WOW. And Wow. With a few more "wow"s thrown in.
We had a spectacular time at the California Grill.
Of course, there is a story. It was a dark and stormy night... (actually, it kinda was, the night of the dinner!)
We were rushed in packing the camper and leaving our house for Fort Wilderness (who isn't? lol). We did get everything packed... at least I thought so.
Tuesday morning dawned muggy and cloudy, a little bit of drizzle. We enjoyed the day at the parks, as the rain held off mostly. Got back to the camper with plenty of time (Ha! I can hear everyone snickering now) for dinner. We had 7:45pm reservations, got back to camper by 5pm to get ready. Took our time getting ready... why rush? Rain threatening all evening. Get changed.
Oops... I mean, everyone else got changed. Where are my nice slacks? They are no where in the camper. I remember where they are... folded neatly by the front door of our house so I wouldn't forget them. So, I end up wearing a clean shortsleeve polo style shirt with... jean shorts! That is all I have. So we go with it.
Head down to the docks at 7pm. Well, to the bus stop at the end of 1600 loop. With umbrellas, as the ladies don't want to get wet with the drizzle. Great, just a great way to start a special dinner.
Wait. Wait. and Wait. Finally the bus picks us up. Get to the dock, and see the boat pulled away about 2 minutes earlier. So we wait. And wait. and wait. Get on the boat... and wait. A few more people come up the dock to get on. Who are these people?! The Contemporary ferry is Always empty!! Except of course when we need to be somewhere.
Get to the Contemporary dock at 7:50pm. Argh. Get to check in desk at 7:55pm. Ask about wearing shorts. First thing lady behind counter says is that there is a clothing store where I can pick up slacks... AAAAgggHHH! Really?! Then another lady comes around the counter, says my shorts look fine. The first lady thought I was asking where to buy slacks... Whew. They do have our reservation (big WHEW). No problem.
We get up to the restaurant at 8:05pm, and get seated almost immediately.
Nice atmosphere, classy without being too stuffy. I was okay with a nice short sleeve shirt, but would have felt a little better with maybe a button down shirt and nice slacks. Sport jacket is not out of place at all.
Our waitress was great! We ordered two appetizers to share (sushi plate and something else). Tastes wonderful. Main courses arrive... Fantastic. I don't know if the chef's at Contemporary Grill are always this good, or we just caught them on a good night, but the food was GREAT. My son, whose name is basically the wikipedia entry for "picky eater", loved it. We of course had to try each other's orders, and as my son said: "I don't usually eat this stuff, but it all just tastes so good!".
Desserts come, the restaurant dressed up the desserts for wife and I with Happy Anniversary chocolates which was great -- I didn't have time to arrange for anything really special, so this was greatly appreciated.
Fireworks start as we are working on desserts. Waitress comes over and encourages us to watch from the viewing deck, she says she certainly will hold our table. Viewing deck was kinda full, but not bad. Rain had stopped completely, and the clouds opened up a bit for a beautiful October night sky.
View of fireworks was Awesome! Wife and daughter, who had watched the fireworks from the doorway of Cinderella's Castle previously, said this was better. Is there a better place to watch the fireworks from??
We go back in and finish our fantastic desserts. We were not rushed at all, and waitress was great in checking on us.
So we leave. Get down to the docks. Where are the boats? Something odd on the water over there... the Lake Light Show! Right in front of us. We had never seen it before and loved it.
Then we got on the ferry to go back to the Fort, and warm breeze had sprung up for the return trip. I of course took credit for all the awesome timing of the evening.
The dinner and evening was more than I had hoped for. Looks like I may be stuck with my wife for at least another 20 years after that night. To people here who made suggestions, thanks for the help in arranging it.
(as to cost. The California Grill is expensive. I told the waitress to let the family order whatever they wanted, anything that was over what the dining plan would cover I would pay for afterwards. So basically roughly half the meal was "pre-paid" with the dining plan. We had a great time for what is for us a rare experience, and I thought it was worth every penny)
. Think our dinner was about three, with cocktails, bottle of wine, app, main, dessert and tip. Worth every penny. Remember to bring a jacket, there is an obersvation deck out back can get cool and or windy. Oh Yah camera as well. Had sushi for the first time, It rocked.... 
