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for full-service restaurants. The reason is this: All families on the plan will be eating at least one full-service meal each day, which in itself means more dining demand since in the past many budget-conscious families stuck to counter-service meals. More families are also going for character meals under the plan; many of the character meals only count as one full-service credit, and others, such as those in Cinderella castle, require you to combine two credits. Either way, it means that since character dining is more affordable under the plan, there are more people than ever trying to book those seats.

Additionally, the fact that the system allows guests to combine meals if they want to try a signature dining venue means that people who otherwise wouldn’t have considered the California Grill or other upscale spots are trying to get in. The result? Guests on the Disney Dining Plan are flooding the full-service restaurants in such great numbers that all guests—including those who aren’t on the plan or who aren’t staying at Disney hotels—are feeling the squeeze.

Consider the experience of this grandmother from Rhode Island. “We have visited Disney World many times and have certain restaurants we know we enjoy. For our upcoming visit we decided against the dining plan but imagine my surprise when I called for reservations two months in advance and found that we could not get into eight of our 10 favorites. Some of them were giving us ridiculous times like 10 PM for dinner, and others were simply saying there was nothing available at all. We were crushed!”

Making Reservations

The system works like this: a reservation doesn’t hold the restaurant to a specific time for seating you but rather guarantees you the next available table after you arrive. Let’s say you made advance reservations for four people at 7 PM. When you show up at 7, your table won’t be waiting with your name on it, but you will be given the next available table for four. Waits average between 10 and 30 minutes, but it’s still far better than walking in with no prior arrangement.

A mom from New Jersey offers this council: “Get to your reservation a few minutes early. They’ll seat you in the order that you arrive and check in, so someone arriving at 5:50 for a 6 PM reservation gets the jump on the other six people who have reservations for the same time.”

So how do you make reservations? You can either call 407/939–3463 (407/WDW–DINE) or make them online up to 180 days in advance of the day for which you want reservations. Admittedly, this requires some planning. Ideally, you’ll sketch out a general schedule for each day and evening of your vacation, so you’ll know that on Tuesday you’re having dinner at Epcot and on Saturday you’re having a character breakfast.

If you’ve arrived at Disney without dining reservations, you can try to get last-minute slots by calling 407/WDW–DINE as soon as you know where to eat. Call with your cell phone while you’re in line for a ride, or, if you’re staying at an on-site hotel, you can also press the dining button on your hotel room phone. You won’t get Saturday night seating at California Grill by waiting until you get there but if you’re flexible about where and when you eat, finding last-minute reservations is possible.

You can make reservations for different restaurants at the same time. They’re more than used to no-shows at the Disney restaurants and there aren’t penalties, except at experiences like the dinner shows or character meals, where a credit-card deposit is required. As a rule, it’s better to overbook than underbook.

Helpful Hint

Disney restaurant hours are sometimes changed or shortened during the off-season, but signature restaurants are always open.

You can also try to reserve in person at the restaurants or at Guest Relations (a.k.a. Guest Services) on arrival. Since many people overbook, on any given day about 20% of the people with reservations will be no-shows, offering a window of opportunity for people who prefer to make last-minute decisions. There’s no guarantee, but you might