When to Make Disney World Dining Reservations (and How to Get the Tough Ones)
October 25, 2026 · 5 min read
Popular Walt Disney World restaurants — character meals, Cinderella’s Royal Table, Space 220, Be Our Guest — can book up within minutes of their window opening. The good news: the rules are predictable, and staying at a Disney resort gives you a real advantage.
The 60-day window
Dining reservations open 60 days before the date you want to eat, starting at 6:00 a.m. Eastern time. You book online or in the My Disney Experience app, and you’ll need a credit card to hold most table-service reservations (no-shows and late cancellations usually carry a per-person fee).
The resort-guest head start (“60+10”)
If you’re staying at a Disney resort, you can book dining for your whole stay — up to 10 days of it — starting 60 days before your check-in date. That means on day 5 of your trip you’re booking 65 days out, while off-site guests are still waiting for their window. For the toughest tables, that head start is often the difference between a 6 p.m. dinner and no reservation at all.
How to get the hard-to-book restaurants
- Know your 60-day date in advance and set a reminder for 6:00 a.m. Eastern.
- Make sure your resort reservation is linked to My Disney Experience before your window opens, so the 60+10 head start applies.
- Book your hardest reservation first; easier restaurants can wait an hour.
- Be flexible on time: a 4:30 p.m. dinner or 10:30 a.m. brunch is much easier to land than prime time.
- Didn’t get it? Check back often — plans change and cancellations reappear, especially in the last few days before the date.
Planning around your trip
Dining opens 60 days before your trip — and if you’re booking a Disney package, that’s also roughly when final payment is due, so it’s a natural planning checkpoint. If you booked through us, we’ll remind you when your dining window is approaching. Disney updates these policies from time to time, so confirm the current rules in the My Disney Experience app before your window opens.