Family Dining help?

[DisneyWood]

We will be in WDW in October. We have scheduled 1 character breakfast (MK-Winnie the Pooh & Friends) and don't really know where else to go with our small children.

Does anyone have any thoughts on Mickey's Backyard Barbeque? I have heard it is not worth the price. Can anyone give me any feedback?

We will be dining at Epcot quite a bit, for the various cuisines. We were also considering the Luau at the Polynesian. We are staying at the AKL and will probably eat there as well.

My wife and I have been to WDW several times together, but this will be a first as a family of 4. There ages are 1 (girl) & 2 (boy).

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

40 days to WDW trip :sohappy: :sohappy: :sohappy:

 

[Dizz42]

It's usually just my husband and myself but last September we took daughter, son-in-law and 2 grandkids. What an eyeopener! WDW really is for kids! :lol: We had PS's and everytime we checked in, no matter which restaurant, they knew we needed a booster seat (4 year old) and a highchair (2 year old). It was wonderful not to have to constantly request or repeat ourselves...they would say, "Party of 6 - 4 adults, 2 children. You need a booster seat and a highchair, right?" Also, they always had crayons and a coloring book or placemat for each child. Sodas or milk always arrived in paper or plastic cups with lids and straws and CM's everywhere handed out stickers, stars, "pixie dust", etc. I can't think of one restaurant that didn't have chicken fingers and mac and cheese on the menu. From the most sophisticated sit-down restaurant to the "fast food" places, kids are :king: and it's wonderful! Some high points for us: Chef Mickey's for dinner, Cape May Cafe for breakfast, oh, and corn dogs and fries on the Boardwalk...they had a ball and so did we!

 

[Shellybelle]

You could try Chef Mickey's at the Contemporary. They have a breakfast and dinner with the characters (Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Goofy, Chip and Dale).

Also in Norway(Epcot) there's a Princess Storybook breakfast (Sleeping Beauty, Mulan, Snow White, Jasmine, Belle).

At the Grand Floridian at 1900 Park Fare I believe there is a character breakfast (not sure which characters) and dinner with Cinderella, Prince Charming, Suzy, Perla, Fairy Godmother.

I haven't been to the Poly Luau, but 'Ohanas has great food and if you schedule your time right you can see Wishes from the window and go out on the beach area to see the Electrical Light Parade.

Another place I haven't been is the Liberty Tree Travern but I believe they have a character dinner there and also in AK there is a character breakfast I believe featuring Donald Duck.

At MGM my kids have liked dining at the SciFi where you sit in a car and watch a drive-in movie. Your kids are younger than mine, though, so I'm not sure if they'd enjoy this as much, but it's very cool.And at MGM there is Pizza Planet where my kids like to look at the aliens hanging off the ceiling and all the cool games around.

Hope this helps some!

 

[scorp111]

It is nice to know what we have to look forward to!

9 days until our trip with our 14 month old....

 

[ClemsonTigger]

Good Questions

Well, with the ages you've mentioned, I have two trains of thought. First, with the character meals and dinner shows, I would not do too much, it would probably be for a nice photo op for you and the kids won't get too much out of it. The 2 yr. old will probably be OK, but many kids get scared by the BIG characters. Meet and greets in the park work just as well. The ages of your kids would not warrant you spending too much time trying to "entertain" them, say as with 4-7 year olds. Secondly, this is a benefit, as they will willingly go along with most plans you would have. All places have kid menu's, so pasta, chicken fingers, hot dogs, grilled cheese and the like are available everywhere.

I agree the the Backyard Barbeque is not great for kids of any age, especially not for the money. Spirit of Aloha is nice for adults, but it lost on most kids through the teens. Kids are often not as crazy about the food there as well. Hoop de do I think is the only show worth the money for the whole family.

More for your information rather than the children, remember that the Food and Wine festival is going on while you are there, so in addition to the normal cusine variety, it is expanded fourfold, so you can really enjoy!

I suggest checking out www.allearsnet for menu previews both at regular sites and also for the special Epcot festivities. Deb also has a number of pointers for travelling with small children and for childrens menu's .

Enjoy!

 

[Lauriebar]

The only thing I would add to the wonderful suggestions already made is perhaps instead of considering the Backyard BBQ, you might check out the Hoop-de-doo Revue. It is in Ft. Wilderness as well and my kids love it...great food and an even greater show!!!

 

[DisneyWood]

I agree the the Backyard Barbeque is not great for kids of any age, especially not for the money. Spirit of Aloha is nice for adults, but it lost on most kids through the teens. Kids are often not as crazy about the food there as well. Hoop de do I think is the only show worth the money for the whole family.

Enjoy!

Thanks everyone for the helpful information. I will probably be cancelling our Mickey's Backyard Barbeque reservation. I always seem to forget that we will be there during the food & wine festival. This is new for us. We are looking forward to it indeed.

We have never been to Chef Mickey's. We may be making the trip over there this year. I have heard many great things about it.

40 days to WDW trip :sohappy: :sohappy:

 

[DisneyWood]

We had PS's and everytime we checked in, no matter which restaurant, they knew we needed a booster seat (4 year old) and a highchair (2 year old). It was wonderful not to have to constantly request or repeat ourselves...they would say, "Party of 6 - 4 adults, 2 children. You need a booster seat and a highchair, right?"

