Hello Patricia!
Welcome to planDisney! As a frequent Disney Guest, I like to think of myself as an
Advance Dining Reservation Ninja! I have spent many days planning out my first and second choice dining locations and a booking strategy. My guess is that at this point you have probably made most of your necessary reservations, but let me go through the process in case it might still be helpful to you or another Guest.
Guests who are staying at a
Disney Resort Collection Hotel are offered extra perks. While not all the perks have returned after the covid shutdown, one of the benefits that remain is that Guests of Disney Resort Collection Hotels may make Advance Dining Reservations 60 days before their check-in date, for the entire length of stay, up to 10 days. If you are staying at a Disney Resort Collection Hotel, you shouldn’t need to sign in to make reservations daily, you can do it all at once. This can be a huge perk for those wishing to book popular and hard-to-get locations such as
Cinderella’s Royal Table, or the character breakfast at
Topolino’s Terrace - Flavors of the Riviera, as you can book them before non-resort Guests, increasing your chances of finding a table. For example, if you have a 6-day stay, you can check for a reservation at Cinderella’s Royal Table 66 days in advance, a full 6 days before those staying off-site.
For those Guests staying off-site, you can either sign in daily, or you can simply wait until 60 days from the last day you wish to make a reservation, and then search for availability over the previous days. It really is up to you and depends on your needs and preferences. While the most popular locations will likely be booked, there are still usually multiple delightful and delicious options available. I have especially noticed lots of reservations available at Disney Springs locations.
If you are unable to make a reservation for your preferred location, cancellations can and do happen, particularly in the days leading up to the reservation, so check back periodically to see if someone has canceled. Also, don’t forget to consider some of the amazing Quick Service locations throughout the parks. When I was visiting the parks as a kid back in the 1980’s I feel like everything was a cheeseburger and fries, but now the variety and quality of Quick Service is amazing! Our favorites are
Sutu'li Canteen at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park and
Docking Bay 7 Food & Cargo at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. I highly recommend them both!
I hope you can book what you are looking for, Patricia. If you need any additional help or recommendations, please send your questions our way!
- Kate