Hrm,
So if I'm a lowly silver, I don't get confirmed upgrades until 24 hours before departure. According to the CO website, I think I need to order a special meal "24 hours before departure". This sounds like I must order it ">24 hours before departure."
So I can't call ~24 hours the niht

If this is true, will ordering a special meal preclude me from being automatically upgraded? Or, if the auto-upgrade me will they just load on a special meal?

Or, can I just call exactly 24hrs in advance, find out if i've been upgraded, and then request a meal then?

I guess the best solutions would be to either fly enough to qualify for gold or just buy an F ticket

-g