Hello Ken,
Welcome to planDisney! The only thing more magical than a Disney vacation is sharing it with family and friends. It is great to hear that you'll be celebrating with your group. at Walt Disney World Resort, later this year.
60 days prior to your arrival is an important date to mark on your calendar as that is when you can begin making advance reservations for dining and the
Enchanting Extras Collection. The easiest way to
make dining reservations is online through the Walt Disney World Resort website. Here, you'll be able to select your party size (up to 20) and search for a date and time. Once you enter that information, a list of available restaurants will populate for you to choose from.
As far as the dining plans, as long as your family members, from the separate vacation package reservation, are listed in your
"My Family & Friends" list in My Disney Experience, you should be able to select them as the other Guests for your reservation. After you have booked the reservation, go back into "My Plans" and find the dining reservation. There will be a blue link that says "Update Guests." Select that and you'll see where you can add the Guests joining you from a dropdown list. This list will populate with anyone you've added to your aforementioned "
My Family & Friends List."
If you are having any trouble, you can also
call Disney Dining at the number on the bottom of this Dining FAQ. A Cast Member will be able to assist you in finding available reservations and adding others to the party.
Please be aware that many dining locations do book up quickly. While you're waiting for that all-important 60 day mark, I suggest looking through the restaurant options to have an idea of which ones are must-dos for your crew. You can even choose to filter the list based on
dining plan participating locations.
All this talk of dining has my mouth watering for the Famous Cobb Salad and fresh warm rolls at
The Hollywood Brown Derby in Disney's Hollywood Studios. It's light and refreshing, while still filling, and leaves just enough room for my favorite dessert--the Grapefruit Cake.
Happy planning, Ken. I hope to see you back again soon with more planning questions for your visit to the Most Magical Place on Earth.
Magical Wishes,
Lauren