Contemporary Resort & California Grill for Kids??

[ewerstruly]

Just exploring options here. The Contemporary is so convenient to the MK ... and we're only wanting to be there for the Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party ... we could walk to it! How is the Contemporary for Kids? How is the California Grill for kids? We've been to Chef Mickey's before. Thanks.

 

[Pakey]

Contemporary is very convenient to MK.

Ca Grill is a signature restaurant, a more upscale dining atmosphere. The place, due to being almost all glass, is noisier than most of Disney's signatures and children are welcome. This is a slower paced restaurant, plan on 60-90 minutes for dinner once you are seated.

 

[csjordan]

We ate at California Grill in November 2009 with our two kids, ages 11 and 8, at the time. It was great! The kids loved it. If I remember correctly, we were there for about an hour. The food was delicious. Service was good, but not great. The server's mind seemed to be somewhere else. He didn't seem totally focused. We walked out to the viewing area and looked over MK. Wouldn't hesitate to go again with the kiddies!!

Also, our very first on-site stay was at Contemporary in 2003 with the kids. It is my all-time favorite, as there is just something magical about seeing the Castle outside your window and walking out the door to see Mickey and friends at Chef Mickey's and the monorail...probably the best memory of WDW!

 

[Diz Kids]

I love the Contemporary for kids. It doesn't have the in your face theming, but the convenience to MK cannot be beat. We had park hoppers when we were there, so we could "run over" to MK after dinner to spend some extra time in the parks that we may not have if we weren't so close. Walking back to the resort after the fireworks when everyone else was waiting for a bus or the monorail was a nice way to decompress after a full day at the parks.
The rooms are spacious and there is also a relatively new splash area by the pool that my kids loved.

Our kids were 5,4 and 1 when we went to CG with them and they enjoyed it. I did make sure to book an early reservation, as the last thing other diners would want are three kids who are tired and cranky at the table next to them (I guess this would be the same everywhere). They brought out some goldfish right after we sat down and since appetizers come with the kids meal they were busy eating their salads as we waited for our entrees.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

The Contemporary is one of the most kid friendly resorts there is with their walkway to the Magic Kingdom, seeing the Monorail go by, having Chef Mickey's right there, their kids splash area, the arcade and more. Now I have not been to the California Grill before, however I know they do have a kids menu and that would mean they always see a good number of kids, because why else would they have a kids menu.

 

[pixarmom]

I agree with the previous posters regarding California Grill. Our three boys (ages pre-school to pre-teen) now rank California Grill as their second favorite restaurant at WDW. (Their favorite restaurant is Garden Grill.)

I think California Grill works out well for our family for several reasons:
1) The views are amazing, and our kids enjoy identifying all the Disney landmarks they can see in every direction.
2) The children's menu has a nice variety. Our middle son is a self-proclaimed Disney mac and cheese expert, and he determined that California Grill serves the best mac and cheese at WDW.
3) We book an early ADR - at or before 6pm, so the kids are not waiting too long to eat - we can return for fireworks viewing later. So I'll second the previous poster's suggestion regarding an early meal.
4) We have our kids with us, so we time our meal to accomodate everyone. In other words, we don't order multiple courses, we're all familiar with the menu before we arrive, and we ask for the check while the kids are still eating their meals. If we were dining without the kids, we would easily spend at least two hours at California Grill. With kids, we enjoy about an hour there, which works for everyone!
5) It's a perfect place to enjoy great sushi, good wine, an amazing view AND our kids' company all at the same time!

 

[nemofans]

Calif Grill is our favorite restaurant! On our last trip, our boys (4.5 & 1 yr old) were w/us. We didn't feel out of place at all. There were definitely other kids there. Ds (4.5) was happy that salmon was on the kids menu too.
The goat cheese polenta was the best ever! I wish I could order a bowl of that from home!

On the other hand, we did not enjoy our stay at CR w/little kids. If you plan on spending most of your time at MK, then stay there. However, the travel times to the other locations are way too long, including Epcot!
The other problem we had was the pain of trying to get around the hotel w/a stroller. If your kids are older, then you won't have this problem.
Also, there was a banquet for a convention one night & they took over the elevators. It was frustrating to not be able to get down b/c all the elevators were crammed. One elevator wasn't full & I started walking toward it w/my 2 boys when the woman in the elevator shrugged her shoulders & said sorry. She let the doors close instead of holding it for us. Once I finally got in an elevator, it stopped at every floor as more conventioners got on. It was jammed to the point where the door took a few tries to close. Then once it got to the 4th floor where I wanted to get out, no one would let me out. I had my 2 boys w/me & we were stuck in the back. I asked 2 times to be let out & no one moved. I then yelled a 3rd time to let us out. Then they finally got out of our way.
Anyway, we won't be staying there again.

 

[louey]

Love the resort and Love the California Grill!

 

[princesslillybug]

My family enjoyed staying at the CR 2 years ago. The California Grill is our favorite restaurant!! It is the 1st place the kids request to dine every year. They are now 11 & 8. The host made one of their 1st experiences very special by having them "start the fireworks" one evening. (They really just turned on the sound to the music being piped into the dining room.)

 

[PoohsFan1]

We just stayed there in September and had my 9 and 7 year olds with us. They absolutely loved the CR. We were on the 11th floor so everytime we walked out of our door they would look over to watch the monorail come whizzing through the building. We also had ADRs for Cali Grill, however, this was not the first time that the girls ate there, we eat there all the time. Cali Grill is a good place to bring kids because they can get entertained by watching MK while eating.

 

[superbird]

Not going to slam it but it was not a good fit for our family. Yes the walk was nice and view of fireworks great but too busy overall for me. the kids like to explore in a good way and too many people walking around there, lots of visitors to the Chef Mickeys and other places there so more people than normal there and would just get to crazy for my kids. You may love it so give it a shot but some people may not IMHO

 

[NikitaZee]

We ate there on our last trip, and it wasn't that great for our kids either. I think it was mostly do to our waiter - he seemed aloof and impatient with our table. There were 9 of us, we took a little longer deciding what to order, and when my littlest one spilled a cup of water on the table, our waiter told me I should have asked for a cup with a lid. Overall, my impressions were - great view, good food, great wine list - but it wasn't the dining experience I had thought it would be.