Hello and welcome back to KatDoesDisney.com! Disney World is a foodie’s paradise. There are so many excellent dining locations and treats to enjoy! However, making sure you lock in your dining reservations at coveted table service locations can be tricky. Thus, here’s our guide to Disney World Advance Dining Reservations (ADR). Bon Appetite!
The Lingo
You definitely have to learn a new language before visiting The World! Making dining reservations is no exception. At Disney World, reservations are lovingly referred to as “Advance Dining Reservations” or “ADR/ADRs”. Most guests and Cast Members refer to them as the acronym, ADR!
The Timeline
There are different ADR rules when it comes to guests staying on- or off-property. Everyone can make reservations 180 days in advance. However, the perk to staying on property is that those guests can make ADRs 180 days in advance for the duration of their stay (up to 10 days). Thus, on-site guests have the perk of securing their reservations 190 days in advance. Off-property guests can only make their reservations 180 days in advance for each day. Thus, they will have to log in multiple days in a row to book ADRs for each day of their stay. Regardless, all guests of the Walt Disney World Resort are eligible to make dining reservations!
Participating ADR Locations
Select dining locations in the Disney World Parks and Resort hotels participate in ADRs. Here is a completed list of restaurants.
How to Make ADRs
My preferred method of searching and making ADRs is online or by using the MyDisneyExperience app. You can also call (407) WDW-DINE or (407) 939-3463, but expect to be on hold for a bit! Regardless, you will receive a confirmation number and the reservation will appear on your schedule under the My Disney Experience account.
Here are a few tips when it comes to ADRs:
- Only 1 ADR can be made for a meal per day. Thus, you cannot book two locations for lunch on the first day of your vacation!
- Plan which parks you will be visiting each day and plan your ADRs around that. This way you won’t be spending a lot of time traveling to the dining locaitons!
- Sign in promptly at 7 am EST at the 180 day mark to secure those reservations!
Cancellation Policy- Important!
When you book an ADR, you will have to enter in your credit card information to be used as a place holder. You have until 11:59 PM the night before your reservation to cancel without penalty. If, however, you cancel your ADR after 11:59 PM or are a no show, you will incur a charge. In general, the per-person fee is $10 for most locations. However, be sure to check with the restaurant as some may have a higher cancellation fee (Victoria & Albert’s, for example).
To cancel your reservation, simply call (407) WDW-DINE, go in-person to the location, log-in online or the My Disney Experience app.
Pro tip: I use the Google Calendar to schedule cancellation date reminders, just on the off chance our plans change. This way, I will not have to pay the penalty if we cannot make the ADR.
ADR Secrets (shhh! don’t tell!)
If you’re anything like me, dining at Disney is a big part of the vacation! Thus, having our must-do table service location ADRs are extremely important! Here are my tried and true secrets when it comes to securing my Disney World ADRs.
- Search for ADRs in the middle of the night. If I had to get up for any reason during the night, I’d usually check the My Disney Experience app to see if any ADRs opened up! This actually worked when trying to make one for Garden Grill. I snagged an ADR at 3 AM!
- Look for ADRs the day before. People will usually cancel their ADRs the day before to avoid those pesky cancellation fees. Thus, spots open up starting 24 hours in advance!
- Search using different party sizes. The Disney World ADR system is literal. Meaning, that if you search for a party of 2, the system will only see if a table for 2 is available. The system will not search for larger tables, even though your party of 2 could sit at a table for 4. Thus, I’ll enter in various party sizes to see if that makes a difference (and it usually does!).
- Eat at “off times.” Be flexible with your mealtimes! You will likely have a better chance of securing your ADRs if you eat lunch early (11 AM) or late (2 PM).
- Use OpenTable for Disney Springs locations. A decent portion of the Disney Springs restaurants also accept reservations via OpenTable. Give them a try!
- Have you credit card out and ready to go when you log-in or call at 7 AM! This expedites the process and secures your ADR. I learned this lesson the hard way as I missed out on ADRs while I was looking for my credit card!
If you can’t get the reservation…
Sometimes it is impossible to secure the ADR you and your family want! That’s OK because I have some great alternative tips to satisfy your hunger!
- Go to the dining location that day. Speaking to someone at the restaurant may just be the ticket to getting in! This worked for us on numerous occasions in the past. It never hurts to ask!
- Go to the neighboring lounge. Believe it or not, a lot of the lounge locations adjacent to the table service restaurants share a kitchen. That means you can enjoy the same food without the ADR!
I hope this guide to Disney World ADR helps you snag spots to eat during your next trip! Be sure to check out our tips and tricks to securing FastPass+ reservations as well.
Tune in Sunday for an all new Snippet! Until then… Cheers!!