So you have booked your vacation to Walt Disney World, now what? It’s time to consider your dining choices. Walt Disney World accepts dining reservations for its tables service locations up to 180 days in advanced. From character meals to signature dining to everything in between you can reserve your time to dine. Some meals are very popular and book up right away, like Be Our Guest in the Magic Kingdom, others book up closer to the date of dining and some do not book up at all.

Dining reservations are easier than ever to make. You can make your reservations in the traditional way of calling (407) WDW-DINE or by going online to www.waltdisneyworld.com/dining. Disney has also added the ability to make dining reservations from your smart phone thru the free app “My Disney Experience”. You can also always contact your Disney Earmarked Travel Agent to make the reservations on your behalf.

So you can make dining reservations 6 months out, should you? It depends. If you know you want to dine with Disney celebrities like the Princesses or Mickey you should book right away. Character meals fill up quickly. Breakfast is cheaper than lunch or dinner and it books up faster as a result. The pre rope drop (Disney speak for park opening time) character dining opportunities bring with them a chance to get some coveted pictures of a nearly empty park and this combo means they book up fast.  Dinner shows such as Hoop Dee Do Revue and the Spirit of Aloha shows will book up quickly. Meals with a great view of the fireworks like the California Grill at the Contemporary resort also book up quickly, only offering dinner this signature dining experience is a coveted reservation. Prime meal times at popular restaurants such as the hours of 8-10am for breakfast, noon-1pm for lunch, and 5-7pm for dinner also can book up quickly.

Really? I need to know what I want to eat 6 months ahead of time? I don’t know what I want to eat for dinner tonight!  While making advanced dining reservations are recommended year round you can visit Walt Disney World and have a perfectly good dining experience without booking any reservations ahead of time.  Some restaurants rarely book up, such as some of those in the World Showcase of Epcot or those non character experiences in the resorts. You can always stop by your resorts concierge desk or guest services inside the parks and check for open reservations n that date. Or take a chance and walk up to a restaurant and see if the have availability. Keep in mind that prime hours will have less of a chance than non prime dining hours to get walk up reservations. Disney also has a wide variety of quick service dining. It’s not all burgers and fries, look for quick service dining options such as a steak sandwich (Be Our Guest, Magic Kingdom), a swarma platter (Tangerine Cafe, Epcot), or BBQ ribs and chicken (Flame Tree BBQ, Animal Kingdom).

In my experience these are the reservations that will book up first if you are considering any of these pick your dates as soon as possible and make your reservations.

Be Our Guest, dinner- Magic Kingdom. This is the hardest reservation in all of WDW to get. As the newest eatery in WDW, it books up almost immediately at opening of reservations 180 days in advance. If you would like to dine here be flexible with your dates and times and call first thing in the morning of your 180th day out from check in.

Hoop Dee Do Revue- Fort Wilderness Resort. This long running dinner show is very popular and the prime time shows book up quickly.

Pre Rope Drop character breakfasts- Crystal Palace and Cinderella’s Royal Table, Magic Kingdom; Akershus Royal Banquet Hall, Epcot; Hollywood & Vine, Disney’s Hollywood Studios; Tusker House, Animal Kingdom. Breakfast is the cheapest character meal, kids are wide awake and not cranky yet, parents are still refreshed and everyone looks lovely in pictures. Add in an opportunity to get pictures of a nearly empty park and maybe a jump on crowds to get to the headliner attractions and you have a perfect storm of pros to make these reservations go quickly.

O’hana- all you can eat meat on skewers delivered to your table and a taste of the tropics with entertainment and games combine to make this restaurant a hit with families of all types.