Hi Brooke,
Welcome to planDisney!
I am so excited to hEAR that you are planning a visit to the Walt Disney World resort with a larger group. And I am thrilled to see you thinking about those
advanced dining reservations now. You will certainly need a strategy to secure reservations.
I have two suggestions for making dining reservations within the same time frame (i.e. making two reservations for 4:00 p.m.). Strategy #1 - using the web-based
My Disney Experience platform (NOT the mobile app), when you select a dining reservation time, the system should take you to another page that allows you to select the Guest who will manage the reservation. Although I have been able to do this strategy in the past and I just tried it again from home, sometimes, it has not worked, so you could also try Strategy #2 - make those reservations from two different My Disney Experience accounts. If you continue to have trouble, try leaving the other Guests blank when making the reservations so that you have two reservations with the Guests who will manage the reservations identified, but the other Guests simply say Guest 2, Guest 3, etc.
When trying to book two different dining reservations around the same time, I try to get them within 15 minutes of each other. When we arrive to the restaurant, one of us will explain to a Cast Member that we have two separate reservations and we ask if they could seat us together. Although it is not guaranteed, Cast Members do their best!
If you plan to also use
Mobile Food & Beverage Ordering, take some time to think about who should order for whom. Doing so should expedite the process. And, always check the arrival time windows at least an hour before you wish to dine. One time we opened the My Disney Experience Mobile App to order and the dining location we wanted had a two hour wait for pick-up. Also, head over to the dining location and check out how many tables are available. When the parks are busy, it may take a few minutes for you to find somewhere to sit when using Mobile Food & Beverage Ordering.
Brooke, thankfully, you have some time! Remember to make note of your
dining reservation booking window on your calendar. I always make a note to wake up by 5:45 a.m. the day our reservation window opens and at least one of my girls gets up with me to help! I hope you have a special assistant! Sending you a little extra dining reservation pixie dust!
Magic and memories,
Donyell