

 

[ducklite]

I can sympathize, we've been seated within earshot of wailing children at times also. But, it is WDW and children probably make up the bulk of the visitor population, bringing with them all of the wonderful things we love ( smiles, wide-eyed wonder, and happy laughter ) and unfortunately some of the things we're not so fond of. If it's any consolation, I'm sure the parents were having an even more unpleasant evening than you were.

Should they have taken the children out of the restaurant? Probably so, but would Disney refund the money for their meal on the dining plan in this case? Probably not. There's nothing wrong with people wanting to get what they paid for when they go on vacation, so the parents probably gulped down their meal and left as quickly as possible.

As I said, I can sympathize with you, but I can also feel for the harried parents who were trying to cope with the situation.

Better luck next time.

Actually they were still there when we left over 90 minutes later, sipping coffee. The youngest was asleep, the middle was under the table crying, and the oldest was beginning to metldown. That was jsut rude parents.

And like I said, even on the dining plan they could have ordered to go.

Anne

 

[ducklite]

WOW AGAIN! That is just so rude to call them ignorant, and I have never met one child who has eaten out of a trough. Your attitude is just not pleasant at all. I have nothing else to say to you.

I think I hit a nerve with someone who's got young kids and the mindset of I'm going to eat where I want when I want and it's someone elses problem if my kids are banshees and bother everyone else.

BTW--if a parent is so selfish as to disturb a retaurant full of diners to placate their wants over their kids needs, then yes, ignorant is a very appropriate term.

Anne

 

[jarestel]

Actually they were still there when we left over 90 minutes later, sipping coffee. The youngest was asleep, the middle was under the table crying, and the oldest was beginning to metldown. That was jsut rude parents.

And like I said, even on the dining plan they could have ordered to go.

Anne

Well, if they were lingering over the meal sipping coffee while the kids were blowing up, I take back all of my sympathy for them and I agree wholeheartedly with your statements.

 

[cnids00]

Personally, if I had kids that were that tired and exhausted from a day at WDW, I think it would have been parental instinct to take them back to the resort, one parent bathe them & get pj's on, the other grabbing to go at the food court, feed them and get those little ones to bed. And obviously, skip the dinner at Citrico's.

That is what I would have done, my 2 cents

 

[3DisneyBuggs]

I would say it's poor planning on the parent's part. I would not bring my 3 kids to an upscale restaurant on vacation or not. Dh and I went out for our anniversary last night and DH told his grandma we were going to a nice place and didn;t bring them becasue they're loud! Now family restaurants you have to expect a certain amount of whining kids but not at the really nice TS.

 

[luv2playallday]

I think I hit a nerve with someone who's got young kids and the mindset of I'm going to eat where I want when I want and it's someone elses problem if my kids are banshees and bother everyone else.

BTW--if a parent is so selfish as to disturb a retaurant full of diners to placate their wants over their kids needs, then yes, ignorant is a very appropriate term.

Anne

I think you ASSume way to much, because I have 2 childrent that are very well behaved, and go to 5 star restauants all the time with us. The one and only time my child has ever acted up at a restaurant was when he was 1 at a funeral dinner, and I removed him, and took him back to the hotel room so the other people could enjoy their dinner. I never said that I would have personally have stayed there, or anything regarding that I just said there could have been reasons, and circumstances that you were unaware of, and that you should try to be a little understanding. Maybe if you just tried to look at the bright side of your dinner, and how wonderful the food was instead of dwelling, and complaining about other diners you would have enjoyed yourself instead of being bitter about the whole thing. You are very arrogant, and I am not responding to any more posts regarding this. I have much better things to do than hash it out over something as insignifigant as this.

 

[dalt01]

we all can say what we would have done but these young people may have blown half their food budget on this meal envisioning a nice quiet loving evening, as naive as it was.

 

[monymony3471]

I understand when dining in a nice upscale restaurant you expect a nice upscale experience. I don't understand why that's expected at a WDW restaurant.

Maybe disney needs to impliment some changes at the higher end restaurants. Age restrictions after a certain time. So you can arrive after the children have dinned. Or in the restaurtants decriptions word it where it's an quiet, adult atmosphere. If I read that, I'd definitely not take my family there. Maybe just me and DH.

I've read where some CM's stepped in to divert the meltdowns. Whether a balloon was brought over, or some kind of trinket, or even just a few kind words.


No one wants to listen to crying kids. Anytime, anywhere. I have 3 of my own. But, hey that's just life with kids. And WDW if full of them. It's unfortunate that happened. But, whether they chose that restaurant or a food court. It was going to happen. Just a bummer it happened at the restaurant you chose.

 

[SplashMom]

I think it all goes back to good manners. Our children have always eaten out and if one acted up, one of us would leave. It happens at restaurants, in grocery stores, at parks, anywhere. The people who don't seem to care about the behaviour of their kids are consistent--they don't mind bothering other people wherever they are. Put yourself in another's shoes--would you want to have someone else's kids ruining your meal? Not likely. Whether you are a parent or not, we can all relate to bad behaviour but I think it comes down to how you handle it. Good manners.