December trips are a little extra magical, Cheryl. Who needs brown paper packages tied up in strings? Twinkly lights and Mickey ornaments are a few of my favorite things.
While your family of eight will probably qualify as a festive bunch (especially if you wear your ugly Christmas sweaters!), in the eyes of Walt Disney World, your group isn’t a large party. A group must require more than 10 resort hotel rooms to qualify.
I can still offer some helpful restaurant tips, though! For a party that size, I’d recommend booking your reservations as early as possible, right at that 60 day mark, ideally. When trying to find space for some of the most popular locations, like Be Our Guest Restaurant, for example, you might have more luck if you search for a meal timeframe (so, try searching by “dinner"), instead of a specific hour of the day. And, of course, a willingness to dine outside of peak times may also yield you more availability.
When I’ve traveled with a larger group, I’ve had great luck in securing reservations at
Biergarten,
Whispering Canyon Cafe,
The Hollywood Brown Derby and
Raglan Road Irish Pub and Restaurant. You might give those a try.
Wishing you and yours a jolly trip, Cheryl!