If your family is like mine, the question “where are we eating?” gets asked more than any other question when we’re in Disney. This makes sense because having dining reservations is a big deal.
If you aren’t making dining reservations before your trip, you’re going to be disappointed when you realize all the good places – especially Character Dining – are booked up.
I’m giving you two things: a quick overview of Disney dining reservations and a free dining planner, which you can get here.
Disney dining goes under one of two umbrellas: QUICK SERVICE or TABLE SERVICE. Let’s talk about Table Service, since those are the only kind you can make reservations for.
Where do I start?
I would avoid Google and stay within the Disney website – start filtering the dining results by cuisine type, location, and reviews. It’s not cheating to look at menus beforehand! Don’t get too hung up on recommendations. If there’s nothing on the menu that you wouldn’t order IN A HEARTBEAT, move on.
How soon can I make a dining reservation?
Right now Disney’s policy allows you to book dining reservations 60 days before your trip. You’ll need tickets already linked to your My Disney Experience account, and if the restaurant is within a park, you’ll need a Theme Park Reservation.
Normally, you can book 180 days before. Yes, six months. Welcome to planning for Disney.
How do I book dining?
On the morning of your “ADR Day”, log in to your My Disney Experience account (I prefer desktop) and have your dining planner ready. You can start reserving at 6 am EST, but some reservations open as early as 5:45 am. Pour that coffee, hit “things to do” and choose “make reservations
Start booking from hardest-to-snag to easiest, not chronological order.
Your list should have this info:
- Restaurant’s full name
- Date
- Time you want
- Your party size (babies count)
- An alternate place + time, just in case
Have your credit card nearby, they’ll need it to hold your reservation. When in doubt, overbook – you can always cancel within 24 hours of your reservation.
I created this planner for myself so I wanted you to have it. You can print it as many times as you want for lots of dining reservations. I like to put the PDF file into my GoodNotes so I can write/erase to my heart’s content.
Happy planning!
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If your family is like mine, the question “where are we eating?” gets asked more than any other question when we’re in Disney. This makes sense because having dining reservations is a big deal.
If you aren’t making dining reservations before your trip, you’re going to be disappointed when you realize all the good places – especially Character Dining – are booked up.
I’m giving you two things: a quick overview of Disney dining reservations and a free dining planner, which you can get here.
Disney dining goes under one of two umbrellas: QUICK SERVICE or TABLE SERVICE. Let’s talk about Table Service, since those are the only kind you can make reservations for.
Where do I start?
I would avoid Google and stay within the Disney website – start filtering the dining results by cuisine type, location, and reviews. It’s not cheating to look at menus beforehand! Don’t get too hung up on recommendations. If there’s nothing on the menu that you wouldn’t order IN A HEARTBEAT, move on.
How soon can I make a dining reservation?
Right now Disney’s policy allows you to book dining reservations 60 days before your trip. You’ll need tickets already linked to your My Disney Experience account, and if the restaurant is within a park, you’ll need a Theme Park Reservation.
Normally, you can book 180 days before. Yes, six months. Welcome to planning for Disney.
How do I book dining?
On the morning of your “ADR Day”, log in to your My Disney Experience account (I prefer desktop) and have your dining planner ready. You can start reserving at 6 am EST, but some reservations open as early as 5:45 am. Pour that coffee, hit “things to do” and choose “make reservations
Start booking from hardest-to-snag to easiest, not chronological order.
Your list should have this info:
- Restaurant’s full name
- Date
- Time you want
- Your party size (babies count)
- An alternate place + time, just in case
Have your credit card nearby, they’ll need it to hold your reservation. When in doubt, overbook – you can always cancel within 24 hours of your reservation.
I created this planner for myself so I wanted you to have it. You can print it as many times as you want for lots of dining reservations. I like to put the PDF file into my GoodNotes so I can write/erase to my heart’s content.
Happy planning!
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My 10 Biggest Planning Mistakes
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