Large Group Dining...

[baldegle78]

This is my first post so I will try to make it a good one... I guess you can say I am a first time caller, long time listener. I am planning a large family group trip a long time from now. Because we are looking at having 20-30 people on the trip, we will be using the MYW w/dining plan. My question is simple... what table service dinners are the best for large groups. we are thinking (and these are all dinners), Chef Mickey's, Wolfgang Puck's, International Dinner (Magical Gathering), Ohana, Hollywood and Vine (Fantasmic Package) and Goofy's Dinner at the Liberty Tavern. Does anyone have negative reviews for these places or have suggestions for other restaurants? Do any of these place have trouble accommodating large groups? All feedback would be appreciated.

 

[bluejasmine]

Holy cow! Thats a big group! I wonder if you might want to split the group up a bit just so you can get the ADRs.. I have never seen a party larger than 8 or 10.. I cant honestly answer that question because we have never had larger than 9.

 

[CoolDisneyCat]

I would talk to the people in the grand gatherings dept and see what they have to say to begin with. They have dealt with groups your size often and will be able to point you in the right direction.

I think buffets would be a good thing for y'all. It saves ordering from menus and the time that takes for all those folks to make decisions. I have seen large groups in restaurants, but not as large as yours, so I know they would have to split you up everywhere.

Boma is very good .. also Cape May Cafe, Crystal Palace and Chef Mickey's. Ohana might be fun, but I can't reccomend it personally. (I just don't like it, but I'm in the minority.) For non buffets with large areas, I would suggest Spoodles, Mama Melrose, Grand Floridian Cafe and Kona Cafe.

One thing I can think of that may help is to make your ADRs right when the restaurant opens. That way you could be seated in an area together.. not split up around other diners. The restaurant could plan ahead accordingly. I would definitely do this at LTT.

 

[KIRSTIN'S MOMMY]

I have a group of 23 going in Sept. so I know what you're dealing with! You'll need to go through group dining, their number is 407-939-7707. You probably won't be seated together (no restaurant that I know of has tables that big, lol) but you will be seated next to each other. They usually ask that you book your seatings either at the opening or closing times of the restaurant to minimize your wait. You may also want to book through Grand Gatherings, it makes things much easier since all of your resort reservations are linked together. When you call group dining, give your Magical Gathering number and they know how many people you have instantly.
This is my second trip with a large group (the first one was with 16), and the one piece of advice I can give to you is DON'T try to keep everyone together! It's nearly impossible and makes for slow going in the parks. I would tell everyone which park on which day and then book your ADR's at that park. Tell everyone what time to show up for the meal, and leave it at that.
Have a great time!

 

[Figment2]

I have made ressies for anywhere from 14 to 30 people. You'll be told that there will be separate tables which as far as I'm concerned is a good thing. I had 24 at Kona Cafe and 8 people still sat at separate tables. The other 16 had a hard time if they wanted to get up to take pictures, etc.

Whatever you do - do not try to keep this group together all the time. Nothing will be accomplished. I have 30 in October at Crystal Palace and dinner will be the only time we see all of them. Otherwise they are on their own.

Cyn

 

[tmfranlk]

I would 2nd everything said here. Definitely work with the Grand Gatherings people. I think that they are best for a group your size. I'm not even sure that the regular dining number will book a group that large. Also, check on any credit card requirements. I know that several years ago a credit card hold was going to be required when I was looking at a group of 25. I don't know if this changed post-Grand Gatherings, but you'll definitely want to find out. The arrangement was similar to the princess meals in that if the group didn't show, the card would be charged $10 per person.

Also, I would HIGHLY recommend dining right at opening of each meal. This way the restaurant will be wide open and your group will more likely be set in close vicinity to each other. If you are dining mid-meal rush I would be concerned that the group will be placed all over the place. At LTT for example, I would expect that the first dinner seating would put your group at a handful of tables in the same section whereas a 7:00 time might have some of you on one side of the lobby and the rest on the other.

Happy planning! I am currently working on a trip for 12 though when the idea started 5 years ago it was originally going to be a group of 25-30.

 

[kvogel11202]

I have planned trips for 15 (8/04), 30 (4/06) and now 12 (10/06) and the best advise I ever got was to plan one meal per day - give everyone a small laminated card with the date/time/place and plan for everyone to meet up and talk about your day! I present my group with my plan, and they can join me or not! Of course I'm so obsessive/compulsive when it comes to my vacations everyone usually just follows me anyway!

 

[baldegle78]

Thank you all very much for your advice. I've already planned on not hanging out with everyone throughout the day and using the dinner as a chance to "catch-up", but I did not think about booking ADR's when the restaurant opens. That is a great idea, and I thank you.

 

[Mariaºoº]

Our family normally vacations together (varies between 30-55 people depending on who goes each year) and we always have at least one meal per day together and haven't had any problems getting ADR's. They can not guarantee that you'll be seated together, but they make every effort to seat you close to one another and within the same time frame. Some times we've had a few groups go in 10 minutes prior to the other groups. We were still able to enjoy chit chatting while enjoying a good meal together even with the time difference. I also recommend dining with the last seatings for lunch as well as the first or last seatings for dinner. Crystal Palace really went out of their way for our family.

Also, I wouldn't try doing the parks together. Maybe a few rides first thing but then break up. One of the best ways to avoid family riffs! lol