Dining with an 8 month old: TS or CS?

[olliesmom]

We are traveling to Disney in December with an 8 month old, it'll be our first time with a baby and as he's our first, I've never had an 8 month old before!

We usually like to do 1-2 table service meals per day. Right now, DS is a little bit too tiny for high chairs so we don't go out for many restaurant meals at home as we have to hold him in our laps. I'm assuming by the time he is 8 months he'll be able to sit in the regular high chairs they have at Disney?

For those of who who've traveled with babies, did you find TS or CS to be easier? I can see pros/cons of each and am not sure how many ADRs to make. Right now I have about one per day. TS seems relaxing in that you get to sit and relax and have everything brought to you, but the downside is that they can be so long! CS you have more control over the length of your meal and I'm guessing even CS restaurants have high chairs? But lining up, finding tables etc. seems a bit trickier.

Which would you plan more of with an 8 month old?

 

[rwdavis2]

A couple things. Make the reservations for 3 people even if you intend to hold the baby. How does it do at sit down restaurants at home? What do you find easier?

 

[Pumbaa_]

You may want to pose this question on the Family board

I would make adrs now. You can always change them when there the day before if it doesn’t work out

 

[crabbygal902]

We've been on trips with our mostly-grown kids from the time they were 6 months old, so we have lots of experience with the different ages. Here's what worked for us when they were babies:

Character meals: my littles loved the characters and we have the most precious pictures of our babies at character meals. 'Ohana breakfast is a particularly good choice because it is less expensive than other character meals and food is brought to your table family-style. It is nice not to have to juggle getting your plates of food, taking turns holding or entertaining baby, and being back at the table when the characters come by.

Loud(er) restaurants: Raglan Road would be a great choice, with its entertainment and its lively atmosphere. If baby wants to sing the song of his people--i.e. crying or just verbalizing, you are less likely to interrupt others' dinner than at The Wave, for example. The noise and stimulation might actually put baby to sleep. Mine would shut down and snooze in that kind of environment.

Mostly Counter Service: With an infant, it is nice to have the flexibility of fewer ADRs driving your vacation. You never know when an aria-style crying fit will happen or baby has gone through the 3 changes of clothes you packed for the day and needs a new pair of pants. That ADR for a fantastically expensive meal might not work for your family in those moments.

When the kids were little, our style of vacationing changed. It was still great, but different. Those are some of the sweetest memories I have. Enjoy your vacation with your little one!

 

[EdmondD]

Sometimes when our son was under three we'd consider having a sit-down meal out. But then instead I'd just light $60 on fire and save everyone a bunch of pain and suffering.

 

[crabbygal902]

Sometimes when our son was under three we'd consider having a sit-down meal out. But then instead I'd just light $60 on fire and save everyone a bunch of pain and suffering.

 

[Missyrose]

We took my daughter at 7 months in April and I found the TS meals to be easier than QS meals. You didn't have to divide and conquer to get food and a table, if we needed a minute to get the baby settled, the servers were happy to give it to us. The buffets were also great because she was just starting to get comfortable with table food, so I could grab little bits of different things to give her.

 

[MaoriWhoLovesDisney]

We've taken both of our DS's when they were about your LO's age, and we did a mix of both. In the end, we liked the TS better because we liked an opportunity to relax, let the little guys bump around the booth in some air conditioning, and not feel rushed to give up our table by the Table Mavens wanting your space. We would do both, but preferred TS when we went in the summer months.

BUT!

Now that mobile ordering is a thing, I would rethink CS as being great for the kids. If you order before you start looking for your table, you can GREATLY reduce your wait time, no one has to stand in a line, and you don't have to go through the TS hassle of "give us one more minute" and your server disappears for 15...;-). Not to mention with CS ambiance, if LO wants to yell to everyone how their day has been, you won't get as many stank faces!

Our most recent trip (family trip that involved two ten month olds) we tried out more CS, did only our favorite character meals, and mobile ordering before finding a seat made the meal SO much easier.

 

[StarSeven7]

I think it depends a lot on the personality of your child, even at that young of an age! I'm not sure how old he is now but you can probably see if his personality is laid back or if he's a kid who's a bit more spirited and wanting to move a lot. We had one of each. When my DD was a baby, eating at TS restaurants was easy! She would sit nicely in the high chair and smile at everyone! When DS was a baby, eating out was pure torture and not relaxing at all. He hated sitting still that long (even at 8 months old!) and was very fussy about it!