Hey Howdy Hey Sarah and welcome to planDisney!
Dining at Walt Disney World Resort is a totally different experience from most places. Having to have an idea where you want to eat for the length of your trip and making reservations 60 days before you even leave for your vacation can be difficult to fathom! But let's talk about the specific requirements to make sure to do this part right.
Making dining reservation for causal sit-down meals at most locations in Walt Disney World are usually required. These are available to you 60 days plus 10 from your date of arrival when staying onsite at a Disney Resort Collection hotel and from that date. So if your 60 days is on a Monday, you can make dining reservations on that day and 10 days in the future to get most if not all of your dining reservations for the length of your stay.
When making these reservations, you are required to put a credit card on file but not required to pay. The only reason for the credit card is that you will be charged a fee per person if you do not show up for your reservation or you cancel in less than 24 hours from your reservation. As long as you show up, this card will not be charged. When you get to your reservation, you are also going to be required to give a form of payment to your server or charge it to your room with your
MagicBand or
MagicMobile pass as the servers will not have access to the card you used to make the reservation. Currently, only one location,
Cinderella's Royal Table in Magic Kingdom, requires full payment to make and secure your reservation. And yes, you are able to use a prepaid gift card to make this reservation.
As long as we are on the topic of dining locations, I would highly suggest heading over to
Be Our Guest Restaurant in Magic Kingdom on your next trip. This spectacular location takes you from Florida right into the movies. This location is complete with three dining halls including the West Wing and is such a great place to enjoy a meal under the phenomenal ambiance.
Best wishes on planning your next trip and deciding on the right dining locations. Of course, stop by and let us know if you have any further questions!
Happy planning,
Nick