Cali Grill with kids ?

[lilasmom]

I would love to try the California Grill, but of course we will have our kids with us ( it is Disney right ?). They are DS6 and DD16 months, is this too much to expect ? Should we just do CRT instead ? Obviously the food will be less appealing, but the kids would fit in just fine.

 

[darthtatty]

youll be surprised at how family friendly it is. When we went there were children running about everywhere. its not until later that its more adult orientated.

 

[__disneygirl]

Every restaurant at Disney World minus Victoria & Alberts is extremely kid friendly. As long as they aren't throwing plates and running around screaming you should be ok.

 

[crisi]

It is a meal that is expensive and can run quite long. We do five courses there and it takes two and a half hours. While kids are welcome, and there will be plenty of them, I prefer if I'm going to be having that sort of experience to have it without my own toddlers, who (they are now tweens) didn't sit well for long enough to make it a worthwhile experience.

Somehow, nothing ruins a $40 steak for me like saying "use your inside voices" forty five times in twenty two minutes. Unless its eating it out of stryofoam because one of the kids had decided to be done and we have to leave.

ETA: You don't NEED to take two and a half hours. You could rush this meal or just do two courses. It would be a shame to do so.

 

[DisneyFamily123]

I thought the restaurant was kind of noisy anyway. If your children get bored, ask for a window seat, and also take a few breaks to walk outside. There are two sides to walk out, each with a different view. I sometimes take DS for a quick walk between courses. The sunset was beautiful there.

View from one side

View from the other side

 

[Halle]

Planning on bringing DGD in December when she will be 11 moinths old. We dine there frequently and have always seen little ones early in the evening. I must admit they were always well behaved.

 

[B-Ride]

You know your kids best but I wouldn't worry about it. The first time we ate there they even brought crayons for our kids to colour with. Of course, since they were 11 and 13 they didn't appreciate being treated like "little kids".

 

[vinotinto]

We're bringing our kids - DS is 5 and my DD will have just turned 3. We do eat out at restaurants all the time, so they are used to it and have booked an early dinner. But everything I've read suggests its very child-friendly. If it weren't they would not have a child menu.

 

[kmk1180]

Cal Grill is not the quiet fine dining experience some make it out to be.
You'll blend in just like everyone else anytime from open till about 30 minutes after fireworks.

 

[crisi]

Cal Grill is not the quiet fine dining experience some make it out to be.
You'll blend in just like everyone else anytime from open till about 30 minutes after fireworks.

It certainly isn't quiet. Its arguable if its "fine" - it certainly presents itself as fine - extensive wine list, multiple courses, a fantastic cheese plate.

 

[DisneyFamily123]

DS when he was 4 was occupied easily by showing him photos on the digital camera from earlier in the day... and we used them to talk about things we did.

We really didn't have a problem with him being bored in restaurants... the biggest issue is lunch in the parks. I can understand because we are surrounded by fun things to do in the park and lunch is boring. The worse was at Liberty Tree Tavern because it's right across from one of his favorite rides - Haunted Mansion. Total meltdown once!

For lunch in the parks, that's why I like fun places with characters (like Crystal Palace). And next trip, our lunches will include places like Crystal Palace, Sci Fi Diner, Coral Reef and San Angel Inn.

 

[mhr648]

I took my two kids when they were about 7 and 10 and they loved it. The waiters are super nice to the kids, and pace the meal really well. My waiter made sure to let us linger a bit so we would still be there for the fireworks, and showed us where to go outside and everything. We found wonderful food choices for all of us, and it was definitely one of our most memorable Disney meals. My kids certainly aren't the most schooled in fine dining, but we never felt out of place.

I would highly recommend it!

 

[brianz09]

My wife and I ate there in February while on a quick trip without our 2 y.o. and we know there was no way he could have endured the almost 3 hour seating session. Food was great and our view of Wished was perfect but with our little kiddo it would have been impossible!

 

[DisneyFamily123]

My wife and I ate there in February while on a quick trip without our 2 y.o. and we know there was no way he could have endured the almost 3 hour seating session. Food was great and our view of Wished was perfect but with our little kiddo it would have been impossible!

We were done at Cali Grill in 75 minutes. But if we were without child, I could see 2 hours at most. I recently saw a post where someone dined at Victoria and Alberts for about 5 hours.

We do like to talk at dinner but rarely have that luxury... if we did, we would go out for a long dinner.

 

[crisi]

We were done at Cali Grill in 75 minutes. But if we were without child, I could see 2 hours at most. I recently saw a post where someone dined at Victoria and Alberts for about 5 hours.

We do like to talk at dinner but rarely have that luxury... if we did, we would go out for a long dinner.

Two and a half for us WITH kids (who were older - nine and ten maybe that trip?). As I said upthread, five courses (cheese, app, sushi, entree, dessert), and a bottle of wine.

 

[GailT]

I was there last Christmas Eve and going again this Christmas, there were adults , kid and babies in strollers, you'll be fine, have a great time

 

[lilasmom]

Thanks go everyone for your responses . I booked an early dinner for our last night. Can't wait ..I felt so brave, I also booked Narcoossee's for another early dinner earlier in our stay, wish us luck !

 

[srdipert]

We have eaten at CA Grill and Narcoosees with kids both times...no problems! I think you can be finished in a little over an hour or take 3 hours it just depends on if you want to eat and be finished or if you want to linger over your food. Honestly even without the kids I doubt we would take 3 hours we have a lot of other things to do.