Hi Mark,
Welcome to the Disney Parks Moms Panel and thank you for asking us a question!
In my experience, even if a Walt Disney World Resort restaurant has tables that can accommodate larger parties, there’s no guarantee that seating arrangement will be available when your party checks in for its
dining reservation. For some of my dining reservations involving larger parties, I’ve gotten a notification when I made the reservation that there was a possibility that we would be seated at separate tables.
From what I remember, finding a single table for 9 should be possible at both
Chef Mickey’s and
Le Cellier Steakhouse. I believe that they’re also possible at the
Sci-Fi Dine-In Theatre Restaurant, but they would be in the “patio tables” at the back of the restaurant, and not in one of the “cars”.
If sitting at separate tables isn’t a problem for you, then I would try two different strategies: first, try to make a dining reservation for your entire party of 9 at each restaurant at which you’d like to dine. If there isn’t any availability, then I would definitely recommend breaking up your party into two groups and finding overlapping dining reservations so that you can all dine at the same time. If you do manage to get two separate reservations, make sure that both parties check in at the restaurant together so that you can try to get tables close together (or possibly even a table to accommodate your entire group).
Have a Magical Day,
Lynne