I can't believe it but I am doing it. I am posting a question about Disney!

So we are planning to go to Disney in either late September or early October. A post I just saw on the Parenting board got me thinking...do you really need to book all these meal things in advance? Are we going to starve at the Magic Kingdom because I'm a lousy mother who did not book dining reservations 3 months in advance??

I had no idea I should have been planning/booking these things already! I understand there are some more of the popular character dining things that it appears have to be booked waaaaay in advance, but how about the other restaurants? Or is it like this for everything? I feel like I've already let down the kids

And for those of you Disney experts, what else should I be booking in advance??

Thanks!

I can't believe it but I am doing it. I am posting a question about Disney!

If you want to sit down at a restaurant with a server, you need to make reservations well in advance, unfortunately.

I can't believe it but I am doing it. I am posting a question about Disney!

The character meals tend to book quickly but, other restaurants have availability. We booked 2 character breakfasts and dinner at Rainforest and TRex. Rainforest was really difficult to get reservations for - I was surprised!

Keep in mind although many things are booked now, people cancel at the last minute so the week before there are numerous options.

I purchased my park tickets in advance (I recently heard prices were going up this summer - not sure when - so that might be a good idea).

I also pre-purchased Disney Photo Pass Plus - it's cheaper than doing it there. It gives you rights to all the pictures they take plus printed pictures from some character meals.

Re: I can't believe it but I am doing it. I am posting a question about Disney!

Thanks for the info! I really had no idea these things would book up so far in advance. This was just something we decided to do since my father lives near Disney and has been asking us to come down. I guess DH and I will have to sit down and figure out dates and stuff so we can hopefully book some things for the kids .

Re: I can't believe it but I am doing it. I am posting a question about Disney!

Character meals and other popular meals such as Be Our Guest, 'Ohana, Le Cellier, etc do book up quickly, but you're not out of luck. You can sometimes snag a table at a hot restaurant with good timing at any point. You're not out of luck.

Also there are many, MANY excellent sit down restaurants that aren't as popular but are just as good and are no problem to get a reservation with only a few months or even a few days to go! I love helping clients find those hidden gems. I find people talk on blogs about the same restaurants over and over, but there are MANY options.






-Jennifer Kern
Mouse Tales® Travel
LIFamilies Vendor
Creating Magical Vacations for LIFamilies since 2008

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Re: I can't believe it but I am doing it. I am posting a question about Disney!

I booked a table well in advance, but when we got there thr receptionist was telling people that they didn't need a reservation and there was a 45 minute wait.

Re: I can't believe it but I am doing it. I am posting a question about Disney!

You definitely won't starve but if you put it off the more popular/better restaurants will be booked. While you can probably get something down there it might not be the time (very late or very early) or location you want (ie at another hotel outside the parks). I always tell friends book now you can always cancel down there so you have choices. We did this and just cancelled if we chose to change parks or do counter service instead.

Re: I can't believe it but I am doing it. I am posting a question about Disney!

No, you wont starve but you will wait a while for a table at most sit down places..
When we were there the parks were not all that corwded (atleast we didnt think so) however i heard the hostess telling ppl that didnt have reservations it was a hour wait. thats way to long to wait with hungry kids lol.
We did go to the t-rex cafe with no reservations and were able to get a table but we waited 25mins for it. Not to bad though since its at down town disney so dd was occupied with everything going on around her and we went around 5.

Re: I can't believe it but I am doing it. I am posting a question about Disney!

You won't starve! That's for sure. It really depends on the type of vacationer you are. Some of my clients book 3 meals a day for every day of their trip exactly at the 180 day mark while others make no reservations at all and just "wing it" the whole time they are there.
Popular locations and character meals may not be possible to get without a reservation but there are a lot of GREAT dining locations that don't require a reservation at all and/or that you can get a reservation for much closer to the date you'll be eating there.

Helping my clients decide where to eat and when as well as what plans work best for them is one of the main services I offer. It's all about figuring out what works best for you and your family. A lot of people get caught up in all of the little details and stress out and don't have as much fun planning which is where I can help.

Either way, you're going to DISNEY! No way you'd be considered a lousy mother for skipping out on the reservations.

~Kerri~
Travel Kerri
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Re: I can't believe it but I am doing it. I am posting a question about Disney!

Thank you all for the info! We are definitely more laid back travelers for sure so I'm not too worried. I guess I should have read all the Disney threads on here over the years, lol. But I have been reading that people are sometimes able to get reservations closer to the date as people cancel/change their plans so that's good to know. In the meantime, I am happy to report I landed a reservation at Chef Mickeys so I'm happy as a clam right now

Re: I can't believe it but I am doing it. I am posting a question about Disney!

We've gone to Disney twice. The first time we went, we did not do any character meals. The second time we went, we did and we loved them! The LIF boards actually recommended that I check for cancellations and I was able to get character meals. Lots of people reserve waaaay in advance and cancel so spots open up.