Whether it was in Disney World or in your hometown, restaurants experienced limited capacity restrictions beginning in March of 2020 that seemed to all but erase reservation availability. Since then, however, capacity has more or less returned to normal — but has Disney’s Advance Dining Reservation process gotten any easier?
Oak-fired Filet of Beef at California Grill
A lack of available dining reservations seems to be a hot-button topic and many readers have reached out with concerns. This led us to wonder if there were actually NO/very limited Advance Dining Reservations in Disney World. We put on our investigator hats and got to work to get an answer!
We actually got a pretty quick answer and realized that yes, there are plenty of dining reservations available. However, they may not be the reservations that you’re looking for!
What actually IS available right now?
We conducted several searches to see which Disney World dining reservations would pop up, and we got a decent amount to choose from no matter what date we chose! We started with an ultra last-minute dining reservations and searched for the following calendar day. If you wanted to book a reservation for, say, tonight, we were able to find a 7:00PM dinner reservation for two at Be Our Guest Restaurant. Not bad if you want to dine in the Beast’s castle with little to no notice!
Be Our Guest Restaurant reservation availability for December 22nd, 2021 as of December 21st © Disney
Other options that popped up within 24 hours of the reservation time included Oga’s Cantina and La Crêperie de Paris, one of EPCOT’s newest restaurants. These are just a few of the many dining reservations we found. If you wanted to eat at a table service restaurant within 24 hours at Disney World, there appears to be plenty of options available (they just may not be your first choice!).
La Creperie de Paris!
If you want to improve your odds of finding your top-choice reservation, then you’re going to want to book as early as possible. So, our next search was for 60 days out — the furthest you can currently book — and found multiple reservations available at restaurants like Le Cellier, Be Our Guest Restaurant, Citricos, and Steakhouse 71.
Click here for a list of common mistakes to avoid when booking a dining reservation in Disney World!
So what is so difficult to find?
There are a few table service restaurants that have been known for years as spots where it is pretty difficult to find an Advance Dining Reservation. This was true before the closures and it remains true to this day! Amongst all of our searches, we had a hard time finding much, if any, reservations for restaurants like Cinderella’s Royal Table, California Grill, ‘Ohana, and another new EPCOT restaurant, Space 220.
Florida Red Snapper from Space 220
However, as we were digging, we DID manage to find a lunch reservation for 2 at 11:40AM for ‘Ohana 60 days in advance! So in some instances, they are available — you might just have to click around for a few minutes to see if it pops up.
‘Ohana reservation availability on February 19th, 2022 as of December 21st © Disney
These reservations are not impossible to find, but they are still tricky to come across and require a little extra planning. Next, we’ll tackle a few tips that we can provide to make your reservation search process a bit smoother!
Click here to find out which reservations will be the hardest to get a reservation for in 2022!
Tips for securing the perfect dining reservation.
Like we mentioned earlier, the best way to improve your odds of getting your first choice Advance Dining Reservation (ADR) is to be ready to book right when your ADR window opens up for your trip 60 days out. Reservations become available at approximately 5:45AM EST, so you’ll want to make sure you set your alarm that morning!
Cinderella’s Royal Table
When it comes time to book, book those mega-popular restaurants first before the reservations are gone. These include but are not limited to ‘Ohana, Cinderella’s Royal Table, Space 220, Chef Mickey’s, and California Grill, though a number of other restaurants could have fluctuating demand throughout the year.
California Grill
Searching for reservations at non-peak times may increase your odds of success. If you don’t mind eating a late lunch or an early dinner, you may find more options to be available. And if you ultimately cannot find your top choice restaurants, keep checking! Plans change all the time, and last-minute reservations may pop up as other guests adjust their own dining schedules.
Be Our Guest Restaurant
You may want to consider backup choices if your top picks aren’t available — you may find a new favorite restaurant! For example, if you can’t find a reservation at Chef Mickey’s, consider Topolino’s Terrace!
Monorail passing by Chef Mickey’s in Disney’s Contemporary Resort
As a last-ditch effort, you could check on Mobile Dine Walk-Up Waitlist once you’re actually in Disney World to see if table service restaurants are accepting day-of, last-minute walk-ups. We’ve heard many success stories of guests being able to be sat at hard-to-get restaurants day-of with just a few minutes’ notice!
Click here to read some of our top picks for DISHES to order in Disney World for 2022!
In short, be ready to book your dining reservations at the stroke of 5:45AM the day of your 60-day Advance Dining Reservation window, and if your favorites don’t pop up, keep checking! We hope this makes what can be a stressful process of booking Advance Dining Reservations a bit smoother. Keep following for more Disney World dining tips and tricks!
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I have Been going on daily for a 60 day advance for chef Mickey. I can get 9pm at night sometimes and that’s it. Same was happening when I was going in October.
So far bummed out for 6 days straight it’s so frustrating 🤬😭
What if your not staying on property and have to wait till 30 days before? You totally forgot to mention this?
Sure, parties of 2 are easy to squeeze into a restaurant’s reservation schedule. Try a party of 6 or 7 next time. Our party of 7 just got back from 5 days in WDW and we could only get 2 reservations for the entire trip… and that’s with the 5:45am 60 days out ADR.
What about Dining Reservations at Disney Springs when you arrive and the Ramp is Closed and all lots are “FULL” ?? This has happened numerious times and different times of the day from Lunch to Dinner ?? System needs a Major Overhaul …….
Charmaine, one of our teammates tells me that if you go to Disney Springs’ surface parking lot, you can show your Advance Dining Reservation there and be let in. Keep in mind, this policy could change without warning, but that’s been our experience.
Joe, presently all guests can make Advance Dining Reservations starting at 60 days out. The advantage for on-site guests is that they can make ADRs for their entire stay on the 60-day mark while off-site guests have to do it day by day.
I was able to snag a reservation at O’Hannas because of your warnings about how difficult they were to get. We are going in February and staying at the Polynesian. I set my alarm to get up in the middle of the night (we are on the West Coast). I was prepared to make all three dining reservations for our stay. I logged in as soon as I was allowed and made O’Hannas first. I was able to get one for three on a Saturday night. I made my other two reservations and when I checked O’Hannas out before signing off, there were no more reservations. They go super fast. Thank you for all the warnings!
I’m looking at restaurants to dine in, but I’m looking for outdoor seating, is there any you recommend
Arlene, we’ve got a post for that! Click here. 🙂
I used to go to Disney World once or twice a month but I stopped going because I couldn’t get reservations at my favorite restaurants. They are snapped up the moment they become available. Disney should charge a nonrefundable fee for reservations that is deducted from the food bill; that would put a stop to the “pros” hogging all the good reservations. They are losing millions.
I agree with Phillip. We have been trying to book reservations for March 14th to the 18th and nothing for party of 8. We did find one if we split up our party as two reservations for 4 with close times. This is also 60 days out and trying to get them in the morning. We’ve never had this issue before. They are definitely limiting reservations or at least making if difficult for larger parties.