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The dream of many small children across the world is to visit Disney World, right? Even though there are plenty of adults who have become addicted to visiting Disney theme parks, the whole concept is really about entertaining kids.
Or so I thought, until I read that Disney World has recently banned children from eating in the Victoria & Albert’s restaurant in the Grand Floridian Resort and Spa. Parents with children aged under 10 will be asked to take their hungry family elsewhere.
The Disney people have come up with plenty of reasons why this is OK: Victoria & Albert’s is a five-diamond rated restaurant that’s not really designed to appeal to children anyway; they say the survey feedback from guests asked for it; and there are no less than 97 other full-service restaurants in Disney World for families to choose from. Plus if I was a 10-year-old child, I wouldn’t want to sit in a restaurant where dinner consists of seven courses and takes three hours.
What I didn’t know is that Disney already has some areas which are no-go for children: There are adults-only restaurants on its cruise ships and some parts of the Pleasure Island entertainment district are also off-limits.
But despite all that, it just seems wrong that there are parts of Disney World that aren’t made for kids, after all.
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January 8th, 2008 at 2:05 pm
It doesn’t seem wrong to me at all. This affects such a small percentage of families, I’m surprised it made the news. Except that Disney wanted it to make the news because it’s great PR for their best restaurant. There are plenty of other experiences where a family can drop $200-400 on their kids meal at a chef’s table experience (try the California Grill or Jiko) if they want. Let the children over 9 (and that includes all the adults who are childs at heart) have this one private moment without screaming kids.
January 8th, 2008 at 4:28 pm
There is nothing wrong with not allowing kids at V&A’s. The majority of people that eat here are usually there for a special occasion such as popping the question, anniversary, etc. No one wants to hear some screaming brat while trying to enjoy a $200 per person meal and that’s not even at the chef’s table. It’s not the place for them and thus explains why their is no children’s menu, but people today are not put off by that and think that “everyone” should love being with their kids. In today’s world it is often necessary to make the rules and put them out there because people lack common sense. There are plenty of places for kids to eat. Disney isn’t just for kids, adults like it too and disney is just responding to feedback like they should.
January 8th, 2008 at 6:22 pm
Walt would be rolling over in his grave. I think his goal was to have the entire park as a family getaway. There isnt parts of Cinderella, or Shrek you dont show children is there ?
If they want an “Adult” park, Disney has tons of land they could build one on. He built a place to take the family, not ditch the kids while moms and dad get sh*t-faced. If your adults with no children you shouldnt be playing with Winnie the Pooh in the first place.
January 8th, 2008 at 8:55 pm
Dave, there’s so much wrong with your comment I don’t know where to start. First Walt was cremated. So no rolling over. Maybe a little shiftin’ in the urn.
Second, Walt wasn’t above building ‘private’ spaces in his parks. His plans for Disneyland had special hidden dining rooms in the Red Wagon Inn and later at Club 33.
Walt’s frequently recounted design to have an experience where the whole family could have fun together came from his days in Griffith Park watching his daughters ride the carousel while he sat on a park bench. And yet there is a carousel right smack in the middle of Fantasyland. In fact, it’s the primary Weenie for that land visible through the castle as you approach via Main Street. One of the last attractions Walt greenlighted was Space Mountain. He knew that would have a height limit effectively preventing some kids from riding with the rest of their families. So obviously Walt didn’t mean for every attraction, every ride, every experience to be available to all members of the family.
Therefore stop dragging Walt into this.
And I’m calling bullshit on your final assertion that adults with no children should stay away from the parks. One of Disney’s largest businesses is the Wedding & Honeymoon business. I promise you a healthy portion of that is childless. Disney built a place that entertains the child in all of us.
John
January 8th, 2008 at 9:33 pm
I couldn’t agree more with John. Some of my most Magical Moments are from wonton, lusty, child-free nights at Pleasure Island, a Disney property where they card you at the turnstile. Enough with the judgmental journalism, amandak. Let the older kids enjoy Disney a little too.
