Party of 18 for son's 15th birthday - help!

[mog]

Ok, we will be there with family/friends - a total of 18 of us and my son's
15th birthday happens to fall on the last night there. We usually go see Wishes on our last night. We would like to do something special for his birthday - maybe have reservations for all of us to go to dinner and then go to Wishes together. I am stumped as to where to go, though. With a party that large, a buffet or homestyle might be best, but we need to be able to easily get to MK after, so I'm thinking we need to eat at MK or maybe in one of the monorail hotels.

My kids don't mind characters and character meals, but we also don't want to do anything too "little kid"-ish since he will be turning 15. I don't know if places like Chef Mickey's, etc would be geared more for younger kids. Any suggestions??

 

[Brit17]

Since you are planning to go see Wishes, Crystal Palace or Liberty Tree Tavern may be good options for you in MK ... and I don't think Liberty Tree Tavern has characters for dinner anymore either ...

 

[mjp12831]

With a party of that size, book a grand gathering experience

International dinner buffet/illuminations fireworks - private dinner buffet for grand gathering family at Oddysey restaurant, there is a dj and some character visits, then view fireworks from a roped off area - this was pretty nice - very different, but if I had one to pick....

Better was the Safari grand gathering. After AK closes, your group meets and goes on a private safari - the driver takes way more time, stops for photos and tries to get you to see the animals rather than just rushing you through as they do in the regular day. Then you go to a private dinner buffet just for families in the grand gathering at the Tusker house. Characters come and they brought in a few smaller animals/reptiles for the kids to see. This was a great experience.

 

[GailT]

CG in the Contemp.....have a later dinner, I have mine at 9 by the time the dessert was served wishes started lights went down, music piped it, no crowd, I hope to get ressies for this year too.

 

[MagicFam5]

What about the Wishes Dessert Party? It's not dinner but would put you in MK for fireworks and have cake! It may not be back yet though,supposed to be spring...anyone know?

 

[bcuinohio]

Since you are planning to go see Wishes, Crystal Palace or Liberty Tree Tavern may be good options for you in MK ... and I don't think Liberty Tree Tavern has characters for dinner anymore either ...

I agree. CM is geared to younger ones. I think Liberty Tavern is a family style meal and Crystal Palace is a buffet. Both would work well with a large group.

 

[jodywgirl]

I would take the monorail over to the Polynesian to Ohanas. My family loves this place. We had a reservation for 22 last december after my daughter's wedding. Good food that is all you can eat with a nice atmosphere.

My other choice would be Liberty Tree Tavern althoughI would guess with their setup you might be at different tables.

 

[TinkerbellinLouisian]

what about the Wishes Dessert party?

Just a thought...

Mary

 

[DH-2-mamaduck]

Problem I have is that the resturants at MK are just not that good IMO. I suggest same as some others, hope on the Monorail, grab a dinner at one of the resorts, then make your way back to MK. My June '09 Trip I was making reservations for 12 w/o any issues...whats 6 more, We did however sometimes have to have 2 tables.

I guess it is all about what you think your 15yo would like to see/do. Does he really care about where you eat, or is more like me, just wants to watch the FW. I like that Wishes Dessert Party idea, have not heard of that one and just went and searched that one out (i'll keep in mind for next trip).

 

[Art 1]

We took that many to Cali Grill when my daughter turned 17. The staff was wonderful and it all worked out just fine. My wife had it booked and planned well in advance. From there we watched the fire works.

 

[gigi1313]

depending on your budget, you could contact private dining and inquire about a dinner party... grand floridian's beach during fireworks would be awesome!

 

[FlightlessDuck]

I agree. CM is geared to younger ones. I think Liberty Tavern is a family style meal and Crystal Palace is a buffet..

Honestly I'm not sure why CM would be any more "geared towards little ones" than CP. Both have characters.

 

[lpizzuro123]

Wishes DP is not done anymore (the one near the Noodle Station).

I would suggest 'Ohana - but where ever you go - with that many people - leave yourself plenty of time to eat if you want to get back to MK for Wishes.

Linda

 

[gigi1313]

according to the manager of the dessert party last august, the area was going to undergo some refurbs and then re-open in the spring... hopefully word will be released soon

 

[mog]

Wow - thanks for all the great suggestions!
I love the idea of the grand gathering, but we are staying at Shades of Green, so we are not eligible for that unfortunately.
I had not heard of the Wishes dessert party. If they bring that back, it would be perfect.

My son has looked at the restaurants on line and is interested in Mama Melrose's in DHS. I guess we could eat early enough to get back to MK for Wishes. Has anyone had experience with a large party at Mama Melrose's?
Thanks so much!

 

[EastonCat]

CG in the Contemp.....have a later dinner, I have mine at 9 by the time the dessert was served wishes started lights went down, music piped it, no crowd, I hope to get ressies for this year too.

I strongly urge you to not take a large party to this restaurant. They simply do not handle large parties well. We had a party of 11 and were seated 1:45 after our reservation. This reservation was confirmed day of by both us and the concierge desk at our hotel specifically to follow up that there would not be a problem. We were accommodated okay during our unacceptable wait and had a very nice meal, but I can't recommend that you take a big group.

The wine bill that they covered for us certainly dwarfed the bottle of champagne it would have taken to get the party blocking us out of their table and to the lounge area. This is a simple management miscalculation, but shows that they have some inexperienced folks running front-of-house from time-to-time.

 

[Art 1]

I strongly urge you to not take a large party to this restaurant. They simply do not handle large parties well. We had a party of 11 and were seated 1:45 after our reservation. This reservation was confirmed day of by both us and the concierge desk at our hotel specifically to follow up that there would not be a problem. We were accommodated okay during our unacceptable wait and had a very nice meal, but I can't recommend that you take a big group.

The wine bill that they covered for us certainly dwarfed the bottle of champagne it would have taken to get the party blocking us out of their table and to the lounge area. This is a simple management miscalculation, but shows that they have some inexperienced folks running front-of-house from time-to-time.

I had much more than that in our party and things couldn't have run better. CG assigned someone to us that handled everything with my wife months in advanced up to the day of the party and was at the party. Our tables were ready and were in the section that we requested.