Dining with 2 yr old? About This Page:

[Holly I.]

My DH has just OK'd a short trip to WDW next december!!! We have always gone alone - but this trip we'll be bringing our daughter (who will be 2 then). Any ideas on dining? We've never been to a character meal and have generally tried to avoid too many "kid friendly" locations in the past - but now we want to try it all!

[Nicole0128]

We recently took our 15 month old, and dining was very simple. We didn't go to Victoria and Alberts or anything but all of the places we visited had cast members who were outstanding in trying to accomodate his every whim. Not that we were demanding but the wait staff always asked what we needed for him. We ate at Chef Mickeys, the Garden Grill (candlelight processional package) The Plaza Restaurant. When we go in May (DS will be 20 months) we are going to Le Cellier, LTT, Ohana, Crystal Palace and whispering canyon cafe. I don't expect that any of those places will be any problem at all. PM me if you have any speicific questions that I can help with

[Luv4My4]

I've been to WDW twice with a 2 year old and we never had any problems with meals, however, we didn't do alot of sit down meals last time we were there because the younger kids were 2 & 4 and it was too much for them. We did eat at Chef Mickey and Biergarten and they loved both. Biergarten has a great show especially in December with music and a storytime explaining Christmas in Germany, the kids absolutely loved it. They were up dancing in the aisles and in front of the stage through most of dinner and they liked the food too. My DH and I went to Whispering Canyon Cafe two weeks ago during our solo trip and I highly recommend that as well, I am definitely taking my kids there when we go back in November (I will have yet another 2 year old when we go ) We are also hoping to get PSs for Cinderella's Royal Table as well. Oh yeah, and the Hoop Dee Doo Revue, all of my kids have always loved this show. It is so much fun, it is a family tradition to see this show everytime we go as a family. Also feel free to PM with specific questions if you want!

[debsta922]

I had the same question this year, because it's the first time we will be traveling with a little one too. We chose a few character meals, mostly buffets, and restaurants that didn't seem to "quiet". We are also eating early so there will be more families in each restaurant.

[Bailey71]

We travelled with our daughters when they were about 2 & 4 and they both loved all of the character meals we went to. However, you need to determine whether your little one is going to be afraid of the characters which could ruin every one of your PS! My girls were fine with the characters, but we did see some children who were scared to death, so it's just something to keep in mind.

Also, figure out which characters your children would like the best and plan your restaurants accordingly. For instance, some boys might not appreciate the Princess meals as much as they would the Pooh character meals. (I don't know much about boys because I have 2 "Princess crazy" girls!)

That being said, our favorites are the character meals at Ohana, Cinderella's Royal Table, Chef Mickeys & Liberty Tree Tavern. We also love the dinner at Ohana because it has a lot of action & activities for the little ones. My girls also liked the Hoop De Doo Revue better than the Spirit of Aloha Luau. You may also want to try to campfire at Fort Wilderness.

With all that, I wouldn't worry too much because I'm pretty sure that most children would love all of the character dining options at WDW!!

[Luv2plan]

Hi! You've already gotten some excellent suggestions so I'll just add a couple of our favorites - we've taken DD to WDW at 14 months and 2 yrs and had some great dining experiences. One of her favorites actually was Boma! She just loved the hustle & bustle and the fact that we were all getting out of our seats a lot (to go up to the buffet). For a character breakfast we picked Donald's Breakfastasaurus because she really wanted to see Donald, but overall she was pretty shy with the characters and we probably could have skipped it (except that we enjoyed it too ) In Dec. we really want to take her to Coral Reef because I know she'll just love seeing all the fish & turtles swimming by.

DH & I did find though that we were doing a lot more counter service places (non-burgerish stuff like Columbia Harbor House in MK or Tusker House in AK, there's lots of great choices) not because DD was in any way misbehaving in the table service places, but because we didn't really feel it was worth it as much when were dining at the pace of a two-year-old instead of lingering & taking our time.

Have fun picking your PS's!

[RobDVC]

Chef Mickey's is a great character buffet.
The Garden Grill is a great character sit-down restaurant.
Liberty Tree Tavern, The Crystal Palace, Cinderella's Royal Table are also great.

[SarahJ]

We took our 2 year old DD in December and I'm sure she'd tell you her favorite meal was at Cinderella's Castle. She still talks about that one. We actually did all of the princess meals, CRT, PSB and 1900 Park Fare. My favorite was PSB at Epcot. Mostly because it wasn't as noisy nor as rushed as the CRT breakfast felt. Granted, you don't get Cinderella at that one, but my DD loves all the princesses right now. Our other favorite is Crystal Palace with the Pooh characters. Great food, service and character interaction all rolled into one.

We took DD to several other sit down meals as well. We tried Boma, Le Cellier, Hoop-Dee-Doo, Beaches & Cream, Chef Mickey's, Mama Melrose's, and Alfredo's. She liked them all. Don't forget that kids under 3 eat free at all the buffets and family style meals. If you have to order from a menu for your child, you'll have to pay for it. Unless we were eating something that she wouldn't we often just shared our own meals with our DD in those situations.

[BabieeMelly]

There are a ton of great kid-friendly restaurants in Disney. From what I've heard the best character meals are Crystal Palace a the MK with the Pooh characters and the Cape May Cafe at the Beach Club Resort with some of the classic characters. The interaction is great and I'veheard the food is some of the best at Disney. I would also try to stick to some of the more "noisy" restaurants where the kids are always involved in something and there's some sort of entertainment. I would reccommend the Whispering Canyon Cafe, OHana or Biergarten. Here there are plenty of things to keep the kids busy, whether or not they participate in the actual events, and you won't have to worry about being too noisy or anything. Have fun!

[DonnaDuck74]

It is so great eating at Disney because there are so many kid-friendly places.

In November, my 15 month old loved the character dinners/breakfasts. I was kinda worried before we got there, but he loved it. And he and my 4 year old looked forward to seeing characters each time we ate. LOL

We are going back in January '06...we are looking forward to those character meals again.

Good Luck...I am sure you will have a magical time.

[Kiarasmommy]

We took our DD for the first time when she was 25 months old. She LOVE it. I think Chef Mickeys and Crystal Palace were her favorites. Any of the face characters really freaked her out at the time.

[Happymommy]

We went in September with a 1yo and 4yo. Our faves were Chef Mickey and Crystal Palace. We also went to one fancier meal at Coral Reef, and that was fantastic because it was a little more upscale, but they loved it and they were occupied with the fish. We also had good experiences at Prime Time Cafe and Rainforest Cafe (Animal Kingdom). We had bad experiences with our kids at Whispering Canyon Cafe. It was way too loud for them (but my 4yo has sensory integration disorder-- and he can't handle places that are really loud-- you may like it though, the restaurant was terrific though). It was actually too much for my little one too, when the waitress yelled at us (she really screamed), he freaked out. I wouldn't go there again with my kids until they are a little older, but that could just be us.

[2princessmom]

We had no problem with meals in Sept. when I took our 4 and two year old DD's. We had a character meal and sit down meal everyday and they did fine. The only place that was a problem was Le Cellier but only because of the very late hour. The service was superb everywhere and they made sure the girls got their meals if need be before us! They loved the character meals! My youngest had a hard time on the first one but after that had a blast! I would say that you shouldn't have a problem.