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Kids in bars?
- Thread starter pajammies
- Start date
21stamps
Well-Known Member
Yes! Trader Sam’s Tiki Terrace. Under 21 allowed until 9pm. We love it.
I agree on “bars”. However, my kid has been to a sports bar/restaurant during a day game.. we’ve gone with a group of friends, adults and kids. Most of the time we watch games at home or get togethers at friends houses.. but he asks often to go to BDubs.lol. I don’t even like their food.. but, We’re huge sports fans, so at a sports bar we can see all the games. It’s fun on occasion..and I’ve never seen it as family unfriendly.
I think people hear “bar” or “lounge” and immediately think of something different than what those terms can mean.
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Captain Barbossa
Well-Known Member
Ok now I'm hungry. And yeah that looks like a very inappropriate place for children
Prince-1
Well-Known Member
I suppose if you took your kid to a bar at a strip club or at the one in the movie Roadhouse then maybe I’d see the point but literally ANY bar at Disney is as tame as the bar at my local Outback Steakhouse. Otherwise people have the craziest idea of bad parenting...or they come from Utah.
GoofGoof
Premium Member
Agreed. The only places at WDW where it would be bad parenting to bring your kids would be the handful of places where kids actually aren’t allowed and that would only be bad because you would be teaching your kids it’s OK to break the rules. It’s the equivalent of letting your kids go into the hot tub at a resort when there is a sign that says no kids under a certain age allowed.
I personally would not allow my kids to sit at the actual bar in any location either at WDW or in the real world. I know some people think it’s cute and want to take pictures or whatever but the seats at the bar should be reserved for adults wanting to stop in for a drink. I know Disney doesn’t have that rule or at least doesn’t enforce it, but they probably should.
C'mon, man... Disney is for the kids!
Prince-1
Well-Known Member
I wouldn’t let my kids do it if they were under 10 but I don’t care if people do espically if there is a wait for a table and there are open spaces to eat at the bar. It certainly does not make you a bad parent like some numbskulls have alluded to.
GoofGoof
Premium Member
I don’t get too wrapped up in what other people consider “bad parenting”. I’m doing what I think is best for my kids and that’s all that matters to me. There are really obvious things that cannot be disputed as bad parenting but for everything else it’s a judgement call and an opinion. I personally don’t think having a kid at a bar/Lounge is bad parenting even if they sit at the bar itself. It’s not against the rules and isn’t causing any damage to the kid.
For me not doing it is just a matter of preference. I’m not worried about my kids seeing someone drinking alcohol. I just feel like there can and should be some places that are just for adults. WDW is very much family friendly so there’s almost nowhere that you can’t bring your kids to begin with (probably over 95% of the overall resort). It’s not necessary, IMHO, to make every square inch of the place kid friendly. As a family with kids I’m perfectly happy to spend my time in the other 95% of the places and leave those 5% of places to people without kids. I include sitting at the bar in that 5%. I know it’s not against the rules to do it and I understand the argument that if there’s no other tables that may be the only other place to sit, but for me personally I would just eat somewhere else. I know many people disagree with that and I’m not saying they are wrong. People feel like their kid isn’t bothering anyone being there and they are well behaved and they aren’t breaking the rules so it shouldn’t be an issue. All of that may be true. It’s just my preference to leave sitting at the bar to adults who want a drink. Some day that will be me again without young kids with me and I hope to be able to find a seat
Phonedave
Well-Known Member
I never said it was a law, I just said they can't. Many places don't allow it as a matter of image, some don't allow it because it make proffing easier, and others don't allow it because of their insurance riders.
Different States have different rules, and they do get all sort of technical. I run beverages for an Oktoberfest event every year, one that we bill as family friendly - we have live bands, face painting, kids games, etc. We want families to be able to come, sit at a table together, and enjoy the event together. Because of that, my ABC permit will not allow me to serve pitchers. I can only serve single serving drinks (of course they don't mention what size that is, but clearly a pitcher is not a single serving). If I want to serve pitchers, then I need to ensure that they are only in an area where kids are not allowed. That's the rule. Since it goes against how we want the event to be, we don't serve pitchers (instead we do table service when it gets busy).
-dave
Weather_Lady
Well-Known Member
I agree too -- I think some of the "bad parenting" folks on here maybe just haven't spent time at a Disney lounge, and are picturing a seedy bar-type atmosphere like you'd find in a local dive. The vibe in a Disney lounge is more like that of your neighborhood Applebee's -- well-lit and family-friendly, and of course with even more fun decor -- and unless you're there late at night, the crowd will include patrons of all ages, generally behaving well.
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Prince-1
Well-Known Member
You said the kids could not sit at the bar and that is factually incorrect.
JoeT63
Well-Known Member
The Terrace, maybe. But we were just at the TS bar last weekend and they were definitely checking ID's before 9:00. Of course, not only is it a bar, but it's the size of a walk-in closet. So the latter may have been the reason for not allowing kids. More room for the drinking, er, paying customer.
Phonedave
Well-Known Member
It is correct. I have had WDW bartenders say "Your kid can not sit at the bar". The OP asked if kids could go into lounges, others answered yes, I then stated just be aware that sometimes, without apparent consistency, they are not allowed to sit at the bar.
Why they cannot sit at the bar is not the question, or if they are permitted by law, but not by policy. Sometimes guests are told that kids cannot sit at the bar.
-dave
GoofGoof
Premium Member
I think it may be an “unwritten” rule that they should definitely take the time to write down.
Phonedave
Well-Known Member
I think it may be an “unwritten” rule that they should definitely take the time to write down.
Exactly.
Clearly it is not State law - people have made that clear.
It may be a rule that is required by WDW's insurance carrier, or it may be a rule that WDW itself had decided upon, or it may be a rule that certain lounge managers have decided to invoke, or maybe it just a bartender that does not want kids at the bar. Who knows? But it would be nice if there was a consistent policy.
-dave
It's certainly not resort-wide as our daughter has stood at the bar in the Rose and Crown multiple times since the age of 7 and eaten a number of meals sitting at the bar at the Gurgling Suitcase. I'm pretty sure that she once had a milkshake sitting at the Dawa Bar, too. I suspect that it's not policy at all for the Disney-operated establishments, but some bartenders/managers may personally have that policy, thus the variability. At Raglan Road, she has been asked to sit 'away' from the bar. Her food and drink could sit at the bar and her chair was a little over a foot from the bar itself and that was enough.
Not getting into the parenting discussion, just stating some personal anecdotes of our child at bars/lounges in the World!