Disney Dining Reservations | Tips | Our Plans

Ever since we took our Disney trip last year, and planning for that particular trip, I've had tons of family, friends, facebook friends and even friends of facebook friends message me regarding the planning process. I've even had a few emails off of my blog asking me how we did a lot of what we did. The key to it all is planning!

I've said it before and I'll say it again, if you want to eat and meet a lot of characters you have to plan accordingly! Disney isn't a vacation to go without planning, especially when you have children.

The number one thing to plan are the Disney dining reservations. There are several locations that have character dining. So rather than wait hours in the parks to meet your favorite characters, they come to you while you eat. A lot of restaurants even have dance parties and other things to get the children, and adults, involved and having fun.

This ensures you and your family a spot to eat while meeting and greeting tons of characters.

You have to do this 180 days prior to your trip and the reservation website opens up at 6am on that 180 day mark. If you're not tech savvy and choose not to score those reservations via website, then the phone lines to make dining reservations open at 7am, however I highly suggest against it, because you'd be surprised how many of those highly anticipated restaurants book within that one hour!

The morning of, I get up around 5:30, make myself a cup of coffee, splash water on my face, brush my teeth and get prepared with my phone in hand. You can also do this on the Disney website but our computer is so slow that it's just a lot quicker to do it on the "my Disney experience" app which can be downloaded from the play store or iTunes at no cost.

Once you know where you're eating, make a list, have your dates, dining time wanted and of course, the restaurant name ready.

I bookmark those restaurants on my app by going to the app, typing in the restaurant name. Once the restaurant pops up there is a little heart, click on that and once the heart glows red, you have bookmarked it onto your favorites page. I have already done this in preparation for this weekend. 

This way, rather than wake up Sunday morning and type in each individual restaurant name (which will take time!) all I have to do is go to my wishlist page and voila, they are all right there in front of my face. Now all I have to do is click and book.

Also note that a credit card is required. If you have the dining plan, your card will not be charged, it's just used as a hold. So be wary if you don't show up the day of that reservation or if you're running late. Disney does charge for no-shows!

After talks with Tarl and Cadence and changing it about a dozen times, here is our final list:

Arriving on Friday...Chef Mickey's!

What a great restaurant to start off any Disney vacation by meeting the fab five, Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Goofy and Donald. A gorgeous, delicious buffet with all the signature Disney world characters, and also a dance during the meal!

Saturday...Be Our Guest (Belle's Castle) for breakfast and Cinderella's Royal Table (Cinderella's castle) for dinner. We also have a bibbidi bobbidi boutique booking for this day before our dinner. This is where your child can be transformed into a true princess. This also books 180 days in advance, but you cannot book this online. You have to book this by phone and be advised there are two locations, one in Disney Springs (formerly Downtown Disney) and one in Magic Kingdom in Cinderella's Castle. We're going to the one in Cinderella's Castle. In my opinion, that's the best one because your child is getting a princess makeover in a castle, what beats that?!

Sunday...Kona Cafe for breakfast and T-Rex in Disney Springs for dinner. Both of these restaurants are new to us. We've never ate at either of them, but I've heard nothing but great things about both. Kona Cafe is famous for their Tonga Toast, which is a banana stuffed french toast coated in cinnamon sugar. Yum! T-Rex in Disney Springs is loaded with dinosaurs and other primeval creatures. Friends of ours who go to Disney about as often as we do say this is a must do for them each trip, so we're trying it out.

Monday...dinner at Ohana's. Tarl said he didn't care where we ate the entire trip as long as we ate at Ohana's. This was his most favorite restaurant last year. Big skewers of meat, chicken and shrimp, along with endless other goodies, topped off with a bananas foster bread pudding covered in caramel sauce, all with a castle view of Magic Kingdom...it wasn't a tough choice to add this to the list again this year.

Tuesday...Akershus in Epcot! We had this for breakfast last trip and it was delicious! Most all of the princesses were there and Cinderella even danced with Cadence throughout the entire restaurant. We even got to take a picture with Belle upon arrival and received a complimentary 5x7 picture and two wallet sizes. This time we're trying it for dinner. 

Wednesday...breakfast at the Grand Floridian at 1900 Park Fare. The Grand Floridian is one of those resorts that you just have to see for yourself. It's just grand. White marble floors. Tall ceilings. Decorations of white and gold. Balconies. It's just stunning. One of the main reasons for booking 1900 Park Fare last year was so we could see The Grand Floridian in person. 1900 Park Fare during dinner you get the opportunity too meet Cinderella, Prince Charming, her two step-sisters and step-mother. This year we're going for the Mad Hatters breakfast. In attendance? Why the mad hatter of course, along with Alice in Wonderland, and a few other friends that change daily. I cannot wait to meet these characters because we didn't meet any of them last time  and Cadence wanted so badly to meet Alice.

Thursday...dinner in Epcot at The Garden Grill. Each time we've been to Disney we've admired this restaurant because it spins! You sit in circular booths that face toward the outside and they spin slowly that way you can see Disney's Living with the Land attraction while you dine, all the while meeting Chip and Dale and Farmer Mickey or Farmer Pluto or both...another new one for us that we are so excited to finally be trying!

Friday...dinner at Be Our Guest. Our second day in Disney we have reservations for breakfast at Be Our Guest, which is considered a quick service for breakfast and lunch. Breakfast is new however, and something we want to try, well because Cadence adores Belle and any opportunity to be in that castle we jump at, but we knew we wanted to do dinner too because you get to meet the Beast, which is another character we haven't got to meet yet and he's at the top of Cadence's list!

Just so you know too, no meal is alike. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are all different, so no two, or in this case, three, are the same, so if you want to eat here more than once on your trip for let's say breakfast and lunch or lunch and dinner, do it!

I cannot wait to make these reservations and fingers crossed I get them.

So remember...bookmark the restaurants on your wishlist for easy access come reservation day and already have that credit card stored in your Disney account, otherwise you'll be entering your credit card information every time you make a reservation which can be very tedious and result in time lost and others snagging those "must have" ressies!

Any questions, please feel free to email me. I love talking Disney :)

xo