Hello, Joely-Alix!
Thanks for bringing your question to planDisney. I'm happy to help get your dining plans sorted ahead of your spring visit.
You'll be glad to know that you don't need to link or detail the guests for each meal when making
advance dining reservations. You'll simply indicate the total number in your party (including infants) and search for your desired date and time at most locations. The exception would be for pre-paid meals like
Cinderella's Royal Table at Magic Kingdom Park or
Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue at The Campsites at Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort. When booking meals like this, you'll be asked to indicate the number of adults, children aged 3-9, and infants aged 0-2, as each is priced accordingly.
Since you are already within your 60-day window as a Disney Resorts Collection hotel guest, I recommend securing your desired reservations as soon as possible. You can go in and modify your party to connect guests from your
Family & Friends list as your trip nears (my pal
Jana explains that process here). This can be helpful if you're arriving separately for dining reservations at resort hotels, as Cast Members often ask for proof of reservation for parking.
Now that we've addressed your dining plans, let's revisit your Family & Friends predicament. You can connect with the guests in your travel party in a few different ways. If they have existing My Disney Experience accounts, you can search for them and invite them to connect by email. To do so, head to the Walt Disney World Resort website, hover over "My Disney Experience" on the menu bar, then click
"My Family & Friends." Sign in to your account, then click the blue "Add a Guest" button at the top of the screen. Input their first and last names, phone number and/or email to search, or click the link to "Find a Guest from a Walt Disney World Resort hotel reservation."
You might be seeing the "unable to match guest" error if you made all the travel plans and the rest of your party doesn't already have a My Disney Experience account. If so, not to worry. Click "Create a New Guest" and proceed through the prompts. You can create and manage an account and all plans for anyone under the age of 13 by adding their name and date of birth, then choosing a character avatar. If the guest is over 13 years old, you'll have the option to create and manage their account or invite them to create their own account (and share plans) if they have a valid email address.
Once they receive and approve your email invitation request, they should be able to see all existing hotel reservations, tickets, and plans you've made on their behalf. If you run into any trouble, you can
contact the Technical and Website Support team by phone for further assistance.
I hope this clears up any confusion, Joely-Alix. If you have additional questions, please don't hesitate to come back and let us know. Wishing you a magical (and delicious) vacation!
Magic and memories,
Amy