California Grill Review - well, sort of...

[akghutton]

First the good - California Grill has a beautiful view of Magic Kingdom and their staff is very friendly.

Now, the bad - I wish I had a review of the food for everyone, as I had heard such good things about their menu and was looking forward to this meal; however, my family arrived for our 7:10pm PS at 7:00, and at 8:45pm, we still had not been seated.

We watched Wishes from the observation deck (nice show, but I bet it is better watching it head on down main street) After waiting for 1 hr and 45 minutes for a table and spending most of that time speaking with the staff, we decided to head back to AKL and Mara's for dinner.

Although we were disappointed that we didn't get to eat there, we could see that it was no fault of the staff. The entire time we were there, as more and more parties arrived for their Priority Seatings, we didn't see one party leave their already occupied tables. There were groups, who had finished their meals when we first arrived, who were still at their tables when we left...their perrogative, but I would think that this poses a problem for the CG staff on many nights when Wishes is being shown.

When we decided to leave, the staff told us that they could see if there was anything they could do to get us a table, but our kids (4 and 1) had already behaved really well for almost 2 hours, and we didn't want to push our luck

I don't think that I will make PS for Cal. Grill for our next trip, or if I do, it will be for a much earlier time.

Highlight of the night: We were able to sit in the front of the monorail on the way back to Magic Kingdom - very cool for my DS(4)!!!

 

[disboo]

to hear about your way-too-long wait. I am surprised that the CG staff couldn't do anything about the problem. CG is one of my favorite spots, and we are going back in January and I hope this doesn't happen to us!

I am impressed with your positive attitude - what a nice trait to demonstrate for your kids!

 

[airforcewife]

Hmmm... we have a ps for 9:10 pm on Sun Dec 19. We were thinking more just dessert. it is our arrival day and since we were staying at CR we thought we 'd see wishes there to get us in the mood! do you think we will have a problem??

 

[tarheelmjfan]

Now that you bring it up, I have often thought about situations like this. I have even remarked to my DH that they really need to do something about this. I was referring to Rose & Crown, but the same would be true for any of the restaurants offering a view of the special shows. I have read of many people booking a PS for 6pm at R&C, hoping to sit on the patio and watch illuminations at 9pm. What about all those people who have booked a later PS, just hoping to have dinner. We have never eaten at R&C before, but will be going on NYE. Like you, I will be very unhappy if I have to wait 2 hrs. to be fed, while another party monopolizes a table for 3 hrs. I'm sure I am probably in the minority, and will probably be flamed for this, but I personally think that WDW should make it very clear up front, that the table can only be reserved for 2 hrs. max. IMHO, that is probably a little generous. Of course, I think this should only be necessary for those restaurants, where people linger at their tables waiting for the special show. I think it's great to be able to dine, and be entertained at the same time, but we should all be considerate of others, when booking our PS's. JMO

 

[Aimeedyan]

I'm so sorry you waited around so long, and didn't even get to enjoy the meals! You have such a great attitude about that, which is nice for a change on here!!

 

[Uncleromulus]

This situation had bedeviled CG for quite some time. I've seen people at the lounge tables linger over ONE drink for several hours!!
Wonder if there is really any cure--at least one that CG might implement. Forcing folks to get up and leave isn't likely--nor imposing any sort of time limit. So what's left??

 

[akghutton]

I have to say, although we were disappointed not to be able to eat at CG, we felt worse for the waiting staff, who were not getting the table turnover one would expect in a 4 hour period. Obviously that makes a big difference in the tips they make that night, plus they were having to deal with some pretty irate parties waiting to be seated. One very upset woman, who was standing next to my husband before we left, was snapping at a hostess that she "came to CG for dinner, not breakfast, and she and her family had been waiting for 1/2 an hour for a table." My DH calmly told her that we had been there for 1 hour and 45min. so she better be prepared to wait, as there was not much that the staff could do if people were not leaving their tables. She then insisted on seeing the manager.

