Large party priority seating question...

[HauntedMansionFan]

Hiya gang.... so next June I've got a rather sizeable group headed down to the "World", approx between 20 and 25 all together. We were planning on going to O'hana one night as a group, but weren't sure how to go about doing so. Somebody that I work with had mentioned something about "Grand Gatherings" and gave me a number that I should call 6 months in advance of the date. Any thoughts or suggestions?

 

[jonimce]

It couldn't hurt to call now to get the info. Two years ago we were 14 and I had to go through Disney group dinning for the dinners we did together. O'Hana was one of them and it was great. The only thing with group dining was I was on hold a while. Have a great time.

 

[DebbieB]

I believe group dining can handle it but you will have to put down a deposit.

 

[jonimce]

This must be new. We did not have to put deposits on anything. Maybe it was because we were on the Silver dining plan.

 

[HauntedMansionFan]

Awesome... thanks for the info. I had kind of assumed that there would be a deposit to hold the space for a large party. Anyone know how much it usually is?

 

[KIRSTIN'S MOMMY]

There isn't a deposit necessary. I'm going with a group of 19 at the end of Sept. and didn't have to put down deposits for anything. I've also booked WCC for a wedding dinner with approx. 60 guests that didn't require a deposit either. Group dining will make all the reservations for you. Grand Gatherings is for parties of 8 or more staying onsite at a Disney resort. If you sign up as a gathering, you will get a gathering number, which will "link" all of your group's reservations together. That way, when you call to book something (dining, activities, whatever) you just give them that number and everyone in the group comes up at once. It makes things much easier. You can call the regular 800# and just press 2 I think (it will ask if your party consists of 8 or more people, press that one, lol). The group dining phone number is 1-407-939-7707. Hope that helps!

 

[eeyoreiscool]

We have done large parties in the past at 'Ohana and didn't have to put down a deposit. We did call early in order to make sure we were able to get the time we wanted. When we got there, we didn't have much of a wait and the tables were all set for us to be in one place. We were in the center section once and towards the entrance once.

 

[Laurafoster]

We have booked a large party at Ohanas on the 3rd Dec this year as a "welcome dinner" before our wedding in WDW. We booked a table for 32 through Group dining and had no problem - no deposit either!

 

[HauntedMansionFan]

Awesome!!! Thank you all so much for the info!!! It sounds like Group Dining is the way to go then, as most of the folks travelling with us won't be staying on-site. Does anyone know how far in advance you can call group dining? Is it the usual three months like regular seatings? Thank you all again.....

 

[MagicMe]

Nine times out of ten my whole family goes to WDW as a group. That means that we can have anywhere from 15-22 people. We have always gone to O'Hanas as one of our favorites as a group. We were there as a party of 15 two weeks ago and couldn't get a reservation before 9:20. They tend to like to sit large parties either early or late. But this could also be that the person reserving did not call that far in advance (especially considering free dining was on). We had a few problems this time around (mostly around service). The food itself was great (especially those potatoes!!!!). But I would still recommend this experience for everyone!

 

[Skylarr29]

Awesome!!! Thank you all so much for the info!!! It sounds like Group Dining is the way to go then, as most of the folks travelling with us won't be staying on-site. Does anyone know how far in advance you can call group dining? Is it the usual three months like regular seatings? Thank you all again.....

Regular seatings are now 6 months , 180 days, not 3 months.