New California Grill 50th Anniversary Celebration Prix Fixe Menu
Walt Disney World has announced the new California Grill 50th Anniversary Celebration Menu prix fixe meal coming to Contemporary Resort’s rooftop Signature Restaurant next month during the World’s Most Magical Celebration. This post covers dates, details, pricing, and the full menu.
Note that this 50th Anniversary dinner is in addition to “Celebration at the Top: 50th Flavors & Fireworks at Disney’s Contemporary Resort” coming to California Grill next month during the World’s Most Magical Celebration. That’s a cocktail party featuring fine food, simmering sips, and beautiful music while awaiting the new Disney Enchantment fireworks spectacular.
Walt Disney World is billing that as an “intimate event” toasting to the 50th Anniversary of Walt Disney World, and will be held in the private Sonoma and Napa Rooms at California Grill. Intimate event is probably right, as we were unable to book a single date for that party’s run when reservations dropped before 6 am last week.
Anyway, here’s the announcement via Disney Parks Blog about the new California Grill 50th Anniversary Celebration Menu prix fixe meal:
In 1971, Top of the World opened on the 15th floor of Disney’s Contemporary Resort, offering two dinner/dancing shows nightly featuring top-name entertainment. In 1981, “Broadway at the Top” dinner show was introduced with popular catchy show tunes sung by talented performers.
In 1995, the space transformed into California Grill — with fresh, seasonal dishes prepared in the stunning on-stage kitchen. The impressive wine list showcasing the finest wines from highly allocated California vineyards further elevated the dining experience.
California Grill was considered a cutting-edge concept (especially for a theme park), becoming a sought-after dining destination for our guests as well as catching the culinary world’s attention. And it continues to dazzle and impress all these years later!
Through the years, the menu has evolved but continues the focus on seasonal dining with a creative blending of flavors, textures, and techniques. The stellar award-winning wine list is still as impressive but has made room for craft cocktails and beers. What has remained constant is the stunning views of Magic Kingdom Park and Seven Seas Lagoon.
As part of “The World’s Most Magical Celebration,” California Grill will offer a limited-time three-course menu with dishes inspired by past favorites as well as new market-fresh creations.
Here are just a few items on this California Grill 50th Anniversary Celebration menu:
The California Grill Sushi Classics Trio: Blue Crab California Roll, Shrimp Tempura Roll, Spicy Kazan Roll — This brings together three of the most popular rolls on one plate.
One of the highlights is the Spicy Kazan Roll with blue crab, yellowfin tuna tataki, and sweet shrimp. What makes this sushi roll unique is the Fireball Sauce with bay scallops, avocado, and mango. (I think California Grill’s sushi is slightly overrated, but many others vehemently disagree–the presentation here is nice.)
House-Made Artisanal-Style Duck á la Orange Pizza – Long Island Duckling with Orange Sauce was on the original Top of the World menu, and with artisanal flatbreads and pizzas from the on-stage wood-fired grills being a guest favorite, it made perfect sense to marry the two.
Enter this pizza with duck prosciutto and confit, orange-black mission fig jam, pickled shallots, aged blue cheese, and arugula — an homage to the classic from Top of the World and a California Grill staple. (I’m a sucker for anything duck–really looking forward to this!)
Oak-Fired Filet of Beef with Black Truffle-Brown Butter Château Potatoes – The Oak-Fired Filet of Beef has been a California Grill staple for ages, and this offers a new spin on that classic dish.
These Château Potatoes are slowly cooked in brown butter and topped with freshly shaved black winter truffles. Then the dish is rounded out with golden raisins vinaigrette, cauliflower, and black garlic butter.
EARidescent Grand Marnier Soufflé – A timeless dessert for the World’s Most Magical Celebration that’s served table-side with macerated Florida citrus and a delicious house-made Creamsicle Ice Cream.
I could do without the artificial flavors necessary to make this EARidescent, but whatever. You all see the stuff I eat–not like I treat my body like a temple. Souffle is an iconic dessert and one that Walt Disney World usually does pretty well. Obviously will be different, but already hoping this can hold its own against the Warm Valrhona Chocolate Cake at Topolino’s Terrace, which is currently my favorite dessert at Walt Disney World.