Oh, well...life is too short, and Disney World is full of too many great options to get your feathers all ruffled over something so minor. We ended up saving over $100.00 on dinner that night by eating at Mara's. Not to mention, we indulged in many a zebra dome and chocolate mousse dome at the concierge that night. Plus, I had money saved from the dinner that never happened at CG, so I bought myself a DVC Fossil watch when we moved to the Boardwalk Villas later that week. We were happy with how things worked out in the end. And honestly, what good does it do to get upset with Disney over something they have little to no control over. Just a waste of time and energy that was much better spent on enjoying our vacation.

Thank you for all of your replies!

 

[CAP56]

My wife and I have also noticed this proplem with CG...the solution, in my opinion is quite simple.

Have seating times for Dinner.

I.E. 5:00pm - 6:30 First Seating
6:30pm - 8:00 Second Seating
8:00pm - 9:30 Third Seating
9:30 - Last Seating

DEPENDING ON THE TIME OF YEAR AND WHAT TIME WISHES IS PREFORMED DISNEY COULD CHARGE AN EXTRA $20 PER TABLE DURING THE SEATING THAT FALLS DURING WISHES....I KNOW NONE OF US LIKE TO PAY ANY MORE THAN WE ALREDY DO AT DISNEY, BUT THEN IT WOULD BECOME EVEN MORE SPECIAL AND WOULD GUARANTEE THAT WHEN YOU BOOK YOUR PS FOR THE "WISHES SEATING" NO ONE WILL BE DISAPOINTED.

BESIDES, AS A STOCK HOLDER, I WOULD NOT MIND ANOTHER SOURCE OF REVENUE.

 

[gatour]

Although I haven't witnessed it, I can see this being a problem and there really isn't an ideal situation. There have been times when I wanted to see the fireworks from GC, so I made my PS's for at time when I would see it while I am enjoying my meal by eating at a normal pace. Other times I would make ps's for earlier in the evening. And whenever I was done, I would leave, regardless to how how close it was to fireworks time. To me it would be rude to linger hour after hour.

 

[Ms. Belle]

akghutton - I sympathize with you! The same thing happened to me at the end of August. My PS was for 8:20 and my party was finally seated at 9:30. My son and grandmother were so hungry! I subsequently wrote a letter of complaint to Disney and they did respond and send $100 Disney dollars, which I thought was really nice. That being said, something does need to be done about diners who hang around for hours on end waiting to see the fireworks. It is inconsiderate to hold up a table when there are other people waiting who have made later PS's.

 

[Dee & Greg]

We're going to watch Wishes at 7pm this Thursday, and we have ressies at CG for 8:10. But since there is only one showing of Wishes, and it will be over by the time we go to CG, I'm thinking we should be fine. Won't people leave the restaurant after the fireworks?

 

[madalex]

Is anyone really surprised by this, considering how often people on this Board recommend making PS at Cal Grill or Rose & Crown to catch the fireworks? There are constantly new threads with people asking what is the best time to make a PS to do this and people are always responding as to the best way to accomplish this. The Boards have contributed to the creation of a monster in this respect!

 

[MickeyisanNDfan]

I also wonder how the new arangement of not letting people up to the cat walk to view wishes has contributed to this problem. Are those people who went up there just to view the fireworks now making dinner reservations for the sole purpose of viewing wishes? As a fan of the CA Grill it makes no sense to me as I like to eat there for the food and service and if I want to watch wishes I will go to Main Street.

I do have a question, were all of these people waiting for tables up in the resteraunt at the bar and lounge or downstairs on the second floor? Just wondering about that with the new check in policy, how it is handled on a busy evening.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

I won't get into the charging more up front for dinner debate, but I think that charging an additional fee could be a feasible solution. I was thinking more along the lines, of CRO telling you up front when making a PS for the restaurants that this is a problem, that they have a time limit on the tables, (whatever they deem practical), and to be fair to other patrons and the servers, that if you exceed this time you will be charged an additional $10 or $20 fee per person, part of which would go to the server. Maybe this would cut down of some of the abuse. Just a thought.

