Hello Natalie!
Welcome to planDisney! You have come to the right place! I just recently had a large family trip and stayed off-site. We made many memories and managed to secure a reservation at
Tusker House Restaurant at Disney's Animal Kingdom Theme Park for a late lunch! This is a great character dining experience as there was a delicious and exotic buffet that still had some tasty favorites that the whole family enjoyed.
It’s possible to book character dining when staying anywhere! There are some things to remember. Since you are not staying at a
Walt Disney World Resort Hotel you can only book your
Dining Reservations 60 days before your arrival for each day of your trip. So that means for a few days you will have to make sure that you are at your computer ready at 6 AM EST and book for one day at a time 60 days from that point. You should review the available
Character Dining and decide which ones your family will enjoy. I would consider being open to anything as I promise you they will all be amazing. For larger parties, I would suggest trying to book a reservation at
The Crystal Palace in
Magic Kingdom Park,
Hollywood & Vine at
Disney's Hollywood Studios, Tusker House Restaurant at Disney's Animal Kingdom Theme Park, and breakfast at
Cape May Cafe at
Disney's Beach Club Resort! I find these locations easier to find reservations for but anything is possible. They are also great in that they are all buffets so you can make a plate for your toddlers easily! Children under the age of three eat for free so let them enjoy!
One of my best strategies is to break large party reservations into smaller-sized reservations with time slots that are the same or within 15 minutes of each other. For example, I would book a party of seven at noon and another seven at 12:15 pm or closer to the first reservation. I would not try to book them further apart than 15 minutes though. The most important part of this is to then arrive 20 minutes before the earliest reservation and kindly ask the Cast Member at the front stand to see if they can accommodate your party into one table. If they are able they will make it happen! Important to note is that each reservation must be made by a different person with their own
My Disney Experience Account. If you try to book two dining reservations too close or at the same time one will cancel out the other. So this is the time to start enlisting trusted adults who can help you.
Always include every person in the party in your reservation as the restaurant must have an accurate head count. When you arrive for your reservation you can either check in with the Cast Member at the front or through your
My Disney Experience Mobile App. It is during this check-in process that you can select whether you may need high chairs or boosters or if you are celebrating a special event!
I hope this helps and that you have a magical time!
-Nimmy