The Case for Sleeping on Advance Dining Reservations
When it comes to Walt Disney World, dining is unquestionably the most stressful thing to plan. At the crack of dawn, 180 days before traveling, many of you will compete for the most-coveted Advance Dining Reservations, committing to where you’ll eat 6 months later. You’ll do this before park hours and Extra Magic Hours have been released, and before you have FastPass+ selections.
If this doesn’t sound absolutely nuts to you, that’s only because you’ve become so accustomed to this nonsense that even the asinine seems everyday. In this post, we’ll make the case for sleeping through that early morning wake up call 180 days before your trip, discussing what you lose and gain by waiting to make ADRs–or not making them at all. Before we delve into this, we want to stress that this strategy is not universally-applicable. This article should be read more as food for thought than imperative advice.
It’s been almost a decade since we made any Advance Dining Reservations 180 days in advance when we had a few must have reservations to score for our honeymoon. In fact, we seldom make ADRs in advance of trips at all, and when we do, it’s usually only a couple of reservations and only a month or so ahead of time. This approach works for us, and we think it could work for you…
Much like Kramer quitting the mail, one day I came to my senses on this, and yelled at my computer screen early one morning after Stitch ate yet another page. “Oh, no, no. I don’t think you get me. I want out, permanently.”
And like that, a new era of our vacation planning was born: one with me getting to sleep more.
First, the downside of fixating on Advance Dining Reservations so far in advance of your trip is that you’re doing so blindly. You won’t know park hours, where you’re going to be able to score FastPass+, or in which parks Extra Magic Hours are occurring. From our perspective, each of these things is more important than ADRs.
As we discuss in our Most Difficult for Advance Dining Reservations post, one work-around to this is the controversial practice of booking ‘spare’ Advance Dining Reservations as a contingency. While this doesn’t bother us in the least (for the reasons discussed there), we’re also not competing with you for those ADRs.
From our perspective, booking FastPass+ at the 60 day window is much more essential. This is only likely to become truer as more third party hotels are added to this pool, and as things become more competitive with Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge and other huge scale additions for Walt Disney World’s 50th Anniversary.
Planning and reserving a table once at the 180 day mark, then changing those plans again once park hours are released, then changing those plans again once FastPass+ selections are made is a hassle. Rather than doing that, we like to start by making our FastPass+ selections at the 60 day mark in coordination with park hours, and then making ADRs around those.
By that time, some sought-after Advance Dining Reservations will undoubtedly be gone. Dinner at Be Our Guest Restaurant is the big one that’s likely to be unavailable. There are several others that might also be tough. The point is, you won’t have everything as an option.
However, when I search for Advance Dining Reservations 60 days from today, there are over 100 restaurants with availability, including Be Our Guest Restaurant at breakfast or lunch, ‘Ohana at breakfast or dinner, and Akershus. The only choices that were unavailable were Artist Point, Capa (weird, but okay), Cinderella’s Royal Table, and various speciality experiences like tea and Dining with an Imagineer.
If I were willing to put more than 2 minutes of effort into my searching, I’m almost positive I could toy with days or times a bit and get into every single restaurant at some time or another during the day. The only possible exception is Storybook Dining at Artist Point, as that’s only at dinner and it still has that “new character dining experience” smell.
Arbitrarily, let’s say that even at the 60 day mark, we were to get shut out of 3 restaurants. For every restaurant you can’t book because of no availability, there are 10 more good alternatives that you can’t book due to a lack of time. Seriously, there are dozens of great restaurants at Walt Disney World, and vacation duration is your biggest “enemy” (well, and cost) in terms of ability to do them all. If one you really wanted is unavailable, choose a similar alternative.
This might sound like pretty flippant advice, but it’s really to underscore the wealth of options and great alternatives more than anything. We witness people getting so stressed out over ADRs, and it’s really not necessary. Unless you have a huge party or there’s a popular character meal with your children’s favorites that is absolutely essential, your options at or inside the 60 day mark are generally pretty good.
Additionally, dining flexibility at Walt Disney World is becoming greater. With new restaurants opening seemingly every week at Disney Springs, and more also being added to hotels, most restaurants have more openings now than they did 5 years ago. Longtime fans (us included) often grouse about how visiting is becoming less and less spontaneous, but that’s not the direction things are trending with regard to dining.
