Large Group Birthday Dinner Getting Impossible to Plan

[Christine]

Don't the boats only hold ten adults?I

The Wave has seating for ten, at 5:30 or 8:15. I would try, as suggested above, splitting the reservation into two parties.

Yeah looks like the boats only hold 10, but the yacht holds 18. But looking at the price on that, it seems WAY out of our budget.

So I saw The Wave availability at around 5:15 and 5:30. I used my cousin's MDE account and booked her party of 9 at 5:15. Then I went in under my MDE account to book the remaining party of 7 and was given 6:40 with nothing even close to the 5:15 time.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Jiko: ten max, 5:10 PM
As of 5:39 PM today, 7/14, Boma has space for 16 people at 8:10!!!

 

[Christine]

Jiko: ten max, 5:10 PM
As of 5:39 PM today, 7/14, Boma has space for 16 people at 8:10!!!

They'd never touch Jiko food! My cousin is also worried that is too late for the little ones. She's looking for the perfect time of 6:00 pm or so. MISSION IMPOSSIBLE!!

 

[Dug720]

By expecting perfection, your cousin is setting herself up for heartbreak. It does not exist - especially when traveling.

 

[Christine]

By expecting perfection, your cousin is setting herself up for heartbreak. It does not exist - especially when traveling.

I agree. I just don't think she realized how hard this was going to be. It's not just on our arrival night...it's every night of the whole trip. We just didn't book the hotel soon enough. With the exception of the one birthday night, we actually aren't going to eat together the remaining nights so it should be easier. If I could just get that ONE night to be close to perfect, it would be wonderful. If I do, it probably won't happen until right before the trip.

 

[Wild4Walt]

What about a specialty boat rental cruise... you can book private dining for it. It would feel very special and it would be private to just your family. They do birthday celebration cruises AND you can charter it to leave from the GF! You could also schedule it for the fireworks. https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/en_CA/recreation/specialty-cruises/

I was going to suggest this or someplace that you can get appetizers and dessert.

Boma has tons of different options with a small portion of them being exotic. You may want to check out some youtube reviews.

 

[Christine]

I was going to suggest this or someplace that you can get appetizers and dessert.

Boma has tons of different options with a small portion of them being exotic. You may want to check out some youtube reviews.

I've been to Boma about 3-4 times. Trust me, a few of them are not going to be happy. Also, I am concerned with my aunt's ability to go back and forth to the buffet. She can, but it's not ideal for her.

 

[Calee]

Is the birthday girl flying or driving? What if her plane is delayed? What if due to her health issues she is wiped after a day of travel and has no desire or stamina for this? What about a special breakfast or lunch the next day?
I am all for trying to pick up an ADR at the last minute, but I wouldn't wait and hope for that with your size group?

 

[cruisin5]

The yacht looks to be $399 for an hour. That doesn't seem too expensive considering the price per person. Everyone could be on their own dinner then get together for a *magical* birthday party.

Might be too late for the little ones but at least it wouldn't be a late dinner in a restaurant.

 

[Christine]

The yacht looks to be $399 for an hour. That doesn't seem too expensive considering the price per person. Everyone could be on their own dinner then get together for a *magical* birthday party.

Might be too late for the little ones but at least it wouldn't be a late dinner in a restaurant.

I've heard that the $399 per hour is for morning or lunch time cruises. If you are going in the evening, it runs upwards of $850 per hour (saw all this pricing on another thread).

 

[Christine]

Is the birthday girl flying or driving? What if her plane is delayed? What if due to her health issues she is wiped after a day of travel and has no desire or stamina for this? What about a special breakfast or lunch the next day?
I am all for trying to pick up an ADR at the last minute, but I wouldn't wait and hope for that with your size group?

For now, the birthday girl is probably flying, but it's undecided. If it's flying, she'll be fine come dinner time. Driving is another matter. For now, at least she seems to have stamina. Over the 4th, she drove herself about 3 hours away to some relatives' house for the holidays and she gets around okay without needing breaks. Her only problem, for now, is walking any great distances.

 

[cruisin5]

I read on a traveling dad website where they rented it for an hour which was long enough for the fireworks.

 

[pigletliz]

Rather than stressing yourself further, why not inform your cousin of the current available options (including ramifications of delayed flights, etc.). Let her make the final decision. Having a big celebration on the arrival day will be exhausting for everyone, especially if half your party won't even be there before 3 pm.

 

[Dug720]

Rather than stressing yourself further, why not inform your cousin of the current available options (including ramifications of delayed flights, etc.). Let her make the final decision. Having a big celebration on the arrival day will be exhausting for everyone, especially if half your party won't even be there before 3 pm.

I kinda agree with this. If the cousin wants something like this so badly, IMHO the cousin should be doing all the legwork and planning.

With you doing it, they will almost guaranteed blame you for “ruining” their mother’s birthday. If they do it, no one to blame but themselves!

 

[marikujawa]

Another vote for the cousin to do the planning of this one dinner.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

Have you tried looking for availability at Trail's End at Ft. W or Whispering Canyon at WL? You could drive over to WL. If you go to Ft. W, you may want to splurge on some Minnie Vans to get you closer to the restaurant.

I would also consider calling the Swan directly to see if you could make a large reservation for Garden Grove. It's a character buffet and, looking at opentable, they have a TON of availability for Nov. 2. They only take reservations for up to 14 people online, but if you call directly, they may be able to work with you. 407-934-1618

If you are willing to go over to the EP resorts, you could also consider Trattoria al Forno, Cape May and Ale and Compass.

 

[Donnainnj]

How about Toledo?

 

[Christine]

I kinda agree with this. If the cousin wants something like this so badly, IMHO the cousin should be doing all the legwork and planning.

With you doing it, they will almost guaranteed blame you for “ruining” their mother’s birthday. If they do it, no one to blame but themselves!

I don't think she'll do this. She's really grateful for everything I'm doing and she does understand that this isn't going well. She's only done a Disney trip once before (about 20 years ago) and she's really overwhelmed by it. I planned that trip for us 20 years ago and she said to me at the end "I never would have been able to do all this without you."

It's just not her thing to plan. I did have her be the one to spend time on the phone booking the hotel (6 rooms, 16 people) which was not easy. She has no clue about all the dining options, has the app but doesn't really do it well, etc. Plus, she's in a situation where she's got her mother living with her and she's also had to take on a lot of responsibility with her grandchildren. Super busy, super stressed so I've agreed to plan. It's the one thing I can do to try to ease some of her stress. I mean, I'd be very shocked if she turned it around and blamed me for something.

 

[Christine]

Have you tried looking for availability at Trail's End at Ft. W or Whispering Canyon at WL? You could drive over to WL. If you go to Ft. W, you may want to splurge on some Minnie Vans to get you closer to the restaurant.

I would also consider calling the Swan directly to see if you could make a large reservation for Garden Grove. It's a character buffet and, looking at opentable, they have a TON of availability for Nov. 2. They only take reservations for up to 14 people online, but if you call directly, they may be able to work with you. 407-934-1618

If you are willing to go over to the EP resorts, you could also consider Trattoria al Forno, Cape May and Ale and Compass.

I did try Whispering Canyon and couldn't get anything. I'll give the Swan a call today and see what they have. Oh and I've tried all the Epcot resorts too.

 

[Christine]

How about Toledo?

I'll take a look at the menu today and see if it's something they would enjoy.