California Grill and No More Wishes...

[ashleymrush]

I need some help in making a decision. My husband and I have a date night planned for our trip in June and are going to California Grill. I planned this out on the 180 day mark so that I could get the perfect time to be able to watch Wishes. I am very upset to see Wishes going away before we return and am considering changing our meal to a different restaurant, perhaps in Disney Springs, so here is why. I've seen Wishes a million times and LOVE it and was really looking forward to seeing it from a different perspective. If we go to CG we clearly will be seeing the new show. The down side to this is that it would be my first time see the new show because we won't be in the park to watch in front of the castle until later in the week. Considering the fact that I'm already sad about the loss of Wishes, do you think we should switch our ADR so that the first time seeing it would be in the MK as it should be or is CG so good that we should keep it? I know this may sound silly but I'm having a really hard time deciding and my DH doesn't care one way or the other. He thought I was acting a bit crazy when I cried over Wishes ending. I knew that there would be some people on here that would get it though and could offer up good advice. What would you do? Thanks!

 

[AngiTN]

Yes, I would change. While I'm very happy to get a new show and I think the view from CG will still be good I wouldn't want that to be my first time to see the new show. I want to see it from in the park, as it's designers intended when they created it.

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

I love Wishes, am sad to see it go, but at the same time am excited about a new show!

FOR ME, as long as I was going to see it from the park AT SOME POINT during my trip, I wouldn't mind if the FIRST time was from CG. But this is obviously subjective -- depends how much the FIRST aspect matters to you, and whether you'll have another night that trip to see it in the park.

And CG is a great restaurant. If you decide not to do it and are looking for another option for date night, I'd recommend Jiko. Quiet, nice atmosphere, great food.

 

[Mom2Stitch]

I would want to see the new show first at the park and then from CG if possible. Wishes will be missed, but new stuff is exciting too!

 

[Hopefully]

I would definitely recommend seeing it in the park, in front of the Castle, as designed the first time.
There are lots of really good restaurants in Disney Springs now.
I would change to either the Boathouse or Paddlefish for your special night.
Enjoy

 

[CraigInPA]

Early reports are that projection mapping will be a big part of the show. Unless you're in the park, you're not going to see that part of the show. As far as I know, there is no view of the front of the castle from any of the Monorail resort hotels (GF, Poly, or Contemporary).

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

Early reports are that projection mapping will be a big part of the show. Unless you're in the park, you're not going to see that part of the show. As far as I know, there is no view of the front of the castle from any of the Monorail resort hotels (GF, Poly, or Contemporary).

I'm really excited to see the projections and new show -- I've LOVED the castle projections going back to the first time they really did them years ago.

I just hope that they don't water down the fireworks portion. It is the one thing that I did not love about the new SW show vs. the last SW fireworks show.

 

[JZCubed]

I need some help in making a decision. My husband and I have a date night planned for our trip in June and are going to California Grill. I planned this out on the 180 day mark so that I could get the perfect time to be able to watch Wishes. I am very upset to see Wishes going away before we return and am considering changing our meal to a different restaurant, perhaps in Disney Springs, so here is why. I've seen Wishes a million times and LOVE it and was really looking forward to seeing it from a different perspective. If we go to CG we clearly will be seeing the new show. The down side to this is that it would be my first time see the new show because we won't be in the park to watch in front of the castle until later in the week. Considering the fact that I'm already sad about the loss of Wishes, do you think we should switch our ADR so that the first time seeing it would be in the MK as it should be or is CG so good that we should keep it? I know this may sound silly but I'm having a really hard time deciding and my DH doesn't care one way or the other. He thought I was acting a bit crazy when I cried over Wishes ending. I knew that there would be some people on here that would get it though and could offer up good advice. What would you do? Thanks!

We did a self-guided Monorail Fireworks Crawl a few years ago and can attest to the fact that the view from CA Grill is less centered than a view from MK. And we can appreciate having Date Night.

On the one hand, I can certainly see this being a problem for someone so attached to the Wishes display.

On the other hand, your nuance of wanting to first see the fireworks from Main Street before any place else is a bit much for my personal calculus....particularly since you will be on Main Street later in the week.

All I can think of to compare - Do you leave the movie theatre when the 'Trailers' are being shown?

Back to the other hand - CA Grill is too hit-or-miss for my taste if I have dinner options (and we stay at Bay Lake/Contemporary). Yes, a meal here can be truly magical, but it can also fall flat, be too noisy, and offer a mediocre view (comparable to Capa) from the further side of the kitchen....with children running back-n-forth to the outside view area.

I'm all in favor of Disney Springs. The new menu at Paddlefish has us contemplating here (and the homey Homecomin') our next visit. However, we typically prefer BlueZoo for Date Night because there are fewer children, they have lavish spacing between tables, and they still serve our favorite Disney meal (not from Victoria & Albert); we similarly enjoy Capa too.

