One restaurant we really enjoyed on the last trip was California Grill. It is located at The Contemporary resort on the 15th floor and the views are absolutely amazing! You get to look out over the Magic Kingdom as you are dining on some very delicious food. Our group (we traveled with friends) had four kids in the group and all four of them loved being able to see the castle as we ate.
Some Christmas decorations were still up! Nobody
does Christmas like Disney!
The view from California Grill.
It was so nice to be able to see the Magic Kingdom
and other parts of Disney as we dined.
You can see the Grand Floridian in the distance.
When you arrive at the Contemporary, make your way inside and you will find the desk for California Grill. There, they will take your name and check on your reservation. If it is time for your reservation, one of the cast members will escort you to the California Grill elevator. This part was pretty cool. The elevator goes directly to the 15th floor. I love that the restaurant has their own elevator :-)
Once you have been escorted to the restaurant, you can wait in the lounge and look over the menu, get drinks, and check out the view. This was the first time at California Grill for everyone in our group and I think everyone was pretty impressed with the view from the restaurant. It is lined with huge windows so you can see out from any point, no matter where you are sitting. We were lucky enough to have a table right by a window, so the kids were entertained the entire time with the view. We were going to the Magic Kingdom the next day, so they were pointing out different things they wanted to see. As it got dark, the view only got better!
Trying out the panoramic view on the phone.
Our friend Steph took this beautiful picture.
You can't go wrong with a view like this.
Thanks to our friend Jay who took this great picture
of the Magic Kingdom all lit up.
Now for the food. All I can say is...delicious! I had the sweet potato gnocchi and, wow, was it delicious. Unfortunately, I wasn't writing these blog posts yet, so I didn't take any pictures of anyone's meal, but trust me when I say that everyone enjoyed their food immensely! We each ordered different meals (except Steph and I, we both got the pasta), but whether it was pasta, steak, seafood, or something off the sushi menu, everyone was very pleased with what they ordered. I can also say that the martinis were very good ;-)
Another bonus? The kids loved their meals! They do have a separate kids menu, so you can definitely bring the kids here. They all ordered the pizza and it was a success all around! The pizzas came with a choice of water, milk or apple juice and a choice of fruit, ice cream, or yogurt parfait for dessert. We had some pretty happy kids after that meal!
I always like to check out the dessert menu (sweet tooth!) to see if anything sparks my interest. Since I have a sweet tooth, I can usually find something. My husband isn't into desserts as much as I am, so he just ordered a scotch for dessert and I think he was very happy with his choice. For me, I ordered the Sundae Sampler (our friend Jay did too). I had been doing research on the different restaurants we were going to dine in while on vacation and I kept seeing pictures of this Sundae Sampler at California Grill. After looking at the dessert menu, I was happy to see it was still on there. Talk about yummy! It was delicious and just enough food for dessert! I highly recommend this for anyone looking for a good dessert to follow up a delicious meal. Plus, the mini Coke bottle was super cute. I wanted to sneak it in my purse, but I figured they might notice ;-)
My Sundae Sampler
A different view of Jay's Sundae Sampler
Once you have finished your meal and paid the check, make sure to hold on to your receipt. If it is not time for the Wishes fireworks show at the Magic Kingdom yet, you can come back later and show your receipt. This allows you to go back up to the restaurant and watch the fireworks from their observation deck. What a great view! Not only can you see the fireworks, but they pipe in the narration as well! You get the full effect of the show, without having to deal with the crowds. We had an hour or so before the fireworks started, so we just did the monorail loop. The kids loved it because it was like another ride to them! Once it was time, we showed our receipt, took the elevator back up, and comfortably watched the fireworks. It was amazing and the kids had the best time. This is an especially good option if your kids don't like loud noises. The fireworks are far enough away where they shouldn't get scared, but you still get to see the whole show.
View of the Christmas decorations from
inside the Contemporary as we wait
for the monorail.
My husband and daughter watching
the fireworks from the observation deck.
Part of the Wishes fireworks show from
the observation deck at California Grill.
Everyone had such a good experience at California Grill! So much so, I believe it is definitely on the list of reservations to be made for next year. It is a splurge for us, but it's worth it. Between the good food, the amazing view, the fireworks viewing, all the smiles from the kids...it's definitely worth it for the memories.
Feel free to share your experience in the comments if you have dined at California Grill. It's great to hear different experiences!
Thanks for reading!
Liz ⁰O⁰
Fireworks from the observation deck.
The castle is to the left and
Space Mountain is to the right.
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