California Grill w/ Wishes Spectacular Fireworks

[CoverD]

So I'm planning to go to WDW for the 4th time in October and am coming up on my 180 days out. I want to make sure that I'm booking at the right time for the Wishes Spectacular as I've never gone to the California Grill before.

The day I'm planning for is October 7th where their Magic Hours are listed as going until 12am. From what I can see, it looks like the latest Wishes shows are always 10pm.

What would be the best time of night to book for the Grill? I know that you can go out on the balcony and watch, but not sure how crowded that gets and how the view is from both the dining room and balcony.

Any info is greatly appreciated. It'll be the first time my girlfriend will be seeing the Wishes fireworks (only her 2nd time there and we weren't able to catch them the first time she went) I want to make sure its a perfect time.

 

[OSUgirl77]

So I'm planning to go to WDW for the 4th time in October and am coming up on my 180 days out. I want to make sure that I'm booking at the right time for the Wishes Spectacular as I've never gone to the California Grill before.

The day I'm planning for is October 7th where their Magic Hours are listed as going until 12am. From what I can see, it looks like the latest Wishes shows are always 10pm.

What would be the best time of night to book for the Grill? I know that you can go out on the balcony and watch, but not sure how crowded that gets and how the view is from both the dining room and balcony.

Any info is greatly appreciated. It'll be the first time my girlfriend will be seeing the Wishes fireworks (only her 2nd time there and we weren't able to catch them the first time she went) I want to make sure its a perfect time.

When I was there for my anniversary in April, we had a reservation for 7:30 and it worked out perfectly. We had 3 courses and drinks and finished by about 9:15 or 9:30. Headed out onto the balcony with plenty of time before Wishes started. The balcony wasn't that crowded, but it also was a Monday night.

Good luck planning! Hope everything works out!

 

[CoverD]

Thanks, it'll be on a Wednesday night when I want to reserve it, hopefully it won't be too crowded.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

If Wishes is at 10...I've always been told to plan for an ADR around 8pm - assuming you're planning on 3 courses. CG is also notorious for running late with ADR seating (we seem to avg a 30 min wait). This plan has always worked for us...always put our dessert right around the start of Wishes.

 

[CoverD]

Are you able to get up and walk out onto the balcony during your meal if Wishes starts before you are finished, or no?

 

[OSUgirl77]

Are you able to get up and walk out onto the balcony during your meal if Wishes starts before you are finished, or no?

Yes, you can. We were not seated by the windows, so we chose to go outside. If you are seated by the windows, then you have a great view without having to go on the balcony.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Are you able to get up and walk out onto the balcony during your meal if Wishes starts before you are finished, or no?

They pretty much operate their nights expecting this. You'll be able to tell well before Wishes if you'll have a decent view from your table. Obviously, MK facing window seats are the most coveted spots, but tables one or two rows off in that same area also have great views. Ex. this is from a row or so off from the windows and still good at our table on this particular visit.

If you do not wind up in a table with a good view, I'd advise you to head out to the view decks when they pipe in the first announcement that Wishes will be starting soon. Cali Grill is very popular, booked solid nearly every night, people who dined earlier in the evening often return for Wishes, people waiting to be seated for later ADRs are usually up there trying to watch, and people often go to the lounge so they can also take advantage of the Wishes from CG. It gets very crowded on those decks and the servers pretty much expect everyone in a table without a view to make their way outside for the show.

 

[totaldisneygirl]

So it depends on where you want to watch it from! We were fortunate enough to get a table by the window and because of that we made a 9:15 reservation! That way we could see it as we were having dinner and it was great!

 

[CoverD]

So it depends on where you want to watch it from! We were fortunate enough to get a table by the window and because of that we made a 9:15 reservation! That way we could see it as we were having dinner and it was great!

Unless I'm reading that wrong, does that mean you get to select a certain section when you do ADR? I've only ever reserved for Be Our Guest and that was 2 years ago.

 

[OSUgirl77]

Unless I'm reading that wrong, does that mean you get to select a certain section when you do ADR? I've only ever reserved for Be Our Guest and that was 2 years ago.

I believe you can request it when you arrive, but I didn't think they would guarantee anything when you actually make the ADR. I am not positive about that though...

 

[totaldisneygirl]

Unless I'm reading that wrong, does that mean you get to select a certain section when you do ADR? I've only ever reserved for Be Our Guest and that was 2 years ago.

I called and asked them to put in a note and then reminded them upon my arrival at the restaurant. They don't guarantee it but if you wait for a table, they'll do the best to give it to you!

 

[TXDisney]

Highly recommend this. We did it our last trip. Oddly enough it was raining during wishes so it turned out even better.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

One thing you might want to consider is plan on seeing Wishes an additional night from the Magic Kingdom itself. The California Grill is a very nice experience but it's also a bit of a clumsy angle and there's definitely *something missing* from the experience you get in the park.

 

[JillC LI]

8ish would be ideal. Tell your server you want to see the fireworks and s/he will ensure that your meal is timed properly. We loved seeing Holiday Wishes from the balcony.

 

[RiceCrispyMickey]

We had a 9.30pm reservation with a 10pm wishes showing. Our server was great, he took our orders and said he'd hold them until wishes was over so we could go out and watch. Our food arrived literally as we sat back down in our seats after wishes finished! That being said - eating at 10.20 at night wasn't great for our stomachs, so bare that in mind if your not normally a late eater. I think when we go again we will try to get an ADR for earlier and time it so that we finish our meal when wishes begins.

 

[CoverD]

Booked a reservation for 7:25pm so I figure if we end early, we can head to the lounge/bar area or go out on the balcony when Wishes starts.

Thanks everyone for your help!