Dinner Party for 10-12 - Ideas?

[ElizaDoesDisney]

Some of my family travels to Disney every year. Suddenly this year's trip has ballooned and the entire family is now going to all be there. Yay! It's my parent's 40th wedding anniversary and they honeymooned in Disney. I'd like to host a nice dinner party for them. We'll have 10-12 people.

I have a reservation at Artist's Point booked. But, I am trying to come up with some options for something more special than just a normal dinner. Ideally, I'd love a private room or more intimate dining experience. Seeing Wishes or Illuminations would be an awesome bonus, but not necessary. Cruises are out because some of the party have seasickness issues. I thought of Grand Floridian Private Dining, but I don't think they handle groups this large.

Basically, I just want this to be an awesome experience for my parents and the rest of the family, but I've never really done anything like this before. Budget isn't solid yet - I'd like to keep it around $2,500, but willing to be flexible.

I'd welcome any thoughts, suggestions, or tips.

 

[Pumbaa_]

Oh this is such a thing! We have folks report back on special party's they have booked including outside at the GF to view the fireworks

Read this

I think LurkyLoo is the queen of small party planning

Keep us updated!

 

[HopperFan]

Look over at Highway in the Sky thread. One poster has booked it via Disney Event Planning Department for her group.

FYI - I'm working with a Disney Event Planner to do a private Highway in the Sky Dine Around on a Sunday in January (it's going to be a post-marathon celebration for my friends and I after we complete all the races that weekend) and my planner reported back today some info that I thought I might pass along!

1. Dining/Events is currently working to extend the calendar through January - it just takes quite a few departments to get approval for the event based on other events, staffing, busy times for bars and restaurants, etc. I was told that the schedule will likely change in the next booking group, with Sundays now becoming options for bookings.
2. The total capacity is 26 people.
3. You CAN book the entire event privately and make small tweaks to both the dining and drinks menu that will reduce the cost of the event per person (I'm below $150pp right now for my event) - for example, not having a "duet" main course ... I don't eat cooked fish EVER, so I certainly don't want that for an event I'm planning and paying for - so, because I know everybody attending, we're doing an either/or entree offering (short rib or scallops). If you book privately, portions of the event may be relocated to regularly-serviced areas - in my case, the Tea Room may not be available for champagne and accompanying course, so we might enjoy that portion of the trip in a reserved area of Mizner's. You can also order a cake instead of a dessert tray for the private event.
4. If you're traveling in a large group from another resort, see if they will exchange your free valet parking per person for a comp'd van ride or Suburban. This was an option for me, and frankly? It should be open to everybody because the Contemporary has a fleet of Suburbans that can make quick stops and pick up the on-site people paying for this experience.

Anyway - if you'd like more in-depth details about planning a private event, I'd be happy to share! I don't know if I'm the VERY first person to request this, but I'm one of the first to follow through and place a deposit. I've been trying to plan it to be flexible in hopes that it might be something people can also book going forward in larger groups.

Also look at Celebration at the Top, it's new this year.
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/dining/contemporary-resort/celebration-at-the-top/

 

[Judy-Hopps]

Probably not the location you're looking for but Via Napoli can accommodate large groups. We saw a few large cheerleader groups eating there at the same time when we went in Feb.

 

[ElizaDoesDisney]

Thank everyone for the great ideas. A couple of things I'm looking into:

• Illuminations Party @ EPCOT
• Private Event at GF or Contemporary with Fireworks view
• Private Dining Room at Il Mulino

My mom's only request for the trip was to do the Hoop-Dee-Doo Revue, so we're letting her think that's their anniversary treat. Hopefully she'll be somewhat surprised by the real party.

 

[ElizaDoesDisney]

Quick update --- spoke to a planner (who was great - very patient and willing to talk through a number of options). She's sending me further info, and I think I'm narrowed down to the following options:

• UK Pubside @ EPCOT - Dessert Party (I guess they can't do dinner here with our party size, so dessert and drinks only - we'd have to figure out dinner beforehand somewhere. Interestingly, they quoted me $100 venue rental + $250 F&B minimum - but didn't say there was a broader $1,000/$2,000 minimum that I've seen discussed elsewhere)
• Napa Room @ California Grill - Dinner w/ Fireworks View - I'm not a huge fan of their menu options, but love the view.
  
• White Hall Room @ GF - Private dinner - Fireworks from Narcoosee's dock. Discussed the possibility of serving dessert during dockside during fireworks, but I'm not sure what the added cost on that would be
• Il Mulino Private Dining Room @ Swalphin - Not through Disney Catering, no fireworks, but the private dining feel we were looking for.

 

[quandrea]

The UK pubside venue will be great value for money. There are literally dozens of possible venues. Check out the lurkyloo link above. That way you can bring other ideas to your planner if something catches your eye.

For example, I'm doing a private birthday party for five in Dinosaur Lounge at Animal Kingdom. We are having brunch. I think my food and beverage min was $250 and venue fee was in the $100 range. We've also added a ride mix in. Venue fees and minimums vary. You just have to find something that fits.

 

[Pumbaa_]

thanks for the updates. Love hearing about private events like this.

 

[ElizaDoesDisney]

We ended up going with a Private Dining Room at Il Mulino at the Swan. The private dining dinner experience seemed closest to what we wanted and the price was right. It doesn't have a special Disney element the way fireworks would have, but we'll have plenty of Disney during the vacation.

For our party size (12) it sounded like they would have let us order off the menu, but we went with one of their fixed private dining menus. Menus and contact info can be found here: http://www.swandolphinrestaurants.com/ilmulino/privatedining.html. So far, working with Julia has been great. She is easy to get in touch with, quick to respond, and answered all of my questions. (As opposed to the Disney rep who was very nice but not particularly responsive - it ended up taking a couple follow up attempts to get her to send the information she had promised to send me in our initial call).

We are going with the $75pp menu which includes five courses with guests getting to choose their primi and secondi selections at the time of the dinner. We pre-selected a red and white wine to be served tableside (chosen from their wine list and charged by the bottle). Guests can order something different (beer, wine, cocktail, non-alcoholic beverages) from the server if they prefer. We did cheap out and go with tap water for the table, but left it open for guests to order bottled water if they prefer. We also pre-ordered two bottles of champagne for a welcome toast which will be poured once we are seated.

Thanks to all for the advice. While an Illuminations dessert party didn't work this time, I'm definitely thinking about doing one in the future -- they look amazing. I'll do my best to remember to give one more update after the even to let you all know how it goes.