Hi Colleen,
Welcome to planDisney! Thanks for stopping by with your question about maximizing your dining experiences during your Walt Disney World vacation.
We often have trouble deciding which of our favorite restaurants we want to visit during our Disney time. So what a great idea to split your meal between two of your "must-try" restaurants while you are at
Animal Kingdom. If you have your heart set on that warm pineapple upside down cake or the fried wontons for dessert at
Yak & Yeti, I definitely would make a reservation. Even though it is a large restaurant, you want to be sure there's space available for you and your boyfriend at dessert time.
The Disney reservation system normally won't let you make overlapping dining reservations, so I would try to allow about 90 minutes between your dinner and dessert reservations.
Rainforest Cafe is at the park entrance, and Yak & Yeti is in Asia, about a 7-minute walk away.
The park hours for your visit in July aren't posted yet, but normally, Animal Kingdom closes at 6 or 7 pm, so you will want to take that into consideration when you make your reservations as well. To have time for a Yak & Yeti dessert, you probably want to book your dinner reservation for about two hours before the park closes.
Advanced dining reservations are available 60 days in advance, so it will soon be time to secure those tables for your visit. Have fun making your choices!
I hope that's helpful, Colleen. Please check back with us any time if you need tips, information or recommendations. We're always happy to share what we've learned in our years as frequent Walt Disney World guests.
Enjoy,
Wilma