Last minute meal planning . . . HELP

[KelliLee702]

OK. So we are getting down to the wire . . .
I know I can not make Priority Seating Requests for River Bell Terrace and French Market Place.
So, what can you suggest for the planning and executing of following meals . . .

1. Lunch at 11:00 am on Friday, October 29th at River Bell Terrace for a possible total of 31 people!

2. Dinner at 6:00 pm on Saturday, October 30th at Frence Market Place for a possible total of 31 people!

Any suggestions on the executing of this possible mess would be greatly appreciated!

 

[BecomingObsessed]

For a group that size, I don't think I'd go at the "typical" meal times. I'd try to plan for "off" times and do late lunches or early dinners. You'll have a better chance of getting tables close to each other (if that were to matter to you )

 

[DSNY4ever]

It will be very crowded. There is no way 31 people will be able to sit together for these meals. We were just there this last Saturday and the park was INSANE.

Is this a family or a convention group? I would suggest letting people do their own thing for meals, or if you really want to be together, just plan one meal as a group and have it be somewhere that you can make a reservation for a large party like that, but looking at your dates it is probably too late for that.

Have you considered somewhere off site? Maybe Bucca di Beppo or something like California Pizza Kitchen or Cheesecake Factory over at the Garden Walk where they can be a little more accommodating for a large group like this?

Good luck.

 

[pixiewings71]

31 people??? I'd go offsite for a group that large. The seating at both of these locations is outdoor (FM has a small area inside but you won't be able to get that for 31 people) and open seating so I highly doubt you can get a group of 31 together at those places. I'd suggest off site as well, the Garden Walk has a lot of places for dining and there's a Joe's Crab Shack, Red Robin & Outback down Harbor a bit farther, you'd need to have transportation to those but you could walk to the places in the GW or in DTD. I'd imagine any of those would be more then happy to take a reservation for a group that size.

 

[marcemc]

I agree with previous posts that you are probably better off making reservations at any restaurant on Garden Walk.

If you really don't want to leave the park and must eat there, try a much earlier time to accomodate your party. Try seating for lunch at around 10:30 a.m and I dinner as early as 4 p.m.

Have fun

 

[sonnyjane]

I agree with previous posts that you are probably better off making reservations at any restaurant on Garden Walk.

If you really don't want to leave the park and must eat there, try a much earlier time to accomodate your party. Try seating for lunch at around 10:30 a.m and I dinner as early as 4 p.m.

Have fun

Most of the eateries I go to at the park don't start serving lunch until 11:00 (I know, as I have camped out waiting lol). If there are some that do an earlier lunch, though, I agree that you should try that.

The dinner time would for sure have to change. 6:00 PM will be a pretty busy time. Earlier, like at 4:30 or so, would be more realistic if you wanted everyone near each other.

 

[pixiewings71]

Lunch service starts at 11 everywhere we've eaten. We always eat at off times but we generally eat later, we are CA natives so we are able to eat later in the day without issues. We generally eat lunch around 2 and dinner around 8 or sometimes 9. We do find crowds to be lower at these times.

 

[LavenderPeach]

I agree that saturday at 6pm for dinner doesn't sound like it will work for that many people. It can be hard to find seating for a "regular" sized group on a busy day during peak meal times and I'm guessing that will be a pretty busy weekend. Good luck!

 

[nana50]

We had a birthday party at Rainforest cafe and they were wonderful and very accommodating. I think we had around 20 of us.

 

[Nala83]

OK. So we are getting down to the wire . . .
I know I can not make Priority Seating Requests for River Bell Terrace and French Market Place.
So, what can you suggest for the planning and executing of following meals . . .

1. Lunch at 11:00 am on Friday, October 29th at River Bell Terrace for a possible total of 31 people!

2. Dinner at 6:00 pm on Saturday, October 30th at Frence Market Place for a possible total of 31 people!

Any suggestions on the executing of this possible mess would be greatly appreciated!

I wonder if you know what these dining spots are. (Forgive me if you already know). Both of these spots are walk up, counter service locations. You get a tray, go down the row and get your food, and pay as you exit. Then you find seats. French Market has a patio area. As others have mentioned, it is unlikely that you'll find several tables open that are next to one another.

River Belle Terrace has a tiny indoor area as well as a patio. The patio extends down toward Golden Horseshoe. At 11:00ish, you may be able to find a chunk of seats if you head toward that direction.

Both are more along the lines of "do your own thing and we'll meet up later."

 

[KelliLee702]

For a group that size, I don't think I'd go at the "typical" meal times. I'd try to plan for "off" times and do late lunches or early dinners. You'll have a better chance of getting tables close to each other (if that were to matter to you )

It will be very crowded. There is no way 31 people will be able to sit together for these meals. We were just there this last Saturday and the park was INSANE.

Is this a family or a convention group?
Good luck.

I agree that saturday at 6pm for dinner doesn't sound like it will work for that many people. Good luck!

Both of these spots are walk up, counter service locations. You get a tray, go down the row and get your food, and pay as you exit. Then you find seats. French Market has a patio area. As others have mentioned, it is unlikely that you'll find several tables open that are next to one another.

River Belle Terrace has a tiny indoor area as well as a patio. The patio extends down toward Golden Horseshoe. At 11:00ish, you may be able to find a chunk of seats if you head toward that direction.

Both are more along the lines of "do your own thing and we'll meet up later."

Thank you for all the suggestions. I am going with 19 Girl Scouts. There will be three other Girl Scout Leaders with me. We are breaking down into 4-5 small groups according to ages. We chose these two places because they are the "Buffeteria Style" places and each girl can get their own meal. We don't necessarily have to sit ALL together. We really wanted a "Meet" up time and eat time. A time for the Leaders and Girls to "check in" with each other. I tried to get the dinner time changed, but we were not in agreement.
It is really hard to coordinate this many people...I know! Thankfully they are all pretty flexible. And if we have to "wing it" because of the crowds we will. After all . . . we ARE Girl Scouts!

 

[LavenderPeach]

Thank you for all the suggestions. I am going with 19 Girl Scouts. There will be three other Girl Scout Leaders with me. We are breaking down into 4-5 small groups according to ages. We chose these two places because they are the "Buffeteria Style" places and each girl can get their own meal. We don't necessarily have to sit ALL together. We really wanted a "Meet" up time and eat time. A time for the Leaders and Girls to "check in" with each other. I tried to get the dinner time changed, but we were not in agreement.
It is really hard to coordinate this many people...I know! Thankfully they are all pretty flexible. And if we have to "wing it" because of the crowds we will. After all . . . we ARE Girl Scouts!

Hope you have a great time! I can imagine it would be really difficult to coordinate so many people. Maybe you can at least suggest that everyone carry some sort of snack with them (granola bar, crackers, etc) in case there's a long wait to get dinner. You'll have to report back on how it all went.

 

[KelliLee702]

I just wanted to follow up.
All our meal meetings worked out really well.
Some of the unchaperoned older girls chose to eat elsewhere after they met up with us for two of the meals.
WOC Picnic dinners and show worked out really well.
All-in-all a good weekend!

 

[LavenderPeach]

Glad you guys had a good time and that the meals worked out okay.