Large Group ADR booking on-line?

[sacandjac]

I used on-line booking for our trip in October (only three of us) and loved it. Does anyone think they will ever allow booking on-line for large groups? There will be 15 of us in May, 2010 and am not looking forward to booking on the phone!

To be honest, kind of freaking out about booking for that many on-line or over the phone. LOL!!

I did book for 12 in January, which wasn't too bad but 15 seems to be worse for some reason!

[Mickey'sGirl]

I had to call in to make any reservations for more than 8 people. I think you will have to phone Disney Dining.

[wendy*darling]

I doubt they will allow group booking on line. There are just too many issues to deal with and questions to ask.

I have booked for groups of 25 and 45! Now that's fun!
I never had any problems with the ADRs once we arrived. I think Group Dining does a terrific job of keeping everyone "as together as possible" in each dining venue.

I wouldn't worry about calling in for Group Dining.

[r4kids]

Anything over 10 people you need to call Grand Gatherings.

[Ian]

Grand Gatherings was worthless. My Mom tried them for our last trip where we had 13 and then told her just to call 1-407-WDW-DINE.

Completely useless ... don't waste your time ...

[Disneyfirsttimer]

We will be a group of 9 (4 adults & 5 children). Can I book online?

Karyn

[r4kids]

Grand Gatherings was worthless. My Mom tried them for our last trip where we had 13 and then told her just to call 1-407-WDW-DINE.

Completely useless ... don't waste your time ...

Really, we have been using GG for our trip in 9 days for 11 ppl and they have been great!

[Mr.K]

We had a very frustrating time booking for our group of 17. The friendly people at Disney Dining booked several of them including Ohana, Chef Mickey's, and Rose & Crown, but quite a few they told me they could not book, and that I would need to call the restaurants directly to book for a large group. These included Boma, Le Cellier, Chefs de France, and Teppan Edo.

That wasn't so bad at first - they gave me numbers for each restaurant.

The problems came when I actually called.

The number for Boma was actually the employee call-in line for both Boma and Jiko. We got a message each time, telling us to leave our name and shift assignment and any changes we needed to make. We left our contact info, explaing what I needed to do and never received a call back from them.

Multpiple calls to Disney Dining's main number resulted in them confirming the phone number and asking us to retry. We did this all day and never got a real live person, only the employee message line. At one point we had a cast member not believe us but who wanted to be very helpful, so she stayed with us on-the-phone and tried to transfer us to Boma with her. She heard the employee message line but because she had "exited" her automated reservation system to help us, she could only hang up on us with an apology and asked us to call back - the computer system had locked her out!

Eventually I put pressure on a manager and insisted they give us two seperate, nearly time identical reservations for our group. I was nervous we'd get nothing if I waited. The Disney Dining folks told me this was my best shot and to explain at check in that if possible we'd like our groups combined. We'll see if this happens.

So I call Le Cellier's direct number and get a different sort of problem. The friendly person tells me a manager must make the reservation and the manager is busy on the phone - can they call me right back. Sure thing I say. I wait and wait, making other calls while we watch the time slip away. Knowing how quickly this place fills up, I call back in 2 hours. The manager tells me she never got my info and apologizes. Then she tells me they only make reservations directly for groups of 20+ and since our group is 17, I must call Disney Dining. So back to Disney Dining, and they insist they cannot make my reservation and that for groups of 12+ I must call Le Cellier directly. Back and forth for two more calls and eventually I insist they split us and give me 2 reservations. Luckily it can be done.

So I call Chefs de France and no problem. Prompt, quick and in the book. Bing!

Then we call Teppan Edo and they tell me they only make reservations for groups of 19+ and that for anything less I must call Disney Dining. Also, even if I break my group in two, she cannot make my reservation since this date was 5 days into the start of our stay and she can ONLY make exactly 90 days out, no more, whereas Disney Dining can make 90 days from the start of your stay + length of your stay.


Frustrated, we decided not to go to Teppan Edo and changed our plans to somewhere we could simply make the reservation.

[mustBgoofy]

I read on a thread about a countdown timer that would tell you on what day you needed to make you ADR's. Could anyone tell me where to find it please? Thanks!!

[ColeeC]

Booking for the larger groups can be difficult. Do you have a travel agent? That's an instance where your TA can be invaluable.

[Jennifer_and_Chris]

Anything over 10 people and you can't do online ressies, you must call Disney Dining.

Last October we had 13 people in our party and were able to book through Disney Dining for all of our ressies. This included Ohana, Boma and 1900 Park Fare.