California Grill

[the organizer]

I read on another disney-related site that after October we will not be able to watch Wishes from California Grill. Is this true? Has anyone else read or heard this? Please help!! We are planning a trip in Feb of 2008!!
Family of 4- DH 37, Me- 37, DS- 8, DD- 5.

 

[punkin413]

i have no idea if this is true, but i'd like to know as well as we're planning a trip in april 2008 and were going to try cali grill our first night mostly for the view of wishes. if this is true, i'm probably going to be rethinking my plans! hopefully you'll get an answer to this soon and it will be that it's just a rumor - i'll keep my fingers crossed!

 

[brergnat]

Um, what are they going to do, paint over the windows? There is virtually NO WAY to AVOID seeing Wishes from the CA Grill. The restaurant is surrounded on all sides by huge 15 foot windows.

Maybe they meant that the viewing deck OUTSIDE will be closed to the public, and you won't be able to see the show from OUTSIDE of CA Grill.

I sort of wish there was a way to avoid being able to see the show from the restaurant because, honestly, the last thing I want during a "fine dining" meal is to have a crew of little kids standing all around my window table so they can see the fireworks. Sort of distracts from the ambiance a little...

 

[SauceBoss]

Fireworks should be an afterthought - you should be going to the California Grill to enjoy the great food and wine.

 

[punkin413]

Fireworks should be an afterthought - you should be going to the California Grill to enjoy the great food and wine.

i understand that, but i've heard mixed reviews about cali grill and, to me, if i know i'll get to see wishes while i'm there, i'm willing to take my chances on food that i'm not sure about. it's all a matter of opinion anyway as far as the food goes. i've heard rave reviews and i've heard people say it was horrible.

 

[Inkmahm]

i understand that, but i've heard mixed reviews about cali grill and, to me, if i know i'll get to see wishes while i'm there, i'm willing to take my chances on food that i'm not sure about. it's all a matter of opinion anyway as far as the food goes. i've heard rave reviews and i've heard people say it was horrible.

I love the food at California Grill, it is second only to Jiko's IMHO.

I just made a reservation this morning at Cali Grill for dinner on 12/8/07 and got the same speech as usual about being able to watch Wishes from the observation deck after dinner. We're a big group eating at 6:10 (and they never seat you right on time) so I actually hope to still be seated at 8 pm when wishes will be shown. If not, we'll be on the observation deck.

 

[madcoco]

Maybe they meant that the viewing deck OUTSIDE will be closed to the public, and you won't be able to see the show from OUTSIDE of CA Grill.

Maybe that is the case.

I love the food at California Grill, it is second only to Jiko's IMHO.

Inkmahm and CG fans.
2007 Orlando Dining Awards are out
CG took 3rd in Best Place to Celebrate and 1st in Best View. Jiko's Chef Annette Grecchi Gray made the Dining Hall of Fame this year.

 

[Lynne M]

I wonder if this has something to do with the construction at CR. If they're going to build the ginormous tower that's pictured in the artist's rendering, they'd probably have a very large crane on site. Maybe they don't want people out on the viewing deck for safety reasons.


Or.....I've never eaten at CG, so I'm not sure of its location in reference to the proposed tower. Is it possible that the new tower would block the view of MK from the California Grill?

 

[shovan]

I'm wondering about this now. We just booked it for Oct 22. They didn't mention anything about it when we called. Is it after Oct? starting in Oct? Anyone have any further info on this?

 

[Brocktoon]

We're booked for Nov 1st during Wishes, so it'll be intersting to see if they close off the deck AFTER Oct (meaning 11/1).

We're going more for the food and experience, so this isn't a huge deal to me.

 

[PrincessMinnie28]

i understand that, but i've heard mixed reviews about cali grill and, to me, if i know i'll get to see wishes while i'm there, i'm willing to take my chances on food that i'm not sure about. it's all a matter of opinion anyway as far as the food goes. i've heard rave reviews and i've heard people say it was horrible.

Who on earth would say that the food at CG is horrible?! I live in Boston, and while it's not NYC, I would say that the food at CG is comparable to most upscale restaurants in Boston. I can see if the food is not to someone's tastes, but it is by no means horrible!

 

[laura001]

Fireworks should be an afterthought - you should be going to the California Grill to enjoy the great food and wine.

I agree completely! Our recent trip was a prime example of that, DH and I went on our first night, my thoughts were to eat and watch Wishes......well, Wishes started and the restaurant cleared out to watch, I wanted to go, DH said that there was no way that he was stopping his meal to watch Our meal there was perfect and on the top of our list now of places to eat!

