Hi, Crystal!
What a wonderful celebration you're planning for one very special accomplishment!
I frequently make dining reservations for family and friends who are not staying with me in Walt Disney World, so I can tell you that the number of folks
on your Advanced Dining Reservations does not have to match the number
on your WDW Resort hotel reservation. The Table Service Entitlements
you'll use to
pay for those reservations are where your Dining Plan comes into play.
To be sure that your party is seated together, I would encourage you to make the dining reservations for everyone in your party, all 14 of you. This will let the host or hostess seating you know that your group is together. Your server will ask if you are on a Disney Dining Plan and at that point you can let him or her know that you have two sets of Dining Plan entitlements among your party. Let your server know, when ordering, which 6 of you are dining under one plan and which 8 are dining under the other. Think of it like asking the check to be split when dining with another family. The orders will be arranged on two separate checks so that your "payment" (via Dining Plan) will be calculated accordingly. This way, gratuities and any additional orders which may go along with each group's meal can also be added to each group's check. If one group chooses to pay by credit card or cash and the other has established charging privileges, you'll have no trouble with these differences, as your bills are completely separate.
Either use the great online
Walt Disney World Dining Reservation site or call (407) WDW-DINE to secure your reservations.
Congratulations to your son on his upcoming graduation, Crystal! What a magical way to celebrate!
Send more questions as you think of them, too. We love to help!