Tips for reservations and party of 9

[edsmiley]

Hello everyone. I have been scouring the forums for tips on dining with a (what I thought) was a large party of 9 people. Here is what I learned so far:

- Based on some of the other threads I have read, my party of 9 is not that big.
- It might be better to book it as 10 because sometimes even numbers are easier to find reservations for.

Here is what I still have questions on and looking for recommendations:

- We have two families travelling, 4 total for one (2A, 2C) and 5 for the other (2A, 3C). We would like to sit together so I assume the only way would be to book for 9 (or 10). If we had the same times, could we book two separate and ask to sit together? My gut tells me no, but wondering because of the next question.

- Can we pay separate when we are seated as a party of 9? We would like split the check into 2 based on the breakdown above. These are all going to be character dining so it won't be specific orders for each person. I understand that because we are staying offsite, premium bookings like CRT will require prepayment of the entire check. We were thinking about places like Akershus, Garden Grill, Cape May Cafe, etc.

Thanks in advance for any help you can provide!

 

[NYCgrrl]

You can book for 9 (or 10) and make 2 payments for the meal. I think signing up for mydisneyexperience.com will make it easier for the wait staff and the payers.

 

[Nicnic]

We are also a party of 9, 2 families. I was able to book most restaurants for 9, did notice the times weren't always that great.
Some we had to do 2 reservations and get times either the same or within 10 mins of each other. We will check in together and see if we can either have 1 table or tables next to each other. This worked last year for us at most restaurants. Sometimes we had to do a table for 4 and a 6 as 5 was sometimes hard to get near the same time as the 4!
There is no problem with separate checks as the server will be able to provide 2 checks.

 

[KenHutch]

I do not know how it is for a party of 9 but I have done this 3 times with a party of 8 and this time at the 180 day mark the only complication I ran into was the BoG ADR. The only time they had available for the entire 10 days was at 20:45. But thanks to some of the posters here I have found out the restaurant is very empty at that time making my photography hobby easier.

 

[purple figment]

- Based on some of the other threads I have read, my party of 9 is not that big.
- It might be better to book it as 10 because sometimes even numbers are easier to find reservations for.

Try for 9 and if nothing is available try for 10.

- We would like to sit together so I assume the only way would be to book for 9 (or 10). If we had the same times, could we book two separate and ask to sit together? My gut tells me no, but wondering because of the next question.

If there is no reservation for 9 or 10, you can try booking two separate reservations as close in time as possible. When you check in for the reservations you can ask to be seated together and the castmembers at the podium will do their best. It might fine, it might mean waiting longer or it might not be possible depending on how busy the restaurant is and which tables are turning over.

- Can we pay separate when we are seated as a party of 9? We would like split the check into 2 based on the breakdown above. These are all going to be character dining so it won't be specific orders for each person. I understand that because we are staying offsite, premium bookings like CRT will require prepayment of the entire check. We were thinking about places like Akershus, Garden Grill, Cape May Cafe, etc.

Before you order, just let the server know you will need separate checks and specify who will be on each check. CRT requires full payment at the time you make the reservation. If you call I think you can split the payment if you have the information for both credit cards, but I am not certain.

 

[MainMom]

I booked for 11 and had no problems getting us all on one ADR. I even booked a couple of restaurants day of for 11 (Brown Derby dinner, Crystal Palce lunch.) The only one I had to book separate was beaches and cream, but I didn’t book that until well after the 180 window. When we checked in I asked if we could be seated near each other. It took an extra 10 or so minutes, but they managed it in that small restaurant! I do think they will be accommodating when they can.

 

[Beckyb3]

We had to book BOG, CRT, and Le Cellier as two separate parties for our party of 11 at 180 days. The Disney cast member said it shouldn’t be a problem if we checked in together to ask to be seated together. If we need to split up, it’s not the end of the world. Who knows maybe we will all be driving one another crazy. Also for Yak and Yeti, I had to call to get a reservation of that size. Everything else we booked as the full party.