Season's Greetings, Howard! Thanks for stopping by planDisney with your very merry question today! My family always makes a dining reservation to enjoy the Pioneer Players on stage at the
Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue or a dining experience with characters at one of our favorites like
Garden Grill Restaurant, so I'm happy to try to guide you to find a reservation that works for you!
Howard, when you go online to make your
advance dining reservations, you can add filters to your search for dinner shows and for
character dining (you'll see this option after you input your party size, date range, preferred dining time, and location). I recommend including all of your vacation dates in your initial search and then adding those filters to get an idea of availability. If you have a specific restaurant in mind, you can also search for that specific restaurant on the website and then search for specific availability. I do find that sometimes this gives me a little more of a refined search.
Since your
dining reservation window is already open, you may find some popular restaurants are not currently available. If this is the case, I encourage you to keep checking back, especially in the days leading up to your visit, and even the day of your visit! We have often found great character dining reservations the same day as other guests' plans have changed, and they've cancelled at the last minute!
If you need some help choosing, I'd love to share a few of my top picks with you in addition to the ones I've already mentioned:
- Brunch at Topolino's Terrace features Mickey, Minnie, Daisy, and Donald sharing their artistic talents with guests! The rooftop views of this location are stunning, and it's an easy trip using the Disney Skyliner from Disney's Art of Animation Resort over to the Riviera!
- Minnie's Holiday Dine at Hollywood and Vine in Disney's Hollywood Studios is a great character dining option that will get you into the holiday spirit!
- Tusker House Restaurant in Disney's Animal Kingdom Theme Park offers a chance to dine with Mickey and friends in their safari wear!
Howard, I hope this helps you to choose the perfect meal and find the perfect reservation! If you have any other questions before your visit, come back to
planDisney and let us know!
Happy Holidays,
Alison