Hi, Samantha! Welcome to planDisney! Thank you for bringing your question about reserving dining for a split stay. Let's dissect it for you.
I happen to love split stays because they are almost like two vacations in one. I don't know about you, but I get the post-Disney blues so badly at the end of my Disney vacations. With a split stay, when one vacation ends, the next one begins, and that helps just a bit. Another thing I love about split stays is if I can't snag a dining reservation I really want for the first part of the trip, I'll have another opportunity to try again a few days later.
Essentially, you'll be dividing your vacation between multiple reservations, and your check out day for one reservation is the same as your check in day for the next. As such, you'll have a unique reservation number for each part of your trip, and each reservation comes with its own arrival date. An advantage of staying at a
Disney Resorts Collection Hotel is that you'll be able to reserve dining for the duration of your reservations beginning 60 days in advance of each individual arrival date. Assuming there are two sections to your trip and two reservation numbers, there will also be two dates on which dining can be reserved. While you may have hoped you'd be able to reserve dining for your entire trip 60 days in advance of your first arrival date, it is nice to get multiple chances at some of those trickier reservations.
Samantha, as you are planning out your dining reservation strategy, a trick I've had luck with is prioritizing hard-to-get reservations first and reserving those for further into your trip. This will give you an advantage over those who aren't staying at a Disney Resorts Collection Hotel because they can only book 60 days in advance of each individual day.
I couldn't help but notice that you'll be there at the beginning of
EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival, which will be happening from March 4 - June 1 this year. One of my favorite parts of the festival is seeing all the beautiful topiaries around EPCOT. Since we are on the subject of food, make sure you save some room to sample fresh spring flavors at Outdoor Kitchens. Keep an eye on the
Disney Parks Blog for more information. There, they'll post the Foodie Guide with the festival menu. You can also take in the Garden Rocks Concert Series at America Gardens Theater, which is included with your EPCOT admission.
Samantha, I hope you get every dining reservation your heart desires and that your trip is as fun and delicious as you dream it to be. If you have any other questions, please bring them back to planDisney.
Have a magical trip!
Melanie