Hi Kali,
Welcome to planDisney! I am so excited to hEAR that you are planning a trip to the Walt Disney Word Resort!
This sounds like it's shaping up to be a great trip with friends! First, make sure that you are all connected through the
My Family & Friends List in
My Disney Experience. As long as you are all connected, you should be able to make
advanced dining reservations. Making dining reservations with that large of a group might be difficult.
When traveling with a large group, I always make an advanced dining reservation for everyone. Since most of us are connected in My Family & Friends, we tend to have several planners in the group. If I take the lead in planning, I just make everyone's dining reservations. Since you will be booking such a large group, I would suggest that you intentionally book some dining reservations apart so that everyone gets a break from the whole group.
In my experience, it has been tough making advanced dining reservations with that large of a group, so I have
contacted a Cast Member by phone. Although you may not be able to book a dining reservation with all of those people, you could potentially divide your group into smaller groups and make reservations around the same time. You will need to put someone on as the lead of the second (if needed) and third reservations. I also would not recommend dining while the fireworks are happening. You may want to fully experience the show from outside of Cinderella Castle. So, check the time of the fireworks as it gets closer to the trip. If you cannot change your dinner reservation time, just go with the flow and enjoy dining in the castle!
Kali keep looking. Also know that the current fireworks are best viewed from outside in front of the castle. If you have not already done so, try to have dinner before the fireworks time. Viewing the fireworks from the front of Cinderella Castle has been important for us because with the
Happily Ever After show, you really need to see the projections on the front of the castle. With the time of your visit, however, there will be a new show,
Disney Enchantment, so keep mind that the there may be different tips for seeing the show at that time!
Magic and memories,
Donyell