January 8th, 2008 at 10:07 pm
The great thing about Disney World is that it’s NOT just for kids. It’s not even just for families. There’s plenty of things for people of all ages to do. For kids there’s playgrounds and character meals and large portions of the Magic Kingdom. For adults there’s spas, golf courses, fine dining, Pleasure Island, and character meals (what? my parents and I love character meals *grins*).
This move makes perfect sense to me. It’s not really taking anything away from the kids, because as others have said, V&A isn’t a place most kids would feel welcome at anyway. And it’s adding something for the adults. It makes good business sense for Disney to attract all sorts of guests, not just those with kids.
January 9th, 2008 at 12:03 am
Bravo to you, John.
After my last stay, I almost wish there were more no-kids-allowed restaurants. The park itself has something like 300 restaurants (table service and otherwise) on the property. There’s no reason for parents to be taking their kids to a $125 a plate dinner when their kids probably want to eat hot dogs and ice cream. Hell, I wish they’d keep kids out of most of the high end establishments. I can say that last September my meal at Jiko was less enjoyable than it would have been if there hadn’t been a little brat on heelies gliding around the place and screaming at his parents that he was bored.
January 9th, 2008 at 1:45 am
Glo said: ” No one wants to hear some screaming brat while trying to enjoy a $200 per person meal.”
AMEN!
If parents are not teaching their children decent, civilized table manners,they should refrain from taking them to a high end restaurant, spoiling the experience to the rest of the paying patrons.
January 9th, 2008 at 1:54 am
I am one of those parents that paid $125 for my daughter to go to Victoria and Albert’s and it was one of her highlights of our trip. She thought it was great to get dressed up and even funnier that dad wore his sneakers with his suit. It was a great experience and the food was outstanding - the service was unbelievable. She even got to go back and meet the chef. So I do understand why they are putting the policy into place - we have all seen those ugly kids and parents who do nothing with their kids but let them run wild. Mine is appalled when she sees such behavior and she is only eight.
January 9th, 2008 at 11:03 am
BullS*it is what I think. Didn’t we stop
segregation years ago. This is just another way to make it legal. How would a black family explain to an 7 or 8 yr old child they are “not allowed” to eat at this resturant. It’s sad when today we still have this. What makes this different than it was back in the day? Oh, just children under 10 instead of everyone of color. Oh please! it was wrong then and its still wrong now even if its “just children under 10″. I wouldn’t pay $200 dollars for any meal to begin with. Any one who spends that much on a freakin’ meal should have their head examined. As my late boss ( a popular cheesesteak resturant in Philadelphia) would say, ” Your SICK to spend that much for a meal let alone deny a child to eat there!”
segregation— not really gone its just been masked to look okay.
January 9th, 2008 at 11:10 am
Thank you for the lovely comedy Brian. That has to be what your comment is, for I can’t seriously believe that you just equated having a simple dinner for people ages 10 and above with slavery, segregation of a people, racism, and discrimination on the basis of a class.
January 9th, 2008 at 11:43 am
Dave: First of all parents can get drunk with their kids at any number of restaurants at WDW. V&A’s is not a wild drinking party, it’s a gourmet meal and if you so choose you can get wine pairings. Just because someone decides to have an adult dinner doesn’t mean they are there for a drink fest. I rarely if ever drink and I can’t even recall the last time I had a drink, even at the most upscale restaurants. It is possible to go to a restaurant, not drink and just enjoy good food. And as far as Disney being just for kids, I don’t think so, because if it were, there would be no need for the three golf courses and holding the Funai and PGA events, the sports stadium with spring training, spas, behind the scenes tours, weddings, conventions, bars, pleasure island and downtown disney. Walt was all about change and updating things to keep ahead of the curve.
And, oh yes, we need to close every ride that has a height restriction and every roller coaster because everyone in the family can’t go on it, as well as many other places at WDW.
Brian: I don’t even know where to begin on your comments. This is not segregation, but in your view so would a lot of other things like the bars and clubs where you have to be 21 to enter, the tours where many of them you have to be 16 to go on, how about the rides that have height restrictions, hotel rooms that only allow 4 people to stay in them, hot tubs that don’t allow infants.
The bottom line is that disney is doing what is best for “their” business and the one thing most people forget is that WDW is private property, so they can do what they want.