Is great food in the company of a loved one more powerful than a (potentially) magical meal from atop the Contemporary - only you can decide.

Bottom line - you seem too attached to Wishes to keep your ADR at CA Grill, so I'd make the ADR for someplace else. But don't be surprised if your spouse rolls their eyes as a result.

 

[LSUfan4444]

I think the view from CG will still be good

With the additions of more projections I think the view from CG will be drastically different than it was before.

 

[ashleymrush]

Bottom line - you seem too attached to Wishes to keep your ADR at CA Grill, so I'd make the ADR for someplace else. But don't be surprised if your spouse rolls their eyes as a result.

Thanks! He rolls his eyes at pretty much anything I do when it comes to Disney. He loves going but is not quite on my level.

 

[JZCubed]

Thanks! He rolls his eyes at pretty much anything I do when it comes to Disney.

I know that feeling all too well.

 

[Meriweather]

Well, I love CA GRill, so I would go......and not necessarily look at the fireworks.

 

[minniebeth]

The view from California Grill is absolutely beautiful, so I think that alone is worth the visit. You don't have to watch the fireworks and you can save that for when you are in the MK at a later time. The wines are very nice and I think it is a nice experience out. I personally think it is nicer earlier in the evening and to see at sunset (peaceful and quiet), rather than later on in the evening when it gets very busy. If the fireworks were your main objective, then, yes, there are a lot of other restaurants that are nice too. Good luck deciding!

 

[Tigger's ally]

Well, I love CA GRill, so I would go......and not necessarily look at the fireworks.

This. If you sit in the back room, you can enjoy a great meal and see the Illumination and Star Wars fire works off in the distance.....

 

[Dean Marino]

Funny thing.... Wishes USED to typically be at 9:00 PM. Over the years, it's moved to a typical 10:00 PM.
Sandy and I used to routinely book 7:30 or so ressies at the Grill, then watch the fireworks around Dessert time.

Now, one can still do that.... but you are looking at a ressie around 8:30-9 PM. Just us.... that's rather late. Instead, we now book CG EARLIER, and walk over to the MK for an up-front Wishes.

So - the point? For the most part, to us, the CG view of MK fireworks sort of died a good two years ago, with the fireworks time shift. We'll likely follow our same NEW pattern of an earlier CG dinner, followed by the after dinner waddle from the Contemporary to the MK (it helps - dinner at the Grill is WONDERFUL: We need the walk).

 

[salamander3]

It's all in how you look at it. A few years from now, you may be telling the story of how the first time you saw the new show was during an amazing dinner at CG. If you think of it as a celebration of the new, it might be easier. Don't give up a great dinner over mourning the old show. Disney is about creating memories, this is just a new one.

 

[Nancyg56]

It's all in how you look at it. A few years from now, you may be telling the story of how the first time you saw the new show was during an amazing dinner at CG. If you think of it as a celebration of the new, it might be easier. Don't give up a great dinner over mourning the old show. Disney is about creating memories, this is just a new one.

Best advise ever! I think that precious memories are made up with a variety of moments. I look back on our first family trip back when my DGD was a sprout. That trip is special due to all the little moments that occurred throughout the week, and many during meal times. OP- I believe that for a couple or for a family, the backdrop in secondary. You could be sitting on a bench with a PB&J, and the fireworks show you enjoy would be just a minor part of your memory. Go to dinner, enjoy your meal together, and cap it off with a lovely fireworks show over the Castle. I worry that in planning these "magical moments" people get too hung up on the details. The setting is only magical because of the people within it.

 

[ashleymrush]

Part of the issue too is that the menu for CG looked good but I also wanted more time at Disney Springs and now that STK and Paddlefish have opened they seemed very enticing. We ultimately stuck with CG because of the fireworks but now think it would be good to switch to one of the others. We are staying at OKW so it would just be a boat ride away to go to Disney Springs. AAAAHHHH! The decisons!!! Lol!

 

[Nancyg56]

Part of the issue too is that the menu for CG looked good but I also wanted more time at Disney Springs and now that STK and Paddlefish have opened they seemed very enticing. We ultimately stuck with CG because of the fireworks but now think it would be good to switch to one of the others. We are staying at OKW so it would just be a boat ride away to go to Disney Springs. AAAAHHHH! The decisons!!! Lol!

If you want CG for the meal, keep it, but not if the meal is not your priority.

 

[Lisa F]

I am going to throw something else out there too...

If this show is super projection heavy, it might be that the only time you can truly enjoy it at CA Grill is before you see the full show. You won't know what you are missing and can still enjoy the pyro portion of it. Once you see it from main street, every other view might not compare because you know you are missing part of the show. how heavily that figures in is yet to be seen but hopefully the pyro portion is not significantly curtailed like on SWaGS. I don't mind different parks having different shows and even having a show that is more projection and less fireworks based but at MK you need lots of fireworks. It's the iconic end to the day. how much you can enjoy it from afar remains to be seen