Originally Posted By danyoung >See, I get a little offended when people say things like they should exclude kids.< I agree with you, yates. But while I think kids should be allowed, I also wish that Disney staff were a little stricter with kids, or to be more precise, with the idiot parents who let their kids run wild.
Originally Posted By EPCOT Explorer >>> See, I get a little offended when people say things like they should exclude kids. Especially in a place like WDW. I take my 2 daughters (15,10) everywhere I go and have NEVER had a problem with their behavior. I would not think twice about taking them to any restaurant on the planet. But I also think that dressing for dinner plays a big part in their behavior. The other night I made them put on a dress to head to Tchoup Chop for appetizers<<< Yeah, but you are a good parent... That's rare.
Originally Posted By EPCOT Explorer >>>I agree with you, yates. But while I think kids should be allowed, I also wish that Disney staff were a little stricter with kids, or to be more precise, with the idiot parents who let their kids run wild.<<< That'll never happen. How dare a company tell PAYING CUSTOMERS (who have a inflated sense of entitlement because of that) how to behave in their parks and resorts...
Originally Posted By ChiMike >>I come from the other school of thought. I live in a major city that has incredible food and restaurants. While vacationing at Disney I'm definately not looking for a formal dining experience<< Same here Tom. >>My complaints tend to focus more around lack of menu options and the screaming kids at the table next to isn't really kewl when I'm about to drop $100 per person for a meal.<< Absolutely same here Tom. But let me ask you.. If a flagship deluxe resort no longer has an option for semi-formal dining, like GF has, then does it remain a flagship deluxe resort? A deluxe resort, even? I would argue no. Especially when I look at the multiple tiers that Dolphin, Royal Pacific, Portofino, all still seem to manage to offer with the same guest population.
Originally Posted By PotNoodle I don't have a problem with kids who are well-behaved. It is the parents who ignore their children's need for sleep and rest. I also hate the "I'm on vacation" mentality. They think it extends to their parenting duties as well. My husband & I went to the California Grill a few years back we dressed up (our son was with my MIL). Most people were dressed up when we arrived. As it got darker outside, and the tables turned over, we began to see people who obviously came in straight from the parks. You know, fanny packs, sweaty, salt stained t-shirts, kicked out trainers. I don't mind "dressy-casual", but some of these people looked disgusted--this was late August, mind you. The kicker was people bringing in their toddlers. It was late you can tell these kids were tired. They were fussy, whiney, struggling to stay up. It ruined the experience for me. We are going to WDW next month and I had reservations for the California Grill to celebrate my graduation from grad school--I canceled them. We spent over $200 that night and had to deal with kids whose parents were pushing them to the limit. I've made reservations at the Flying Fish Cafe. I hope since it is a little off the beaten path, it might be a little less obnoxious this time.
Originally Posted By Kennesaw Tom On one trip to WDW, maybe three years ago my party plus my sister and her husband all drove down to Ft Lauderdale to the Mai-Kai Restaurant. We were all in shorts but Hawaiian shirts and stuff. They sat us outside in the Tiki garden which is wear we wanted to be. But the people inside were dressed up and watching the show. There is a part of me that wishes there were various part so the Disney restaurants where people could be with families and other "couples" could be having their romantic moment at the same restaurant in a different area.
Originally Posted By ChiMike >>I just talked to the Bull and Bear Steakhouse at the Waldorf Astoria at Bonnet Creek and they have a dress code of business casual. No shorts or t-Shirts. It is without a doubt the nicest restaurant on Disney property. <a href="http://www.bullandbearorlando.com/<<" target="_blank">http://www.bullandbearorlando....<<</a> Awesome. Thanks for the recommmendation. Now I have two new places to try at Bonnet Creek. Will look forward to stopping there before a night at EPCOT.
Originally Posted By ChiMike >>That'll never happen. How dare a company tell PAYING CUSTOMERS (who have a inflated sense of entitlement because of that) how to behave in their parks and resorts... << That's the rub.
