I am thinking of California Grill for Christmas dinner. I know the parks will be packed, and I would like something a little quiet. Also, I would love to see the fireworks without having to endure the MK crowds. Does CG seem like a good choice? We have never been there . . . Also, we will be on the dining plan and I'm wondering if we could pay OOP for a kids meal (for an eleven-year-old) so as not to use his 2 TS credits here. Do you think the waiter is likely to give us a hard time? And one question about the fireworks: from the official site, it looks like Wishes is at 9:00. Would a 7:30 reservation time be good? I am assuming if we are done a little early we could wait on the balcony?
Thanks!
Ok, hopefully this will help:
(1) CG will definitely be more quiet and less crowded than MK itself, but just don't expect it to be all adults and well-behaved children. Depending on where you sit, you may or may not be bothered by commotion/noise. DBF and I happened to luck out, except for the young girl who came over to our table and pushed one of the chairs out of the way because she wanted to see the castle (mommy and daddy didn't so much as bat an eyelash because they were too busy enjoying their wine).
(2) CG is an excellent choice for any dinner. We had an ADR one night and we ended up cancelling our ADR for somewhere else the next night so that we could go back and eat at CG again!
(3) You can just tell them when you make your ADR that you will be paying OOP for your child. I would also remind the server and/or the check-in desk on the 2nd floor.
(4) It doesn't really matter what time the fireworks are. As long as you have your receipt from dinner, you can go back up to the CG for the fireworks. For example, if you got an ADR at 5:00 p.m. and finished at 6:30, you could go do something else (maybe walk over to the MK, ride the monorail around, etc.) and then just go back up to the 2nd floor and show your receipt and they will let you back up. Similarly, if you have a later ADR (9:30) and you get there a little early, they should let you up and allow you to get a drink and go out to the observation deck to watch the 9 p.m. fireworks.
CG really is a fantastic restaurant and I highly recommend it! I hope you have a wonderful meal and a wonderful trip!