Certainly, if you compare today to 1987, there’s more planning involved with dining. However, if you compare today to 5 or even 10 years ago, it’s markedly easier. Not only is the online system (when it’s working!) a comparative breeze over calling, but last-minute availability is more abundant. Even in the parks, you’ll now see signage advertising same-day reservations for restaurants.
To be honest, unless we are on the Disney Dining Plan for the express purpose of saving money (and thus, keyed in on certain restaurants to review), it’s exceedingly rare for us to make ADRs even a day in advance. We roll out of bed and shower (second step optional), get on the bus, look at our FastPass+ selections, see which restaurants are available, and book based upon that while en route to the park.
We’d never recommend that a first-timer do this, but as regulars who are flexible with where we dine, it works for us. Even same day, we’ve never found fewer than 2 options in each park that we really like. (Our favorite restaurants in Magic Kingdom, Epcot, and Animal Kingdom are almost always available day-of.)
Look, we enjoy planning for Walt Disney World trips, and we obviously highly recommend that you plan. Not only is it essential for saving time and being prepared, but it’s a fun way to build anticipation and hype for your trip. With that said, not all types of planning are good.
When it comes to making Advance Dining Reservations some six months in advance, it seems stress is the most common accompanying emotion. You compound this stress with that of FastPass+ selections and the inevitable modifying of other plans. Over time, in pursuit of the “perfect” daily itinerary changes, there’s also the tendency to develop sky-high and totally unrealistic expectations.
This certainly doesn’t happen to everyone, and veteran Walt Disney World planners may already know how to thread this needle to ensure they experience all of the joys of planning without the headaches, stress, and unrealistic expectations. Other veterans may dislike this degree of planning, but view it as a necessary evil.
This is pretty common, and one of the reasons we stress the concept of ‘planned spontaneity’ in our Being Spontaneous at Walt Disney World post. It’s easy to get so caught up in the fear of missing out that you don’t stop to think, missing out on what? Just because something’s popular doesn’t mean it’s essential (or even good!), and quite often the less popular alternatives provide unexpected delight (or are even better!).
With all of that said, ‘sleeping’ on Advance Dining Reservations is not one size fits all advice. For some people, this approach will create more uncertainty and stress. For others, convoluted and meticulous planning is part of the ‘getting hyped’ process. We are hardly suggesting our approach is the only one, or even the best one, for everyone.
Rather, we’re offering a different perspective on Advance Dining Reservations, and one you’ll probably seldom read on a Walt Disney World planning-oriented blog such as this one. The point is, opting out of the mad dash for ADRs at the 180 day mark is entirely possible, and in most cases, the negative ramifications will be insignificant. Whether potentially missing out on a reservation or three in exchange for less hassle is a trade you want to make is a personal question, and one we can’t really answer. We do know that, for us, it’s a no brainer.
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
Are you zealous about making all of your Advance Dining Reservations at the 180 day mark, or do you take a more laid back approach with planning meals? Do you agree or disagree with our advice? Think this could work for a first-timer to Walt Disney World? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
This is exactly what we do when we go without the kids! In fact, I haven’t even merged our DVC nights into one reservation yet for Dec though I know I’ll definitely get it done before our FP+ needs to be booked. However, when we go with the kids (so there are seven of us), I definitely put more effort into securing reservations early because it can be difficult to get what I want for a larger party. We’ve had fantastic luck booking things the night before though when we take a more last minute trip!
Some of our favorite dining experiences have been those that we made day-of. I miss the days of almost complete spontaneity but the past couple of years I have been lax on ADR’s and have enjoyed just winging it once we get to where we’re going for the day. Sanaa is the only place I really make ADR’s for any more, just because it is our absolute favorite and we make a day out of touring the AKL and enjoying Victoria Falls and then heading over to Sanaa. Other than that I rarely make ADR’s anymore. We’ve had great success so far and have pretty much always gotten great day-of ressies. I think this is a fun plan for those that have been too many times to count. It keeps it interesting and new.
We have gotten last minute reservations everywhere except CRT. We did do ADRs for our party of six for a Sat night, dinner timed to experience fireworks from within the castle. Very much worth it.
