Hello, dear Sophie!
Welcome to the Disney Parks Moms Panel!
I'm excited to help you because I had this experience a few months ago and I'm sure we can solve this mystery together!
All dining reservations at the Walt Disney World Resort can be modified depending on seating availability and cancellation policies. From my personal experience, I learned that it's harder to get more seats than to find a smaller table. In your case, the strategy to book a table for 6 Guests and then modify your reservation to accommodate 4 Guests sounds perfect. Modifications can be made over the phone or through the
My Disney Experience app, and both processes are super simple!
I planned a family vacation for 4 people last September, but we had 2 extra people decide to join us after I made all dining reservations. Some reservations were quickly modified to accommodate the additional travelers, but places like
Cinderella's Royal Table, for example, were harder to book. As long as you make the changes within the rules of the cancellation policies applied to each restaurant, you should be more than fine!
My advice is to
make all the reservations for 6 Guests and then change the plans if your brother is not able to join you. Keep in mind that your Guests must have tickets linked to their
My Disney Experience accounts by the time your FastPass+ window opens, so it's wise to have a decision by then.
If you're staying at a
Disney Resort hotel, you will be able to make
FastPass+ selections 60 days before your check-in date. That's a considerable advantage to book good FastPass+ spots for attractions like
Avatar - Flight of Passage at
Disney's Animal Kingdom Theme Park and the
Seven Dwarfs Mine Train at
Magic Kingdom Park.
I hope your brother can join you at the Walt Disney World Resort in April, Sophie! I'll be here crossing my fingers for you!
If more questions pop up before you cross the ocean to meet Mickey and his friends, please, let us know how we can help!
May the magic be with you,
Julie