Paint Your Own Castle at California Grill

[MotherofaPrincessLover]

I just saw something on Facebook about being able to paint a little castle at California Grill but I can't find anything online anywhere. Is this an actual thing? It looks really cool if it is.

 

[monorail81]

I’ve never done it, but I found this. Looks like fun now that I know about it.

Paint a Castle Activity at Disney’s Contemporary Resort - ZANNALAND!

I'm sure you've heard of the various Walt Disney World Resort hotel recreation activities, which can vary from Movies Under the Stars (watching Disney movies outside on the hotel grounds), to trivia by the pool, to making tie-dyed Mickey t-shirts. A fairly new activity was one I knew I had to...

zannaland.com

 

[MotherofaPrincessLover]

I’ve never done it, but I found this. Looks like fun now that I know about it.

Paint a Castle Activity at Disney’s Contemporary Resort - ZANNALAND!

I'm sure you've heard of the various Walt Disney World Resort hotel recreation activities, which can vary from Movies Under the Stars (watching Disney movies outside on the hotel grounds), to trivia by the pool, to making tie-dyed Mickey t-shirts. A fairly new activity was one I knew I had to...

zannaland.com

Thanks for finding that!

 

[Gillyanne]

I usually stay off property, are these types of activities available to offsite guests too if I call and book?

 

[Tuvalu]

 

[HappyFeet531]

Hi! We just did this yesterday! SUPER fun! Here are a few details:

- We are staying offsite. We just called the number and made our reservation that way. The person working the cashier said this activity went gone viral about two weeks ago so it's become more popular. You will want to call to make sure you reserve a spot. Our class was full and she said they are selling out. We weren't asked to reserve a spot with a credit card and didn't pay until we arrived.

- If you've never been, the California Grill is a FABULOUS spot with amazing views!

- You have your choice of 30 different acrylic paint colors. (Might not be a bad idea to bring a smock if you are bringing little ones.) All the CMs who were there were very accommodating and sweet. They will refill your paint colors anytime you ask. If you are finished by 2 pm, they will spray gloss it before you leave. If you paint until the end at 2:30p (which we did), they spray them overnight and you pick them up at Bay Towers the next day. You don't need to have them sprayed but IMHO, they looked much better sprayed. (Now that I think about it, we should have just brought them home and sprayed them there to save ourselves the trip.)

- After the class, we were able to go outside and have our photo taken with our castles with Cinderella's castle in the background. My Disney lovin' heart just LOVED that!

- It's not just for kids! Our session had both adult groups and families with smaller kids. It was maybe 10-15 tables so when we went, it was a very peaceful intimate activity.

So, if you get a chance, I would highly recommend this activity! We had a FABULOUS time!

 

[Gillyanne]

Sorry to resurrect an old thread, but I thought I'd share my experience in the existing one. I took my 6yo niece Friday and I think she loved it. We decided to copy the design that the site above did since we love Figment (and they already did the design work ) When they were putting the glaze on hers she started to get sad, but I think it's b/c she thinks it's "ugly" (or "scary") after starting to paint more on it (she is still learning sometimes things can't be "undone" when you start to do something, like painting a castle, can't throw it out and start again like a piece of paper) but I keep telling her it's great, and she took someone's idea and expanded on it and made it her own. I didn't think to add extra windows on mine and that was a good idea etc.

And then this is mine with the light in on my shelf (cropped with some extra Figment goodness)

If we had the space, I'd say we'd do it again, but not sure how many castles would could fit Maybe in a couple years if it's still around, but definitely makes me want to look into other activities (that are open to off property guests). The experience was fun, and the CMs running it that day were delightful.

 

[monorail81]

Those are amazing!!! Thanks for sharing.

 

[Hcalvert]

Sorry to resurrect an old thread, but I thought I'd share my experience in the existing one. I took my 6yo niece Friday and I think she loved it. We decided to copy the design that the site above did since we love Figment (and they already did the design work ) When they were putting the glaze on hers she started to get sad, but I think it's b/c she thinks it's "ugly" (or "scary") after starting to paint more on it (she is still learning sometimes things can't be "undone" when you start to do something, like painting a castle, can't throw it out and start again like a piece of paper) but I keep telling her it's great, and she took someone's idea and expanded on it and made it her own. I didn't think to add extra windows on mine and that was a good idea etc.

View attachment 630850 View attachment 630853

And then this is mine with the light in on my shelf (cropped with some extra Figment goodness)

View attachment 630854

If we had the space, I'd say we'd do it again, but not sure how many castles would could fit Maybe in a couple years if it's still around, but definitely makes me want to look into other activities (that are open to off property guests). The experience was fun, and the CMs running it that day were delightful.

I am interested in this for our upcoming June trip. I am not seeing any mention of this in the resort's activity calendar. Is it still 12:30-2:30pm and $30/castle?

 

[Gillyanne]

I am interested in this for our upcoming June trip. I am not seeing any mention of this in the resort's activity calendar. Is it still 12:30-2:30pm and $30/castle?

That's what it was when we went (+tax so it actually came out to $63.90 for 2 of them). Still offered M & F, and you can call to get on the list 2 weeks in advance (if you want to make sure you can get in) by calling the number on the poster. It seems it's just the Community Hall front desk, so they answer right away, no wait times like regular GS. You pay at the activity and they accept only electronic payment (so CC, GC, MB, just not cash). For us, if we finished by 2, they were able to "glaze" (Krylon clear glaze spray paint stuff) them there, so you could leave with them. Otherwise they're pick up at the Community Hall later in the evening/next day. I'm sure you also have the option to take them unglazed to do yourself if you'd like (I forget if it was something my mom just said "we'll just do it at home" or of the CM said it too)

PS: If you want to be extra with really finite details, you may want to bring your own thin brush. I would've loved to put some color on the lil rings of the spires but even the smallest brush was too big/used too much that it was fanned out. They offered 3 sizes a small (but not tiny), Med and Larger brush.

:: edited for spelling/words::