Tips to Scoring the Best Dining Reservations

Eat at Non-Traditional Meal Times

When most people think of lunchtime, we think noon. Dinner is generally somewhere between 5 and 7 PM, but at Disney both lunch and dinner have different meanings. Lunch begins as early as 11 AM and can extend to almost 3 PM, while dinner starts shortly afterwards at 3:30 PM and can go as late as 11 PM.  Rather than trying to define your meals at the traditional times, we recommend some flexibility when it comes to your advanced dining reservations to help find the best table!

Try a Travel Agent

A lot of travel agents are fee-free, meaning that you don’t pay them, but Disney does.  These travel professionals can be a great option to get the best reservations since they are constantly dealing with reservations and can always check to see if there are any additional openings to get your family the reservation they want. Moreover, these agents have the time to be able to begin making your reservations at the 180-day mark, while the rest of us have other obligations (kids, school, work) to worry about!

Check Last Minute

Disney has begun enforcing a per person cancellation fee if guests fail to show up or timely cancel dining reservations.  Due to this, guests may have some good luck finding last minute dining reservations in the week or even the day before the desired reservation. Our family has had particular success using this method to score reservations for the coveted ‘Ohana dinner. It is important to not give up hope if you haven’t gotten that reservation before you leave for your vacation — you may still be in luck!

Reservations at Disney World are essential when it comes to almost every part of the trip — rides, resorts, and, most importantly, restaurants!  It can feel overwhelming, but keep these tips in mind when trying to make your advanced dining reservations for your next trip and you’ll have the best chance of grabbing the best ones!