A Disney Dining Reservation can be hard to get — especially if you are looking for a popular or character meal. But I have some tips & tricks to make sure you snag the ones you want!
As I am sure you know by now I am a Disney Vacation Club member. My family and I visit Walt Disney World at least two times a year, if not more. One of our favorite things to do is character dining. However, because of the price tag we tend to only book one or two a trip. But that isn’t as easy as you might think. There are certain restaurants that fill up fast. They are near impossible to book. But I have you covered with these tips and tricks!
Hardest Reservations To Get
Some Disney Dining Reservations are fairly easy to grab. Especially if you are flexible with your date and time. But others can be really tough. If you are thinking about booking any of the following restaurants, start planning now and take advantage of my tips and tricks to make sure you snag it!
- Ohana
- Be Our Guest
- Cinderella’s Royal Table
- Topolino’s Terrace
- The Crystal Palace
- Akershus Royal Banquet Hall
- Le Cellier
- T-Rex
- Story Book Dining at Artist Point with Snow White
After years of visiting, I finally have a perfected system. I have yet to miss out on a Disney Dining Reservation that I have wanted now because of these simple tricks.
Book Towards The End Of Your Trip
If you are staying on the Walt Disney World property, you can book your meals 180 days out from the first day of your trip. What exactly does this mean? Well, say you are staying for 7 days, you can book for your entire trip.
So my first tip is to book that hard to get meal on your last or second to last day. Why? Because not many people have had a chance to book that far out yet. Technically you are booking at 187 days out, and that makes it easier to snag your bucket list restaurant before it fills up.
Check Again At 24 Hours Out
Did you know that you can cancel your Disney Dining Reservation up to 24 hours out with no fee? Well you can. And that brings me to tip number two: If you haven’t been able to snag that restaurant you want to eat at yet, check again at the 24 hour out mark. Chances are at least one group has decided not to keep their reservation, and you can snag it up before someone else does!
Use MouseDining
If there is a certain restaurant that you really want to book a meal at, the MouseDining website can help you out! It is super easy to use, and you get up to 6 alerts for free. Simply select the restaurant and time frame you are looking for, and MouseDining will email and/or text you when a reservation opens up.
The only downside to this is that you don’t know how many other people have signed up for that alert, and someone might the reservation before you do. But with this, combined with my other tips, you should be able to snag any Disney dining reservation that you want!
Tessa Smith is a Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer-approved Film and TV Critic. On Camera personality and TV / Film Critic with 10+ years of experience in video editing, writing, editing, moderating, and hosting.