Victoria and Albert's bans children under age 10

[PattySwind]

[QUOTE
Personally, I see (and hear) plenty of children at all of the other resort and park restaurants, and it's very nice to dine in an all-adult restaurant one night....... especially when we're paying over $500 for a gourmet meal.[/QUOTE]

$500 for a meal???? OMG, I hope that is for a party of 10.

Patty

[animalkingdomguy]

I'm a father of three and I don't have a problem with the age limit. First not everyone going to WDW has children or wants them to interfere with a fine dining experience. There are a myriad other resturants for families and we eat there (favorites Boma and Ohana). When I do take my wife to VA it will be because we want to quiet adult dining experience.

[Tigger&Stitch]

I totally support this policy and I wouldn't mind seeing it trickle down to a few other Disney restaurants. I know I am in the minority here and that is fine. I also would love it if Disney did Adult Only days at some of the parks once in a while.

IMO, kids shouldn't be taken everywhere, even at Disney.

I totally and completely agree!!

I would love to see this trickle down to more Disney restaurants(mainly because we can't afford V&A)...isn't one of the restaurants on the Disney cruise ship adults-only? That's 1 out of four restaurants, right? Much higher percentage than in WDW.

WDW is for kids and adults. And not all adults like children or enjoy their company during a nice/expensive dinner.

[SurferStitch]

$500 for a meal???? OMG, I hope that is for a party of 10.

Nope......two.

Food - $125 per person plus adders (additional $30 for Kobe beef, additional $30 for truffles) = $310

Wine pairings - $60 per person = $120

Food and wine = $430 PLUS tax = around $460

Oh, then tip = $150

Grand total = $610 (we used DDE card, so we paid about $516 including the original $150 tip. That one meal more than paid for our DDE card!) We have gotten many meals there without the card in the past, though.

Now do you see why it's not really a place for children, and why adults want to dine without them there?

[BeccaO]

I think the issue at hand is that people take their kids to restaurants like V&A and don't make them behave. I don't think it is unreasonable to dedicate a restaurant to people 10 and over, actually they should raise the age well over 10 years old. After all, there are folks who visit Disney that want to have a nice up-scale meal without children. There are plenty of restaurants on Disney property that you can take any child, any age, one restaurant with an age limit is not asking too much.

I know that not too long ago my parents visited V&A for dinner and they said there was a family eating at the same time and they had 2 young children that would not behave, the parents did nothing to calm these kids down. They said the meal and the service were both great but this family with the kids made the atmosphere less than romantic. This is the kind of thing Disney is trying to prevent, which is sad, because if people would just make their kids act the way they should in restaurants, it wouldn't be an issue.

[DizneyRox]

I think the 10 year old age was chosen because it is the age they charge adult prices for tickets. It has nothing to do with the ability to behave at the age of 10.

[RBrooksC]

Correct me if I am wrong, but I do believe that V&E is a seperate entity from the other dining experiences in Disney.

So, I don't think what V&E does will have any effect on the other offereings in WDW.

Also, when one wants a dining experience like a V&E, one does not want children there. I have a toddler and if I wanted a mean there, I would in a million years bring him there.

That mean is meant to be an experience... something that is savored. Children don't allow for that.

Oh, the fact that WDW is child friendly does not mean that everything there has to be. It is good, especially there, to have a place that adults can escape.

[mjaclyn]

DH and I went to V&A's on our Honeymoon and had a wonderful time. Now that we have a DD of our own, I can honestly say that I would not bring her there. I do understand that V&A's is a popular restuarant for couples who are celebrating an important event in their lives and it IS nice to be able to go somewhere in WDW for a quiet, romantic dinner. I would definitely have a problem with the policy if other restaurants jumped on the band wagon - like California Grill, Jiko, Artist Point, etc. DH and I still love to enjoy fine food at these restaurants and DD is usually very well behaved even though she is only 14 months old. We would also NEVER EVER let her run wild through the restaurant or bother other guests. If she starts to get cranky one of us always takes her out. Before we had children I never understood why parents would simply ignore the scene their children would make in a restaurant - from screaming & crying to running around & throwing food. It's definitely tough to get a young child to sit ANYWHERE but there are things that parents can do. I always come well equipped with cheerios, crackers, a juicebox and disposable placemat. If possible, DH and I always order her food first - before we even order, to make sure that she has something to eat ASAP. That way, she's happy and usually lasts throughout the meal with no problems whatsoever.

[meldan98]

We went Xmas day '00 during our honeymoon trip and there was one child sitting at a table in the room where we were seated. The boy was about 7 or 8 and he look absolutely board out of his mind!!! I felt so bad for him. He was the only child at the table of 4 adults and no one except the waiter really interacted with the kid. I really felt bad for the kid. He had proper manners and was very polite, but really deserved to be somewhere else where he could have some fun.

I've got a 4 year old and could never imagine taking her to a place like that. I also read an article that this may have been a way to market it and bring some attention to the fact that they have this offering available.

[Donald Duck Fan]

[QUOTE=BethieTink;1509327]I totally support this policy and I wouldn't mind seeing it trickle down to a few other Disney restaurants.
QUOTE]

I must say that I like the policy at V&A. I wouldnt mind seeing this policy either take effect at some other restaurants like the Artist Point or California Grill.

