Signature Restaurants

[PenguinPrincess]

We're planning on taking our son to WDW for his second birthday, hopefully staying at the Wilderness Lodge. My husband and I are huge fans of Disney dining, and really want to try Artist Point. My question is: would you take a 2 year old to a signature restaurant? Now, we're more than a year out and have no idea what our little guy's personality/behavior is going to be like...I'm just curious what other people think. We would love to have a nice dinner as a family, but I also wouldn't want to ruin anyone's night...wonder if people would be put off by a toddler? I know it's Disney World, but people pay good money for a nicer (perhaps kid-free) dining experience...just don't want to be THOSE PEOPLE! Haha!

 

[Sans Souci]

If you think he could handle a longer meal after being in the parks, I would just go at the earliest ADR available. We always make our ADRs later in the evening because it seems like there are fewer kids later in the evening. I am a parent and when I am at WDW, I usually expect to see kids in restaurants. The only thing that bothers me is when parents bring their child into a Sig and then refuse to console him/her when he/she cries, quiet children at anytime never bother me. This happened at California Grill and Flying Fish.

 

[Hockey89]

We're planning on taking our son to WDW for his second birthday, hopefully staying at the Wilderness Lodge. My husband and I are huge fans of Disney dining, and really want to try Artist Point. My question is: would you take a 2 year old to a signature restaurant? Now, we're more than a year out and have no idea what our little guy's personality/behavior is going to be like...I'm just curious what other people think. We would love to have a nice dinner as a family, but I also wouldn't want to ruin anyone's night...wonder if people would be put off by a toddler? I know it's Disney World, but people pay good money for a nicer (perhaps kid-free) dining experience...just don't want to be THOSE PEOPLE! Haha!

It really all depends.... Clearly, a two year old wont care at all about the food.... This would be about you wanting to eat at a nice place... If he behaves, you should definitely go.... IF he can't, please don't ruin the night for everybody...

 

[boilerpicc]

We took our daughter at 3 months to the California Grill. I would take her to a signature restaurant again without hesitation. She is generally well-behaved at the restaurants, and we try to make our ADRs for early dinners to make sure that she is not near her prime cranky time. If she starts to be fussy, we give her a phone to play with. I feel like Disney World is one of the few places that we can enjoy a really nice dinner with a toddler.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

I'd only do it if it were the resort in which you're staying. Since you're doing Artist Point and staying at Wilderness Lodge, absolutely. We had a bit of a diaper-related incident at Boma with our six month old and it was awesome to be able to run her upstairs to the room, wash her off, and take her back down to finish the meal.

 

[Weather_Lady]

If he handles "dining out" well at home, I don't see why not. Of course, if he starts to fuss or cry or otherwise act inappropriately and cannot be quieted, etiquette dictates that one or both of you will have to take him out of the restaurant so as not to disturb other guests. If you don't want to take that risk, or would just like to have a nice quiet "dinner date" with your spouse, Wilderness Lodge does have excellent on-site childcare (the Cub's Den).

 

[CaptainAmerica]

If he handles "dining out" well at home, I don't see why not. Of course, if he starts to fuss or cry or otherwise act inappropriately and cannot be quieted, etiquette dictates that one or both of you will have to take him out of the restaurant so as not to disturb other guests. If you don't want to take that risk, or would just like to have a nice quiet "dinner date" with your spouse, Wilderness Lodge does have excellent on-site childcare (the Cub's Den).

I think on-site childcare has a minimum age of 3.

 

[Weather_Lady]

I think on-site childcare has a minimum age of 3.

You're right, thank you!

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/recreation/cubs-den/

In that case, they'd be limited to Kids Night Out or a similar in-room professional babysitting service. Candidly, we started taking our kids to "nice" restaurants when they were toddlers, and teaching them the appropriate behavior. There were a couple of occasions where we had to get our orders "to go" and cut our evening short because of a cranky, misbehaving child, but overall, they did very well and people at surrounding tables used to compliment their manners, so I know it's possible!

 

[Pax]

I'll echo Weather_Lady. If you want to take your kidlet to nicer restaurants, "train" them to dine at nicer restaurants by going out at home as well. We have two kids (8 & 5) who know how to act when we are dining out because we go out to dinner at decent sit down places year round. They've been taught what is expected of them, behavior wise, in a restaurant.

Two suggestions I will make is to take some small toys or games that will distract him at the table-- something he loves to play with but only sees while dining out and something new for the trip. We love Wiki sticks as a cheap toy to play with while waiting. And try to book an earlier reservation (like 5:00) and it won't be quite as crowded and the service should be a little quicker.

 

[LdyApxr]

I'm going to echo everyone else here and here is my take on it. As a single mom when my oldest son was born(he's 26 now), I took him with me everywhere from the time he was born including the bowling alley which explains why he has always been able to sleep through anything. LOL I took him everywhere because I did not have a babysitter(my parents had both passed before he was 2) and he learned really early what behavior was acceptable and not. There were instances where we left if he was having a particularly bad time but those were few and far between for my easy going guy. Then my second son was born 9yrs later and we did the same with him. My husband and I took them out to eat, to parks, to shows, you name it and we've never had an issue but again, both of my boys are pretty easy going except my youngest(now 17) has never liked kids his own age or younger and still does not. LOL He was raised around his older brother and his friends so he has always been older than his years. He will ask to leave if we get seated next to a crying child. Even when he was 4 and we had to fly to MI from CA, he was seated next to my husband and the parent behind him had a screaming child who would not stop throwing things over the seat and kicking the seat(this child was about 9, far old enough to not be doing that) and poor Ri nearly lost his mind. lOL

Now my brother, he has never taken his boys anywhere(due to finances, not because he just doesn't want to) and we took them to DLR for a 4 day trip, on property, no expense spared and because they had never been anywhere, they misbehaved so badly that the last day we left and flew home early, paying a change of flight fee and all. Won't make that mistake ever again. And they were 13 and 9.

