Good dining plan for toddlers?

[star77kc]

Hi! My 180 day mark is approaching, and I want to make sure I'm picking the right places for our family with b/g 2 year old twins!!
This is my plan:

Epcot- (Lunch) Sunshine Seasons
(Dinner) Akershus

AK- (Lunch) Flame tree BBQ

DHS- (Lunch) Sci-Fi Dine In
(Dinner) Pizza Planet

MK- (Breakfast) Crystal Palace
(Lunch) BOG
(Dinners) Cosmic Rays & Pecos
Bills

Downtown Disney- (Lunch) Earl of
Sandwich

The only ADRs I will have to make are for Akershus, Crystal Palace, & Sci-Fi. Are my choices all appropriate for 2 year olds? Or are there better options? I think I'm most concerned about Akershus. Will it be worth the money? Thanks in advance!!

 

[dadddio]

My only concern is Sci-Fi. I'm not sure what the high chair options are there. They may just offer open, strapless boosters for the 'car' tables. These wouldn't work with my rowdy 2YO.

 

[RandomPrincess]

They have high chairs at SciFi but with two high chairs you will most lackey get a picnic table not a car.

 

[luv]

Akershus was the one that had me thinking, "Hmmm...", too! The food isn't fantastic and it is unlikely that toddlers will care much about princesses. If you want to go there, you should! But if you're doing it for the toddlers..hmmm, I don't know, lol.

Have a great trip, whatever you do!!

 

[Disnee4Me]

I'd say Chef Mickey's would be good for kids.

 

[Sparkle81]

I've booked Sci-Fi Dine In, and I'm travelling with my husband & 2 year old son. The woman on the phone said that as each row in the car only seats 2 people, our son will have to sit at the front with one of us, and the other parent sat behind. It's fine for us as I think the overall experience will be worth it, but it's just something to bear in mind that you might be kind of 'split up', even though you'll be seated together if you get what I mean?

 

[itsbetsyh]

i didn't take my daughter till she was 3 and she didn't give a crap about dining until recently. so i'm sure wherever you take them will be fine. i did the deluxe dining plan for her 5th birthday and she was so over it--too much sitting. we won't be doing that one again.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

DD4.5 was 2 on her first two trips. Buffets and family style meals were the easiest meals because we could just make her a plate and she was still free of charge. CRT was nice b/c they give the 2 & under set complimentary food...buttered noodles, fruit, and dessert for lunch and dinner and French toast sticks for breakfast. Akershus did something similar on one of our two 2-year old visits. On visit 1...we were told we'd have to buy an entree for her...but on visit 2 she received a complimentary entree. Most menu based TS meals are pretty much share off of someone else's plate or order something, but some of the servers are really good at identifying when portions are too big for just one. Case in point, our first trip to Cali Grill the server told us that the kiddie portions were huge and encouraged us to split it between our girls since she couldn't see either one of them coming close to finishing a full portion. In all other spots...we'd order a kids meal or let her pick an appetizer she liked if we didn't think sharing off of our plates would be enough.

Now, that's TS... for CS...the portions are equally huge. The girls were 4 and 6 on our last trip and nearly every CS meal we did was plenty for both of them to share.

As for dining plans...if you do the regular DDP (1 ts, 1 cs, 1 snack pp/per day)...you'll probably need to add 1 or 2 more TS meals to ensure you're using all of those credits. You also may want to look at getting the most bang for your buck. ex. breakfast at Crystal Palace is not all that pricey compared to dinner at Akershus. You definitely don't need the deluxe plan, but you might want to pull up prices and start considering what would be the best value for you:
1. DDP- with the realization that you'd have to add at least 1 more TS
2. QS- with the realization that your TS meals would be OOP
3. All OOP

We are opting for #3 this trip b/c our dining preferences don't match over well to any of the dining plans.

Edit- also, while our kids are not picky ... they loved the food at Akershus. I remember a 2 yr old DD4 chowing down tons of shrimp salad and cheese from the cold buffet. She also loved the princesses...well, really all of the characters. We have some awesome pictures of her practically diving into Cinderella to bear hug her.

