Where to eat for 12 People

[yellowlabforever]

We are in the middle of planning a trip for May 2010. We already got our reservations (temporarily 3 bdr Grand Villa Magic Kingdom View) but we haven't gotten our dining reservations yet.
We arrive the night of May 31st and go back June 7th.

We want at least one meal where we are all together as a group, and the group ranges from age 11-70.

I'm thinking about Ohana's for a meal (the night of our arrival if we end up staying at BLT) but I'm not totally sure yet, and I've always wanted to go to 50s Prime Time Cafe.

Any suggestions?

 

[Wild4Walt]

Ohana's is good for a group as long as your whole party can appreciate meat.

We also had a large group at Beirgarten- the seating is terrific for large groups. Spoodles used to have a table for 12 which was lovely - now that it's Koozina's I don't know if it still exsists but it may be worth looking into.

 

[nicki.momof3]

How about registering as a grand gathering and doing a special meal together. We are a grand gathering in April and we are doing the International Dinner and Illuminations Dessert Buffet. It includes characters, dancing and fun for the kids, a variety of food, and reserved VIP seating for illuminations and a huge dessert buffet.

We love the idea of characters and not having to wait for a spot to watch illuminations with so many people - and the desserts are a nice touch.

 

[Hopefully]

I think "OHana is a great idea for a group of 12. I agree, everyone should like meat. There are lots of activities for kids and it is a lively atmosphere. If you have an ADR close to Wishes you can either see the fireworks from inside, or finish up and head to the beach to watch the fireworks. I enjoyed the food and our service was good.
I have never seen big tables at the 50's PTC - maybe they have them, but I have never noticed them. We love 50's and have enjoyed both the food and the fun, but I am not sure you could all sit together.
We had a group at the Biergarden in October and I was disappointed. I was disappointed in the food, and I found it loud and difficult to interact with everyone.
Teppan Edo is great, but their tables seat 8. If you are looking for another meal with 8 of you, I would suggest here.
Have a Great Trip

 

[PhillipA82]

I think "OHana is a great idea for a group of 12. I agree, everyone should like meat. There are lots of activities for kids and it is a lively atmosphere. If you have an ADR close to Wishes you can either see the fireworks from inside, or finish up and head to the beach to watch the fireworks. I enjoyed the food and our service was good.
I have never seen big tables at the 50's PTC - maybe they have them, but I have never noticed them. We love 50's and have enjoyed both the food and the fun, but I am not sure you could all sit together.
We had a group at the Biergarden in October and I was disappointed. I was disappointed in the food, and I found it loud and difficult to interact with everyone.
Teppan Edo is great, but their tables seat 8. If you are looking for another meal with 8 of you, I would suggest here.
Have a Great Trip

x2

 

[yellowlabforever]

I think "OHana is a great idea for a group of 12. I agree, everyone should like meat. There are lots of activities for kids and it is a lively atmosphere. If you have an ADR close to Wishes you can either see the fireworks from inside, or finish up and head to the beach to watch the fireworks. I enjoyed the food and our service was good.
I have never seen big tables at the 50's PTC - maybe they have them, but I have never noticed them. We love 50's and have enjoyed both the food and the fun, but I am not sure you could all sit together.
We had a group at the Biergarden in October and I was disappointed. I was disappointed in the food, and I found it loud and difficult to interact with everyone.
Teppan Edo is great, but their tables seat 8. If you are looking for another meal with 8 of you, I would suggest here.
Have a Great Trip

Everyone does like meat Half of our group are picky eaters so I think that Ohana's would be a perfect place to go where everyone will find something to eat.

I also have been to biergarten before on our last trip to the world. I enjoyed the atmosphere of the restraunt very much and our family does have German heritage too, but I don't think it's right for us because again we had picky eaters and I (who is not a very picky eater) didn't enjoy the food there (although the pretzel-buns were amazing )

 

[Minniemama350]

I went with a group of 12 two years ago and only had one restaurant that gave us a problem sitting together, The Coral Reef. Ironically, it should have been easy there with their large booths/tables.(It was an issue wth an individual server and the managerfixed the problem for us) We ate at the Castle, Mama Melrose, Chef Mickey's, the Mexican restaurant at Epcot(I'm braindead right now and the name is escaping me) and several others. The reservation line reminded us over and over about being 20 minutes or so early and that they could not promise, but we did well sitting together on that trip.

 

[Jill in Chicago]

With large groups all sitting together at a restaurant it is so hard to talk with each other. Pretty much you end up only talking to the people on either side, especially if it is loud.

Soooo, if talking, catching up is important I would skip the traditional eating at a restaurant idea and instead do something where people can eat and get up and move around. For instance at a resort's open eating area, or in another area of the resort and order pizza.

 

[Eventer98]

This thread was helpful...I am trying to plan a GG for our family and some of the in-laws said they want to "fly by the seat of their pants" for dining and not commit to a reservation. AAH!! They don't get that you can't walk into a TS as a party of 12 and get seated. Good to know a lot of places will accommodate. I am just going to book ADRs for us and if they want to join my family at the end of the day for dinner they can. Everyone is excited about the DDP so I have reminded them it will be a waste if they skip meals.

Thanks again for asking original question!

 

[Cheshire Figment]

Generally for any group larger than eight, if you want to sit together (either pushed or adjoining tables) you should make your reservation for within the first 20 minutes of the restaurant opening, or about a half hour before they stop seating. Because they are not going to want to hold one or two tables open waiting for another nearby to vacate.

 

[kimis]

WHispering Canyon Cafe

 

[scot@dvcstore]

Ohana's is a great option. I actually attended a couple small wedding receptions there and everything went well with about 10 to 15 adults. Have a great vacation.

 

[Reese]

We did 50's PT with 18 of last year. It was great. They sat us all in the same area at different tables. We had two different wait staff and they kept competing with each other to see who could server their group the best. It was a little confusing when it came to bill time as we had five rooms and four dining plans but they sorted it out without a problem.

 

[beroh2253]

O'hanas is a great idea there are tables in the center set up for many people, however since Ohanas is mentioned many times here is another alternative. How about the Hoop-Dee-Doo

 

[andijean]

We just did a GG for 11 in the fall. I would say to make sure you make your res ASAP. They only have so many res's that fit the larger numbers. We ate everyday as a group and were never split up. Most of our times were around 5:30pm. We ate at Crystal Palace, Boma, Mama Melrose, Morocco, Luau, Cape May Clambake. The Clam bake might be fun for your party and there are definitely large tables to accommodate your group.

 

[exnortherner]

Our family of 12 goes to WDW each year just before Christmas. We have found that the Garden Grill at the Land in Epcot is a great place for a large party. The large booths easily accomodate all 12 of us and the family style meal makes it easy to feed everyone. No menu to worry about and no wandering around to different buffet counters. I would not rate the meal on a par with many of Disney's better restaurants, but there is certainly something for everyone. And Mickey, Minnie and friends are definately an added bonus.