I Booked This Impossible Disney World Reservation in 5 Minutes. Here's How.

Our DFB team has eaten at every single Disney World restaurant, so when it comes to booking Advanced Dining Reservations (ADRs), we know a few things about booking those really hard-to-get reservations.

Homecomin’

When planning a Disney World vacation, there can be a lot of pressure to book the “right” dining reservations. we’re willing to share our secrets on how we grab those coveted restaurant reservations every time. If you miss your window to book, it’s likely that those really coveted reservations will be gone. But don’t worry, we’re sharing our tips!

Set Those Alarms Early

Dining reservations open 60 days in advance, and if you are staying at a Disney World hotel, you can book your reservations for each day of your stay 60 days ahead of the first day of your stay. The reservations open at 6 AM Eastern, so you will want to be ready to go to your computer at 5:30 AM. This will allow you time to get everything set up ahead of time — you know, in case your laptop is dead and you can’t find the charger, or your router needs a reboot.

Storybook Dining at Artist Point

Bring Out All Of Your Devices

You’ll want to use your computer as well as your phone. On your laptop, open at least 2 incognito browser windows and log into your MyDisney account. You will want to go DIRECTLY to the restaurant page and start refreshing at least every 2 minutes once it turns 6 AM. But, don’t neglect the app on your phone; sometimes the mobile app has a different advantage. If you have someone else you can delegate to do one of those, we suggest that — strength in numbers.

Cinderella’s Royal Table

Party Size Varies

We suggest starting with your desired party size — but don’t be afraid to check for a variation of party sizes! If we need a reservation for 2, sometimes those aren’t available, but a reservation for 3 might be. Shifting up one party number might make the difference in securing that table!

If you’re looking for parties larger than 6, you’ll likely have to book those in smaller parties. You can have someone else in your travel group help you book these, so you can make multiple ADRs to include everyone. Now that will mean you won’t be seated together. You can ask the host when you check in about being seated together, but there’s no guarantee this will happen. This will help you get into that hard-to-get restaurant with a larger group — but if you must sit together, this isn’t the trick for you.

Full spread from our meal at Cinderella’s Royal Table

Don’t Give Up

If you aren’t able to grab that reservation you really wanted, don’t give up yet. Keep checking back as you get closer to your trip. People cancel plans and availability shifts pretty regularly. Also, don’t underestimate looking the day of for a reservation. Disney allows for cancellations up to 2 hours before the reservation, and things may become available.