Part 14: Contemporary Style!
For the rest of the afternoon my Mom and I did some expoloring around the Orlando area because my DH and I will be moving there in February! So, we decided to take advantage of our already planned WDW stay!
We had dinner reservations at 7:00pm, so we got back to our room around 5:30pm to rest for a bit. I finally got the chance to walk around All-Star Music and enjoy it!
I also had some time to do some shopping and pick up a Mickey rice crispie treat! I always have to have to get one when I'm in WDW!
I got back to our room and my Mom and I decided to make our way to the Contemporary Resort! We decided to drive ourselves again and we pulled up to the Contemporary to valet park.
It was packed and there were many cars all parked outside in the valet area with no one in them. My Mom got out of the car and asked what was going on and they said to leave the keys in the car and roll the window down. Okay, well, everyone else did the same thing! We hoped the car would be there when we got back.
I thought it was quite funny and thought only in Disney can you leave your keys in your car with the window down and not worry about it.
I love the Contemporary Resort because I've been going there ever since I was very little, eventhough I have never stayed there. My parents did stay there for their honeymoon though!
I read on The DIS that we had to check-in for our reservations at the California Grill on a different floor and then be taken up by an elevator to the restaurant.
We found the correct floor to go to and got behind a couple, so we could check-in.
We checked in at 6:15pm and I requested a seat by the window, but the man told us we may not be seated until after our reservation time and maybe even after the Hallowishes fireworks. That wouldn't work, so we decided not to request the window seating. We were given our buzzer and then told to go up the elevator to the California Grill.
We made our way over to the elevator and had some older woman, who was busy with a group of people yell at us about how we couldn't use the elevator unless we were going to the California Girll. Uh, yeah! That's where we're going!
It was so rude!
We were kindly greeted after the woman made her rude comment by the elevator host, who would be bringing us up in the elevator to the restaurant. It was just my Mom and I in the elevator and he went over the dinner specials, how the restaurant was set-up, etc. We were told we could wait at the bar until our table was ready.
We arrived to the California Grill and it was mobbed! The bar was much more packed than the restarant was and people seated at the bar had the best view of the MK. It was also incredibly noisey! The California Grill is kinda made out to be this upscale restaurant and it is not at all. The noisey atmosphere and decor is not at all fancy. We were happy with that because we aren't crazy about upscale restaurants. I think the waitstaff tries to take on that role, but it just doesn't fit the restaurant.
We only waited about 5 minutes before our buzzer went off and we were taken back to our table, which was in the back of the restaurant. It was a seperate room in the back of the Calirfornia Grill to the right. It was a small and dark room with about 8 tables, but it was quiet! The only quiet place up there, so we were happy. We couldn't even hear eachother talk out in the main part of the restaurant.
Our host handed us each a menu and then he saw Mickey seated in his own chair. He asked if there would be 3 of us dining tonight and I said yes, of course. He went back and got Mickey his own menu!
We had a nice table in the corner behind where they stored all the wine bottles. It was very nice, but we were surprised the tables were covered with white paper that usually are used for children to color on. Which, made it even funnier to my Mom and I that this place is called "upscale."
We had a very nice waitress and she did a great job!
She brought us out some bread to start off with before our meal.
My Mom and I decided to go all out for this meal! We started out with the Quadruple Cheese Brick Oven Fired Flatbread for our appetizer.
Our waitress asked us if we'd be going outside on the viewing deck to enjoy the fireworks and we told her we would, that way they could put a bit of a hold on our main meal. She also told us there would be an announcement 10 minutes before the fireworks inside the restaurant, so we could all go out and watch. We were also told the music for the Hallowishes show was played inside the restaurant and outside on the viewing deck.
Well, we could barely hear the announcement made because we were seated in the small room in the back, but we knew it was time for the fireworks to start! Of course, our waitress brought out our first course at that exact time. My Mom ordered a salad, so it was okay, but I ordered the Sonoma Goat Cheese Ravioli and knew it would be cold when I returned. Oh, well!
We made it out to the packed viewing deck and had to stand in the back behind the crowd. The fireworks all of a sudden began and looked beautiful, but no music playing! I must say it got quite boring by this point and all we could hear was everyone talking. We decided to go back inside becuase this was a bust!
We walked back in and the music from Hallowishes was playing! Well, that helps, so we stood by the window to enjoy the rest of the show!
That was much better!
Continued below... 
There were many pirates this year and I loved it! We would also pass eachother and yell Arrrr! 
I know I love it and I think we will make it a tradition now too! It was the most fun we've ever had eating at WDW! I'll be writing more soon! 
It was so fresh and yummy!
Her and I will be going to WDW alone for 3 days in June before everyone else comes for the wedding! I am so excited! Keep the TR coming 
You'll have time to rest and relax before your big day! From one fellow June Disney Bride to the next...CONGRATS and HAPPILY EVER AFTER! 
Thank you! 
I know I have to do that myself too often to get my Disney fix! 
reading all of it!!! And the final touch with the Mickey, so sweeeet. 
