Hiya Laura,
Welcome back to planDisney! I remember chatting about making your sister’s 15th birthday memorable and talking a little about Enchanting Extras, dining, and booking a Walt Disney World Resort Collection Hotel. I’m glad that you found my original answer helpful and would like to learn more about some of my earlier recommendations.
I’d be happy to give you some tips and tricks on securing reservations for some of these recommendations! But first, let me tell you a little bit about Disney Authorized Vacation Planners. While I can provide you with information that can help you plan your sister’s birthday, if you would like more in-depth help in making actual reservations for things, I would suggest contacting a Disney Authorized Vacation Planners. These highly trained individuals can help you make reservations at no extra cost and can be incredibly useful if that is the kind of help you desire.
If tips and tricks are what you need, then I’ve got tons of those. Since your sister’s birthday is in October, I highly recommend starting with getting a reservation for a
Walt Disney World Resort Collection Hotel. If you would like to book any of the
Enchanting Extras such as
Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party or any dining reservations, having a resort hotel will allow you to start securing these reservations before Guests without resort hotel stays. Reservations for Walt Disney World are limited and go quickly (especially for dining locations such as
Be Our Guest, which I recommended in my previous answer). Depending on what you are interested in booking for your sister’s birthday, you will appreciate having that additional time. With the exception of Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party (tickets are already on sale for this After Hours event, so you can book those now!), all other dining and Enchanting Extras cannot be booked before 60 days from your vacation (earlier if you have a resort reservation). Although this means you have a little time before this occurs, allow me to share my top three tips for securing hard-to-find reservations.
1. Reservations open up at 5:45 am EST for dining and Enchanting Extras. You can start booking reservations at that time. If you try to book before 5:45 am, you will be unable to find the reservations you seek.
2. Prioritize your list. If you can narrow your wish list to 1-3 experiences, it will be much less difficult to book them all when your reservation window opens up.
3. If, at first, you don’t succeed, try again! As other Guests change their schedule, there is always a potential (though not guaranteed) that a spot will open up closer to your trip for a dining location or Enchanting Extra you are interested in.
The great thing about these tips is that no matter what you decide to book, these will be incredibly useful for helping you plan that magical 15th birthday! If you would like additional tips and tricks or to learn more about any of these resources, please feel free to reach out to
me. I wasn’t sure from your question if there was a particular recommendation that piqued your interest, so I was unable to be more specific.
As always, I’m here to help, and I hope I have done so again!
Happy Planning,
Ashley F.