Disney World restaurant bans children

[CMF Newsman]

ORLANDO, Fla. - The home of Mickey Mouse, Tigger and Tinkerbell has banned kids from its fanciest restaurant.

Beginning this week, children under 10 are no longer welcome at Victoria & Albert's in the Grand Floridian Resort & Spa. Victoria & Albert's is Walt Disney World's only restaurant with an AAA five-diamond rating.

"We want to be the restaurant that's available for that adult experience," said general manager Israel Perez.

Only about three families a month ever brought young children to Victoria & Albert's, said Rosemary Rose, Disney's vice president for food, beverage and merchandise operations.

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[victoriasuzette]

Understandable. Most people don't seem to train their children well enough, these days, to even take them out for an airing, much less well enough to dine in an upscale establishment.

[Red]

The fact that they have to ban children pisses me off. Most parents nowadays have no clue when it comes how to teach their children how to behave in a nice restaurant, not to mention just any restaurant.

I have a almost four year old child, she has been taught how to behave in a restaurant. She half the time even orders her own food complete with a "please" and "thank you" to the server. She doesn't scream or throw food, she's pretty quiet most of the time. True, all kids have a tendency to act up but if taught well (the parents responsibility) most children are well behaved. Parents should have enough common sense of their own of where and where not to take their children.

[victoriasuzette]

Amen, sister!

My parents and our nanny all taught us how to behave in public, from an early age; but, this leads me to a funny story along those lines ...

When I was 6 (and my siblings 4 & 8), our parents took us to Cape May, NJ, for a summer holiday ... upscale hotel, with white coat and tie required for men, at dinner. We had been taught to behave, but not yet had we been taught how to use 150 pieces of silverware, or the purpose of parsley on the plate (that's not something even we did, at home). Very foolish thing, to not teach children about what you expect them to somehow know, isn't it?

Well, we royally embarrassed our mother (which I now find hilarious!) by trying to be helpful and hand back some of our 'extra silverware' to our individual servers, and exclaiming over the extra greenery on the plate (my joyfully surprised response was 'Look, a flower!', while my brother's ~ the 4-year-old ~ was an indignant 'They put WEEDS in my food!!'

Needless to say, I did not follow my parents' example with my own children ... they knew what to expect and how to respond to most any social situation (even the taking and serving of tea), from as early an age as I could teach them!

[tncoaster37]

The fact is that there are certain restaurants where kids don't belong period. The parents shouldn't expect everything at Disneyworld to be family friendly all the time. There are places that are for adults to enjoy without having to let the kids come along. Most kids don't don't know to behave in an upscale restaurant. Hell, I am in favor of this.

[daworm]

Victoria, you and I are from completely different worlds. When I was growing up, it was rare to have two plates that matched on the table, and you got one fork and, if needed for soup or more likely pinto beans, one spoon, and that was it. Table linen? More like paper towels. Salad fork? Salad? Maybe some water cress and green onions with hot bacon grease drizzled over it, I guess that was a salad. But you didn't get a separate fork for it! Everyone shared the same butter knife to use to spread margarine on their cornbread. I don't recall ever having real butter in the fridge at home.

But if we went out to eat, we certainly behaved. Otherwise our asses would be blistered in the time it took to walk to the door right there in front of everyone (getting a whipping was bad, getting one in public with everyone staring at you was infinitely worse).

[cdojanet]

I think we lived at the same house Worm.

[Babs]

Plates? Forks? What are those?

[Red]

Speaking of kids and funny at dinner.... Lil Red asked the other night in her almost four year old voice "is dis the salad fork Mommy or the big fork?"

Silly restaurant for not having different sized forks.

[Tsavodiner]

Okay, how are WE going to feel when we're no longer welcome places 'cause we're too OLD?
(Hate to admit it, but it's closer than I want it to be).

[Longshot! [ Saint ]]

I've got a kid, and I'm glad they banned them.

I know my kid can handle his shit..but if I'm there to drop some hideous cash on a plate of food, I do NOT expect all other kids to handle their shit, too, and I'm not there to gamble on such.

Were I there to gamble, I'd take the kid to Vegas. Till then, No Kids at the Quintuple Diamond Restaurants. Others less considerate of Their Little Angels should, indeed, be shown down the hall.

That's why there's a 'Disneyland' outside the goddamn hotel/restaurant.

[whimdriven]

The adults-only offerings on Disney Cruise Line are VERY well received. Many singles and couples go, even without kids, because of Disney's professionalism. They are pretty well known to be one of the few cruise lines that actually enforce the "adult" parts of the ship. There are several adult-only restaurants on their ships as well.

Looks like they've taken a theory that works very well with their customer base and expanded its usage ... nice work ...

[xterragirl]

I don't have a problem with this. Shot is right...some kids can handle it and some can't. I'm sure there are people who go to Disneyworld - without kids - that would like to have a nice dinner out without a bunch of whiney brats running around. And trust me, Disneyworld does NOT bring out the best in everyone, most especially kids.

[Justin Thyme]

This is Disneyworld we are talking about people!

Disneyworld was built for kids. People who go to Disneyworld without kids are either perverts or just plain strange. People who take their kids to Disneyworld and then take off to Dinner without them are abusive parents.

Hot Dogs should be on the menu of every restaurant at Disneyworld. Are we going to ban children from Chucky Cheese next?

[whimdriven]

I know lots of people that take their honeymoons to WDW, long before the kids come along, and I wouldn't describe them as perverts.

But I feel your sarcasm!

[rossbilly]

You're kidding, right?

I'd actually LOVE to take my wife to Disney, without our three children... and if you look into history, I think Mr. Disney said "for kids of ALL ages"

<<bites tongue on the rest, just in case I've mis-read your intentions>>

justinthyme said:

This is Disneyworld we are talking about people!

Disneyworld was built for kids. People who go to Disneyworld without kids are either perverts or just plain strange. People who take their kids to Disneyworld and then take off to Dinner without them are abusive parents.

Hot Dogs should be on the menu of every restaurant at Disneyworld. Are we going to ban children from Chucky Cheese next?

[Babs]

I don't mind kids in restaurants...they taste like chicken...
(Red, on a thread jacking note, we were driving along the other day, and our little almost 5 year old piped up from the back seat and said "Please turn the radio up. That's one of my favorite songs." Seems like yesterday my brothers and sister and I were saying the same thing to our parents!)

[RuneDeer]

justinthyme said:

Are we going to ban children from Chucky Cheese next?

Could we just ban Chuck-E-Cheese???

[Red]

Chuck-E-Cheese


The place where as soon as you enter in the door any eggs left in a womans body will mirgrate to the furtherest parts and die off, and will cause a mans sperm to kill each other off. All in defense.

It's not my child, nor the majority of the children there. It's the ones who's parents have never taught them any manors and who don't supervise their children at all. It's not a babysitter people.

[victoriasuzette]

Daworm ~ most likely, your state was the more gracious. (I grew up with too much of many things ~ one of the least of the negatives being too much superficiality.)

JT ~

Shot, Babs, Runedeer, Red ~ Amen!