Feeding kids on the Disney Dream

[Isafari]

As most parents know, taking the family out to eat can become a trying experience when either the wait time or menu selections aren’t to the kids’ liking. On the Disney Dream, though, it probably comes as no surprise that the entertainment and the multiple-course dinners in the three main restaurants help keep kids in good spirits.

Like the adults, kids are encouraged to order appetizers — soup, fruit or salad — to get started and stave off the I-have-to-eat-dinner-right-now complaints. Choices for the main course include four kid-friendly staples in every restaurant: Mickey’s Mac ‘n’ Cheese, Minnie’s Mini Burger, pizza and chicken strips. In addition, each restaurant offers three other entree choices, and all of them are served with fresh vegetables, smashed potatoes or steak fries.

Tip: If your child falls in love with an entree, servers will be happy to get it from the previous restaurant in your rotation and bring it to where you are dining that night.

Kids, it seems, are never too full to pursue dessert , and who can blame them with all the wonderful choices on a cruise? Each restaurant serves the popular Mickey ice cream bars and an assortment of ice cream, plus two other sweets designed for kids.

Drinks are included with kids’ meals — unless you order the specialty frozen drinks or light-up cups and clips.

The entertainment in the three main restaurants is sure to keep kids happy throughout meals that last longer than they might be used to. In Enchanted Garden, the restaurant shifts from day to night during the course of the meal. In Animator’s Palate, Crush, Mr. Ray and friends from Nemo swim by tables and talk to guests in real time. At Royal Palace, the princesses circulate among the tables for meet-and-greets.