1 yo DD at restaraunts at WDW

[frannn]

This is DD's first trip, and it will be geared towards her. We will probably do a good deal of character meals- do kids 1 yo enjoy those? Do they interact with the characters or are they scared? We will probably share with her whatever we get to eat, but what about places like Nine Dragons in Epcot? We like the sampler lunch which is an all you can eat buffett type meal, but we will only order the sampler meals for myself and DH. DD will even be too young for a child's meal, but she'll probably want to eat something while we do. How do we handle this? Will they make us order something or can we give her a little something off our plates? What about if we brought something in for her with us, like applesauce, etc. from the food court at our hotel? Thanks!

 

[BevS97]

you don't have to order anything - we don't order anything for our 4 year old, she shares our dinner, except in buffet's where you have to pay for 3+s but not for a 1 year old.
You could also bring something in with you for her to eat - I am not sure on the policy on warming food for you, but if you had something that was suitable cold then that would be ok.

I would be cautious about planning too many character meals - my dd was quite scared at 3, but at 1 she maybe too little to be scared. Try her with some characters out in the park first and check her reaction.

Bev

 

[deb305]

Took 1 yr old DS in January to WDW. Per the policy, children under 3 eat free from childrens menu or buffet. We were never charged for his meal. He did not like the face character meals (princesses), thought they were mommies in weird clothes. He did like seeing costumed characters (Pooh, Mickey etc). He did not do well in restaraunts, he's waiting span is about 15 minutes. He did great on the counter services, especially at World Showcase.

 

[frannn]

Do kids under 3 eat free only at buffets or at all WDW eateries? If you go to a sit down meal that is not a buffet, do you have to pay for a kids meal? Which places would not be free for kids? I am assuming counter service and food court.

 

[Jinglebells]

hi--just back--and did crystal palace buffer lunch with Pooh and friends..My 1 and 3 year old both loved it. Under 3 they eat for free there--so you can make it your main meal of the day. The characters were pretty careful not to push themselves on kids that were fearful, if that is a worry for you. With the day being hot, it was a nice airconditioned break.

 

[Jordan's MOM]

Under three is free at buffets but if you order them anything off a menu including the children's menu you pay for that. I would think about how your child does in resturants at home and plan according to that. Will she sit though a nice sit down dinner at home or are you better with a quick buffet meal? I agree that seeing how she does with a character before the meal is a good idea. I would book one or two for a little later into the trip and if she is ok with the characters iin the park you will be set. If not you can change the plan.
At a year old I would, assuming that she does well in resturants, choose things that you and your DH like. As long as she has something to keep her occupied she will be happy where ever you eat. Taking toddler food into a resturant should not be an issue at all.


jordan's mom

 

[BevS97]

Do kids under 3 eat free only at buffets or at all WDW eateries? If you go to a sit down meal that is not a buffet, do you have to pay for a kids meal? Which places would not be free for kids? I am assuming counter service and food court.

Kids eat free at buffets. At anything where you order specific food, you have to pay for the food you order, so if you order a kids meal then you would have to pay for it. Depending on your daughters appetite, I probably wouldn't order a kids meal for her - my dd certainly wouldn't eat enough of a kids meal to justify the cost at 1.
I would order things for yourself that she can share, and also carry snacks in your stroller. We bought a very small softsided cool bag which we kept in the basket of our stroller - this worked great for keeping snacks and drinks handy for our dd.

Bev

 

[shelly3girls]

My DD1 was scared of some of the characters, but loved the "face" characters such as the princesses. She did not mind most of them as long as they kept their distance, but cried if they tried to get to close. Her favorite meal was CRT where she loved the princesses. I think every child is different and you will just have to feel out the situation.

 

[mkutch]

We just got back from WDW with our DS(1). WE paid for no meals for him counter service or sitdown or Buffet as long as we got things he could have from our plates. He is very good at resturants but the waitstaff everywhere was wonderful with him--lots of interaction. He was very frightened of the costumed characters like Pooh, etc. If they kept their distance he was fine -when they came close he held on to me for dear life and started crying. We wound up putting him in his stroller and backing him up to characters for pictures so he didn't see them for any family shots we wanted. He loved the princesses!!! Plenty of hugs and kisses for them. Also, be wary, there aren't a lot of green veggies offered at some meals, especially counter service. I would up on some days giving him baby food I bought at one of the resorts so he would be able to go to the bathroom.
Every child is different, you'll just have to experience how your child will react to the characters........Have a great trip!!!

 

[MinnieGi]

DD now 2 1/2 made her first trip to the World at one also. She loved the characters and interacted with them all. She liked the character meals we planned and even had Goofy feed her her bottle at O'hana's breakfast! However all children react differently to the characters. So I would make the ps's but see how she likes the characters in the parks before deciding to keep or cancel a character meal.

At one DD ate from our plates and the wait staff always brought her out a dish. Buffets at that age are great b/c there is such a variety of foods and especially lots of fruit for them to eat.

You will have such a great time introducing your little one to the World!