We try not to disrupt any other diners no matter where we are eating.

 

[RandomPrincess]

We took out kids to a few signatures, we went for lunch or the very start of dinner at 4:00ish. Have a plan and be ready for one of you to leave if needed with the kid and have the other get everything boxed up to go.

 

[jaklgreen]

We took our kids to nice restaurants when they were little. Never had issues. But it all comes down to training. You need to teach them and be very firm that no bad behavior is acceptable.(should really be doing that anyway). They will squirm a bit but should not scream or be too loud or get up and run around.

 

[cat hem]

I don't mind kids at restaurants if they're behaving and fairly quiet (I expect some childlike "noise") but for the sake of all that is.... please don't give the kids an electronic device with the volume on high! Headphones please!

 

[sshindel]

We're planning on taking our son to WDW for his second birthday, hopefully staying at the Wilderness Lodge. My husband and I are huge fans of Disney dining, and really want to try Artist Point. My question is: would you take a 2 year old to a signature restaurant? Now, we're more than a year out and have no idea what our little guy's personality/behavior is going to be like...I'm just curious what other people think. We would love to have a nice dinner as a family, but I also wouldn't want to ruin anyone's night...wonder if people would be put off by a toddler? I know it's Disney World, but people pay good money for a nicer (perhaps kid-free) dining experience...just don't want to be THOSE PEOPLE! Haha!

As a parent, my advice would be to try it, but be prepared to bail on the reservation if you get close to it and your little one does not handle other restaurant situations well by that time.
Also, be prepared to bail mid-meal if a meltdown happens, at least to the bathroom or outside or something for a bit of a "reset".
Disney Dining, barring ones where specifically listed, are kid friendly, and people should expect as such. If you don't want to be one of THOSE PEOPLE, just have a plan ahead of time if your kid starts to melt down, and be prepared to handle it if it starts to happen. That way you wont be one of THOSE PEOPLE, you'll just be a good parent trying to have a family meal.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

I don't mind kids at restaurants if they're behaving and fairly quiet (I expect some childlike "noise") but for the sake of all that is.... please don't give the kids an electronic device with the volume on high! Headphones please!

Headphones!? Gah. No electronic devices in a restaurant, period. Any restaurant. Applebees, McDonald's, doesn't matter. If you're a kid sitting down to a meal with your family, be present with your family.

 

[Hockey89]

Headphones!? Gah. No electronic devices in a restaurant, period. Any restaurant. Applebees, McDonald's, doesn't matter. If you're a kid sitting down to a meal with your family, be present with your family.

I watched a family at Disney where three kids all had headphones and parents were on their phones the whole time lol.

 

[sshindel]

Headphones!? Gah. No electronic devices in a restaurant, period. Any restaurant. Applebees, McDonald's, doesn't matter. If you're a kid sitting down to a meal with your family, be present with your family.

That's a wonderful sentiment, but sometimes s___ happens and the kid just is done (either with dinner, or just done PERIOD) before the rest of the family. If an electronic device will keep them entertained more than listening to me drone on about how much EPCOT sucks, and will keep the rest of the diners from having to listen to a kid lose their mind, imma hand them my phone. The headphones are a good suggestion for that.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

That's a wonderful sentiment, but sometimes s___ happens and the kid just is done (either with dinner, or just done PERIOD) before the rest of the family. If an electronic device will keep them entertained more than listening to me drone on about how much EPCOT sucks, and will keep the rest of the diners from having to listen to a kid lose their mind, imma hand them my phone. The headphones are a good suggestion for that.

If my kid is too young to sit through a full meal, I won't take her to a full meal. I don't see much overlap between "old enough to use a mobile device with headphones" and "young enough to throw a fit in a restaurant."

 

[sshindel]

If my kid is too young to sit through a full meal, I won't take her to a full meal. I don't see much overlap between "old enough to use a mobile device with headphones" and "young enough to throw a fit in a restaurant."

You don't always know this though. It's not a line in which they cross and never look back. Even my 7YO can still have days when she's all of a sudden a P-I-T-A when we're trying to have a meal. Your kid could be great at every single meal they've ever been been to, and still have s*** happen and the one time they decide to be a pain is the nice meal you decided to treat yourself to and made ADRs 180+ days in advance.

 

[Hockey89]

You don't always know this though. It's not a line in which they cross and never look back. Even my 7YO can still have days when she's all of a sudden a P-I-T-A when we're trying to have a meal. Your kid could be great at every single meal they've ever been been to, and still have s*** happen and the one time they decide to be a pain is the nice meal you decided to treat yourself to and made ADRs 180+ days in advance.

I'm sorry but when you start to get to 7 years old that is pretty sad if they can't behave through a dinner, but it is the new generation of parenting....