Hi there Roxy, and welcome to planDisney!
We're so glad you've chosen to be our guest as you plan for your very merry getaway this December. Thanks for your patience as we assist all those anxious to celebrate the
upcoming holiday season in the Most Magical Place on Earth!
I'm sorry to hear you're having trouble securing dining reservations for your trip, but I have a couple of ideas that might help. I used the
online dining reservation tool and found availability at a variety of restaurants in the theme parks, resorts, and
Disney Springs for your vacation week, so I'm hoping you can find something that works using some of my tips. Let's dig in!
First, if you have a large party, try dividing your group in half and making separate reservations within 15-30 minutes of each other. You'll need two My Disney Experience accounts to make this work, but sometimes you have more options with smaller parties. Last summer I visited with extended family, and instead of reserving tables of 9, we booked as two parties of 4 or 5 and had more success making reservations.
Another tip I have for making advance dining reservations is to select a time rather than a meal period. Instead of choosing "Dinner" from the dropdown menu, pick, for example, 6:00, and the system will still search for openings within an hour or so on either side of that time. If you don't find anything during your initial search, check back every so often to see if availability changes.
Some of my family's favorite restaurants in Walt Disney World are located outside of the theme parks, and sometimes it can be easier to reserve a table at these lesser-known, but just as excellent eateries. Consider venturing out of the theme parks for lunch or dinner at a nearby resort. We enjoy the
Grand Floridian Cafe,
Sanaa, and
Olivia's Cafe. Some restaurants offer walk-up lounge seating where the entire menu is generally available; this is a great option if you don't have a reservation.
Finally, if nothing works out, I recommend searching for reservations a day or two in advance, just ahead of the required cancelation window, and then again on the day you would like to dine. My panelist pals and I have used the
Mobile Dine Walk-Up Waitlist feature in the past, and these days, it looks like
Genie will assist with same-day dining reservations.
I hope that all of your Walt Disney World dining dreams come true, Roxy! Best wishes for a delightfully delicious adventure, and we'll see ya real soon!
Bon appétit,
Betsy