We had dinner at Citrico's a few nights ago (I'll post a review in a bit). When we got there, there was a family with three kids that looked to be 6, 4, and 2ish. The two year old was already melting down, and the four year old wasn't far behind.
They were seated just before us, and as we walked past their table to get to ours (at the other end of the room) the two year old was kicking and wailing, and the four year old was crying and standing next to the table.
WHY would these parents be so ignorant, rude, and obnoxious to bring kids who had already had enough into a restaurant like that? Get them counter service and put them to bed for God's sake!!
While we were eating one of the managers came over to say hello (being "locals" we eat there enough that several of the managers, servers, and chefs recognize us as "regulars") and asked how our meal was. I mentioned the situation on the other end of the dining room to him, and he agreed it's becoming a problem, and we weren't the first to comment on it. They are discussing ways of dealing with this type of issue that would work for everyone, including seating all families with younger kids within a certain area only, amongst other ideas that he didn't elaborate on. One of the other people we spoke to that night said the previous Friday had been so bad with crying and out of control kids that he had a massive headache that four extra strength Tylonol didn't kill.
Why would parents do that to other diners? Personally I think it's the dining plan. The notion of "I paid for it I"m going to get every freaking dime out of it and to hell with the rest of the world." We've noticed lately a lot of people on the dining plan at the more upscale restaurants that in all honestly probably never would have eaten there otherwise. 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. TAKE YOUR DAMN BASEBALL CAP OFF WHILE AT THE TABLE!! What is WRONG with people these days?
As we told the manager we spoke with, "In all honestly, if Disney doesn't do something about the issues at their nicer restaurants, we'll stop eating at them." We dropped $150 AFTER DDE the other night. Fortunately the obnoxious table was far enough away that we didn't need to deal with them, and the only kids seated near us were either well behaved (one table) or the parents had their meals wrapped and left (another table--and thank you if you are reading this--it was the "right" thing for you to do) or they left before we got our appetizers (a third table that I was about ready to complain about.) Do they really want to lose business like ours (we dine there every 6-8 weeks or so) over people who eat there once every five years and disrupt the place while they are there?
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
. Quite frankly, I think Disney is way more concerned about the business coming from out of town with the 2 year olds than the business of the locals. Now were is that "ignore poster option?"
