Hiya Cynthia!
Welcome to planDisney! I love traveling with a large party to Walt Disney World Resort! I think making memories with your loved ones is so important and I love that there is something for everyone in Walt Disney World.
One of the
benefits of staying at a Walt Disney World Resort Hotel is that you can book your
dining reservations for your entire trip (up to 10 days) 60 days before you arrive. Guests staying off-site will have to book one day at a time 60 days prior. That can be a lot of mornings to wake up early but totally doable. Anyone can make reservations for how many people they want when it is time. Those who reach their 60 days prior first can make the dining reservations for 9 guests at
Chef Mickey's or anywhere else.
Now, getting a reservation for 9 may be difficult these days. Do try of course but if you can't get it I offer this solution. My suggestion is to have someone else in the early arriving group create a
My Disney Experience account and get linked to your
Family & Friends list. Then, each of you will try and book smaller party reservations for around the same time. Do not have them be spaced by more than 15 minutes apart. For example, one person books a party of 5 for 9 AM and the other person books a party of 4 for 9:10 AM. (Ideally, having the same time is best) Then arrive around 20 to 30 minutes before the earlier one and ask the Cast Member at the front of the restaurant if it is possible for you all to be seated together. Being kind and patient goes a long way and it's not guaranteed but there is a good chance they can work to accommodate you all. Since dining reservations can now be
canceled up to 2 hours before the reservation time, we Panelists have found success grabbing difficult to get reservations the day of as well! The moral of the story: keep trying and don't give up!
My large family favorite dining recommendations are
Whispering Canyon Cafe at Disney's Wilderness Lodge and
Liberty Tree Tavern at Magic Kingdom Park. I have found reservations pretty easily at these places for my large family and enjoyed a delicious meal.
I hope this helps and if you have any more questions know that
you have a friend in me!
-Nimmy