Tips for getting reservations at the Disney restaurants you want

Getting reservations at some of Disney World’s most popular restaurants can be difficult, even when you book at your 180 day mark. We are often asked what to do to get an Advanced Dining Reservation (ADR) at some of the most sought after restaurants on Disney World property.

Tips for getting reservations at the Disney restaurants you want:

Start Early!

Nearly every Disney World restaurant is available to book 180 days in advance. Reservations start online and by calling (407) WDW-DINE at 6 am EST. If you’ve booked your vacation more six months out you’ve got some time to decide where you want to eat, and have the advantage of booking exactly at the 180 day mark. We recommend using an online calculator (like Calculator Soup)to determine your date. If you’ve booked with less than 180 days, then start thinking about what parks you’ll want to be at and on what days so you can plan your dining as soon as possible. If you are staying on Walt Disney World property you can book up to 10 days after your 180 day check-in date. The sooner you can book your reservations, the better your chances of getting the restaurants you want.

Prioritize

This is very important! Start by booking the restaurants that are most difficult to get and you want most. It doesn’t matter the dates. This way if you can get one of the date you had planned you can try for another date and fill them in that way. Once you reserve the restaurants you want most, you’ll easily be able to get the rest. For example, if you are wanting to dine at Be Our Guest, Via Napoli, Chef Mickey’s, Le Cellier and Kona Cafe – you’ll want to book Be Our Guest and Le Cellier first, then Chef Mickey’s and lastly Via Napoli and Kona Cafe.

Be Prepared

When you call or login make sure that you have all of the information that you need in front of you – your reservation number, the list of everyone in your travel party that will be dining for each reservation, what you want and a credit card (for reservations that require a credit card at booking). You can go online ahead of time and input most of this information under “My Disney Experience”. On your reservation day you’ll just click on “Things to Do” then “Dining” – “Make Reservations”. You’ll be most successful at getting your restaurants if you’re flexible. When searching by restaurant, search by meal (breakfast, lunch or dinner) instead of a specific time.

Don’t Give Up

If at first you don’t success – try, try again. You may find that you can’t get some of the most popular restaurants like Be Our Guest, Cinderella’s Royal Table and Le Cellier Steakhouse. Disney has tried to give everyone the opportunity to book restaurants like these by adding a credit card guarantee, which has lead to people canceling all the time. Just because you don’t get it one day, doesn’t mean you won’t get it the next. We’ve been able to get restaurants that were sold out just weeks before arrival due to people canceling.

These are just some of our tips for getting the reservations you want. Good luck and happy dining!