I've been to each only once during our trip last December. With Cali Grill I had an 8 PM reservation, we arrived about 15 minutes before, and were seated about 8:25 or so. The service was quite good. The menu interesting. Great wine list. I had a foie gras appetizer, very good, and their signature pork tenderloin, excellent. I thenk dessert was opera cake...yum! During our appetizer service our waiter told us that wishes was about to start and if we wished to view he would instruct the kitchen to hold off on cooking our entrees. So we stepped out onto the balcony/roof viewing area to watch...came in when it was over and resumed our meal. It was a spectacular evening. The view alone would be worth going for. The food and service for us were quite good.
With Narcoosees we also had an 8:00 PM reservation, arrived a bit early to check in and were seated about 8:30. Our waiter was quite friendly but a bit inattentive (never refilled drinks or brought the wine that I'd ordered and was nowhere to be seen to ask until we'd nearly finished our entrees). We had lobster, steak, salmon...quite good except for the salmon...the pinot reduction sauce was overly sweet obliterating any taste of salmon, fingerling potatoes, spinach (I'm talking pour it on your pancakes sweet!). The view was nice overlooking the lagoon, we did not see wishes from our table...not sure if they were doing it that night.
Of the two restaurants Cali Grill would win the best view hands down. Both were rather noisy...Narcoosees probably noisier (we sat in the small wine room at Cali Grill maybe that is why). Both had decent service Cali grill a bit better (we had inattentive service all over Disney, I think they assign the servers big sections). Both were very nice evenings full of Disney magic (at Cali Grill we had the best view of wishes ever and at Narcoosees we watched the across the aisle table guy propose to his lady at their table by the window, she said yes). If you want a great view of wishes go to Cali Grill, if you want a giant steamed lobster go to Narcoosees. Either way you will enjoy the meal. I was on the Premium Plan at the time and there were no exclusions for us, I don't know about the magic your way dining.
