Dining At Nappa Rose Questions

[Kathy Z]

I'm quite familiar with planning WDW vacations and know the importance of planning dinning 6 months ahead for many table service restaurants. But my only experience at Disneyland was long long ago (1962!) when to the best of my memory we grabbed a bite on the go in the park.

DH & I will be in So. Cal. for basically the first week of September. We will not have time for a day in the theme park. But I was wondering about the possibility of dinner at Napa Rose the one evening that would fit into our plans. I know that booking a meal at a Disney Resort restaurant is possible at WDW when you are staying outside of Disney property. Does it work the same way at Disneyland? Can I make an ADR for Napa Rose 180 days ahead? May we park at the Grand Californian for no fee by informing the parking attendant that we have a dining reservation?

Thanks in advance for help in answering my questions.

 

[DizNee Luver]

Disney Dining takes reservations 2 months prior to the date you want to book (not exactly 60 days). For example: If you want to do dinner on Sept 3, you could call on July 3 to reserve.

 

[brergnat]

1. You don't need to call too far ahead for Napa Rose during the off season. We were able to score a table for two the week before Christmas (December 21, to be exact) the SAME DAY (actually, I called at 5:30pm, got a seating at 8:30pm that same night. I'd recommend calling maybe a couple weeks prior, if there is a particular time you need/want to be seated at.

2. No, you cannot park for free at the Grand Californian to dine there. You CAN park for 3 hours free at Downtown Disney, though, and if you take your parking ticket in, you can have Napa Rose validate it for an additional 2 hours, giving you 5 free hours total parking.

 

[jacky b]

The GHC use to validate parking if your were dining in one of the restaurants. I know my aunt and uncle met us there and they went to valet parking and had Storytellers validate their valet ticket, that was 07. I would call and see if they still validate.

 

[DahliaRW]

Ok, if you're doing Napa Rose I HIGHLY recommend booking the chef's counter. It's fantastic. And you can get a custom cooked meal of the chef's choosing (after talking to you about your likes/dislikes) for the same price as the Vinter's Table, but I think you get more food (we got 5 courses instead of 4). The food was FANTASTIC! You get to sit watching the kitchen work, which is fascinating, and the chef talks to you off and on which is really fun. We LOVED it. To book the chef's counter you have to call NR directly, and I don't know how far out they book. But I would call and ask. Seats 5 and 6 are the best, so request those.

 

[minjo]

Ok, if you're doing Napa Rose I HIGHLY recommend booking the chef's counter. It's fantastic. And you can get a custom cooked meal of the chef's choosing (after talking to you about your likes/dislikes) for the same price as the Vinter's Table, but I think you get more food (we got 5 courses instead of 4). The food was FANTASTIC! You get to sit watching the kitchen work, which is fascinating, and the chef talks to you off and on which is really fun. We LOVED it. To book the chef's counter you have to call NR directly, and I don't know how far out they book. But I would call and ask. Seats 5 and 6 are the best, so request those.

Is the chef's counter worth for 4 ppl (dd 18, dd 22, dh and I). We had a very special anniversary dinner there in 2003. It was great.

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

2. No, you cannot park for free at the Grand Californian to dine there. You CAN park for 3 hours free at Downtown Disney, though, and if you take your parking ticket in, you can have Napa Rose validate it for an additional 2 hours, giving you 5 free hours total parking.

My experience is different. We sometimes go to Storytellers for dinner, and we are allowed to park at the Grand Californian when we eat there. If we aren't in the parks that day I usually get valet parking - it's free - and then tip nicely after our meal. You need to make sure that the restaurant validates your parking ticket.

The number to call is 714-781-3463(DINE), and like it was said earlier, you can call 2 mos in advance. They won't give you a number, though. They go by your name.

 

[toocherie]

No, you cannot park for free at the Grand Californian to dine there. You CAN park for 3 hours free at Downtown Disney, though, and if you take your parking ticket in, you can have Napa Rose validate it for an additional 2 hours, giving you 5 free hours total parking.

This is incorrect. You get free valet parking for 5 hours at the Grand Californian if you are dining at Napa Rose (I was just there two weeks ago).

Is the chef's counter worth for 4 ppl (dd 18, dd 22, dh and I). We had a very special anniversary dinner there in 2003. It was great.

I think it depends on whether your daughters are willing to eat new foods. The greatest thing to do at the chef's counter is to let the chef pick for you--basically you tell him/her things you won't or can't eat (I hate asparagus; others might have seafood allergies, for example) and then they design a menu just for you. You would probably each get something different each course. (Which is fun to take bites and share!) If there is something on the menu that you really want to try be sure and tell them that too and they will incorporate it into one of your courses. We usually like to pick our own dessert (the most important course). The cost is the same as the tasting menu--either $85 or $90 per person. For $45 more per person they will pair wine flights with each course. I think they have non-alcoholic choices too for your DD18. I highly recommend the chef's counter. Try to get seats 4, 5, 6, 7==you can request specific seats. Those are the best location.

My experience is different. We sometimes go to Storytellers for dinner, and we are allowed to park at the Grand Californian when we eat there. If we aren't in the parks that day I usually get valet parking - it's free - and then tip nicely after our meal. You need to make sure that the restaurant validates your parking ticket.

Yes, Mary Jo is correct. You get 5 hours free valet parking (except for tip of course) if you dine at either Storyteller's or Napa Rose. You do NOT get the free parking if you dine at Whitewater Snacks or Hearthstone Lounge.

 

[DahliaRW]

Is the chef's counter worth for 4 ppl (dd 18, dd 22, dh and I). We had a very special anniversary dinner there in 2003. It was great.

I would say yes. You can sit at the chef's counter and order off the menu, too, if anyone prefers.

 

[pixiewings71]

You do not have to be going to the parks to enjoy dining at any of the DLR hotel restaurants or DTD restaurants. You can call 60 days out to make your reservation at the Napa Rose and YES you DO get free parking when dining at the restaurant. If you can get the Chef's Table do it!!!! I've heard amazing things about it.

 

[Kathy Z]

Thank you all so much for your very helpful replies!

 

[minjo]

yes, thank you all. We will be booking the Chef's Counter for our June Trip.

 

[Kathy Z]

We have our reservations for the chef's table, seats 3 & 4 (5 & 6 were already taken) for September 4 @ 5:30! When I phoned Disney Dining yesterday morning I was informed that I would need to call Napa Rose directly to book the chef's table. That number is 714-300-7170. I left a message on the voice mail there and my call was returned about noon CA time.