Change of plans :( Need some help!

[KristiLyn]

So we just tried to book Cali Grill for our after wedding dinner, and they are all booked up I can't believe it. I'm unhappy to say the least.... The only times they had were 5:45 (well the wedding is at 6:30) and 9:30 (after the fireworks). Such a bummer!
Anyways, now we are on the search for another location. And it looks like we need to book this like tonight. What other restaurants would you recommend for our dinner? We loved the idea of fireworks, which is one of the main reasons we went for Cali Grill. I know Narccossee's does the fireworks, but we aren't big seafood eaters. I just hate the idea of settling for something I'm unhappy with.
Thanks in advance for all of the help!

 

[Jilian]

I know you can't see the fireworks from citricos but you can walk outside after dinner and see them if you eat early enough. I've heard really good things about Citricos on here.

 

[DoomBuggy0922]

Hmm. I know it's not terribly fancy, but O'Hana has a great view of the fireworks! So you could do that? Or, like the above poster, eat at Citrico's and then walk down to the beach.

I'm so sorry!

 

[LuvLuvLuv]

Yachtsman is amazing! They also have a small semi-private area if you call the manager directly. You could see Illuminations from the beach after

 

[chryscrazy]

Ohana or Kona Cafe. I don't know if either have a private room, but you can walk out to the beach (or dock and avoid the sand/pool) and have a great view. Kona Cafe would probably be pretty easy to get into.

 

[weedee]

Citricos!! I have a full review of our wonderful experience there for our wedding dinner in my TR. They were really amazing and our guests loved the food. You can't view the fireworks from the actual restaurant but the staff was more than accommodating to help our party head to the pier to watch them

 

[One_Song]

I agree about Yachtsman! We love it. I like how quiet and intimate it feels.

If you're so upset about not doing Cali Grill, could you take the 930 res and just show up early to watch the fireworks? I know you have to check in before they let you in the elevator, but I feel like on your wedding day of all days, they will let you up early to see the fireworks. Then you could have a drink at the bar until your table is ready. I could be wrong, but the night we got engaged, we were at Cali Grill and I felt like the staff bent over backwards to make our night special.

 

[tinkerbell 766]

Another vote here for Citrico's!!! But I guess you knew I would say that heh!!

 

[april2011bride]

My vote is O'hana...thats where our rehersal dinner is...its sooo good and so much food for a good price! And you would be able to see the fireworks!

 

[wendyiam]

O'hana is my favorite! It would be such a fun place to have a reception!

 

[disprincessatheart]

I hate to say it but with a 6:30 wedding I think dinner is going to be tough. You will need an 8:30 resize and most restaurants will only do large parties at the first or last seating of the night.

A couple of ideas... Do a wishes fireworks cruise and then dinner after. Everyone will be full on cake anyway and could wait the extra hour to eat!

Do a wishes dessert party at sago cay and serve heavy apps with desserts in lieu of dinner. With that setting and all the excitement no one will care if its a proper sit down dinner or not.

As far as narcoossees, we did our wedding dinner there and they gave us a set menu with 3 choices - filet, chicken and salmon. Everyone got to choose a salad or the seafood bisque, and a dessert, so there was very little seafood involved, other than the seafood appetizers we had. My uncle who is a meat broker said his filet as the best he'd had in a long time. Even better than his filet at lecellier later that week! Its fairly small and intimate, and has a nice feel - not too formal, not too casual!

Which we loved our day, i f we ever do a vow renewal we'll do the dessert party with apps!

 

[DisneyBride1207]

If you aren't able to book dinner at the time you want or where you want -- just do the dinner and plan to walk somewhere close by to watch from a beach, etc.! We watch the fireworks from O'Hana while eating and to tell you the truth, it isn't that fabulous as maybe it would be to see it from a beach, etc. The noise within the restaurant/people walking around, etc. can be distracting and ruin the moment. I think it would be just as awesome, if not better, to watch from a more secluded/quiet area outside!

 

[OceanAnnie]

I say keep trying! People can and do change their minds quite a bit on resorts and dining. I have read many threads where people have changed their reservations.

I had my heart set on eating at Narcoossees again for our last Disney trip. It was booked. I called once we arrived at Disney and was able to book a reservation and actually had a choice of several times. So it does happen. I'd have a back up just in case. BTW, Narcoossees is nice too. We have eaten at both Cali. Grill and Narcoossees. Both very nice and you can see the fireworks from both locations. We saw them from both locations and enjoyed the views.

Hope it goes your way!

 

[Deb loves Disney]

You can get non-seafood choices at Narcoosee. They have an amazing Filet Mignon and a really great chicken dish. I ate there with my then DF and I have absolutely no seafood. I think you will love the romantic setting of the restaurant but it is kind of small so you may have difficulty booking depending on how many you are having eat.

I love the idea somebody had of using Sago Cay for a light dinner/dessert buffet. This wouldn't work though if you were trying to not trigger that pesky $7500 minimum they add on.

The fireworks cruise is also another great idea!

Have you looked into booking the MK wishes fireworks dessert buffet they have at the Tomorrowland Terrace. The only bad thing about this is that you can't wear your wedding attire and the guests would have to have tickets to get into the park.

 

[April Elizabeth]

My vote is for Narcoosee's. I love seafood, but they have great steaks too. I also like the food at O'Hana's, but I think Narcoosee's is more romantic.

 

[bellaminnie]

are you set on the wishes fireworks? when i was going to have a swan wedding i was looking into dinner at il milino at the swan then going to epcot to see IllumiNations. I'm kind of a picky eater and when i looked at the cali grill i didn't really see anything i would eat there. I hear you can see some of the high IllumiNations fireworks from the boardwalk too, apparently on a bridge. not exactly sure where that is though.