The Secret to Getting Those Hard to Make Disney Dining Reservations

Making dining reservations for your Walt Disney World vacation can be one of the more stressful parts of planning. Finding availability can take time and effort, even with hundreds of table service restaurants.

Don’t get too stressed out about making those dining reservations. There are things you can do to better your chances of getting precisely what you want when it comes to dining.

Let’s examine the secrets to getting those hard-to-make dining reservations at Walt Disney World.

Have a Plan

The first step towards getting your must-have dining reservations is to have a plan. Take time to research the different restaurants throughout Walt Disney World. We love that all the menus are available on the My Disney Experience app. This makes it quick and easy to check those menus for dishes we would all enjoy.

Know what dining locations are going to be important to your group. By setting this plan up beforehand, you are laying the foundation for getting those hard-to-get reservations.

Prioritize

Not all Disney dining reservations are created equal. Once you know what your must-do reservations are, make a priority list. Some dining reservations, such as Cinderella’s Royal Table, Space 220, Chef Mickey’s, and Ohana, are much more difficult to make. Because of this, you will want to make these restaurants a priority when making your reservations.

For restaurants that aren’t as popular, you can work on making those reservations after you have completed those harder-to-get reservations. Use our post below to learn what restaurants are the hardest to get into now at Walt Disney World. Make those your first reservations to try for.

Related: The Hardest Restaurants to Eat in at Disney

Be Ready at 60 Days

This might seem silly, but it is also essential to successfully make those are to get dining reservations. Be ready to book 60 days before your arrival day. Dining reservations open via the app and website at 6:00 am EST, sixty days before you check into your Walt Disney World Resort.

This means you must be ready to lock in your reservations two months before your trip. This won’t be a big deal if you have taken the time to make your plan. If you have done your research and dug into the different restaurants, you should be ready to go on your 60-day mark.

When staying at a Walt Disney World Resort, you can make dining reservations for the entire vacation (up to ten days). You will first want to do this via the My Disney Experience app or website. These open up before the phone lines and are more efficient.

For those staying offsite, these Guests can book one day at a time exactly 60 days from each day. This means that if you are visiting Walt Disney World for six days and staying offsite, you will need to wake up each morning two months beforehand to make those reservations.

Being ready to book at your sixty-day mark is a secret to success when booking hard-to-get Disney restaurants. Set that alarm and be prepared with your game plan.

Be Flexible 

When you make your dining reservations, you might need to be flexible. If dining at a specific restaurant, such as Roundup Rodeo BBQ in Toy Story Land, is essential, you might have to be flexible when making your dining reservation.

Prime meal times book up quickly. Because of this, if you can be flexible and eat at more off times, you will have a better chance of snagging those hard-to-get reservations. Consider early or late lunches and suppers to get into those hard-to-get reservations. Most families traveling to Walt Disney World try to stick to their typical meal times. Because of this, restaurants become extremely busy between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. and then again in the evening between 5 p.m. to 7 pm. If you can eat outside these times, you will have a better chance of getting into your restaurant.

Don’t Give Up

Don’t give up hope if you aren’t to book your favorite restaurants at your 60-day mark. Guests always change plans, meaning many reservations adjust within those two months. Keep checking back to see what becomes available during that time.

There are also reservation-finding services that you can choose to invest in. These track openings and will notify you when something is available. There are both free and paid services depending on how many reservations you are looking for.

Walt Disney World has also started offering walk-up spots at some restaurants. Once in the area, you can check the My Disney Experience app to see if any places are available. This is a great way to get reservations day when in Disney Parks.

Walt Disney World now has a two-hour cancelation window. This allows Guests to cancel reservations free of charge up to two hours before their reservation. Because of this, you will see many last-minute reservations pop up on a day off during your vacation.

Don’t give up hope even if you can’t get that must-have reservation at 60 days. There are still a lot of ways to make those dreams come true.

There are a lot of fantastic restaurants at Walt Disney World. You will want to be ready to make dining reservations to eat at them. This can be a stressful experience, but it doesn’t have to be. Use these secrets to help you get into your top Disney restaurants.

Related: Table Service Restaurants To Try When #1 Isn’t Available