I have dined at California Grill twice. Once in May 2007, and most recently in February. Ethan had never been there, so I wanted to splurge on a dinner and have a great time. California Grill is located at the top of the Contemporary resort just beside Magic Kingdom. In my opinion, it is worth it just for the view. I figured I would do some restaurant reviews from my most recent trip, to hopefully help those of you looking for where to eat on your Disney vacation.
During this trip Ethan and I booked the Keys to the Kingdom tour at Magic Kingdom, so we were there earlier the day of our reservation. We were planning on staying all day so we brought a change of clothes with us for dinner and rented a locker outside of Magic Kingdom. We also put the tripod in there so we could get some great pictures of Wishes! I was really happy we rented the locker because it made it much easier throughout the day. When it was almost time for our reservation, we changed in the Magic Kingdom washrooms and walked over to the Contemporary. It is about a 7 minute walk, but it was definitely nice to escape the busy Magic Kingdom, and it was the closest thing to a break we had that day!
We found our way to the check in desk for California Grill, and were asked if we were celebrating anything. I of course said Ethan’s birthday because it was two days earlier. After just a few minutes of waiting we went into the elevator that took us up to the restaurant. The Cast Member is the elevator mentioned that if you bring your receipt back to the desk, you can go onto the observation decks to watch Wishes at night. Our reservation was fairly early, so we weren’t sure if we were going to take advantage of this. I have seen Wishes from the decks before, and it is nice to have a different view. We were escorted to our seat which was sprinkled with Mickey Confetti! The view was amazing. I am obsessed with the Grand Floridian (I think because that is where the Tanners stay in Full House) and I had a great view.
Our server was great, and the food was amazing. They have an in-house sushi chef, so I knew what I was getting. Ethan wasn’t as sure, and ended up ordering a seafood dish, with lobster, scallops, shrimp, rice and sweet potatoes. I had he California Combination Roll. We got bread to the table (always great, I went to chef school and has a sweet spot for good bread). My sushi was delicious, and I ate every last roll. Ethan thought his was good, but not necessarily worth the price. California Grill is expensive (it counts as 2 table service meals with the dining plan) but the view alone is worth it. Once we finished our meals, a complimentary dessert was brought to the table! Remember when I was asked if we were celebrating anything? Look at what we got!
The dessert was really good, and sadly our meal was over. The servers are great and tell you that you can go out to the observation decks, one at each end of the restaurant. Ethan and I got our cameras out and headed outside. It was so peaceful up there, and so cool to see so much of Disney World. You could easily see Spaceship Earth and Tower of Terror, and even closer you can see all of the mountains of the Magic Kingdom! Seriously, go there to see the view. Even if just for appetizers or drinks! You will not regret it!
Ethan and I took our pictures and headed back to Magic Kingdom, We decided to stay in the park for fireworks, and even ended up staying to see The Kiss Goodnight. Hopefully we will be able to Wishes from California Grill sometime soon.
The restaurant has recently received a makeover, and I thought the decor was beautiful. I can’t remember much about my first time there, but I definitely liked the new look. I remember being seated near the Pastry Chef when I went with my family, and it soon became my dream to work there. It only took a restaurant-like exam to change my mind!
I had so much fun going to such a nice dinner with my guy, I hope you liked some of the pictures we took!
As you can see, California Grill is a special restaurant for me, and I love having the chance to eat there! Have you ever dined at California Grill? If not, what is your favourite Disney restaurant? Let me know in the comments!
Thanks for reading,
