What You Need to Know About
Booking Dining Reservations

There are two types of restaurants.

  • Table Service

    These are meals where you sit down and are served by a wait staff. These meals will likely take 1-2 hours and I highly recommend a reservation. All Character Meals are Table Service, but not all Table Service are Character Meals.

  • Quick Service

    This is your fast food option. You will mobile order or wait in line, order and pick up the food at the counter. Then find a seat! Some have indoor seating, some have outdoor. This is much faster than Table Service and some are REALLY good.

Table Service Dining Reservations take 60 - 90 minutes.

That’s a significant portion of your park day. I do not suggest booking more than one table service meal per day unless you are planning a food-focused trip!

If you plan to have your planner book dining reservations for this trip, please make sure that you:

  1. Log in to your Disney app and enter a Payment Method under your profile.

  2. Send all dining requests by 1 p.m. the day before your Dining Day.  

We can make your reservations 60 days before your check-in date! 

Your Dining Day is listed on your confirmation email, and you will get an email reminder from me before it’s time to make your reservations. 

Here is our list of recommended reservations!

DINING RECOMMENDATIONS

You won’t find EVERY possible option here, but these are the one’s we recommend. Both quick service & table service!

If you are feeling anxiety about getting the perfect dining reservations:

Please know that you are not alone. There tends to be a lot of stress surrounding dining reservations. I want to make sure you know that you DO NOT NEED to make dining reservations to have a great trip. There are TONS of fantastic quick service options. 

Dining will not make or break your trip. 

You can still see characters without a character meal & you can still find indoor seating and have a great meal at a Quick Service location.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT HARD TO GET RESERVATIONS:

When you stay on-site, you get to make dining reservations for your entire trip 60 days before you check-in → that means everyone checking in before you will have first dibs on the reservations during your trip.

Because of this, those super hard to get reservations can be completely booked before your dining window even opens.

We want to make your reservations as soon as possible when your reservation window opens to have the best chance to get you want you want.

Tips on choosing your reservations:

  • If you have an extremely popular dining destination on your must-do list, I recommend scheduling it for later in your trip (Day 5+) when it is more likely to have availability. Those first few days (1-4) will always have lower availability.

  • Unless your trip is designed around food, I recommend only making one Table Service or Character dining reservation daily. I like having at least one because it lets you get out of the heat, rest your feet, and relax.

  • You can make a reservation at any resort, you do not have to be a guest to eat there!

  • You do need to have a park ticket to eat inside of a park.

When should you have a sit-down meal?

Option 1: Eat at off times (between 2-4 p.m.) and grab a table service reservation for mid-day when it's hot and the lines are long. This is my preferred option.

Option 2: Take advantage of park time and have a nice reservation waiting for you when the parks close in Disney Springs OR any resort! You can also consider a just before park closing reservation time so that you can walk out to an empty park!  (between 8-10 pm)

Option 3: Have a nice long breakfast, particularly if you're doing a character breakfast like Chef Mickey's or Topolinos. This is best done on a rest day. I like to book them on my checkout day as a good way to say "goodbye, Disney!"

I don’t recommend an early table service breakfast on a park day. You want to use that morning time to maximize your time in the parks. If you do want a long, sit down breakfast, book it for after 10 am, when the park begins to get more crowded.

Please also make sure you have a credit card on file under”My Profile - Payment Method” in your Disney app. There is no fee to book dining reservations (except for select reservations like Cinderella's Royal Table - I will let you know if you choose a reservation with a booking fee) but there must be a card on file to make dining reservations. 

I may need to split you into multiple reservations if you have a large party. I will make them as close together as possible. When you check in at the restaurant, you can ask to be seated together, and Disney will do their best to accommodate. 

To book your dining reservations, I will need the following information sent to me by 1 p.m. the day before your booking window (at the very latest):

  • Dates/Restaurant/Preferred time/Party size 

  • If you have any food allergies I need to be aware of (I'll note them on your reservation)

  • Have a valid credit card stored in your Disney account and your profile updated with your address/phone number. It will not be charged; it is used to hold the reservations. 

I cannot guarantee that I can get you everything on your list, only that I will do my best!

I am looking forward to hearing what you decide!


If you want to make your own reservations, please let me know that, too. Your family can book dining reservations for your vacation week either on My Disney Experience at 6 a.m. EST or the phone line at 7 a.m. EST.