Hi Penny,
Thank you for stopping by the planDisney panel with another great question!
Clearly, you are in the running for planner of the year! Yes, as long as you are logged into your
My Disney Experience account and your vacation package or resort hotel reservation is linked, the system will open your
advancing dining reservation window at 60 days prior to your vacation. To make our reservation process go smoothly, I create a chart with all of our plans including each restaurant and the time we would prefer to dine. I also make a note of any hard-to-get reservations and prioritize those first. For example, we are going for Thanksgiving this year, so I made our Liberty Tree Tavern dinner reservation first when I logged in to make dining reservations.
When making those dining reservations, remember that you will need a
Disney Park Pass system reservation if dining in a theme park. Also consider geography and your plans for the day. We like to make a few dinner reservations at our resort hotel so that when we finish, we are near our room and can just relax. And, we consider our transportation options to and from the dining location. The last thing we want to do is spend forever trying to get to the restaurant.
If you are unsure about transportation options, use the
My Disney Experience Mobile App, search for a location, select that location, hit "get directions," enter the second location, and you should be able to see the estimated transit times between locations as well as the transportation options. Also, as you plan, keep your eye on the
operational updates as well as the
dining updates since procedures and availability could change. And do not forget the fabulous dining options at
Disney Springs!
Penny, as you plan your dining options, I do hope you have considered a few signature meals. My family adores
Cinderella's Royal Table and
California Grill. There is nothing quite like dining in Cinderella Castle and the views of Magic Kingdom from California Grill are amazing! We cannot wait to welcome you back to a
world of magic soon!.
Magic and memories,
Donyell