Planning logistics for large party (3 families)...

[ajh88]

I am in the process of planning a trip for a group of 12 - my immediate family of 4, my parents, and my sister's family (2 adults, 4 kids). We are going in mid-October, so our dining reservation window is opening very soon (10 days actually).

Any suggestions or tips on booking dining for our large party? I would really love to do it online but I don't want to mess around and miss out on booking something. I had thought about splitting into 2 groups of 6, but would prefer not to be clear across the dining room from each other (or maybe I would prefer it by the end of the trip...but that's another thread). Or am I better to call in to dining, even though I wouldn't be able to do it at midnight.

Any other tips or experiences from those who have taken large groups (in regards to dining or otherwise) would be appreciated!

 

[HopperFan]

Why not try to book for the full 12 at midnight to see what you can get. If you don't get something, then call in the morning and see if they can help you.

From personal experience I would be careful about early breakfasts. We have found when booking with extended family/friends it's best to meet somewhere mid-morning so no one waits around or feels pressure to go when they might be running late. Having lunch and dinners together worked out very well.

 

[Raenstoirm]

We just did this scenario in december (two families with kids and grandparents). We knew going in that we are not early morning people and my sister takes about a year to get ready in the morning, so we didn't plan anything early in the day. Late lunches worked best for us. What we didn't plan on was leaving early. My sisters family only spent about 4 hours a day in the parks. We are much more commando. I assumed they would last longer, but it worked out that they left the parks after the late lunch each day. My family of 4 and a grandma would stay in the parks later. Sometimes grandma would go home with the first group to get them settled and then come back out a few hours later and meet us in the parks till late.

 

[GaryDis]

Keep in mind that some restaurants have no ability to seat parties that big all at one table. Sci-Fi Dine-In comes to mind, and I believe the Coral Reef is limited, too.

 

[ngm]

I did this about a year ago - my family of 4, my sister's family of 5 and our parents. It was a relatively last-minute trip, though, so we didn't have the full 180 day window to book, so some of my experience will be based on that. The rest of my family also has a hatred of buffets, so I was limited in trying to avoid those. But we did find that our party size wouldn't allow us into certain places (like Coral Reef, as PP mentions). We had great meals at Garden Grove and Planet Hollywood. We did split up sometimes, too (my nephews weren't interested in CRT, so that was just my immediate family and mom).

 

[Grumpy92]

Don't go thinking you can do the whole day together. Pick a few things to do together and then just let everybody do what they want. Meet back at dinner and discuss your day.
Restaurant suggestions: Biergarten, Marrakesh, GF cafe, Citicorp WC, Brown derby, Mama Melrose, Hoop de do or Luau, either Italy restaurant

 

[ajh88]

Thanks for the tips! We do have a couple of breakfasts on our list, so I will double check our timing there. We are definitely NOT planning on spending all day, every day, together. Pretty much go your own way, which sometimes might be together, but we wanted at least one meet up/meal together per day to connect. I think the requests that I have gathered so far are Ohana (breakfast and maybe dinner); Hoop Dee Doo; Le Cellier (my parents request); and maybe CRT. I'm not sure space-wise about CRT - I think BOG might be better in that regard but both might be next to impossible to get.

I obviously still have a bit of tweaking to do! Thanks again for the advice!

 

[jmkjr72]

We haven't done the large group sense online adrs. But from the past we would have 3 of us calling from land lines while keeping in touch on our cell phones. Starting first thing in the morning we always shot for days during our plus 10 window never tried the first day or 2. Our pre park adrs for crt or cp would be what ever days we could get them and we would then plan our trip around those

 

[Mikie]

First, I thought that online ADRs open at 6am Eastern, not midnight like FP, but maybe that has changed? Phone reservations open at 7 eastern. I had almost your exact situation - 3 families, 12 total. I called for reservations because I just know from the past that I like the way they can help look for alternatives if my first choice of place & time aren't available - they can click quicker than I can through the dining screens.

