Hiya Casie,
Welcome to planDisney! Every time I visit Disneyland Resort, it is with family! I have such fond memories of those vacations, so I love planning group trips to the Happiest Place on Earth. While I’ve never traveled with a party that large to Disneyland, I have done so at Walt Disney World Resort, I would be happy to give you some tips and tricks for doing so.
Coordinating reservations for any group size can be time-consuming and daunting, but with Disneyland Resort, you make all your advanced dining reservations
online or through the
Disneyland app. Advanced dining reservations can be made starting 60 days in advance of your vacation, so based on the arrival date you provided, you are a little ahead of the game. That doesn’t mean you can’t do a little prep work now! I highly recommend looking at the table service dining options (including the menus) and getting a wish list of where you would like to eat. This way, you can start making reservations when your reservation window opens up.
If you have never made
dining reservations for Disneyland online before, it is super simple to do once you get the hang of it, but the reservations do tend to go fast, so it is essential to be prepared for it. Now about your group size, in my experience, it can be pretty tricky to find reservations for a group larger than eight people. I would suggest “splitting” your group into two smaller groups of five and six just to make reservations. This will give you the greatest chance of securing dining reservations. Elect one of your 11 magical pals to be the reservation-getter for the other group, and then the two of you get reservations as close together as you can. Once you get to the reservation, just ask the Cast Member if they can seat your groups next to each other. If they can accommodate that, they will do so, but if all else fails, you will all be in the same location.
I hope this was helpful, Casie. If there is anything else I can do to help, please come back and see me!
Happy Planning,
Ashley F.