Hey Howdy Hey Liz and welcome to planDisney!
Advanced dining reservations in Walt Disney World Resort sometimes do require strategies to get the right ones as well as knowing some of the rules. As you prepare for your upcoming trip, I am glad you reached out for more information on dining reservations. Let's go through a few of the rules on when you can make your reservations and some strategies on how to get the ones you want.
Advanced dining reservations are available for Guests staying at Disney Resort Collection hotels 60 days from their date of travel. Once at your 60-day mark, you will also have the ability to book dining reservations 10 days in the future to hopefully cover your full length of stay. For example, if your 60-day mark hits on a Monday, you will have the ability to book your dining reservations for that Monday as well as that entire week if you would like. This is one of the big tips when it comes to snagging those hard-to-get dining reservations. Dining reservations open starting at 6:00 a.m. EST at the 60-day mark which you can reserve from your
My Disney Experience app or through your
My Disney Experience account.
When you are ready to book your dining reservations, it is a smart idea to work backward booking your reservations from the end of your trip to the beginning. Your trip will overlap with fewer Guests towards the end of your trip giving you the greatest amount of availability at that time compared to the beginning of your trip where it may overlap with a lot more Guests that have already secured their reservations long ago. Looking for reservations for off-times such as breakfast at 11:00 a.m. or Lunch at 3:00 p.m. will also give you a little more leeway as most people will try for typical dining times.
As with anything, you may do everything right but still not end up with the reservations you are looking for. Hakuna Matata Liz, you still have hope! If you still are in need of some reservations, try to make it part of your day to check in several times on your My Disney Experience app or account. Check on the location you want and try plugging in specific times rather than a general "Lunch" or "Dinner" slot. I have had greater success this way compared to the general meal block. Make sure to check several times per day and several variations of hours.
If you are unable to get a reservation before your trip, you still have some options. If you look up the location you wanted on your My Disney Experience app, most locations will allow you to join the "walk-up" list through the app. This is putting your name on the list without actually having to be in the physical line. You have to be close to the location to be able to do this. You can also go right up to the host stand on the day you wanted to see if you still have some walk-up availability as I have heard this may be different than what is listed on the app. It never hurts to ask and make sure you get there sooner rather than later, off times are more practical than peak meal times!
Hopefully, now you have a strategy for getting the reservations you would like and a backup plan if the first does not work out. Best of luck moving forward getting your reservations and if you have any further questions please stop back and let us know, we would be happy to help!
Have a Magical Day,
Nick