Welcome to planDisney, Ann!
This is a great question. When visiting
Walt Disney World with a lot of family and friends, enjoying some excellent meals together is a must-do!
Ann, I've traveled to WDW with large groups of friends, family--even high school senior class trip chaperones--and I am always the one who books our meals. When the party is on the larger size--such as yours--you are correct that you won't be able to make
multiple Advanced Dining Reservations online or in your
My Disney Experience app under the same name if those reservations are within two hours of each other. Not to worry, though, you have some options!
For trips such as these, I've often called a Cast Member at the
Disney Help Center and explained what we've needed. If those reservations for a larger party are available, those talented CMs will make it happen.
Another option is to have another member of your party make the second set of reservations. Be sure that your guests at the
Walt Disney World Swan Hotel are linked in your
My Disney Experience account, and that they are added to your resort reservation. All guests on
Walt Disney World Resort hotel reservations are able to make dining reservations for their length of stay when that reservation window opens--even those guests who are not the primary person listed on the room. When I do this, I check to see dining availability for two smaller groups then message another adult to book the same time/location as I do. Just be sure that you do not add each other to your dining reservations; the system will note that as a conflict and not allow the second reservation without cancelling the first.
When I go this second route, I like to stop at the restaurant as soon as we get to the park, hotel, or
Disney Springs and let the Cast Member there know that our two parties would like to dine together, if that is possible. The early notice may help, rather than arriving at peak dining time and asking for tables to be moved. They may ask if you mind moving your dining time by a few minutes, but if that's all it takes to dine as one large party, that works for me!
Ann, have so much fun arranging all of your pixie-dusted plans for your magical group of 13! As you finalize those plans, be sure to send additional questions our way. We love to help!
Andrea H