Hi Kristen!
Congratulations on your big family Walt Disney World vacation! You are ahead of the game by already planning the details of your family's vacation now. I have personally found when traveling with large parties having Advanced Dining Reservations for at least one meal per day gives us a chance to reconnect and share our memories. Currently most restaurants take reservations up to 180 days in advance. If you are a Guest staying at a Walt Disney World Resort hotel you may make reservations for up to 10 days when you are 180 days in advance of your stay.
Since you will be making Advanced Dining Reservations for a large party you will need to do this via a phone call to the number listed in this page for
Disney Dining Reservations instead of trying to make them online. You should also know you will need to secure your reservations with a credit card and some reservations, such as Hoop Dee Doo Musical Revue, require prepayment.
I have noticed when dining with my own large parties that not all restaurants have the ability to seat such a large group at one table and it was helpful for me to decide ahead of time how to best split our party. I have found the Cast Members at the restaurants do an outstanding job of seating my large group very close together and in some instances they have come up with seating which has been better than what one large table would have been.
Thank you for stopping by the Disney Parks Moms Panel with your vacation planning question Kristen! Please let us know if we can help you further with your vacation planning.
Blessings,
Brenda ºOº