 

[star77kc]

N

I've booked Sci-Fi Dine In, and I'm travelling with my husband & 2 year old son. The woman on the phone said that as each row in the car only seats 2 people, our son will have to sit at the front with one of us, and the other parent sat behind. It's fine for us as I think the overall experience will be worth it, but it's just something to bear in mind that you might be kind of 'split up', even though you'll be seated together if you get what I mean?

Now I'm concerned about the high chair issue. I want even thinking of that. Did they say he'd have a booster seat in the front row? We are going to have 5 adults and the twins. Now I'm thinking we won't be sitting in a car. In which case, it's pointless to eat there. Back to square one?

 

[englanddg]

N
Now I'm concerned about the high chair issue. I want even thinking of that. Did they say he'd have a booster seat in the front row? We are going to have 5 adults and the twins. Now I'm thinking we won't be sitting in a car. In which case, it's pointless to eat there. Back to square one?

High chairs are not allowed at the cars, I believe. They do have normal tables in the back.

Each car seats two ADULTS. But, bare in mind the counter / table in the car isn't very large. That being said, I'm thinking your two year old twins could easily squeeze in with one of the parents. But, that would leave two adults sitting behind them...and for the life of me I swear they have 6 seat cars available, so you can all be in the same car, but I just can't recall if it's 4 seats or 6 right now...

As far as seeing the screen, that really won't be an issue, for the kids, I suspect. But, "table space" will.

If it's a concern, maybe try out 50's?

 

[star77kc]

High chairs are not allowed at the cars, I believe. They do have normal tables in the back.

Each car seats two ADULTS. But, bare in mind the counter / table in the car isn't very large. That being said, I'm thinking your two year old twins could easily squeeze in with one of the parents. But, that would leave two adults sitting behind them...and for the life of me I swear they have 6 seat cars available, so you can all be in the same car, but I just can't recall if it's 4 seats or 6 right now...

As far as seeing the screen, that really won't be an issue, for the kids, I suspect. But, "table space" will.

If it's a concern, maybe try out 50's?

Thanks. I'm rethinking my choices now. I thought I had it all figured out, but now with my ADR day approaching, I'm nervous about making the wrong choices lol

 

[englanddg]

Ok, just checked. They do have 6 seat cars. I thought they did...now I remember fully (we've sat in the one on the right on the edge of the picture, with a family of four seated behind us before...er...to clarify, I go with just me and the kid)...

Anyhow...that would work perfectly for your group size.

 

[star77kc]

Ok, just checked. They do have 6 seat cars. I thought they did...now I remember fully (we've sat in the one on the right on the edge of the picture, with a family of four seated behind us before...er...to clarify, I go with just me and the kid)...

Anyhow...that would work perfectly for your group size.

Thank you so much for doing this research! The 6 seater would be perfect is we had 6 people, but unfortunately we will have 7. I guess 1 would have to sit alone? I think us having an odd number of people in our group is going to give a lot of grief lol

 

[englanddg]

Thank you so much for doing this research! The 6 seater would be perfect is we had 6 people, but unfortunately we will have 7. I guess 1 would have to sit alone? I think us having an odd number of people in our group is going to give a lot of grief lol

It may, because most restaurants run tables in even groupings.

Still, with 2 year olds, assuming they are a normal sized 2 year old, I think you could squeeze them in with you.

But, as I said before...50's may be a better option? There they can push two 4 tops together...I believe. Or, if you have Park Hoppers, you could just take the ferry and hop over to Epcot. I suspect your 2 year olds would love the boat ride!

 

[star77kc]

It may, because most restaurants run tables in even groupings.

Still, with 2 year olds, assuming they are a normal sized 2 year old, I think you could squeeze them in with you.

But, as I said before...50's may be a better option? There they can push two 4 tops together...I believe. Or, if you have Park Hoppers, you could just take the ferry and hop over to Epcot. I suspect your 2 year olds would love the boat ride!

