I have reservations for Tiffins dinner at 5:40. I've read so many good things about the restaurant but now contemplating whether it's a good choice for my 5 year old DD. Do many parents take there kids here? I'm staying at the AKL so should I just book something like jiko (we are doing boma another day)? or maybe tusker house would be a better alternative (although we are doing 3 other character meals). Please let me know your opinions on Tiffins with the younger whipper snappers. TIA!
-
Welcome to the WDWMAGIC.COM Forums!
Please take a look around, and feel free to sign up and join the community.
Thoughts on Tiffins with a young whipper snapper
- Thread starter proudrcf
- Start date
sxeensweet
Love a little Disney every day!! ;)
Look at the kids menu and see if it has something there that your little one will eat. 
Figgy1
Premium Member
This. We loved both the food and service at Tiffins but Tusker House was more fun and the food was very good in fact it was our favorite character meal last trip.Look at the kids menu and see if it has something there that your little one will eat.
Monty
Brilliant...and Canadian
- In the Parks
- No
Taking kids to higher end restaurants is a judgement call for parents. At 5, my son was very well behaved in a nice restaurant, so we didn't worry about it and booked a few nicer restaurants. All went well except one. After a long, hot, tiring day he had a meltdown right after we'd ordered. We ended up tag-team eating our meals, taking turns taking him out of the restaurant while the other ate a bit. Once we'd finished our entrees, he'd calmed down and our server brought him a special treat for dessert and was effusive thanking us for not just keeping him at the table the whole time. I'm pretty sure everyone in our vicinity was really grateful too.
It's ultimately up to the parents, who know how their kids are, to decide whether a younger whipper-snapper is going to be able to cope for a little while in that atmosphere. I've experienced a few meals where screaming kids running around the restaurant ruined the meal for the rest of the guests. There's not much you can do about what other parents do...
It's ultimately up to the parents, who know how their kids are, to decide whether a younger whipper-snapper is going to be able to cope for a little while in that atmosphere. I've experienced a few meals where screaming kids running around the restaurant ruined the meal for the rest of the guests. There's not much you can do about what other parents do...
This is exactly it. We've all seen the full spread of little ones behavior on restaurants. I've seen the most well behaved kids at Jiko, through to kids turning the California Grill into a playground.
If your little ones can handle it, no reason at all not to do Tiffins. It actually has one of the better kids menus http://www.wdwmagic.com/dining/tiffins/menus.htm
If you want to play it really safe, Tusker is very loud and busy.
The last time I was at Cal grill three kids ages 8-13 were sprinting around the room... Running up to the glass... Under the tables... As their hippie parents looked at their phones... It was as bad as it gets... Death penalty should have been an option...
danyoung56
Well-Known Member
I've seen the good and I've seen the bad. The best was a young couple with a little girl - maybe 3 or 4 - at the table next to me. She was watching a cartoon on a portable dvd player while the parents enjoyed a nice meal. I'm not normally in favor of letting technology babysit your kids. But in this case, and in this over-stimulating environment, I thought it was a good solution.
The bad - dinner at the Coral Reef, sitting down by the glass. A little girl at the table across from me was upset about something, and the parents' way of dealing with it was to just ignore. The girl ended up on the floor under the table, screaming at the top of her lungs for about 20 minutes. I didn't hold anything against the child, as they'll melt down from time to time. But the parents I coulda killed!
Anyway, back on topic, I think your child would enjoy the atmosphere of Skippers. As long as there's something on the menu that she would enjoy, you'll be fine.
RememberWhen
Well-Known Member
We took our 4 year old in September and he did fine. We did walk around and look at the art while waiting for food, but we also brought paper and crayons and he knows how to behave in a restaurant. The food wasn't his favorite, but I can't remember what we got him.
EvilQueen-T
Well-Known Member
I always ask...is your child the type to sit through a nice meal or run around the table? Fighting with you child while you try to finish a meal or worse letting one run around while others try to eat isn't fun for anyone. Some kids are great at all ages in that kind of venue others aren't (I had one of each lol). Then I suggest looking at the kids menu and seeing if there's something you think they'll eat. Last it's disney plus you're inside one of the parks and there are kids everywhere so don't worry about that. The only venue where you won't see one's as young as yours is at V&A.
jaklgreen
Well-Known Member
We have been taking our girls to nice restaurants their whole lives. If you start when they are young and set boundaries so they know how to behave then you will be able to go anywhere with them. As far as food goes, at WDW every restaurant(except V&A) has "kids" food. But what a good way to expose your child to different kinds of food. We always went to places that had different foods and made it fun for the kids to try new things. Also, we never gave our kids any kind of electronic "entertainment". It does not allow them to learn patience or how to entertain themselves.
dreamfinder
Well-Known Member
We took our 2yo DS to Tiffins with us last trip. Admittedly, it was a relatively early dining time (5:30) and we did let him watch Pooh after he finished his food, but as a PP said, it all depends on your child. It is far from the most child friendly location on property, but we did play in the dino dig zone for a good 45-60 minutes before hand, so he got alot of his sillies out.
21stamps
Well-Known Member
I love this.
To add to the no "electronic entertainment" necessary, a kid can talk to their parents. They should talking to their parents. If you're engaging your child in conversation, and listening to them, there is no reason for them to be restless. Leave your kid with a sitter if you're going to hand them an iPad during dinner.
danyoung56
Well-Known Member
I have to jump back in and say that generally I agree with this - meal time should be family time, talking about your day, etc. But with a location as active as Disney World, I can see the parents just wanting to take a little time off, and letting the dvd player entertain the kid(s) during dinner.
jaklgreen
Well-Known Member
Hahaha that's funny, parents taking time off. Having screens entertain your kids is a slippery slope. My SIL always had her kids entertained by a screen. As soon as they got into the car, no matter how far they were going, the first thing they did was put the headphones on and watched TV. Those kids never learned to use their imagination. Her girls are the exact same age as mine and they are all teenagers now and she has a younger son. Her kids have the attention span of a gnat. Diagnosed with ADD. It's amazing how many kids in the last decade have ADD, with the increase of kids being entertained by screens just to give parents a break. I don't know what people expected when having kids. If you want a break then send the kids to grandma's house like your parents did with you. I think you can go for a week's vacation and pay attention to your kids the whole time.
Last edited:
The parents that raised the kids from 30 down should be kicked in the ^^^^... Terrible job
jaklgreen
Well-Known Member
I know this is not the forum for it, but I don't know what these parents are thinking. Kids need rules and structure and should not be allowed to rule the house. I always say that if kids knew what they were doing then they would move out and get a job at 5. And don't even get me started on what some feed their kids. To my mind, it should be child abuse to only feed your kids, the typical "kids" food.
21stamps
Well-Known Member
I love you. Lol.
jaklgreen
Well-Known Member
LOL Thank you. It always seems like a person can not express those ideas because you get blasted. I think people who get mad at you are trying to justify doing the wrong thing.