Hi, Candyce! Thanks for bringing your question to planDisney!
Visiting
Disneyland Resort with a big group means big fun! While your party may want to split up throughout the day so that everyone gets to experience their must-do
attractions, it's always nice to come together over a delicious meal.
Dining reservations are recommended for table service restaurants and can be made up to 60 days in advance. Reservations for popular spots tend to fill quickly, so I do recommend that you make your dining reservations as soon as possible.
Making reservations for large groups can be a bit tricky simply because the majority of restaurant tables can seat six Guests or fewer. You are certainly welcome to
call the Help Center to see if a Cast Member can assist you with securing dining reservations for your group of 16. However, I think your best course of action will be to split your party up into smaller groups.
Some of my planDisney friends and I vacation together each year. When we need to make dining reservations for our large group, we split our party up into smaller groups of six or fewer. A couple of my friends and I then each make a separate reservation for the same restaurant at similar times. When we arrive to check in for our reservations, we let the Cast Members know that we are all together and politely ask them if it is possible to seat our parties near one another. While there is no guarantee that this can be accommodated, in my experience, the Cast Members will try their best to seat the smaller groups at neighboring tables.
If you are having difficulty finding dining reservation availability at the theme park restaurants, I would recommend checking the restaurants at the
Disneyland Resort Hotels and the
Downtown Disney District. The dining establishments in these locations tend to be a bit less busy than the theme park restaurants, so you may have some luck finding reservations for a larger group. If all else fails, Disneyland Resort has lots of amazing
quick-service dining locations that do not require
reservations. Many of these quick-service restaurants even offer
mobile food and beverage ordering which is a great time saver for large groups.
Candyce, I hope you and your entire group have a magical visit to Disneyland Resort! See ya real soon!
Samantha