Hello there, Michael!
Welcome to planDisney! I know firsthand that making dining reservations for a large party can take a little extra planning. Some of my visits to the Disneyland Resort include my own family, plus aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents! I'd be happy to give you some tips for making dining reservations for a large group.
Goofy's Kitchen is completely delightful, and I think it's a wonderful spot for a larger group! With so many choices on the buffet, you can be sure that everyone will find something they love. I find that when I'm making reservations for a large party I usually have better luck splitting our group into two reservations. That means that you'll need a sous chef to help you because you can't make more than one dining reservation at the same time on one Disney account.
I usually recruit my husband, and we each sign in to our own Disney accounts to make dining reservations together. We aim to get reservation times as close to each other as possible, and when we're making reservations 60 days in advance (the earliest that they start to open) we're usually pretty successful! We try to keep our reservation times within 30 minutes of each other. On the day of our reservation we head to the restaurant at least 15 minutes before our earliest reservation time and kindly ask the Cast Members if it's possible for our party to be seated all together.
So, before your 60-day reservation window opens you'll need to recruit someone to help you make reservations for your party. Make sure you both have a
Disney account and be ready to get online at 6:00 AM EST (it's an early wakeup call, I know!) when you're 60 days away from the date you want to dine with my pal Goofy. Hopefully the reservations open right on time (sometimes they don't, so if you don't see availability at all then keep checking back) and you'll be able to make your reservations.
Will you be visiting Disneyland Park before or after your meal with Goofy and his friends? If so, you might enjoy a ride on the
Disneyland Monorail! The monorail travels between stations in the Downtown Disney District and Tomorrowland inside Disneyland Park, and it offers a lovely view of some classic Disneyland Park attractions. Plus, it saves you some extra walking!
Since you'll be visiting during the
Holidays at the Disneyland Resort I would suggest you also take a moment before or after visiting Goofy's Kitchen to explore the decorations around the Disneyland Hotel. Plus, you never know what (or who) you might bump into as you explore! I've heard that Santa himself enjoys meeting guests at the Disneyland Hotel, so perhaps you'll have a chance to say hello.
Michael, I know that being the leader of the club for a large group visiting the Disneyland Resort can take some serious magic. I hope these tips help you make dining reservations so you can keep everyone fueled up and ready to go! If you have more questions while you plan your trip
I'd be happy to help you out!Keep moving forward!
Amanda