California Grill question:

[cinnderly]

Hello.

Preface:
My son and I are heading down in August and I finally have all our reservations done. My little guy is 6 and is...let's just say "active". Haha.

So for a while now I've been hearing wonderful things about the California Grill, and I really wanted to check it out. I just made a reservation there and she had to tell me about the dress code and all the other things. Is this place super fancy? We've been to some fancy places in our time, but there is usually a lot of family and I or a grandparent can take the little guy out if he gets bored while waiting for our food. If this is such a high falutin' place I may have second thoughts because I don't want to have any...meltdowns. You know?

Thanks in advance for any info.

 

[RCharnay]

We just got back from Calif Grill and, although its not THAT fancy, you can go in comfortable but nice clothes, it is not equipped for active children. The tables are very close and there is a lot of expensive wine and white table cloths. There were tables with children around, most did fine, but most also did not seem to be enjoying themselves. And one parent seemed very exasperated with trying to entertain her young children while waiting for their meal. The meal is not served quickly-- it is meant to be a dining experience while you slowly sip your wine and enjoy the view. If I were you, I'd choose another experience for an active child and wait until he's a teenager and can appreciate the view and the menu.

 

[cinnderly]

Well, that's sucky.

Do you have any suggestions where we might go instead? I'd love to have some great food myself, since this is a vacation for me too (single mom here). But I definitely don't want to go somewhere that will be unhelpful to my son.

We are going to the following the other days:
Crystal Palace
Sci-Fi
Wolfgang Pucks
Chef Mickey's
Le Cellier

Do you have an idea for a good place where he could have fun and I could have a nice meal?

Thanks!

 

[Hopefully]

The Biergarden in Epcot is a great place for younger children. They have a "show" with singing and dancing at different times throughout the evening meal. The children are invited to participate and it is a lively evening. The food is served buffet style and the food is good.
You have a meal at Le Cellier. This is a very popular restaurant that you will most likely enjoy.
If a special meal out is important to you you could consider having your son stay in one of the child care centers or hiring an in room sitter.
I understand your wanting to enjoy your vacation too, but an unhappy child in a more adult orientated restaurant would not make for a pleasant experience for you, I'm sure.
Have a Great Trip.

 

[KimR]

How about Teppan Edo at EPCOT? It is a hibachi-style restaurant where the chefs cook in front of you, so that might be entertaining for him. Also, if you like seafood, Coral Reef might be a good choice with the aquarium. One word of warning about Coral Reef: we've found the service to be very slow there - but we had a large party so that might have been the problem.

Artist Point is a more upscale restaurant that is very kid friendly - they have coloring pages with crayons to keep the kids entertained and I don't remember our meal lasting too long there. Also Brown Derby at MGM has excellent food and while not terribly entertaining for kids, at least the meal won't last 2+ hours.

 

[cinnderly]

Le Cellier is actually a lunch because that was the only time I could get.

Also I just changed Crystal Palace to Liberty Tree since he loves Pluto and isn't into Winnie the Pooh anymore. Also there is a very helpful thread about LTT, and it convinced me.

I definitely want him to have a good time too. That is very important to me, which is why I started the thread. Also, I don't want to leave him with a sitter in our room because he would't be too happy with that. If our party had more kids, maybe. But him all alone with a stranger...erm, no. I wouldn't be so comfortable either, honestly.

Thanks for your advice Hopefully. I will check out the Biergarten.

Any other suggestions are certainly welcome!

 

[cinnderly]

Thanks KimR. You gave me lots of good suggestions. I will have to check into these.

 

[daisy112878]

I second Brown Derby, Teppan Edo, or Coral Reef. We really like Brown Derby and your son would be fine there. Teppan Edo or Coral Reef would be good b/c there are things for him to watch or look at.

 

[cinnderly]

Thanks everyone!
I think we are going to go with Coral Reef. It would be nice to have seafood one night anyway, and the place looks great.

 

[RCharnay]

Coral Reef is a great choice. Good fun watching the tank! One of the shows like Hoop Dee Do Review might be fun too. Our kids loved that one when they were younger. The food is more ordinary but it would be a special night.

 

[binkblum]

cinnderly - FYI, if youstill have the reservations to California Grill - KEEP 'EM! We dinned there this past Feb. and there were more kids under the age of 12 than I would have ever thought, especially at 10 pm, after the MK fireworks concluded.

If you can changed your reservation until later, more towards MK's fireworks, (I know late but well worth the wait) you can have great entertainment AND great food. Not to mention the wait staff goes above and beyond to ensure you have a wonderful dining experience, no matter what age group!

