There are many ways to see California Adventure’s nighttime, fountain spectacular – World of Color. You can stand in line and hope for a good viewing spot, you can grab a fastpass early in the day, you can watch from one of The Cove Bars coveted tables, or you can book a World of Color Dining Package. The World of Color Dining Package will get you prime viewing real-estate for the show, without having to wait in line or get a fastpass. The Dining Package can be booked at one of three restaurants – Ariels Grotto, The Wine Country Trattoria, or The Carthay Circle. We booked The Carthay Circle because A) the whole restaurant is basically a tribute to the legacy of Walt, and B) it has some of the best food we’ve ever eaten. The Dining Package is a pre-fixe menu with a set price, and those prices changes pretty drastically from lunch to dinner time. We looked at the menus before hand, and chose lunch, because the food still looked delicious, and the prices far more reasonable.
We had a fantastic experience at The Carthay Circle, which is what we’ve come to expect when dining in this particular restaurant. Seriously, this restaurant can go toe to toe with any signature WDW establishment and win. The food options for the pre-fixe where varied, and could satisfy the pickiest eater, or someone looking for a more fine dining experience. Our only note would be this – it is way too much food. It was impossible for the two of us to finish all of it, and my husband in particular hates to waste. Your admission passes to the reserved viewing spots for your restaurant will be presented to you when you pay your check. If you are in the park on a day that has two showings of World of Color, your passes will be good for both viewings.
We watched the show from our designed viewing spot, and it was definitely a good vantage point. But here’s our one caveat – the view was no better than the one we’d had the previous year, from our free fastpass section. Nor was the view any better than the one we’d had earlier in the trip, as we watched the show while drinking and eating at The Cove Bar. So while we loved our lunch at The Carthay Circle, you can spend way less money, and still have a great view of World of Color, but not book the dining package. Instead, grab a fastpass early in the day, or see the second show of the night, which was virtually empty when we were there! Because while there are plenty of things that are worth spending your money on at Disney Parks (I’m looking at you, Parks merchandise collection of mine,) this just isn’t one of them.