Some of the best table service dining is Flying Fish at the Boardwalk, Art Smith’s Home Coming In DS and Tiffins in AK. California Grille is another fabulous dining experience during fireworks but last minute reservations can be hard to get.
There is one ADR that I’m after and can start making my ADRs in 2 days! Is it worth the fight to get dinner at Cinderella’s Royal Table as soon as I can make a reservation? Or should I wait a little? Anyother tips for getting dinner at CRT?
I’d go for Cinderella’s Royal Table as soon as possible. Unlike most other dining reservations at Disney, people pay for CRT in advance. That means they’re less likely to cancel. I’d secure a reservation while you can if it’s important to you.
Still difficult to get reservations at CRT. Fun experience so make the ADRs.
Update- I snagged a ADR at CRT for our last day in the parks, we are all excited!
I totally agree with this “strategy.” We planned a trip with our 2-year-old just one month in advance, with the meal plan. We got everything we wanted: character meal at AK, dining with the fish at Epcot, three incredibly fancy meals at AKL, Chef Mickey, breakfast before HS opened with Doc McStuffins.
The trick was to simply accept any time. We fed our daughter gold fish and other snacks whenever she was the slightest bit hungry, and went to restaurants for the experience, and we were all happy.
First timers to WDW in December 2019 for 6 days. We are on a budget and only planning 2-3 sit-down dinners, the rest of the meals hopefully will be quick service. Should we try for the crazy ADR character meal and 1 Epcot restaurant we want at the 180 mark, or just wing it the week prior to the trip?
My personal opinion is it depends how important those specific restaurants are. If you HAVE to eat there, then yes, get an ADR! If you are willing to settle for any character meal, sure you could probably find something after you make fast passes. My recent trips have been planned just 2-3 months out, but I know lots of restaurants I like. So not setting ADR 180 days out is ok with me, but I still make them though.
Totally agree that the 180 days out is absolutely bonkers and refresh can be your friend. We did stress about ADRs this upcoming trip in September because there are 8 of us going including my twin toddlers who will be turning 2 just after we go. We knew we wanted all of the character meals and with such a large party, we wanted to ensure we were set up. My girls will expect dinner at 5:30 no matter what so we’d have to stop and feed them to prevent a hangry meltdown.
Hi Tom,
Do you think free dining will be offered in 2019?
Yes , I would LOVE it if you could post your favorite 3-5 places to eat in each of the 4parks. We live on the West Coast, and go to DL every year. We are going to WDW next year for the first time, and It seems OVERWHELMING! Yikes! It would be very helpful to have a short list of some of your favorites… thank you in advance!,
My problem with this is that we are on a very strict budget. So we got the free dining plan, which is the express one. So we only have a couple restaurants we can even get reservations at. We’ve never eaten at Be Our Guest. So I feel like I didn’t have a choice but to do the ADR’s. I have a love/hate relationship with ADR’s. LOL
I hate the 180 days out. I can give this perspective. Our last trip was Thanksgiving week with friends which made our group 10. When we decided to go it wasn’t less than 180 days so no Be Our Guest. We did try a few times there to walk up for lunch – no luck. Then Tuesday before Thanksgiving the gang didn’t want to go out to dinner (wanted to stay in). My husband and I called and go a last minute reservation at downstairs in Paris with no problem. It hit me that probably the biggest issue with most places Ian probably the size of your group. (Tom seems like it is often just you and your wife)
Forgive me if this post already exists Tom, but I would love to know what are your favorite restaurants at each of the 4 Parks at WDW. Both table and counter service. I know that when I’m at MK I sometimes feel that finding a table service restaurant for dinner can be challenging because of the availability/not being interested in what’s on the dinner menu.
I agree with a lot of the comments that ADRs are useful when you have kids that need to eat meals on schedule, or a larger family, as I have both. But I 100% agree with Tom that this 180 day thing is bonkers. We have gone to WDW 8 times, not a single trip planned more than a few weeks ahead. Each time, we eat at a character meal each day (using the dining plan for savings) and we have NEVER had a hard time getting into any restaurant at peak times just by checking regularly in the week leading up to the trip, and especially the night before, when so many rezzies are cancelled to avoid penalty. And yes, that includes the new character meal at Artist Point, which is delightful, Cinderella’s table, Akershus, Be our Guest, you name it, we’ve regularly gotten last-minute rezzies there.