How did they know that you needed a booster seat and high chair each time? Was it already in their system? I agree, I get tired of requesting the same thing each time we eat. It would be nice not to have to worry about it for a change.

We will also use PS. Like I said though, this is our first family trip. And we are looking forward to it.

I don't think that we will be trying to do a lot of character meals though, we think 1 is probably enough. There are plenty of other great places to eat in the parks as well as the resorts.

Again, thanks for the help. :wave:

 

[tigsmom]

How did they know that you needed a booster seat and high chair each time? Was it already in their system? I agree, I get tired of requesting the same thing each time we eat. It would be nice not to have to worry about it for a change.

Anytime we made PS when our kids were small they always asked the ages, so maybe they noted it in the system.

You know your kids best...what they will eat & how good they are at sitting in one place (mine weren't very good at that :lol: )

Chef Mickey's for breakfast is great and there are many things for little kids.
When our girls were little we mainly ate in fast food/snack bar types of places because they would only pick at the foods offered.

Save the shows (and $$) for another trip, if you're anything like the rest of us I'm sure there will be many. :wave:

 

[DisneyWood]

Save the shows (and $$) for another trip, if you're anything like the rest of us I'm sure there will be many. :wave:

You got that right. There will be many trips in the future and plenty of time to go to dinner shows. So, we will probably not attend to many dinner shows this trip. However, our children are pretty well behaved (for the most part), so we will go to a few nice restaurants (early in the evening).

Thanks.

 

[Yellow Shoes]

The thing to remember is that for children as young as yours, everything is a new experience.

My kids got the most out of control when they were on "sensory overload." (In many ways, that is the ultimate description of WDW).

One character meal is quite enough. If they really take to the characters, there are many (free!) opportunities for interaction.

One of my kids' favorite vacation memories (although not at WDW) is ordering room service pizza and eating it on the bed. (See what I mean--it's all new for them)

 

[shari71]

Last year we had a 6 month old and a 3 year old for the trip and unfortunately GF didn't have much in the way of a food court. The kids wouldn't sit for a meal except for the one PS we had at Cinderella's Royal Table for breakfast. The were well behaved and entertained. It was the one meal my husband and I actually got to eat. This year we are staying at POR which has a great food court for when we want to grab something and the children aren't behaving. We also have PS for 5 different Character meals. Chef Mickey's, Ohana's breakfast, Crystal Palace, Cinderella's Royal Table, etc. At least they will be entertained if we want to actually eat. Last year it was nothing for us to order a meal and the youngest to start screaming at the top of her lungs, so one of us ended up walking outside with her while the other one hurried the oldest to eat. Not the most pleasant time, but we learned some lessons...be willing to leave a meal without eating

 

[meatloafsfan]

Something to keep in mind is at ages 1 and 2, you will not have to pay for your kids at buffets or family style meals but if you order off of a kids menu in a sit down or fast food restaurant you will have to pay.

You might want to check out Boma's at the AKL. It is a wonderful buffet with lots of choice for you and your wife, but it also has enough choices to keep the kids happy. And after dinner (or before), the family could spend a little time watching the animals from the public viewing area.
Just a thought!

 

[Dizz42]

I have to say, DisneyWood, you are getting some great advise here! As TigsMom says, I think the reason the restaurants knew we needed a booster seat and highchair was because when I made the PS's, they specifically asked who was in our party and what we thought we needed. At the checkin podium, they always kinda asked or verified it, but basically, they knew. I agree with cancelling Mickey's BBQ and as to the one character meal, my vote would be for Chef Mickey's for dinner. YellowShoes got it so right regarding "sensory overload" with your children's ages (or even older for that matter!) but it really is their domain. :king: In the past, many times I remembered being in our hotel room and hearing laughter and running in the hall. One of my most vivid memories last year was while walking to our room, our 4-year old granddaughter looking up and saying, "Grandpa, can I run?" and my DH saying, "You bet you can!" :animwink:

 

[Zola]

We have found booking earlier dining times has worked out very well. We usually make our dinner PS for anywhere from 4:30-5:30. By eating early we have been able to eat at almost any restaurant. It seems to really help avoid meltdown. We also make a point of sticking to our girls' naptime. Even if they do not sleep we go back to the room and relax. DH or I will usually take our eldest DD to the pool, arcade or one of GF's Grand adventures during this time.

 

[Gucci65]

I saw quite a few young children while dining at the Garden Grill last year. It is in The Land at Epcot. Check it out.

 

[DisneyWood]

I agree the the Backyard Barbeque is not great for kids of any age, especially not for the money. Spirit of Aloha is nice for adults, but it lost on most kids through the teens. Kids are often not as crazy about the food there as well. Hoop de do I think is the only show worth the money for the whole family.

Enjoy!

Thanks all. I will be cancelling the Mickey's Backyard Barbeque. I am not sure what I will replace it with, but it will probably be Chef Mickey's at the Contemporary.

38 days to go :sohappy:

 

[Pioneer Hall]

If you are looking for some fun places then the 50's Primetime Cafe and Sci Fi Dine in Theater at the studios are great choices. Whispering Canyon is also a great time (but young kids probably won't get everything that is going on). Ohana is good for younger kids because they have the races and the hula hoop contests. Of course there are always more character meals that you can try scattered around the parks and resorts.

 

[Smee]

Think about Whispering Canyon at WL. It isn't a character dinner but they do fun kid stuff during the meal.