Story Book Dining at Artist Point Reopening Reservations!

Just in time for Christmas, Walt Disney World has announced the reopening of two fan favorite restaurants–Storybook Dining at Artist Point in Wilderness Lodge and Boatwright’s Dining Hall at Port Orleans Riverside Resort! This post covers opening dates, Advance Dining Reservation timeframes, plus what else we can expect from WDW dining for the next few months.

Before we get started, let’s offer a brief recap of Walt Disney World’s restaurant reopening progress. The vast majority have returned, to the point that the number of locations that are unavailable is fairly insignificant in the grand scheme of Walt Disney World. In fact, Artist Point was arguably the highest profile restaurant that had not yet returned up until now.

Additionally, restaurants that have been open for months—some since last summer—have continued to scale up operations. Walt Disney World turned a corner on its staffing shortage, at least for most dining locations. This was thanks to the return of the College Program and a hiring blitz, which brought in a lot of fresh faces and allowed for Walt Disney World to increase capacity at those restaurants…

Unfortunately, it seems like this has more or less plateaued in the last couple of months. Walt Disney World continues to hold job fairs, and is offering hiring bonuses and higher pay for certain roles. Of particular relevance, Walt Disney World has had ongoing and significant shortages for a number of culinary positions, including cooks, dishwashers, and more.

In an attempt to attract more employees, Walt Disney World has been offering hiring bonuses for those openings for the last several months. The bonuses started small, and have incrementally increased to as much as $1,500. That alone suggests that Walt Disney World isn’t having success, and is still short-staffed for a number of key positions.

Our firsthand experience in continuing to see a good chunk of tables go unfilled reinforces the reality that restaurants aren’t firing on all cylinders. In short, dining capacity is improved as compared to last year thanks to the dropping of physical distancing and hiring initiatives, but still pretty far from 100%.

During Disney’s fourth quarter earnings call, the company’s CFO Christine McCarthy corroborated this. She noted that Walt Disney World and Disneyland are still operating under “capacity constraints,” which are only due to staffing at this point. This has been a regular topic here, and we’ve seen the same thing play out with “sold out” hotels due to the same woes.

That explains why Advance Dining Reservation availability has been so limited, why the Disney Dining Plan still isn’t back, and the slow pace of scaling up the remaining locations that are still shuttered.

In other words, staffing continues to be an issue–and why this is Walt Disney World’s first major dining update since before the World’s Most Magical Celebration kicked off.

On a more positive note, Walt Disney World started bringing back individualized indoor meet & greets—in modified form as “sightings” earlier this month. Among these is Princess Fairytale Hall in Magic Kingdom, which is the first time for one-on-one interactions with face characters at Walt Disney World.

The return of modified meet & greets allows for selfies and posed photos, but not hugs and autographs. This also laid the groundwork for the return of princess dining at Walt Disney World, with the first such experience announced as returning in December 2021.

On that note, let’s turn to the latest Walt Disney World restaurant reopening news…

Boatwright’s Dining Hall at Disney’s Port Orleans Resort — Riverside will be serving up their Southern specialties for dinner starting December 14, 2021. This was largely expected once both French Quarter and Riverside reopened, and Cast Members are the hotels have advised that Boatwright’s would return during the heart of the Christmas season.

Advance Dining Reservations for Boatwright’s Dining Hall can be made beginning December 2, 2021.

Enjoy the flavors of the Louisiana bayou with the all-you-care-to-enjoy Chef’s Platter featuring ribs, Nashville hot chicken, smoked sausage, and barbecued beef brisket with mashed potatoes, mac & cheese, street corn, and green beans.

Have you been craving General Fulton’s Prime Rib or the Deep-South Shrimp and Grits? They are back as well as the signature Boatwright’s Jambalaya and the plant-based Boatwright’s Harvest Jambalaya. And for a touch of Southern sweetness, be sure to order up the Mississippi Mud Crème Brûlée, a decadent chocolate brûlée with a chocolate shortbread cookie.

Finally, Walt Disney World has announced the returned of Story Book Dining at Artist Point just in time for Christmas! This recently-reimagined location is inspired by the Disney animated classic, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, and features characters from that film.

As part of Artist Point’s modified character dining experience, all guests will see Snow White, Dopey, Grumpy, and the Queen stroll through the Enchanted Forest, but the characters will not stop for posed photos, autographs, or hugs. As before, guests will be able to enjoy a bountiful prix fixe dinner with the choice of individually plated entrées, shared starters, and desserts. (It would also seem the name is changing, from “Storybook Dining” to “Story Book Dining” for some reason. That, or Walt Disney World made a typo in its release.)

Start your storybook adventure with a wickedly refreshing cocktail like the Enchanted Apple with a hint of sour apple. The Royal Prime Rib Roast and the vegetarian “A Stroll Through Nature” are both returning, as well as the decadent Poison Apple dessert with dark chocolate-apple mousse.

Here’s a look at the updated adult menu, with a few modifications and new items:

And the kids menu at Story Book Dining:

From the sounds of it, Storybook Dining at Artist Point will retain its title as the “best character dining dinner” at Walt Disney World if you’re judging primarily based upon food quality.

The Artist Point menu is far more ambitious and inventive than anything other character dining experience, but that’s unsurprising given that this used to be a Signature Restaurant.

Storybook Dining at Artist Point will reopen December 16, 2021 at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge.

Advance Dining Reservations for Storybook Dining at Artist Point can be made beginning December 2, 2021.

This was one of the hottest ADRs pre-closure, and we expect that will remain true with reopening–especially in the likely event that Artist Point isn’t filling every table. If you’re wanting to book a Christmas or New Year’s Eve week meal, we’d strongly recommend being online early on December 2!

Several readers have asked what “early” means, and we don’t have a good answer. The timing for new ADRs to be released is inconsistent. Sometimes it’s right at 6 am, sometimes it’s an hour earlier, other times it’s later. (It’s never midnight.)

December 2, 2021 at 6:15 am UPDATE: About an hour after they opened for Boatwright’s (still ample ADR availability there, for what it’s worth), Advance Dining Reservations are now available for Story Book Dining at Artist Point.

These will go fast–if you’re reading this at 8 am, it’s probably too late already–so book ASAP and be flexible with dates and times. Good luck!

Ultimately, this is some very good news for character dining fans and guests staying at either of the two Port Orleans Resorts. We’re really looking forward to revisiting both, assuming we’re lucky enough to score ADRs.

At this point, very few “valued” restaurants remain closed at Walt Disney World. Now, if we could only get reopening dates for Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue, Victoria & Albert’s, Flying Fish, Jiko, Spirit of Aloha, Takumi Tei, and Monsieur Paul–we’d be all set!

Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!

YOUR THOUGHTS

Excited for the return of Storybook Dining at Artist Point or Boatwright’s Dining Hall at Port Orleans Riverside? What do you think of this news of restaurants reopening at Walt Disney World? Any restaurant reopening announcements that you’re still anxiously awaiting? Hoping for more ‘restored normalcy’ announcements in the near future? Does this have you optimistic or pessimistic for more dining to reopen at Walt Disney World? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!