 

[SkcMom]

I love the food at California Grill, it is second only to Jiko's IMHO.

I just made a reservation this morning at Cali Grill for dinner on 12/8/07 and got the same speech as usual about being able to watch Wishes from the observation deck after dinner. We're a big group eating at 6:10 (and they never seat you right on time) so I actually hope to still be seated at 8 pm when wishes will be shown. If not, we'll be on the observation deck.

Off topic here but how did you already make your ADR for Dec 8th? I called last week to find out the date I can start making our ADR's for Dec 9th-15th and the girl on the phone told me June 12th? Is she wrong???!!!!

 

[Inkmahm]

Off topic here but how did you already make your ADR for Dec 8th? I called last week to find out the date I can start making our ADR's for Dec 9th-15th and the girl on the phone told me June 12th? Is she wrong???!!!!

My first night at Disney is Dec 1 so I could book starting today + 10 more nights (for Dec 1 through Dec10)

You can start booking on 6/12 but then you can book not only Dec 9, but your whole trip IF you are staying on property.

 

[punkin413]

Who on earth would say that the food at CG is horrible?! I live in Boston, and while it's not NYC, I would say that the food at CG is comparable to most upscale restaurants in Boston. I can see if the food is not to someone's tastes, but it is by no means horrible!

i guess it's a matter of opinion. i've never been so i can't personally say it's fantastic or it's horrible. i had ressies there for our may trip and decided to change them because there was nothing that really stuck out and said, "try me" to me when i looked at the menu. honestly, i was scared of the food. i'm a texture-based eater (as opposed to an aroma-based eater) and stuff like polenta and anything grainy i can't deal with. i'm just picky and i know that. but i want to give it a try this time because it's an experience i want to have. so i'm willing to be adventurous!

but i do hope we get to see wishes. it's our favorite show at WDW and i can't imagine they'd do anything to take that away since everyone always comments on the view of wishes from cali grill.

 

[Christopher5927]

Fireworks should be an afterthought - you should be going to the California Grill to enjoy the great food and wine.

Absolutely! I have got to say (I'm putting my flame-proof suit on here) that I have never been impressed by the view from the top. Especially since Wishes debuted,
when the effect is completely lost from a distance. As far as I am concerned, the California Grill is there for two reason: food and wine!

 

[shovan]

Absolutely! I have got to say (I'm putting my flame-proof suit on here) that I have never been impressed by the view from the top. Especially since Wishes debuted,
when the effect is completely lost from a distance. As far as I am concerned, the California Grill is there for two reason: food and wine!

Not to derail the OP thread, but I'm happy to hear that the food & wine is worth the trip alone! I had also read several reviews that were less than glowing but decided to give it a shot to catch the view!

 

[punkin413]

Not to derail the OP thread, but I'm happy to hear that the food & wine is worth the trip alone! I had also read several reviews that were less than glowing but decided to give it a shot to catch the view!

what he/she said! that's what i was trying to say not-so-eliquently and i think it was taken as "cali grill's food stinks."

 

[SauceBoss]

Here's an insider tip.. the best view of the firsworks is not from any hotel or restaurant, it's from Main Street! Enjoy the parks and have a nice, late dinner. The California Grill is a world class restaurant, highly acclaimed for both food and wine. If you're not concerned about the food and only going for the view or thinking of cancelling because your dining time is not in sync with the fireworks, perhaps it is not the place for you. Go up to the lounge, have a cocktail and watch the fireworks from the lounge at the CG.

 

[Dizneydaz]

If seeing Wishes from your restaurant choice is important, I would like to give you another option. On our last trip we ate at California Grill ,and Narcoossee's, and both offer a view of Wishes from the restaurant. I was happier with the view of Wishes from Narcoossee's since at CG they didn't dim the lights (at all) and I could barely hear the music due to the high noise level in the room. I wish I had gone out on the observation deck, but we had a window seat . The reflection from the room was a pretty big distraction and showed up in the small amount of video I shot that night (of DD7 watching, etc.) The meal was great, though, as was our server-Billy (sommelier)

Now, at Narcoossee's, they dimmed the lights, and piped in the music loud enough to hear . If you wanted a better view, you could go out the door, and watch from the outside area. Now granted, Nar. is on the ground and CG is high, but Nar. is actually closer to the fireworks-we just enjoyed it more. And the foodd was good too! Calamari, lobster, and almond crusted cheesecake!

Just another suggestion (I've reviewed both on my link below). Have a time!