Disney Dining Reservation Planning 101
Over the long weekend, on at least three separate occasions, I was reminded of the need to plan well in advance if you want to dine at Walt Disney World. I think it comes as a shock to first time WDW visitors, or those who have not visited in several years, how dining at Walt Disney World has changed and unless you plan on eating at food courts and quick service restaurants, you need to plan your meals at least six months in advance and especially if your vacation is during peak time. Why? The new Disney Dining plans are definitely a factor and some of the dining experiences have just become very, very popular.
Now planning your meals six months in advance may sound crazy to some people but if someone in your family has their heart set on dining with a particular character or you want to watch Wishes from the California Grill at the Contemporary, that’s exactly what you have to do. Dining reservations are accepted starting 180 days from your check-in date and what most people don’t know is you can make reservations for your entire trip starting that day.
So what do you need to do to plan that far ahead? Well, you have to plan your days! Wait you say! I haven’t even made my final payment on my trip and you want me to plan my days? Yep and here’s how you do it.
1. Do you homework. Either do your own research or find a travel agent who is an expert on Walt Disney World who can help you determine which restaurants are on your “Must Do” list, including some alternates as well in case your first choice is sold out or you didn’t read this until closer to your vacation and many reservations are already gone.
2. If you are staying at a Disney World Resort, you will be able to get into one park each morning an hour before the general public is allowed in. Plan to take advantage of this extra hour and start planning your days. How can you find out which park opens early each day? Do your own research or hook up with a good travel agent who can provide this information to you
3. Now that you know which parks you will visit on which days, look at your list of “must dos” and alternates, and create your dining schedule.
4. 180 (180+10 for resort guests) days prior to your check-in date either you or your travel agent needs to call 407-WDW-DINE and make your dining reservations. They open at 7am Eastern time and some of the most populae dining reservations sell out in minutes! Some reservations require a credit card quarantee so be sure to have your credit card handy.
5. Write down your confirmation numbers and you are done!
Now, you can sit back and relax until it’s time to plan how to navigate each park each day, but that is another story.
P. S. – Many restaurants offer late lunches so if the dinner reservations are sold out at your “must do” and alternates, try working in a late lunch instead. The menus are usually quite similar and the prices for lunch are typically a little less.
Bernadette Stark is a Certified Travel Agent and owner of Vacation Dreams Travel which specializes in Disney World and Disney Cruise Vacations.
| 0.0 |
Author profile. To change this standard text, you have to enter some information about your self in the Dashboard -> Users -> Your Profile box.