Hi Hannah,
Welcome to planDisney! I am excited to hEAR that you have an upcoming trip to the Walt Disney World Resort!
Looking at your anticipated arrival date, I understand the
dining reservation dilemma. That is shaping up to be a busy week! While we cannot help you make dining reservations, I can provide some tips.
First, always search by meal period (breakfast, lunch, or dinner) and not a specific time. The system will check a wider range of possibilities for you. Then, consider dining locations outside of the theme parks. On our last trip, we dined several times at The
Grand Floridian Cafe which is located at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa. Also check for availability at
Disney Springs restaurants. A few of our favorites are
Chef Art Smith's Homecomin' and
The Edison. I would suggest that you also try
The Wave... of American Flavors on a day when you are at Magic Kingdom. The restaurant is located in Disney's Contemporary Resort which is a 5-10-minute walk from the theme park.
Next, if you are traveling with a larger party, try working with another member of your party who has a My Disney Experience account to split your party into two smaller groups and search for dining reservations. If you can secure reservations for about the same time, you could ask the Cast Members to seat you together when you arrive to the restaurant. Although not guaranteed, we have been successful with some of our requests!
You may also take advantage of
Mobile Dine Walk-up Availability and
Mobile Food & Beverage Ordering if you are unable to secure advanced dining reservations. Just know that you need to use the My Disney Experience Mobile App to start checking early. On our last visit, I started to place an order using Mobile Food & Beverage Ordering one day and the pick-up time was going to be two hours from the time I was placing the order.
When I have been unable to make a dining reservation initially, I have continued to check. Cancellations do happen! So, do not lose hope. Just be persistent and check every day, several times a day. Also keep an eye on the
dining updates to make note of any changes to dining location availability prior to your visit.
Hannah, keep the dining reservation search alive! In the meantime, we are getting everything ready for your arrival to a world of magic!
Magic and memories,
Donyell