Hey Howdy Hey Kathy and welcome back to planDisney!
Kathy one thing that I can truly appreciate is a well-thought-out plan to visit the Walt Disney World Resort. I'm glad to hear you are ahead of the game thinking about your
advanced dining reservation window and the specifics of it. Let's review the process and get you some answers so you are well-prepared for your big reservation day.
You are on the right track Kathy, as long as you are staying
onsite at a Disney Resort hotel, you will be able to make your dining reservations 60 days before your date of arrival. The +10 is where things get a little tricky. The rule is at the 60-day mark, you can book dining for your arrival day and 10 days in the future of that which should cover most, if not all of the days of your vacation you need to make reservations for. This makes it so you would not have to make reservations 60 days from day 1 of your trip, then 60 days from day 2 and so forth. Once your 60-day window opens, you can make your reservations for the whole trip.
On the morning your window opens, reservations can be made starting at 6:00 AM EST. Some resources will also state they may open at 5:45 AM which I have experienced at times but not consistently. This will come into play if you have very high-priority dining goals of say
Cinderella Royal Table. One big strategy for these higher-demand experiences is to try to make your reservations later in your trip rather than earlier. More people will have chances to book dining experiences earlier in your trip and you may find more limitations earlier compared to later.
I always feel that planning a trip to Walt Disney World is half of the fun of the vacation and I hope you feel the same! Best of luck getting all of your top dining experiences and if you have any other questions let us know.
To Infinity and Beyond,
Nick