Maybe what Disney can do, is modify some of the upscale restaurants like Aritist Point and make a private dining room for adults 18 and older to enjoy a nice quite and romantic evening. This would allow both adults who would like a nice quite dinner to have one, and also allow those parents who fell that they need to bring the children with them to have dinner at the same restaurant.

[ElenitaB]

Since a few people have brought it up, there are several areas on the DCL ships that are Adults Only (i.e., 18 and above):

• Palo restaurant
• The Spa and fitness center (including the salon)
• Cove Cafe
• The Quiet Cove adults-only pool area (including Signals)

[artyboy]

[QUOTE=Donald Duck Fan;1510245]

I totally support this policy and I wouldn't mind seeing it trickle down to a few other Disney restaurants.
QUOTE]

I must say that I like the policy at V&A. I wouldnt mind seeing this policy either take effect at some other restaurants like the Artist Point or California Grill.

Maybe what Disney can do, is modify some of the upscale restaurants like Aritist Point and make a private dining room for adults 18 and older to enjoy a nice quite and romantic evening. This would allow both adults who would like a nice quite dinner to have one, and also allow those parents who fell that they need to bring the children with them to have dinner at the same restaurant.

I agree completely!

While I don't dislike kids (I have raised one of my own) I often see parents who stop parenting while at WDW...

Donald Duck Fan's suggestion is perfect for some of the other fine dining restaurants...I'm all for it!

[Goofster]

Given the costs involved for a meal at V & A, I think the no-child policy is more than reasonable. Unfortunately, many parents are too selfish to think of their child, and other dining patrons, to choose a more family-oriented restaurant on property. Children, no matter how well behaved, simply do not belong (nor do they want to be) in an enviornment like V & A.

In all honesty, I am shocked that a parent would even take a child under 10 to V & A.

[Seasonscraps]

I am actually surprised this wasn't already a policy.

[jax86]

although when my kids were younger, they rarely acted up in public (really they didn't, they were shy, quiet kids, and drawing that kind of attention to them embarrassed them, lucky for me!!) but, i still would never take them to a restaurant like that. theres nothing wrong with having a policy in place like that. like others have said there are SO many places for kids to eat in WDW. i think with some people, they just don't llike to be told they CANT take their precious darlings whereever they want. some places are just not meant for children. like it or not any restaurant has the right to put this policy in place.

[CandleontheWater]

I think that this is a great decision. DH and I are planning on V&As for our vacation in Oct, and I'm personally really happy that we can have an adults only experience that is bound to be romantic and memorable. Disney is for families of all types, and that includes husbands and wives. As much as DH and I both like children and look forward to having our own, we both also agree that a strong marriage is a cornerstone to a happy family, and having a strong marriage means that you have to nurture the bonds between husband and wife. I couldn't imagine a better place to reconnect than at a romantic child-free restaurant in our favorite place. My family always treasured our vacations and time together, but every vacation to Disney involved one night where we were dropped at the Mickey Mouse club and Mom and Dad had a romantic dinner at California Grill. We are also planning to make that a tradition in our own family vacations, and its nice to know that there is one place on property where we can escape the noise and excitement of children and concentrate just on ourselves.

[Magic Smiles]

At the prices that you pay at V & A, kids should not be allowed. It only takes one child to ruin a meal for everyone and believe me if I was at the restaurant, that child would be for sure sitting at the table beside me. Even Disney needs some places for adults only.

[KAT1811]

I don't disagree with the policy but I also do not agree with it either. Our oldest DD was fine dining at the age of 3 and to this day her favorite restaurant is one of the finest in RI. We often go for dinner and have for years. I would never bring my children to V&A because the atmosphere is not what we personally look for in WDW. We like fine dining in an atmosphere that is warm and inviting, not stuffy and stiff (even when it is just DH and myself). My cousin has fine dined her entire life and my aunt and uncle would have been very put off by a policy such as this. She is very well traveled and has been to more countries than most of the adults I know. Unfortunately I think that there are people out there that do not have enough sense to know that their particular child cannot tolerate such and environment and will be disruptive however, there are children that can and believe it or not actually enjoy said dining.I think that there should be some room for exceptions. As far as the trickle down theory I would not think as much of my beloved Disney as I do now if they were to institute such a policy at other WDW eateries. We, and our children, throughly enjoy California Grill and many of the other fine eateries in WDW.

I totally support this policy and I wouldn't mind seeing it trickle down to a few other Disney restaurants. I know I am in the minority here and that is fine. I also would love it if Disney did Adult Only days at some of the parks once in a while.

Adult only days?!?!?! Walt would be horrified. I understand this is your opinion and I respect that. To each his own.

[Natazu]

I'm kind of torn here. I've never agreed with disallowing children at gourmet restaurants. While it's a rare case that a small child would enjoy a meal at a place like V&A, the one that would should be allowed to come. But then again, I don't really want to share my gourmet dining experience with the Brady Bunch either.

On one hand, if your kids are well-behaved, why shouldn't you be able to bring them. Then again, if you can afford $350 for dinner, you can afford a babysitter. I'd wager a small child will have a better time with "Fairy Godmothers" babysitting service than mom and dad and servers in tuxedos.

On a side note. The only time we had a "less than enjoyable" atmosphere at Vicky's was when we were seated next to a table full of loud, giggly, teenage girls having a sweet sixteen dinner. Might as well make it 18 and up... or how about 25, then they can rent a car and drive themselves.

[Tigger&Stitch]

Adult only days?!?!?! Walt would be horrified.

Ehh..how do you know?