Do you ever really want to try the snazzy, ritzy dining experiences but....

[2xcited2sleep]

Deleted post

 

[bwifan]

I think she wants confirmation from people like her.
Ok
I was born on a hog farm from people born of other types of farms; lamb and dairy. I was in 4h. I wore French braids and boots at the county fair. I know where you come come from and I’m here to say, country folk are the most polite and well bred I have ever come across. My farm bred kids have dined all across this country plus London and Edinburgh. No one ever stared. Kids take their cues from the adults in their lives. Country or city, if you’re decent and polite, nothing else matters.

 

[karmacats]

Fwiw, my DH has hair down to his waist and a full goatee, and we've done almost every signature and also done the tea at the grand floridian 4 times, and no one has ever looked at us askance or seemed to be critical. If we do a signature right from the parks DH wears khaki shorts and a collared t-shirt with sandals; if we go from our resort he's usually in nice jeans and a short sleeve button down with dark sneakers. It sounds like your son will blend right in in jeans and a buttondown and boots, beard or no beard. I've seen all kinds of facial hair and all kinds of hairstyles (as well as tattoos, piercings, etc) all over the signatures - no one cares. People visit wdw from all walks of life.

 

[Pumbaa_]

You can go anywhere you want. If someone has the manners of a goat to judge your family, that is on them, not you

Hope you have a marvelous trip with your family

 

[chuff88]

My granddaughter is 2.

First, your family sounds delightful. I don’t know when you’re traveling, but if we happen to be there at the same time I hope we bump into each other.

The part I quoted is the only thing that I would be concerned about for the tea party. I don’t know a lot about the children’s tea parties, but at 2 your GD might not enjoy it as much as she would at, say, 4 or 5. I know those experiences are not inexpensive, and if I were you I might wait a bit longer so she can enjoy it more and perhaps create a lifelong memory. That said, if you think she would like it now, you should take her and let her revel in the make believe, and enjoy experiencing it with her.

 

[paradesintherain]

Anyway, OP, I highly recommend that you do the tea party. It's not as quiet or as stuffy as you'd imagine, and it was one of my absolute favorite experiences.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

We will definitely be back in years to come

On another note:

I wanted to clarify that I hold no ill will towards the folks that some of you are seeing as rude. I accepted the fact that my humor went straight over their heads as we are likely culturally and/or geographically different.

My children and grandchildren don't really lick wall sockets. Its a common phrase where I'm from to remark about your kids acting up a little and its always used in jest/humor. Kind of like "swinging from the ceiling fan". Kids don't actually do that, you know? We have never visited WCC or 50'sPT because their antics were too much.

And the advice I was asking for was if clean, untorn jeans, a button up, boots, and a full out beard was acceptable for the more upscale establishments. It appears the answer is no and that's ok Perhaps my exaggerated description of my family, meant with humor that I know some of you understood, is what caused some of these reactions that some might find rude. Oddly enough I found some of the comments entertaining because I never expected anyone to get so riled up over a discussion on this.

At the end of the day we DO judge ourselves and we judge others. That has always been the case. Imagine a world where we didn't judge ourselves and how disrespectful we'd be to those around us by not having the common sense and judgement to say "yeah, I don't think this is appropriate".

I have no qualms about not doing the tea party. For what that would cost us we could spend 2 days at Universal or 2 more days at Disney, which all of us would enjoy more

But the answer isn't no. That clothing is perfectly within dress code for all WDW restaurant except V&A (and, technically, Monsieur Paul, but based on personal experience, they don't seem to enforce the dress code there). Your son will not be out of place in jeans, a button-up, boots and a full beard. In fact, he'll look very much like (and in many cases, better dressed than) the other customers in the restaurants!

 

[dachsie]

We will definitely be back in years to come



And the advice I was asking for was if clean, untorn jeans, a button up, boots, and a full out beard was acceptable for the more upscale establishments. It appears the answer is no and that's ok Perhaps my exaggerated description of my family, meant with humor that I know some of you understood, is what caused some of these reactions that some might find rude. Oddly enough I found some of the comments entertaining because I never expected anyone to get so riled up over a discussion on this.

