Artist Point or California Grill - Which would you choose?

[ABQ]

I very much prefer Artist Point. I've eaten at the California Grill three times and I did not enjoy myself. The food and service are excellent but I can't stand the atmosphere, mainly due to the behavior of other guests. Due to the fact that California Grill gets hyped in Disney publications as THE place to watch the fireworks, it's mobbed with poorly behaved children and worse-behaved adults. It's the one place on property where I really agree with the idea of the "Walmartification of WDW," not because of anything Disney does wrong, but because of the way other people don't know how to behave. I'm not in the mood to eat $40 scallops while a sweaty man in a sleeveless shirt and basketball shorts ignores his kids rubbing their faces on the windows and his wife plays Candy Crush on her smashed-screen iPhone.

No, I'm not exaggerating. That's been my experience on three separate trips.


This is great information. I'll look into that if we ever decide to take the plunge again.

Ha! I swear we must have been seated near you at Cali Grill. Not because we were the ones in sleeveless shirts and playing Candy Crush, but because I have witnessed the very same things. Plus, if you are seated near the doors, at either end, of the floor, you can listen to them slam shut in the wind over and over again as you eat your very good, but very expensive meal. If you don't care about the fireworks view and are super lucky to get seated in the room in the back facing Bay Lake, then you're in luck.

 

[Hockey89]

The California Grill is my favorite restaurant anywhere. With all due respect to those who have had problems with atmosphere, I've been eating there at least once a year for the past 20 years or so and have NEVER had either bad service or experienced unruly guests. The restaurant is a bit louder than an intimate fine dining spot. But the incredible view and terrific food more than make up for this. If you time things right you can go outside on the balcony and watch the nightly MK fireworks (they pipe in the music through excellent speakers).

Artist Point is excellent, too. But given the specs of your dining wishes, the CG is the perfect choice!

With all due respect, the last two times I was there it could have been Denny's.... The food is pretty good not great.... The view is amazing.... There are better places at Disney....

 

[Hockey89]

In what way? We have reservations for August and it's a place i've always wanted to eat. I really want it to be special.

Last time I was there three kids ages 8-13(guessing) were running around the restaurant.... Hitting the glass near our table and until I told them to leave and be quiet.... The hippy parents were staring at there phone and could not careless...

The time before it was very very loud... Not as bad but still behavior I don't see at other sig places at Disney.... On a side note, We got sat at an average table until we ordered a nice bottle of wine (200).... They moved us to a window seat with a great view in two seconds after we ordered.... They play favorites...

 

[Phonedave]

I'm not gonna lie...atmosphere makes a difference.
I'm also intrigued by the Copper River Salmon. What is the season? We will be there in late September.

The season is now - seriously, it opened a week ago. Fish is usually available from Mid-May to the end of June. Artist Point has very good salmon year round, but the Copper River stuff is just a step above. It's a combination of the river being so wild (makes the fish stronger), the attitude of the fishermen that fish the river (fish are boarded live, bled out immedieatly, and put right into ice water, as opposed to being thrown/kicked around as on most commerical vessels) and the way the processed fish is treated - Alaska Airlines has special salmon transport filghts, and shipping set up, so the fish you are eating in Florida was swimming in an Alaskan river a few days ago.

-dave

 

[shipley731]

Last time I was there three kids ages 8-13(guessing) were running around the restaurant.... Hitting the glass near our table and until I told them to leave and be quiet.... The hippy parents were staring at there phone and could not careless..

My husband & I ate in Jiko a couple of weeks ago & the table of 8 behind us had 3 kids running laps around the table, again parents not caring at all. The servers were having to dodge them. Not cool & not safe. I've seen the same thing in Artist Point, Monsieur Paul's, and Citrico's. My point is, this behavior isn't isolated to a particular signature restaurant.

 

[Hockey89]

My husband & I ate in Jiko a couple of weeks ago & the table of 8 behind us had 3 kids running laps around the table, again parents not caring at all. The servers were having to dodge them. Not cool & not safe. I've seen the same thing in Artist Point, Monsieur Paul's, and Citrico's. My point is, this behavior isn't isolated to a particular signature restaurant.

Fair point and I don't doubt it for a second. I've just always noticed it being worse(way IMHO) at CG....

 

[SeanWM48]

i'm going artist and not just because i like the place. factor in that OP mentions it is their anniversary trip (far fewer kids around)

it may be seasonal but if artist is offering the buffalo dinner it is tremendous. as already stated the whole experience of going to the wilderness lodge and taking a boat to/from the park is a lot of fun.

 

[Phonedave]

i'm going artist and not just because i like the place. factor in that OP mentions it is their anniversary trip (far fewer kids around)

it may be seasonal but if artist is offering the buffalo dinner it is tremendous. as already stated the whole experience of going to the wilderness lodge and taking a boat to/from the park is a lot of fun.

I don't think the buffalo is seasonal, as much as it is limited availability. Sometimes they have it on the menu and sometimes they do not.

Again, an indicator of a good restaruant.. When a restaruant has season items, or items that it sometimes cannot get on the menu, it means the chef is looking for food of a particular quality. It is when the chef just purchases "beef" or "fish" from a bulk provider such as Sysco that quality starts to go downhill.

Unfortunately, many restaruants at WDW have to do this. It's one thing when you are a small local restaruant doing 250 covers a week. It is an other when you are a WDW restaruant, with your menus on line, doing 300 covers a night.



-dave

 

[Roknrollrghostr]

I put in a vote for Artist Point, it's one of my favorite restaurants anywhere. We've always had fantastic service and it has a more relaxed, romantic and cozy feel. There are dishes that we still talk about years after eating them, the menu is always evolving a bit and we find that it's one of those places we just long for when planning our trips. We always leave the meal feeling wonderful.

To contrast, we felt California Grill was a bit over hyped and we left feeling underwhelmed. The food was good, but not outstanding. The atmosphere left much to be desired. It was very loud, and very crowded and people were sprawled all over the bar/lounge area. Service was okay, we didn't really have any significant interaction with our waiter and he seemed a bit overwhelmed by a nearby table with a large family. The whole fireworks experience was the complete opposite of the romantic moment we had heard about. It was a mass stampede to the viewing area where people were packed in like sardines. I've only been the one time and it was shortly after it reopened from a lengthy refurb so maybe that impacted things somewhat but I've never really had a strong desire to go back.

 

[Hockey89]

To contrast, we felt California Grill was a bit over hyped and we left feeling underwhelmed. The food was good, but not outstanding. The atmosphere left much to be desired. It was very loud, and very crowded and people were sprawled all over the bar/lounge area. Service was okay, we didn't really have any significant interaction with our waiter and he seemed a bit overwhelmed by a nearby table with a large family. The whole fireworks experience was the complete opposite of the romantic moment we had heard about. It was a mass stampede to the viewing area where people were packed in like sardines. I've only been the one time and it was shortly after it reopened from a lengthy refurb so maybe that impacted things somewhat but I've never really had a strong desire to go back.

Agreed

 

[danyoung56]

Agreed

And I couldn't disagree more .

 

[Hockey89]

And I couldn't disagree more .

>