 

[Dreamin' Disney]

I think having dinner seating times would be a good idea, if lingering over 2 hours at dinner seems to be a daily problem.

We have a PS at CG next week for 7:50 pm, following Wishes at 7 pm, so I hope a few tables will be cleared by then. I had been hoping to eat there during Wishes, but decided to do the GG Magical Fireworks Voyage first. Since we're let off at Contemporary Resort, thought we'd go straight to dinner at CG.

I don't think they'd have to charge extra, but then again, this is similar to the reason why there is now a preset dinner price for the Fantasmic Dinner Package. too many people were getting the pkg and then just ordering an appetizer or dessert.

As long as people are ordering dinner at CG, they could definitely invoke dinner times to help move things along to accommodate more diners.

 

[Tinkbell]

That's awful. Unfortunately, most people want to see the fireworks from CG and they will drag out that meal to do so.

 

[BCV23]

I think that charging more for those who dine during Wishes would be a logistical nightmare because those of us who enjoy planning make our PS at around 90 days which is long before the MK and Wishes schedule is finalized. I don't know what the solution is although I do think the new system is an improvement.

Our own, personal solution is to make an early PS. Our PSs are always between 5:30 and 6:00 pm. Usually we are finished long before Wishes and we LEAVE! During value season, Wishes is sometimes during our time frame and then we do go out to the decks or watch from our table. But the food and general view are the draw for us. With an early PS we can dine at a great restaurant without a wait and in relative peace and then get on with our evening.

akghutton, I applaud you for your positive attitude.

 

[floridagirrl2]

Originally posted by CAP56
My wife and I have also noticed this proplem with CG...the solution, in my opinion is quite simple.

Have seating times for Dinner.

I.E. 5:00pm - 6:30 First Seating
6:30pm - 8:00 Second Seating
8:00pm - 9:30 Third Seating
9:30 - Last Seating

What a great idea!

One of our favorite restaurants in St. Augustine requires a signature before being seated on the 4th of July attesting that the diner agrees to leave before the fireworks display! The restaurant reserves tables for $100 each (plus the cost of food and drinks) during the display. It's not fair to the staff or other diners to hog tables for hours to try and see fireworks.

 

[Uncleromulus]

The main problem is that CG has always been connected with the fireworks--i.e. there is some sort of "show" that goes along WITH dinner.
Not really true of course--CG is a just restaurant that happens to have a great view IF you happen to be eating there at fireworks time, and IF you happen to have a window seat.
But I imagine a large # of folks still go primarily to see the fireworks and I'm not sure if perceptions can be changed.

 

[Absimilliard]

I was alone (yeah... I know!) and had PS for 90 minutes before Fantasy in the Sky. I arrive there and its already a mad house: more people without PS hogging the lounge waiting for fireworks. After waiting 45 minutes, having 2 drinks and sushis at the lounge and striking great conversations, the manager comes up to me and say "well, we can't get you a table right now, but we secured a table in the lounge, facing the MK, so you can see the fireworks perfectly". Seeing as people who arrived before me were still waiting to be seated and since I was alone and did not want to grab a table for 4... I took the offer and ate my dinner in the lounge. I had an empty seat at my table.

Now, let me ask you this: someone is eating dinner at a restaurant with an empty seat at his table. Would its be... rude and annoying to not even ask and just sit there? Well, happened 3 times during the next 30 minutes and got asked countless times about it... Simply told them its was not possible and if they wanted to eat dinner, to go at the podium or order an appetizer at the bar, thank you.

You know what's the worst out of that? The food was average and overpriced... and the view of the fireworks is nothing special. Fantasy in the Sky is just plain old fireworks...