Best time for a California Grill ADR?

[jjsdad]

Wishes would be at 9pm, what would be the optimal time for an ADR? I'm guessing 8pm? If you have a reservation around this time do you think we would get seated after our ADR or are they generally pretty good with getting you in your seat around your ADR time? I'd be curious to hear some others experiences with this.

 

[Goofy4]

8 would work well for us. 7:30 or 7:45 if you need more time to select your entrees and/or like more time for appetizers and desserts. If you finish early you could do some shopping or walk around the resort; and they will let you back up later to watch Wishes.

I haven't heard of anyone having a problem getting seated close to the ADR time.

 

[Pakey]

I have dined here many times. Sometimes we are seated close to our ADR time and sometimes we have a long wait and we stand against the wall since the lounge is packed. The longest wait we've had is 50 minutes past our ADR.

 

[PoohsFan1]

We love eating at Cali Grill, we usually make and ADR for the first seating which is 5:30pm. There is hardly anyone up there and you are seated right at your ADR time. What I really love about eating at this time is that watching the sunset over MK is so beautiful, just as beautiful as watching Wishes from the balcony. When we are done eating we always head downstairs and do a little bit of shopping and jump onto the monorail and take a whirl around the loop. When it is time for Wishes, we head back over to Cali Grill and show the check-in desk our dining receipt from earlier, and they will allow us to head back up. It really makes for a wonderful night .

 

[minnie mum]

My experience has been that the later the ADR the greater the likelihood (or certainty) that you will be seated late. Up to half an hour late. Especially true when the crowd levels are high or free dining is on.

With that said, even if you are seated half an hour late, it's all good. Gives you time to order and have your appetizers. It has been our experience that the servers will actually hold back your entree so you can step out to the viewing platform for Wishes. Then they serve you when you come back.

 

[jjsdad]

Thanks for the info. Next questino I would guess is about the viewing area. How crowded does it get out there? Like can you just walk out there when the show starts with your kids and see everything perfectly?

 

[minnie mum]

Well of course just about everyone in the place wants to go out to the viewing area, so it can be crowded. If you go out a few minutes early you should be able to get the kids up against the railing for a better view.

 

[TiggerTrigger]

When we were planning for Cali Grill last year I was told to plan for at least a 30 min wait and to expect an even longer wait if my ADR was within an hour of Wishes- to the point that we might not be seated before the start of the show.

When we went, Wishes was at 10p and our ADR was 7:55p. It was at least 30 min to be seated for us, maybe a tad more. While we didn't get a window table, we did have a great view of the castle, so thankfully that meant we could stay parked at our table for Wishes...which turned out to be a good thing b/c supposedly the outdoor view deck was packed with people who had dined earlier in the evening. I took a look around and very few people seated and eating at the time of the show got up to go out and watch. We also didn't see much table turnover after 9pm. We were being served dessert just as the lights dimmed so the timing worked out great for us...but I think it's a total gamble with these things. i.e. if they're running on time or close to on time and people don't camp out at their tables, you'll probably be fine; however, if it's like the night we went...not so much.