Last Minute Dining - Can It Be Done?

I am back with a pretty hot topic in the Disney community....that's right we are covering DINING! PSA: No this has nothing to do with the Disney Dining Plan, or anything about the return of that plan. When more news and information comes back about that - believe me I will share!

What I am covering today can be considered one of the most frustrating aspects of booking a Disney trip and that is securing those Advanced Dining Reservations (ADRs). Whether you are planning your trip 61+ days in advance, or like to wing it like me - I am here to give you a couple of tips to maximize your trip and *hopefully* fulfill your dreams.

Early Planners - Trips Planned 61+ days out:

If you have planned any Disney trip in the last decade you know that to eat at a sit-down (table service) restaurant in WDW you must make a reservation in advance (hence the ADR references everywhere). These reservations become available 60 days prior to your trip.

A. If you are a resort guest, your entire booking window opens up 60 days from your check-in date. (Example: If you are checking in to the Contemporary Resort on Thursday June 9th, 2022 - your booking window for dining opened today for the length of your stay)

B. If you are a non-resort guest, your window will open up 60 days prior to whatever day you are planning to eat at. (Example: If you stay off property, but you check in the same day as the person above - you will have to plan your meals more carefully and know the correct day is 60 days out in order to book a reservation)

The only new advice I am offering here for my 61+ day out people is...you may STILL not get what you want even after careful planning, setting multiple alarms, and having every piece of technology at your disposal! So WHAT if ANYTHING can you do? (See below)

Last Minute Trippers (and my group that has been scorned above)...listen up!

While yes your dining reservations can be made 60 days in advance, and yes certain restaurants will be gone in mere minutes after 6am...that does not mean you should lose hope and settle for less!

Story Time!

So it is November and my husband and I were watching our favorite YouTube channel, AllEars.Net (seriously check them out - they are lifesavers when it comes to Disney planning wizardry). Anyway! We got inspired to check out Disney during the holiday season - one problem IT WAS ALREADY NOVEMBER. Not only were we toying with the idea of scurrying down to Orlando last minute, but to Disney? During the HOLIDAY? We clearly were in the right frame of mind. Well we made the decision within 48 hours of our crazy idea, that idea became a scheme, the scheme became a solid plan and that plan was probably one of the most memorable trips I have had thus far.

The famous 'Ohana noodles

Why does any of that matter? Well about two weeks later I was using my noggin and making

sure I was checking around for available dining options, I was pretty open to anything but I had some "big fish" in mind. One glorious Saturday morning from my couch I am clicking through the dining options and what do I see? A 3:55 'Ohana Dinner just sitting there. I stared in disbelief longer than I should have, consulted the husband, dropped my phone in excitement, then snatched that puppy up!

Let's understand something here - we did not plan a trip outside of that 60 day window and still had big dreams you know?

Here is what helped me score some pretty choice last minute dining reservations:

1. Become best friends with the My Disney Experience™ App. This little app is powerful if you know how to use it properly. I am on this thing every day clocking wait times, checking for available dining during busy seasons, poking around the different features, etc. Having a working knowledge of this app helps get you your dining reservations quicker than logging into a computer (not saying don't use a laptop believe me, there are plenty of situations where having an actual computer can help as well).
   

2. Know what you are looking for. If you have your dream restaurant in mind then when you log on to your MDE app, instead of checking for all available dining you need to type your restaurant of choice into the search bar and click "Reserve Dining." This will allow you to select the date and times you want to eat at. I like to toggle between Lunch - Dinner then click each time individually (letting it load in between clicks) to see if anything pops up. PLEASE NOTE: You should not make a dining reservation for a table service restaurant if you are not going to be in that park that day, or you do not have a park pass reservation secured. Your cancellation window is only 24 hours so don't wait until the real last minute to plan, only to find out you cannot enter that park that day and also cannot cancel your reservation.
   

3. Keep your options open. This is the exact opposite advice I gave you in #2. Sometimes the best plan you can have for WDW is no plan. If you lucked out with all of your must eat at restaurants (whether you were a 60 day out person or not) and you've been checking thoroughly there comes a time when you have to be open to other options. In a place like WDW with 4 parks full of dining and Disney Springs, you really can't go wrong! Scoring something is better than nothing, and I'll bet you won't be disappointed that you "settled."

4. The days leading up to your trip are critical. Remember that 24 hour cancellation window I mentioned earlier? Yeah, people get really scared about that and our "reservation hoarders" who were holding on to a few extra options just in case have now dropped them in order to not be charged. BOOM - there is your opening. By following points #1 and #2 you would have seen those options pop up before anyone else gets wind and you won't even have to THINK about #3. However, if you did end up booking something because of point #3, now you can cancel (as long as you are still more than 24 hours out from the reservation time). I have seen the occasional Be Our Guest or Cinderella's Royal Table pop up - but they are few and far between, and they get snatched up real quick.
   

5. If possible: be flexible. Unless you have strict park pass reservations, you can always be more open to when you want to eat at a particular restaurant. Eating at a resort, or in Disney Springs allows you the opportunity to schedule those meals virtually any time and day during your trip. Table service restaurants within the parks however require a park pass reservation and those (depending on the season) cannot be moved.

Well there you have it! 5 quick pieces of advice to ponder over for your next WDW vacation. The only way to make this whole process go smoother is to use a Disney Planner like myself or others that can make those reservations FOR you, or constantly check the MDE app FOR you, even call in to make special requests or manage that reservation FOR you.

I hope this helps you get the meal of your dreams! As always, if there is anyway I can help you can contact me on my homepage, visit me on Facebook at Catt in the Kingdom Travel, or view my Disney shenanigans on Instagram @catt_inthekingdom.