When people tell you that it’s hard to get certain dining reservations at Walt Disney World, they aren’t kidding. Anyone who has tried to book a Cinderella’s Royal Table Reservation during the Holiday’s will testify to the difficulty of trying to score their dream dinner. Some of the harder to book dining reservations (Be Our Guest, character meals, Ohana, Le Cellier, and the likes) can seem impossible to get into it, especially during peak travel times.Today, we’re breaking down how to book hard to get dining reservations at WDW, from sure fire ways, to under the radar tricks and tips.
1. Book Early (Duh.)
This might seem like a no-brainer, but the times that we’ve always gotten the dining reservations that we’ve wanted, is when we booked our dining reservations as early as possible, aka 180 days in advance. If you really want to be the early bird that gets the worm, start trying to make your online reservations at 6 am (eastern time).
2. Book Your Difficult Ones First
The first reservation you make should always be the most difficult one to get. For example, if you have your heart set on a dinner at Cinderella’s Royal Table, book it first, as it’s one of the hardest reservations to get. (Note that sometimes you can book this particular dining venue online, and sometimes you have to call Disney directly). Save easy reservations, that are usually open, like The Grand Floridian Cafe, for the last reservation you make.
3. Keep Trying
There are people out there (and we don’t like these people), that hoard restaurant reservations, only to cancel them right before the 24 hour mark so they don’t get charged. We’ve seen Le Cellier and Be Our Guest reservations available the day of, that weren’t available weeks earlier, from people that have cancelled their reservations at the last minute.
4. Have Different Accounts
On trips that we’re trying to score multiple hard to get reservations, David and I will try to book them from separate, unlinked, My Disney Experience Accounts.
It can feel like a struggle (and the struggle is REAL) to get some of the coveted dining reservations at WDW. It requires you to be a planning person, and an early planning person at that. But with a few simple tips in mind, you can easily snag all the reservations you want. We hope this blog makes it easier for you to plan your trip, and a little less stressful.