Hi Caroline,
Whew! I was right there with you, online at 6 a.m. as reservations opened for the re-imagined
California Grill. Like you, I managed to snag a reservation for Thanksgiving week. We're going the night after Thanksgiving. Can't wait! My husband is salivating over the new menu at this very moment.
If you think your family would be happier with the 7:30 reservation, by all means, that's the one I would keep. You don't want your fabulous meal to be marred because everyone is too hungry or too tired to savor it. I normally like to allow at least 90 minutes for a Disney signature dining experience, but when it's California Grill, we often linger longer.
So, if I were you, I'd plan to be flexible. If you finish dinner before 9, you should have time to take a spin on the monorail and check out the decorations at the Grand Floridian before returning for the 10 p.m. viewing of Wishes from the deck area outside the California Grill.
If dinner takes longer than that, you can always hang out in the Contemporary for a little while, checking out the shops and decorations, so that you don't miss your chance to see the fireworks from its spectacular vantage point. Last year, the Contemporary also had a pretty great gingerbread display and tree, though the ones at the Grand Floridian are among my favorites in all of Walt Disney World.
Please let me know if I can answer any other questions for you as your vacation nears. The hard part now is going to be the three-month wait until our reservations!
Enjoy!
Wilma