In less than 1 month we finally get to experience the Walt Disney World 50th Anniversary Celebration! If you’re also planning your first visit to WDW since the pandemic, you’re probably aware that a lot has changed. Here’s what we’ve learned about booking dining reservations.
How Far In Advance Can You Book Walt Disney World Dining Reservations?
Walt Disney World dining reservations are available 60 days in advance, at about 6am EST. You should know though, guests staying on-property get a major advantage! If you’re booked to stay in a WDW resort, you’re able to make dining reservations for your entire trip 60 days prior to your resort check-in date. This, my friends, we learned in real time!
Why is this such an advantage? The most obvious reason is that it gives you access to dates before they’re made available to the general public. Plus, those not staying on-property have to book dining reservations for each date of their trip as they become available. This means they have to wake up by 6am EST multiple days in a row, (not ideal for those of us in later time zones).
Yep, we were prepared to set alarms for 2:58am PST 5 days in a row in order to snag our top choice dining reservations! Waking up Day 1 and realizing we could made dining reservations for every single day of our trip was a pleasant surprise, (and huge relief)!
Do I Really Need To Book Dining Reservations At 6am EST?
It’s not a necessity, but it’s highly recommended if you want to eat at popular dining locations. If you’re not familiar with booking Walt Disney World dining reservations, you should know that high-demand dining locations can be completely booked up in a matter of minutes. Yes, minutes.
For that reason, it also pays to consider which dining locations get booked up most quickly and make sure to book those first. We weren’t quick enough to snag a time at EPCOT’s newest dining experience Space 220. We’ll try our hand at joining the walk-up list while we’re there and report back!
Do You Need A Dining Plan To Book Walt Disney World Dining Reservations?
Absolutely not! In fact, Dining Plans are still “temporarily unavailable” according to the WDW site. What truly gives guests an advantage when making their Walt Disney World dining reservations is booking their stay on-property.
It’s been more than 3 years since we last visited WDW, so we’re looking forward to a jam-packed trip! We can’t wait to share our must-do’s, tips and tricks here on the blog. You can also follow us on Instagram to watch what we’re up to in real time. Are you booking your dining reservations soon? Let us know how you do!
