Welcome back to planDisney, Chad! One of my favorite parts of planning a Disney vacation is deciding where to dine. It just doesn’t feel like a trip to Disneyland without indulging in the Carnation Café’s famous fried pickles, crunchy, tangy, and downright magical! I’m happy to help you figure out when to make those all-important dining reservations so you can enjoy all the culinary delights Disneyland has to offer.
As you may know, guests can begin booking
reservations for select table-service restaurants up to 60 days in advance of their dining date. If you’re visiting Disneyland Resort for multiple days, you’ll need to book reservations one day at a time as each new date reaches the 60-day mark. Most reservations become available online at 6:00 a.m. Pacific Time, so when your booking window opens, I recommend signing into your MyDisney account on
disneyland.com or in the
Disneyland app a few minutes early. Start by searching for the most popular locations on your list first, such as dining with pirates at Blue Bayou in Disneyland or sipping Pixar-themed cocktails at Lamplight Lounge in Disney California Adventure.
If you aren’t able to secure a reservation right away, don’t worry! Availability often changes as guests modify their plans, so keep checking in the days leading up to your visit. Also, you can also try the
Mobile Dine Walk-up Availability feature in the Disneyland app. Simply check for availability, add your party to the walk-up list, and wait for a notification when your table is ready. My wife and I have used this method multiple times with great success such as scoring seats at popular spots like Oga’s Cantina, where we could sip on a Fuzzy Tauntaun while DJ R-3X spun the tunes!
One more exciting note, Chad: beginning May 16th, Disneyland will launch its 70th Anniversary Celebration! This incredible milestone brings back beloved nighttime spectaculars, including Wondrous Journeys, which will once again light up the skies over Sleeping Beauty Castle in a dazzling display of music, animation, and fireworks. Plus, the high-energy Paint the Night parade will return, glowing with thousands of twinkling lights and fan-favorite characters. Over at Disney California Adventure Park, Carthay Circle Theatre will feature a special surprise moment with music, lights, and projections, plus the return of the Better Together parade, starring up to 30 Pixar Pals—including some rarely seen friends! And, just in time for summer, World of Color: Happiness will make its dazzling debut, bringing even more magic to the waters of Paradise Bay.
If you have any other questions as you prepare for your visit, please don’t hesitate to stop by planDisney again.
Wishing you a magical trip filled with delicious bites, dazzling sights, and a sprinkle of pixie dust!
David