Eating with a large group

[eliza61]

Any body have any experience with eating with a large group and WDW. My family and I are having a mini family reunion this August. There will be 10 of us. My DH & me, DS and BIL, my adult cousin and 5 children ages 7-15.

While we won't be eating every meal together I did make ADR's for dinner every night, just in case we wanted to have 1 meal a day together. Now the tricky part. How do we handle the bill Did you just split evenly among the 3 families? I have a DDE card so we will get 20% off the total bill at most places and that will help. Do the servers ask if you want seperate checks? (am I being an over planning obsessive- complusive nut)

Suggestions?

 

[Cheshire Figment]

If you ask for separate checks you (technically) are allowed to use the DDE for one check. Some servers may ignore the rule, but don't count on it.

If the group is eight or more they will automatically add a gratuity, usually 18%, even if you get separate checks.

If you want to be fanatical about it, multiply each menu item by 1.032. This will take into account (1) the DDE discount, (2) the gratuity on the undiscounted price, and (3) the 6.5% sales tax on the discounted price. Actually just add up each person's (or group's) menu items and multiply by the 1.032 and it should total the final amount on the bill. You could also round each person or group up to the nearest quarter or dollar and leave the excess as an additional tip for the server.

I hope your reservations are for shortly after the restaurants open, or just before they close. That way you have the best chance of seating at one table (push together) or adjoining tables.

 

[AtlMom]

We traveled with our extended family group of 11 people in 8/04. We made 1 reservation per day, although our meals varied between breakfast, lunch and dinner. I emailed everyone in advance to warn them of any meal with a fixed price, like a character meal. We mainly just split the bill, although at times, someone would offer to pick up the entire tab. We did have 1 small problem with my brother and his wife short changing us on the tips, but after we delicately brought it up to them, it never happened again! I think how you manage the bill really comes down to the people involved and how well everyone gets along!

Also, when we made our dining reservations, we were always told when we would be seated at 1 large table and when we would most likely have to split between 2 or more tables. I'm not sure if they still do that or not. We never really minded splitting between tables, as everyone would kind of sit and chat with different people every meal. Have fun!

 

[Montana Disney Fan]

Good advice from figment.

We had 19 of us for a family reunion during the marathon last year in WDW. We had TWO meals as a family with all 19 of us.

1). Biergarten in Germany - It was great! It's a buffet with tons of different food ranging from semi-authentic German to American. The band came out and played songs. It was loud, crazy and fun. I believe the tables seat 10 as we had to use two tables (maybe three now that my memory is coming back). I can't really remember.

2). Off site at Giordano's Pizza - This place is awesome and we always make a trip off site just so we can eat here. One massive table with 19 people attacking pizza and appetizers like they've never eaten before. Cheap too!

What we usually do instead of figuring out exactly who owes what is I always pay for what looks like will be the most expensive meal, then have a schedule out where someone buys each time we go out. It's just easier than trying to figure it out at the table which sometimes causes a fight or hard feelings.