If I can fit myself and both toddlers in one row, that would definitely work, but I'm doubtful that 2 boosters would also fit. Maybe I should pick something else without all the worry.

 

[englanddg]

If I can fit myself and both toddlers in one row, that would definitely work, but I'm doubtful that 2 boosters would also fit. Maybe I should pick something else without all the worry.

You have a few other options.

There are "accessable" cars that you could request...like this one...

They'd probably let you squeeze in a high chair or two there.

Also, I did some checking, they will allow you to use a high chair or a stand alone chair (for an adult) at the cars...however...the high chairs at Disney are the standard sort of wooden chairs you'd expect to see at any restaurant. They have no tray.

But, that could help alleviate your issue.

Also, there is a car outside of the restaurant you can sit in that is the exact dimensions of the booths inside...you could use that to gauge if it will work or not. Sci Fi doesn't require credit reservations, so if you miss or late cancel your ADR, you won't get dinged on your credit card (DON'T quote me on that, be sure to confirm that when you make your ADR with a Disney rep aware of the exact current situation).

Also, Sci Fi is one of the restaurants I have always been able to get into without an ADR...so that may be another option. But, their waiting area is cramped and gets crowded quickly, and they don't use buzzers to alert people when their table is ready.

To give you an idea as to the size of the booths "with people in them"...

 

[star77kc]

You have a few other options.

There are "accessable" cars that you could request...like this one...

They'd probably let you squeeze in a high chair or two there.

Also, I did some checking, they will allow you to use a high chair or a stand alone chair (for an adult) at the cars...however...the high chairs at Disney are the standard sort of wooden chairs you'd expect to see at any restaurant. They have no tray.

But, that could help alleviate your issue.

Also, there is a car outside of the restaurant you can sit in that is the exact dimensions of the booths inside...you could use that to gauge if it will work or not. Sci Fi doesn't require credit reservations, so if you miss or late cancel your ADR, you won't get dinged on your credit card (DON'T quote me on that, be sure to confirm that when you make your ADR with a Disney rep aware of the exact current situation).

Also, Sci Fi is one of the restaurants I have always been able to get into without an ADR...so that may be another option. But, their waiting area is cramped and gets crowded quickly, and they don't use buzzers to alert people when their table is ready.

To give you an idea as to the size of the booths "with people in them"...

Thank you again so much for the research and all the pics. Seeing the one with the 3 kids in the same row makes me think it will work. If not, the accessible car would be fine. I just don't want to leave the odd man out! Lol

 

[englanddg]

Thank you again so much for the research and all the pics. Seeing the one with the 3 kids in the same row makes me think it will work. If not, the accessible car would be fine. I just don't want to leave the odd man out! Lol

It's hard to explain without sitting in the booths personally, but I think with two 2 year olds, you'll be fine. Also, they don't necessarily need booster seats. When my kid was 5 (granted, a bit larger) she just sat on her legs and munched on her nuggets and fries. Worked fine.

Any way you go, I think you'll have fun. But, I'm a big fan of the Sci Fi, and it's a must do for me and the kid every trip.

Good luck!

 

[dadddio]

I'm really not a big fan of Sci Fi for groups because you can't really visit while you eat as you are sitting in rows that all face forward.

 

[Hot Lava]

Now I'm concerned about the high chair issue. I want even thinking of that. Did they say he'd have a booster seat in the front row? We are going to have 5 adults and the twins. Now I'm thinking we won't be sitting in a car. In which case, it's pointless to eat there. Back to square one?

I do not know if this would work for you, or if you would even want to drag it around, but there are these:

http://www.amazon.com/Munchkin-1066...0879288&sr=8-1&keywords=munchkin+booster+seat

We had an older model (the green and black), and never had to use a booster or highchair in a restaurant. They can also be used in a booth without the straps. Although I do agree with reviews that say they need to re-engineer the center strap part.