Booking dining reservations for your Disney vacation can be one of the most exciting, yet stressful, parts of planning your trip. With hundreds of options, how do you even know where to begin?
The restaurants you choose will be based mainly on your family’s priorities. Do you have a princess loving daughter who wants to dine in Cinderella’s Castle? Maybe you are excited to try a certain cuisine or famous dish exclusive to a particular dining location. Perhaps you want a buffet option to please all members of your party. Or maybe a buffet isn’t your thing, and you’d prefer to order directly from a set menu. The options truly are endless, but the good news is that with so many restaurants to choose from, you’ll easily be able to find a few meals that make everyone happy.
Does all of this decision-making and planning sound overwhelming to you? If so, enlisting the help of an Authorized Disney Vacation Planner would be beneficial as you prepare for your trip. You’ll have someone who can walk you through all the best dining options and even book them for you. I’d love to help you navigate the decision-making process! To enlist my free help with your
Disney vacation planning, click here to get started.
If you’ve already been doing your research and you’re ready to tackle dining reservations on your own, here are 5 tips to help you have the greatest chance of getting everything you want:
Book as early as possible – Dining reservations open at 6 am EST 60 days before your vacation begins. Guests staying at Disney Resorts can book reservations for their entire trip (up to 10 days) at this time whereas guests staying offsite can book reservations 60 days out from each day of their trip. This is a huge advantage for on-site guests because having the entire trip window available for booking at once allows you to have better chances at snagging everything you want.
Reserve popular meals first – You do not have to book your dining reservations chronologically for your trip (if staying on-site). That means you’ll want to reserve the most popular reservations first, regardless of where they fall in your trip itinerary. Some noteworthy restaurants to book first are:
- Space 220- (Epcot)
- ‘Ohana- (The Polynesian Resort)
- Topolino’s Terrace (character breakfast at The Riviera Resort)
- Akershus Royal Banquet Hall (Epcot)
- Homecomin’ (Disney Springs)
- Roundup Rodeo (Hollywood Studios)
It’s always a good idea to book character dining experiences first as well.
Split up large parties – If you are traveling with 6 or more guests in your party, you will have better success at finding reservations if you split your group into 2 smaller parties. Not all restaurants can accommodate large groups from a reservation standpoint, however, you can still request to be seated together for your meal. Tell the hostess that both parties are together when you check in at the restaurant and most of the time they can accommodate seating you near one another. Note: this will require having two members of your group online at the same time to make these bookings.
Expand your search – The Disney dining reservations website and the My Disney Experience app allow you to select a range of dates for any restaurant. Utilizing this feature allows you to see a wide variety of booking options. You can also select certain general mealtimes (morning, afternoon, evening) to show all the possibilities for dining at that restaurant during a particular time of the day. By using these features of the website, you can quickly see all the possibilities.
Be flexible – Even when making reservations at the earliest possible time, availability is sometimes limited. If you have your heart set on a certain meal and it’s not available for the day/time you are searching for, consider another time. Dining reservations are one of the first things you will “set in stone” for your trip, so you can always modify your park day plans to accommodate getting the dining reservation you want.
It’s also worth noting that sometimes there are glitches with the Disney dining reservations website or app. If you find that you are unable to make progress online, Disney has a dining line that you can call directly. The phone lines open at 7 am EST daily, and you can reach them at 407-WDW-DINE to make phone reservations.
As a Smart Moms Travel Agent, a big part of my job is to help you feel prepared for your park days, including everything from determining your priority attractions to creating a successful packing list for your trip. For more tips and tricks and all the latest news from Disney, subscribe to the blog and follow me on Instagram @theorganizeddisneymom.
Not working with a Smart Moms Travel agent yet, but looking for help to plan your family’s upcoming Disney trip? I would be happy to work with you to develop a personalized Disney strategy that meets your family’s needs. You can click here to enlist my help for free!