Here’s the full California Grill 50th Anniversary Celebration prix fixe menu:
What’s that? You demand that we review the 35 ounce Beef Ribeye Tomahawk Steak for Two? Well, if the people have spoken [insert people speaking in the comments], I guess Sarah will have no other choice but to let me order it! (I probably should wait until pricing gets posted before soliciting these demands…)
Aside from than that and the items above, the Five Magical Bites 50 Years in the Making also intrigues me, and I wonder if it has a “backstory.” Some other items look vaguely familiar from current and past California Grill menus. I’m curious if anything else here has a history dating decades-back.
This limited-time three-course menu will be offered starting October 3, 2021. Advance Dining Reservations will be available for booking starting on September 23, 2021.
California Grill’s 50th Anniversary Celebration prix fixe menu pricing is $89 per adult (ages 10 and up) and $39 per child (ages 3 to 9), plus tax and gratuity.
Given the reaction to Space 220’s prices, I’m guessing the response here will be similar.
Personally, I wasn’t surprised by that, and I’m not surprised by this. (My guess before looking was that this would cost $95 per adult.) We’ve been paying out of pocket for a lot of full meals at Walt Disney World restaurants lately, so I’ve become all too familiar with current pricing.
Beyond that, I’d imagine many Walt Disney World fans will be disappointed by the prix fixe menu. This is a trend that began a few years ago with Be Our Guest Restaurant’s “cupcakegate,” and I don’t see it letting up anytime soon. That’s especially true with restaurants that have an experiential component (Disney Enchantment fireworks viewing, in the case of California Grill).
The upside with both Space 220 and California Grill is that they also have lounges, so those wanting the experience without breaking the bank have that option (for now). However, I wouldn’t expect that to last forever, especially if restaurant management sees lower per guest spending among lounge patrons.
In terms of value for money, this prix fixe menu could be good or bad, depending on what you get–just like so many of them. What I’d order for this meal at California Grill would cost $99 (pizza + filet + souffle) on the current menu.
Speaking of which, the maximum cost of comparable items from the current California Grill menu is $109–so you can definitely come out ahead with the prix fixe menu if you order the “right” items. Conversely, if you order the “wrong” ones, the minimum value from the current menu would be $69.
Ultimately, the California Grill 50th Anniversary Celebration prix fixe menu sounds good and gives us an excuse to revisit the Signature Restaurant once the World’s Most Magical Celebration starts, and (hopefully) eat another steak the size of my head.
With that in mind, I don’t really have any complaints with this Walt Disney World news. My real complaint is that Walt Disney World is announcing all of these new things for California Grill, but still has not brought back Brunch at the Top. Hopefully that news is next up!
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Your Thoughts
What do you think of the California Grill 50th Anniversary Celebration prix fixe menu? Will you be attempting to book this Advance Dining Reservation? Disappointed by the pricing or that it’s prix fixe? Do you agree or disagree with our assessment? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
I was disappointed when they announced this because, based on the current menu, it just didn’t seem to be a restaurant that would be well-served by a prix fixe menu – so I’m coming in with some bias. That being said, I’m not particularly a fan. I think the price seems high, not necessarily because of the value versus the current menu prices, but that it’s probably an unnecessary amount of food based on the quality of the meal and it removes the ability to get creative like one could in the past with the menu. When we were there in May, my wife and I got more variety by ordering several appetizers (we each got sushi and we got the goat cheese ravioli – which was amazing and I see is now gone, unfortunately – and perhaps another appetizer but unsure on the 4th), then we split a dinner. We didn’t save a significant amount of money doing it that way over the upcoming price, but we were able to get more of what we wanted. Also, the bread with the roasted garlic and oil is so good there too, which is also filling and added to the forced-3-course, just really detracts from the dining experience itself. Basically, on just the food and menu (obviously California Grill gets a huge boost with location and view), we found it to be one of the most appealing menus of the Signature Dining because there were more combinations that could make a good, full meal experience.
We’ve only been to California Grill twice, but we really loved it both times. Given that there’s no way my wife would be able to eat as much food as this comes with and feeling disappointed that it’s now a more restrictive dining experience, I’m just not sure that we’ll be looking to try to get an ADR here for our next couple trips at least. We ate at Narcoossee’s that May trip and Topolino’s during a weekend trip in July. I’d have put California Grill above both of those, but not enough that I’d choose it again over either of those right now given the menus. I’d personally opt for one of the other signature restaurants for the time being (we’ve still got several to try to which we’ve never been, so this is a push in that direction).
