Hi there, Crystal. Welcome to planDisney.
It looks like your trip to the
Happiest Place on Earth is less than one month away! I bet you’re excited to
return to a land of Magic! I’m sorry to hear you were unable to get an advance dining reservation for dinner. Dining reservations are snagged really quickly in the morning as soon as the booking window opens up. However, on our recent trip with my fellow Panelists, we were able to inquire about joining the walk-up list for Blue Bayou Restaurant and were able to get seated fairly quickly for a party of 6. That’s one suggestion I have for you: try to ask the Cast Member at the restaurant check-in area to see if you can join the walk-up list. This same process also worked when I visited Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge with my family last week and we decided to check for availability and quench our thirst at Oga’s Cantina. We joined the walk-up list and were seated at a booth within 20 minutes.
We found the
Disneyland mobile app very convenient to order food and beverages in advance during our last two trips. Last week, we even completed a mobile order for Mickey-shaped Beignets at Mint Julep Bar in Disneyland Park while waiting in line to board Pirates of the Caribbean. We anticipated the wait time and ride to take about 20 or so minutes, so we picked the ordering window that was 30 minutes away. As soon as we were done with the attraction, our beignets were ready! There were several instances when the standby line for popular food establishments were much shorter than the window for mobile order. This happened, for example, when we wanted to purchase food at Pym Test Kitchen for early lunch. I was about to place a mobile order but the Cast Member right outside Pym Test Kitchen said there is currently no wait for standby. I walked right up and ordered my food. Easy-peasy!
Crystal, I understand your worry especially when it comes to feeding your children. However, from my personal experience (as well as my fellow Panelists’), our food pick-up time for mobile order was never more than 45 minutes to an hour. And if that is what is listed on the Disneyland mobile app, be sure to ask a Cast Member about standby line. The same is true if you’re hoping to eat at a table service restaurant but were unable to obtain a dining reservation prior to your visit; just try asking a Cast Member if you can join the walk-up list.
I hope this information is helpful for you as you continue to plan your upcoming trip. Please don’t hesitate to visit us on
planDisney if you have more questions. We’re all EARS!
See ya real soon,
Kiki