Family Trip (There's A LOT of us)

50s prime time does not have seating for all 20 people to be together. Last time I was there, I believe the largest group I saw were comprised of 10 people. IMO, it is a small, tight space in the dining area. Nonetheless, you will still have fun. It seems that larger groups typically get better service as their waiter or waitress are more into acting the part when they have a lot of people to interact with.

I would book everything early! Most places will book up, especially the week you will be traveling. I think that week is one of the busiest weeks in WDW.

I was trying to think what restaurants that may accommodate 20 people at once. I think Biergarten might. They have long tables and you could probably all sit together. It's in Germany in EPCOT. I've always liked it. You'll have fun no matter where you eat. My advice, make all reservations on the 180 day mark.

Another place that may be able to accommodate a large group would be Via Napoli in Italy/Epcot. Your itinerary sounds great.

That depends on your group, both Parks will be crazy crowded, MK will probably reach capacity by Eleven or so. Remember there is no alcohol in most of the MK so you will have a dry New Year's Eve if you go there. Epcot will have several bands playing, and a double showing of illuminations with a bonus at the end.

I agree with Eeyore, I've never seen a big group seated together at Prime Time. (407) 939-1942 is the Disney number for group reservations. I would call them before you 180 mark and they should be able to help you with any group dining reservation questions you have (or direct you to the right person). Cinderella's Table and Ohana (though breakfast will be a little easier) are going to be your toughest to get. Plan on calling and booking as soon as your ADR window opens up! Good luck!

I agree with Allie that Cinderella's Royal Table and 'Ohana will be the toughest reservation to get. A fun place that you might want to try is Sci-Fi Dine In Theater at Hollywood Studios rather than 50's Prime Time. You would be split up into groups of 6 in the cars, but you would still be next to eachother. When I worked there we had larger groups come in all the time.
I would also agree to book as soon as you hit your 180 day mark especially as the week you are traveling is one of the busier weeks at Disney. Have fun!

I don't know if they are still around and for the life of me can't remember the name... but Disney had a division that helped with reservations for larger parties. They used to coordinate special dining events which was discontinued. They (if still around) can help with recommendations and reservations.

I will see if I can find the name.

Here are a couple of articles that were written on the subject of traveling with larger groups. It was Grand Gathering that I was thinking of which has gone away. I'm sure any of the CMs can help (or put you in contact with ones that specialize with larger parties).

http://www.wdwforgrownups.com/articles/tips-traveling-group-walt-disney-world

http://www.wdwforgrownups.com/articles/magical-family-reunions-walt-disney-world

Oh my gosh JoAnn you sent me on a tear! I *knew* that I had written an article about Value and Moderate resort rooms for large groups, I searched through all my files, scoured WDWFG and I couldn't find it anyplace! I thought I was going crazy. Turns out I wrote it back in 2010 before I was writing for WDWFG.

If anyone is interested, it can be found HERE.

One thing to watch out for with large groups is making sure you still get great service. My family went with a group of 14 and got horrible service at Ohana, and we were our servers only table. When we said something to the manager he told us that with such a large group we should call ahead and request two servers. This is something that the restaurant should manage and staff properly based on their reservations, but they don't always do that. So just make sure you're covered.