Hi there, Katie!
Welcome to planDisney! I often visit the Disneyland Resort with larger groups, and I know that making dining reservations can be tricky with more Mouseketeers in your party. But don't worry! There are some tips and tricks that will hopefully help you get everyone ready to enjoy some of the amazing food at the parks.
When I'm making
dining reservations for more than 8 people, I find that it works better to split us into two groups. That means you'll need to find a planning sidekick because your Disney account won't allow you to make overlapping reservations. The best thing is to recruit someone else in your party to make reservations with you and for each of you to make a reservation as close to the same arrival time as you can. I'm usually able to work with my husband (each using our own Disney account) and get reservations for our group within about 30 minutes of each other. You'll have the most success if you try to make your reservations 60 days in advance, they usually (but not always) become available online at 3:00 AM Pacific Time. An early wakeup call, I know!
At the parks, we always arrive for our reservations about 15 minutes before the earliest reservation that we have and let them know that we have two groups and would love to be seated together, if possible. We always do this knowing that we may not be able to be seated together, and that's ok! Everyone still gets to eat, so it's all good.
I do think that it's easier to get a large group together at some restaurants than others! Here are some of our favorites where we've had good luck:
Don't forget, you can always use the
Disneyland Mobile App to place a mobile order for quick service dining! Spots like
The Golden Horseshoe and
Alien Pizza Planet have larger seating areas and can accommodate bigger groups well. Mobile order is also the absolute fastest way to enjoy my favorite Disneyland Park treat...a DOLE Whip at the
Tiki Juice Bar!
I hope this helps you successfully make reservations for your group, Katie!
Let me know if you have any other dining questions, I'd be happy to help.
Keep moving forward!
Amanda