Does anyone have any experience with trying to order Disney prix fixe kids meals for kids over 10? In the past, some restaurants have been flexible with letting my tween order from the kids menu, despite their being an “adult” in Disney’s warped world. It’s always been irritating to me to pay Disney adult prices for my 10-12-yr old kids at buffet meals, where they can’t ever have eaten more than $15 worth of food.
Berty,
Where did you see 4 a.m.? I would think that just like Cinderella’s Royal Table, that it would be just like any other ADR that opens up online at 6 a.m. ET. (Which means another early night-er for those of us on the west coast).
i believe the correct price you are looking for on the tomahawk is “not high enough to pass on it.”
Oh, I dunno. After our experience with the Porterhouse at Yachtsman, my price threshold is much lower. Especially since a couple of the other entrees sound good.
Will you find the ability to book under dining or celebration?
What time do you have to log in to even have a chance at a reservation?
I try at 12:01 midnight but that gets me nothing.
I see references to 4am.
4am EST? Is that the time?
Glad to see the history included in the post and in several of the comments, so thank you Tom and others! That actually makes me more inclined to book something like this, when there’s a story behind it. Though…for the 50 years desert in five bites I’m guessing cakes or truffles. Or a really, *really* strange spumoni. I guess you have to get that with the eternal rib-eye and find out.
Cynical me thinks this is just another cash grab. It’s a popular restaurant and they can afford to lose a few customers.
$89 seems crazy to me, but I also can’t fathom eating an app + entree + dessert at a restaurant — it’s just too much food. If they would allow a cocktail in place of the dessert, however…
I mean, you’re not totally wrong. Disney knows California Grill is popular and will get even more popular with a new fireworks show debuting. (Just like how it was more difficult to book on MNSSHP or MVMCP nights because people without party tickets wanted to see those fireworks outside Magic Kingdom.)
My guess is that they saw an influx of lower-spending ADRs when Happily Ever After debuted and want to avoid that this time with a minimum amount guaranteed per guest.
@Lauren,
My feeling is that drink pricing is fairly uniform between similarly situated restaurants. While there might be some outliers, you can probably get a basic cocktail/decent glass or bottle of wine for about the same price at CG or Citricos.
I doubt drink pricing will be a deal breaker and make you choose something other than CG, unless you go to a restaurant at a whole different price point.
As someone who missed the Space 220 ADR early drop today , greatly appreciate the heads up and will pull an all nighter to score this for my November runDisney racecation! And I’m super excited to see the short rib wontons as those are one of my faves! #ChefsKiss
Do you think this will still be in place through next year? We are going in April and love eating there.
My guess would be at least the full 18 months unless bookings for this are soft. I could see it becoming permanent after that for as long as ADRs fill up.
We also saw the “Broadway At The Top” dinner show while on our honeymoon in 1983. I remember the show being fantastic but not much else other than my husband having to pack a sport coat in his suitcase since there was a dress code. A happy memory indeed!
Tom, if you need me to share* the tomahawk chop because Sarah won’t, you let me know. I’m willing to do this for Science.
*we each get our own and devour accordingly
I was going to say, “sharing” with Sarah means I get 30 ounces. Your proposal is certainly intriguing should I need the extra 5.
The real question is “how much are the drinks?” I’m not turned off by the prices because my husband and I usually spend more than $89 per person (but we get drinks). We almost never get to go out alone, so when we do, we get apps, drinks, meals and dessert. I’m trying to decide if we’d rather do this, Citricos or Narcoossee’s for date night during a Very Merry Party (we are not going to the party). Two have fireworks views and one has the better food right now. Decisions, decisions.
Do the kids order of that menu too? My guess would be no, but….you never know.
Love your food reviews. Patiently waiting for Space 220 review. I scored a reservation coming up soon. Thanks!
So just to confirm – do we know if this menu will replace the regular a la carte menu for the time being every night from Oct 3rd?
I first visited MK in 1971 with my parents and 2 years later spent my honeymoon at the Contemporary.
I remember having dinner at the Top of The World and the headliner was a former Miss America who was a singer and a ventriloquist.
She even sang the Carpenter’s song Top of the World.
She was very funny too.
And I’m pretty sure we had the duck.
Thanks for the memories!
How long will this limited time menu be offered? I struck out on trying to get a reservation for Space 220 for our trip in November and might try this.
I beg you to try the tomahawk! No, Sarah, I have not been paid by Tom.