Hi Linda!
Welcome to planDisney! Thank you so much for reaching out to us hEAR! I'm happy to be your planEAR today!
Oh dear! I am so sorry to hEAR (read?) about your
Disneyland Dining dilemma! I don't have the proper magic mirror to see inside your
Guest profile, but I have a few guesses as to where your roadblocks might be. Part of the
health and safety reopening procedures that are still in place is that
advance dining reservations are currently limited to parties of six (6) or fewer. You can absolutely still dine with a larger party as there are workarounds I'm about to share, but I think this might be where your hang-up is, Linda. (If I'm wrong on this guess feel free to write back to me, or to reach out to another panelist.)
~To start, every person in your party must be counted in your guest total, even those who won't be ordering anything from the menu (Ex: Mouseketeers under age 3.) as this number is needed for the fire code reasons.
~ To get around the limit of six, you're going to book multiple reservations that will successfully seat your entire party. If you have 10 in your group, you can look for one table of six and a table for four, but you can also look for two tables of six. (You won't be charged for one or two no-shows, only if an entire table decides to ditch the entire reservation.)
~ The trick with having two reservations is that you'll want them to be seated at the same or same-ish seating time as possible, so like one table at 11:00 AM and the other at 11:10 AM. When you arrive at the restaurant to check-in both tables, tell the Cast Member at the podium that the two reservations are together and they'll work their magic as best as they can to get one long table or two tables close to each other.
~ Having two reservations comes with its own workaround, though, as a single guest can only have one reservation in their name every 90 minutes, so you'll need to book the second table through someone else's My Disneyland Account. (Pro Tip: Make sure this is the person who is guaranteed not to cancel last minute, like your spouse or mom.)
~ Your best bets for getting multiple tables at the same location for the same seating will be to aim for right as the location opens for each mealtime or within the last hour before each seating closes.
Try this workaround and if it doesn't help, let us know. If there's a specific location that's high on your list we might be able to provide some other insider tips. (Like
Blue Bayou Restaurant will be closed during your visit for renovations. Or, other locations that might say they have no availability might participate in
Mobile Dine Walk-Up Lists which can help Guests secure same-day reservations once they're in the park, and for parties larger than six.) I do hope that this was somewhat helpful or at least inspiring that we're on the right track, Linda. Be sure to check out the
official planDisney Instagram account for even more tips and tricks. And if you have any more Disneyland Resort vacation planning questions, We're All Ears!
~Kristen N.