Originally Posted By ChiMike >>See, I get a little offended when people say things like they should exclude kids. Especially in a place like WDW. I take my 2 daughters (15,10) everywhere I go and have NEVER had a problem with their behavior. I would not think twice about taking them to any restaurant on the planet. But I also think that dressing for dinner plays a big part in their behavior. The other night I made them put on a dress to head to Tchoup Chop for appetizers. << Dshyates, I read your other post describing this night, and I thought it was a GREAT thing. What a wonderful way to reward yourself for hard work and then be able to share it with your girls. My issue is not that all kids are bad, just that the majority of parents out there who think it is a good idea to take small children out to places like CG for dinner are typically also the same who aren't managing their kids in the best way. I said 12 because it seemed a good age, perhaps 10 would be the age. It doesn't matter, I still think it would be a good idea to have 3-4 places among all the restaurants on property where young kids cannot be patrons. I can't see the harm. Right now there is only 1 place where it would be highly inappropriate, V&A, and I think 2-3 more, with different vibes, would be great to have. CG certainly is setup to be one of them. Not everything has to be inclusive. Jellyrolls is not. V&A is not. The new DVC lounge at Bay Lake is not for all guests. I don't see an issue in making a few more signature places just that. In your case, or even my case traveling in a big group, there are plenty of other options to enjoy if we have a 9 year old in tow.
Originally Posted By dshyates I too think if they were going to be age restricted, 10 would be a good cut off point if they also had a business casual dress code of no shorts, collared shirt. I think most people know that when you have to dress, you also have to behave. I think that a lot of folks think that if you don't have to dress up, then a casual attitude is also appropriate.
Originally Posted By ChiMike >>I think that a lot of folks think that if you don't have to dress up, then a casual attitude is also appropriate.<< TA-DA Now we have reached the origin of the conversation. hahahah. Dress codes do influence expected behavior.
Originally Posted By EPCOT Explorer >>>That's the rub.<<<< And it'll never change. ~Doom and Gloomer~ ~GFC~
Originally Posted By EPCOT Explorer >>>Dress codes do influence expected behavior.<<< Indeed they do, and indeed people should be more choosey and more refined when they dress.
Originally Posted By EPCOT Explorer And that said, I certainly don't go everywhere in a shirt and tie, but when it comes to things, like being in a professional setting (SCHOOL, ehem) I think you can do a bit better than a T-Shirt and Basketball shorts.
Originally Posted By leobloom >> On one trip to WDW, maybe three years ago my party plus my sister and her husband all drove down to Ft Lauderdale to the Mai-Kai Restaurant. We were all in shorts but Hawaiian shirts and stuff. They sat us outside in the Tiki garden which is wear we wanted to be. But the people inside were dressed up and watching the show. There is a part of me that wishes there were various part so the Disney restaurants where people could be with families and other "couples" could be having their romantic moment at the same restaurant in a different area. << Off topic, but how'd you like Mai-Kai, Tom? I've been wanting to go there for awhile now.
Originally Posted By danyoung >Dress codes do influence expected behavior.< But in a place like Disney World, dress codes will directly affect the size of the crowd at any given restaurant, and there is the real problem.
Originally Posted By ChiMike It seems to work just fine for V&A, even Bistro. There is enough demand there, so why not 1 more? Not talking suits, but how about, no tshirts, no jeans. How hard is that?
Originally Posted By DDMAN26 First GFC???? Second if I'm down there I don't know if I'm willing to spend all that money at a nice restaurant like V&A or CG considering all the money I've spent on plane, hotel and park tickets. Third if I would go to a nicer place not on V&A level but I would see no issue wearing a pair of dress shorts, either a nice polo or button down shirt and pair of dress sandals.
Originally Posted By DDMAN26 For the most part I agree with no t-shirt rule. As for the jeans you can make it look decent, with again a nice shirt and a sport coat.
Originally Posted By danyoung It works for V&A because it's totally an exclusive and very small restaurant. The dress code for the Bistro is the same as CG. And can you imagine having to dress up, enter Epcot, dine at the Bistro, and then stay all dressed up for the rest of the evening in Epcot? It just wouldn't work. Look, I personally wouldn't mind if they didn't allow tshrts at the nicer places. But I can look pretty decent in shorts and a golf shirt, and I think that's totally appropriate for the CG, Bistro, and most WDW restaurants.