I had found some old blogs or threads suggesting restaurants that were particularly good for groups. I didn't save the whole list, but the suggestions I used that worked great for us were: O'hana, Coral Reef, Cinderellas Royal Table, Akershus, Chef Mickey, Biergarten, Boma. I see you are interested in CRT too - I had great luck getting it in October with moderate+ crowd levels and the way they seated us inside was 3 tables of 4 in a row that felt like one big table. Hope you have the same good luck!

I also wondered about breaking up into smaller groups. The Dining phone CM said it wouldn't matter for making the reservations, but if we wanted to be seated more quickly on that day, we could always let the hostess know if we were interested in splitting up & they might seat us differently. If you have any questions about how best to make the reservations or recommendations, you can call dining a few days ahead just to get your facts straight before the crucial day. (In addition to asking here of course!)

Definitely consider getting Memory Maker! If you divide it among 3 families and if you make a point to get at least a few big group shots on top of each subgroup getting photos when you split up, it can be a great value.

 

[im4pacers1]

I am also planning a trip for 12 (3 families) My ADR day was Monday at 6am. I was able to book everything for 12. It was easy peasy. I got everything I wanted.

 

[GaryDis]

worked great for us were: O'hana, Coral Reef,

How did they work at the Coral Reef? My recollection, from maybe twenty years ago, was that they had fixed tables on three tiers, each seating six or eight, and no possibility of moving table around. Is my memory flakey? Or were they able to make other arrangements?

 

[Mikie]

How did they work at the Coral Reef? My recollection, from maybe twenty years ago, was that they had fixed tables on three tiers, each seating six or eight, and no possibility of moving table around. Is my memory flakey? Or were they able to make other arrangements?

We were in the middle tier. One table for 6 by the railing and one booth for 6 adjacent. There was a walkway/aisle between our tables, but we still felt very close and all but the people at the furthest ends could talk easily.

 

[pa. dad]

Usually it's just the 4 of us but one year there were 9 of us with my brother and his family and another year it was 7 of us with my father in law and his group.
I can tell you that travelling with 9 or 7 is a lot different than travelling with 4. Its a LOT harder. So I'm guessing that 12 is no picnic either.
In my case, 2 of my brother's children are younger and my father in law and his wife were older so we had differing energy levels and tastes to add to the group also. On the plus side, there'd always be somebody that wanted to do the ride that you wanted to but there was also always some in the group who didn't want to or wasn't tall enough.
I think it's easier to plan to do some rides and some meals with the larger group and some without. I'd talk to the family and see if you can identify some common interests and some interests that maybe some don't have,

 

[MainMom]

I am in the process of planning a trip for a group of 12 - my immediate family of 4, my parents, and my sister's family (2 adults, 4 kids). We are going in mid-October, so our dining reservation window is opening very soon (10 days actually).

Any suggestions or tips on booking dining for our large party? I would really love to do it online but I don't want to mess around and miss out on booking something. I had thought about splitting into 2 groups of 6, but would prefer not to be clear across the dining room from each other (or maybe I would prefer it by the end of the trip...but that's another thread). Or am I better to call in to dining, even though I wouldn't be able to do it at midnight.

Any other tips or experiences from those who have taken large groups (in regards to dining or otherwise) would be appreciated!

I booked a July trip for 11 last year. I tried to book online, but the wbsite would not work. So I had to wait the extra hour to call. I still got everything I wanted in one large group. The only one I had to split up was Beaches & Cream, but I scheduled that one after 180 days and it wouldn't accept that large of a group.

Also I made all of our sit downs lunch in case anyone wanted to sleep in or couldn't get going. I also didn't want to do dinner in case some decided they wanted to stay at the hotel in the evening. Lunch just seemed to make the most sense.

I think you should be fine doing it online, if it will allow you. Otherwise call right away. Good luck!

 

[MainMom]

Keep in mind that some restaurants have no ability to seat parties that big all at one table. Sci-Fi Dine-In comes to mind, and I believe the Coral Reef is limited, too.

We were not in the same car, but we were in two cars right next to each other. It was perfect!

ETA-We ate sit down lunch at: BOG, Tusker House, Sci-Fi Dine In, Brown Derby, Crystal Palace, Beaches & Cream. I forgot that at Tusker House we had 2 tables in a row. We had kids at one table, adults at the other. It worked out well.