One of the biggest milestones in planning for a Walt Disney World Vacation is booking dining at the start of the Advanced Dining Reservation window. At approximately 5:45 AM ET, 60 days before your check in day, you can book restaurants that allow Advanced Dining Reservations for up to ten days following your check in day.
Depending on where in the world you’re located, this early start time can turn into a painfully early start time and one of the absolute best perks of booking with a Disney travel agent is having someone else take this on for you- for free!
If you think you can sleep in and book a couple hours later, you may be wrong. Depending on where you want to eat, reservations disappear within seconds of the window opening. Knowing what to go after first and on what day of your trip can be key to scoring the more difficult reservations.
There are a handful of reservations that are extremely difficult to secure due to the ratio of the demand compared to the restaurant’s capacity. In my experience, the toughest ADRs to score are (in no particular order):
Topolino’s Terrace – Riviera Resort
Specifically for breakfast, Topolino’s reservations disappear almost instantaneously at the opening of the booking window. The breakfast, unlike the dinner, includes a visit from Disney pals Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy- all dressed in their best artist attire.
In my opinion, the demand at Toplino’s is majorly fueled by the quality of the food. This is a restaurant that has GREAT food not just great THEME PARK food. When it comes to character dining options, the same cannot be said for every restaurant.
Woody’s Roundup Rodeo BBQ – Hollywood Studio’s
The newness of this restaurant and the fun theming continue to generate a very high demand. I think this one will ease up as the years go on, but for now it remains a challenging reservation, especially if you want a prime meal time.
Reviews of the food itself are mixed. I think this has to do with where you’re from and how much you protect the definition of “barbeque,” but many really enjoy this family style offering!
Cinderella’s Royal Table – Magic Kingdom
This has been one of the most difficult reservations to get since the dawn of the reservation system. A character meal with princesses INSIDE of Cinderella’s Castle? It doesn’t get much more Disney than that and families flock to this experience as a result.
California Grill – Contemporary Resort
Here we have another option with a stunning menu that gets rave reviews from foodies! It even gets a nod in the Michelin Guide! Especially among our adult parties, California Grill wows with its menu and it’s perfect views of the Magic Kingdom resort.
Couple this dining experience with a time frame that allows you to see the fireworks at the Magic Kingdom while you dine and you’ve got the perfect dinner to celebrate a special occasion.
Be Our Guest – Magic Kingdom
Although it’s not quite as insane as it was right after it opened, Be Our Guest remains a very tough reservation to score. The beautiful theming of the restaurant places this restaurant at the very top of many guests lists.
Shockingly- you can’t actually meet Belle during this meal but you can spot the Beast walking through the Grand Ballroom, West Wing, and Library of his castle while you dine.
Space 220 – EPCOT
A new joiner to the scene- Space 220 continues to command a place on this list. Themed around dining on a space station, you can enjoy a space themed menu while enjoying sweeping panoramic views of space “high above” EPCOT after a quick ride on the space elevator.
I expect this one to wane as the reviews of the food are never stellar (pun intended) but for now it remains a tough one.
Ohana – Polynesian Resort
Many years after opening, this family style dining offering remains a beloved choice with many repeat diners.
This is another option with a great view of the Magic Kingdom fireworks as well. Additionally, many of the items on the menu have their own fan clubs- like the noodles that were removed from the menu and brought back due to guest outrage!
Our travel agents have several tricks up their sleeves to secure these tough-to-get reservations. Even if we can’t score them right at 60 days, we continuously check availability to increase our odds of scooping up a cancellation right up until your trip.
If you prefer sleeping to a heart pounding, world clock countdown mad dash for booking in the wee hours of the morning- let us know! We include this standard as part of our free service as Disney travel agents. Reach out to us today and check this task off your list- we’ve got you covered!