No I think you misunderstood. That would be acceptable everywhere with the exception of V&A. Your son would be fine dressed like that

 

[Nancyg56]

No I think you misunderstood. That would be acceptable everywhere with the exception of V&A. Your son would be fine dressed like that

Oh my! I agree that there had to be a misunderstanding. This family is fine anywhere but V&A. Shoot, my DSIL refuses to wear anything but shorts on vacation, and to gussy them up he has every Hawaiian shirt known to man, and they let him in! LOL!

 

[GillianP1301]

My granddaughter is 2. She isn't quite at the age where she understands commands yet and is learning to communicate/talk without the understanding of societal norms or repercussions. Also, I am her grandmother so therefore I do not raise her. She has a mother and father for that.

I respectively disagree with this. 2 is old enough to understand basic right and wrong and although it would be unrealistic to expect them to be perfectly behaved at all times, it is very realistic to be correcting unwanted behaviour. And as her grandmother, I agree you are not raising her, but you are, or should be, a member of her family that should be respected and it's totally acceptable to remind her of that if/when needed.

My advice to you is to take your granddaughter to the tea, I think it could be an amazing experience for both of you and a wonderful teaching opportunity for you to start to show her appropriate behaviour for that type of dining experience. Go in knowing that a typical 2 year old outburst could happen, and that's okay, but be prepared to deal with it when it does.

 

[adobbs10]

I have two brothers-in-law just like your son! My husband is the most “buttoned-up” of his brothers, but being around them on vacation brings out his country. I’ve been in signature restaurants with my BILs while they’re wearing their Columbia button-down fishin’ shirts, their “fancy” jeans (the youngest BIL wears those with a bedazzled butt and his brothers always give him grief for it, but hey, he thinks he looks dang good), and either their boots or, horror of horrors, their fishin’ shoes. They are big bearded boys and they love to eat, laugh, and have a good time. We may get a couple of stares, but I’ve never noticed. They get along great with wait staff and neighboring tables as they’ve never met a stranger and love to tell stories. They’re just good ole country boys. I think what you’re describing as your son’s attire is perfectly fine! My husband and I dress differently than they do (I’ll wear a summer dress, he’ll wear slacks/a dress shirt), but we all blend together perfectly, because we’re family and we’re there to have a good meal and a good time.

 

[DisneyAuntie12]

For your granddaughter I'd say - know your little ones and make a call that is appropriate for them. I am an SLP and have worked in Early Intervention (birth to 3 population,) and I feel like comparing toddlers causes a lot of unnecessary stress for people! One two-year-old can sit down and have a conversation with you about what she did at the playground that day, another is just starting to put two words together - and these are both totally normal for toddlers, there is a huge range of developmentally appropriate behavior at that time and I spend a lot of time stressing that this is totally ok. If one two-year-old is not ready for a sit down tea, I would say, don't go and spend the whole time being stressed and worried about what might happen next and trying to reign your granddaughter in when she might not understand what's going on or why Grandma seems upset. My little niece is two and a half and I definitely wouldn't take her to a sit down tea yet, she wouldn't understand what was going on or why she couldn't spend the whole time running over to the characters. My good friend's daughter is almost exactly the same age and is going to Disney this summer and doing all of that kind of thing, and is totally able to sit and chat with characters and so on - it really depends on the kiddo, and again, either way, it's fine, both are appropriate for 2.

 

[Allison]

And the advice I was asking for was if clean, untorn jeans, a button up, boots, and a full out beard was acceptable for the more upscale establishments. It appears the answer is no and that's ok

I honestly don't understand how you came to this conclusion from the posts. Perhaps, OP, you are somewhat insecure about this and worrying about it more than anyone else at the restaurant will. Eat where you want to eat.