Party of 10...having a hard time :(

[Momma2PrinceNPrinces]

I’m having a terrible time finding res for our large party. Can we make multiple reservations for the same time but smaller party (like 4,4,2)??

 

[disneyfantotheend]

Yes, but you will not be guaranteed to be seated near eachother.

 

[Momma2PrinceNPrinces]

Yes, but you will not be guaranteed to be seated near eachother.

Yea I figured that. Just wasn’t sure what my options were

 

[10CJ]

When are you trying to book for? Which restaurants? Where are you staying?

If you do want to get a few where you can all sit together you might n Ed to adjust your list.

 

[tinka-belle]

Call Disney dining. They can often put 2 or 3 tables into one reservation, or break a reservation into two with a 5 or 10 minute difference. Still no guarantee of sitting together, but at least the multiple table single reservation will alert the location that you are together. Some places just don't have large tables, or very few of them.

 

[purple figment]

I saw on one of your other threads that you are going during Christmas week which is the busiest week of the year so trying to find dining reservations for a party of 10 will be very challenging. It will take persistence and dedication.

Some things to keep in mind:
1. Many have had luck using the Touring Plans reservation finder. There are multiple threads on the Dining Reservations board that discusses it in detail.

2. You can also subscribe to the December cancellation thread on the Dining Reservations board. Be sure to read the rules in the first post.

3. Everybody who will be at the table, regardless of age, needs to be included for safety and fire code concerns.

4. Ideally try to find a reservation for 10 so the restaurant knows you are a large group. Online, if you try booking smaller sized groups (e.g. 4,4,2) put the first reservation in the name of someone else in your party. You can be the lead on the last reservation. Book the reservations as close in time as possible. When you check in, ask to be seated together. While there's no guarantee, the castmembers will do their best...but during Christmas week the restaurants will be extremely busy so be prepared to wait longer or understand that you may be seated at separate tables since your reservations are for a 4 top, 4 top and 2 top tables.

5. For multiple reservations (e.g. 4,4,2) it will be easier to call the dining line and explain what you are trying to do. While the reservation castmember cannot combine the reservations it will be easier to book and if a restaurant sees the same name on more than one reservation perhaps it will help with seating. Again, though, there's no guarantee that you'll all be at one table.

6. Try looking for reservations for off times rather than the most popular dining hours. If you make multiple reservations, you have a better chance of being seated together or at adjacent tables if you book when the restaurant first opens or near the end of a meal service because more tables will be available at either time.

7. The more flexible you are, the better your chances of finding something. Look at different days and times and consider all the different meals - breakfast, lunch and dinner.

8. Look into restaurants at resorts that aren't near a theme park. Many restaurants in Disney Springs only release a limited number of their reservations to Disney. You can book many of them directly or through Open Table. I think the same applies to the restaurants at the Swan and Dolphin.

9. If you are 3 families of 4, 4, and 2 think about meeting up for just one meal a day and let each family make their own plans for other meals.

Good luck!

 

[Nancyg56]

Yes, but you will not be guaranteed to be seated near eachother.

You are never guaranteed seating together. Our party has been split on several occasions. The restaurants o their best, however many just cannot accomodate that number together.

 

[auntfrannie]

Definitely call Disney Dining. Some restaurants only allow booking 6 or 7 or 8 at most. I'm not sure why it varies from place to place but I know Flying Fish had a different max number they would allow booking online compared to Citrico's which I think had a higher max. Anyway, give them a call. When I called for my large group last year I didn't have any problem getting one reservation for my entire party of 10 at any of the restaurants I booked. Good luck!

 

[patclairesmom]

I wonder if it would help to go to the restaurant a bit beforehand and to speak with the hostess station about the group being put together. We're going to go with a large group next year at Christmas and I can see assigning this job to my Dad.

 

[TiggerTrigger]

I've faced this issue several times for several trips. I've had very little success in getting anywhere with anyone on the phone, which has meant waiting to see how it all pans out in person. On our most recent trip, I was able to get Tusker House to combine our party of 2 and party of 8 ADRs to get us a table for a party of 10. It was a little extra wait time, but nothing significant. On another trip, we tried this at Rose & Crown since I was never able to get an ADR for a party of 8...so I was asking them to put together our two ADRs, each for a party of 4. They couldn't get us a table for 8, but they put us at adjacent tables, which still worked well. We tried popping by R&C a few hours early to see if they could note it so it was easier come the time, but they said we'd just have to wait until we officially check in for the meal. We had a similar party of 8 (i.e. 4 & 4) at Mama Melrose one trip and they said they were already too far behind on ADRs to try and get us together, so they weren't able to do anything. It was frustrating, because they always seem to be having time management issues when we've been there (we once waited over 45 min past ADR time to be seated because they couldn't find space for our party of 6- booked as a party of 6)...still, I know as two parties of 4...they have no obligation to seat us together.

 

[tinkerbellybutton]

A few years back we had a party of 25 Thanksgiving week. Here is a list of the places I was able to book for our whole group. At some places we were seated at multiple tables, but always right next to each other. I did not make any of these reservations online. I called Disney dining and in some cases i had to call the restaurant itself because we were such a large party. It was very time consuming because in most cases I had to leave a message (multiple messages in some cases) and wait for call backs.

Ohana (one long table)
Be Our Guest lunch (sat ourselves)
Liberty Tree Tavern (multiple tables)
Sci Fi (multiple cars)
Cape May Cafe (multiple tables\booths)
Ohana breakfast (multiple tables)
Boatwrights at Riverside (2 long tables)

Epcot was our only challenge. The place in Germany was the only place that we could get a reservation for all of us, but some of us had recently eaten there and didn't care for it. We ended up with half in Morocco and half at Rose and Crown.

Good luck!

 

[DisneyKidds]

We were just down with a group of 19. Planning for a group that size really stretched my WDW planning skills, and dining reservations were the hardest thing! For a place that encourages families to travel together and things like grand gatherings you’d think it would be easier.

We ended up with quite the interesting array of reservations....anywhere from 1 reservation, to two (10/9), three (8/8/3), and even 4 (5/5/5/4). In all that we often had reservations under different names. What a mess!

However, with some minor difficulties and some squeaky wheeling here and there we were always together, often split kids (11) and adults (8), and even then the tables were right near each other. We accomplished that at Ohana, Citrico’s, Brown Derby, Via Napoli, Whispering Canyon, 1900 Park Fare. Worst location was Yak & Yeti, where the two tables were on different floors.

Cobble enough reservations to cover your numbers, then check in early and let them know you’d like to combine reservations. They usually work something out!

 

[crabbygal902]

I’ve planned dining for a group of 23, so I get it.

There are still lots of great available restaurants for 10 at dinner during Christmas week during multiple days of the week. You may have to be more flexible with your choice of restaurant or time slot; you could end up discovering a new favorite.

Good luck in your search! The PPs have given you some great advice. I love these boards.