 

[Pakey]

Yes, there are a lot of children at Ca Grill but these children are all used to fine dining and sit quietly through the somewhat lengthy meals. OP said her child is "active" so this place isn't really appropriate in that instance. I have eaten at Ca Grill many times and I've not witnessed "meltdowns" here with any of the children dining. Since she will be alone and the restaurant doesn't have any place else to go except back down the elevators, she would have to leave her food on the table to take him out and down into the lobby if he became too boisterous. Why take that chance when there's so many other nice places to dine where they would both probably be more comfortable?

 

[lovetotravel07]

I would definitely think about the Hoop de Doo review. Our kids loved it there even younger than your son. And, you will enjoy the show and meal.

 

[cinnderly]

Ok -- not to be confusing, but we have had our share of fine dining experiences. And my son's been great for the most part. The exception is that when we go to nicer places we usually have family with us too, so there is more for him to pay attention to, (and less pressure on me). On the whole though, we eat out quite often -- at least once or twice a week. So he is definitely used to restaurants generally speaking.

It's just when the CM told me about the "dress code" I started to get a little nervous. There is no way to know if he will be more hyper, or tired, or grumpy. I mean, he's a kid. You never know.

Anyway, I don't mean to go on and on. I am a little torn now though. He's not the type of kid to totally freak out, but he can get bored easily. Maybe I'll keep the rez and bring his DS? Although, the Coral Reef food is sounding pretty good, and I think he'd like that atmosphere.

Decisions, decisions...

 

[BCV23]

What is his DS? I gather you don't mean sister from the rest of your post.

Anyway, I think you could have a wonderful time. But I would recommend going early since he is so young. Keeping little ones on a regular schedule makes all the difference IMO.

I would also plan on only one course or at the most two if you place the whole order at once. CG is used to children and will usually serve accordingly.

Enjoy your time with your son whatever you decide.

 

[cinnderly]

Thanks BCV23!

DS, as in Nintendo DS. LOL
I forgot about those abbreviations! And yes, I know we'll have a great time together no matter where we eat.


I am leaning towards the Reef at this point...

 

[BCV23]

Oh, thanks! I'm dating myself. Well, I would skip the DS. I haven't noticed lately but the CG has historically provided butcher paper on top of the tablecloth for families with little ones along with some crayons. You could draw together. The views alone give you plenty to talk about.

But Coral Reef is another good choice. The tank is mesmerizing.

Have a great vacation!

 

[cinnderly]

Well, we do love to draw...and the view is sounding great, especially if we were there for Wishes.

I think I will have to check schedules as it gets closer to the trip and see if there is a park we need to be in/near for whatever is going on.

Thank you again.

 

[°o° Sally :)]

Hi Cinnderly!
We were at Disney in early March with our 4 year old daughter and 6 year old son. Young children are active. We were on the DxDP and ate at 17 different restaurants with them! We really enjoyed trying all of the different places and most of them were excellent. Our very favorite dining experience above all else was our evening at the California Grill with our children. We had 7:20 ADRs and were seated by the window overlooking the water and Magic Kingdom. Our waiter, Ron, was FANTASTIC with us and our children. The children were given crayons and coloring pages (I did have extra crayons to give them more color choices), and because we were celebrating a birthday they had mickey confetti sprinkled across the table. The kids had a blast playing withe confetti, sorting it, counting it, making up games with it. It really kept them occupied. The food was out of this world DELICIOUS!!! The best we tasted our entire trip. It was a long meal........the MK fireworks that night were at 9:45. Our server drew out our meal experience so that we would still be sitting at the table for the show, and I was glad he did. What an experience!!!!! They dim the lights and pipe in the music, and the view is the best there is. Only Disney can tell a story with fireworks, and it was fabulous. Our children were in awe and LOVED every minute of it. It was their favorite too. My 4 year old did fall asleep in our lap, happy and content, as soon as the last firecracker popped!

SO I say keep the reservation and enjoy. Maybe be sure you guys have rested before dinner. Other places we loved were Ohana, Boma, Yak & Yeti, and The Hoop Dee Doo. We have also enjoyed the Coral Reef in the past, but we didn't go there this trip.

Our LEAST favorite meal was Wolfgang Puck Cafe. I know you are planning to go there and maybe you'll have a better experience. For us, the service was terrible, the food wasn't good and the atmosphere was awful and nothing special for kids. There weren't many people dining there when we were there (Maybe 3 or 4 other tables) at lunch time.

Enjoy your trip! I know your son will have the best time!!! Our 6 year old son certainly did!!!!

Sally

 

[cinnderly]

Wow, thanks for that Sally. I appreciate your detailed report.

I think you (and others) are right, so I am going to keep the reservation. What I am thinking is I will change the Le Cellier (I know some are going to think I am crazy for this, but we aren't really steak people) lunch to a Coral Reef dinner. I know he would love the atmosphere there. Anyone need a lunch time rez at Le Cellier on 8/29?

I wonder what the general consensus is on Wolfgang's...? We do need a DTD night. Any suggestions?