Greetings, Kurt! I'm so happy you decided to share your question with us, here at planDisney. We love helping our fellow Guests make their vacation plans to visit Disney destinations!
I completely understand your question and I have some experience with making dining reservations for my large, extended family at
Disneyland Resort. First, don't hesitate to keep checking back on the
dining availability search tool as you approach your visit dates. Often, availability will change if Guests cancel or modify their reservations, so you never know when a new reservation might pop up in the results for you! Some restaurants tend to have more availability for larger groups than others. I'm thinking of
Wine Country Trattoria in Disney California Adventure Park and
River Belle Terrace in Disneyland Park, in particular. The restaurants at the Disneyland Resort Hotels also typically have availability for large groups, such as
Goofy's Kitchen in the Disneyland Hotel and
Storytellers Cafe at Disney's Grand Californian Hotel & Spa.
However, this shouldn't limit your search for the perfect table service restaurant for your group! One strategy I have used in the past is to split our travel party into two groups and look for reservations within 15-30 minutes of each other at the same dining location. For example, your group could search for a reservation for a party of 3 and a party of 4 at or near the same time at the same restaurant. Arrive a little bit early for your dining time and kindly ask the Cast Members if they can combine your dining party or seat you very near one another, even if at separate tables. It is never guaranteed, of course, but the Cast Members are accustomed to helping Guests with large travel parties and they'll do their very best to accommodate your request.
You should note that in order to make two dining reservations at the same time, you'll need to acquire the help of a friend or family member in your travel party with their own Disney account to secure the second reservation. The system will otherwise tell you that you have "conflicting" plans and you won't be able to hold multiple dining reservations at the same time. You can secure dining reservations up to 60 days in advance on either the Disneyland website or the
official Disneyland Resort mobile app.
Kurt, I hope this is helpful for now. If you still have questions or if we can clarify further, please don't hesitate to come back to
planDisney. We'd love to lend more recommendations for the perfect family vacation at 'The Happiest Place on Earth!'
Wishing you magic, always!
Tishra