First-Timer at DL, What Time of Day to Go Online to Make Dining Reservation at 60-days?

[gemologygal]

We're visiting DL for the first time and while I am very familiar with WDW dining reservations, is there a specific time of day to wake up early to make the DL dining reservations? I live on the east coast, so just want to be as prepared as possible. Thanks!

 

[BadPinkTink]

no specific time. Disneyland California is far more relaxed than WDW. For most things you dont HAVE to book right on the 60 day mark. I booked my Fantasmic dining package a couple of days after my 60 day mark and a few days later I booked a reservation at StoryTellers restaurant.

 

[Winnowill]

Yeah - there are no worries about hard-to-get reservations at DL. Even the most desirable and limited dining options are still available several days past the 60-day mark. As a for-instance - I just checked the Blue Bayou dining for F! on June 16, a Saturday (more than two weeks past its 60-days), and there are good times still available.

 

[figment_jii]

As the PPs have said, getting dining reservations at DLR is nothing like trying to get them for WDW. The dining system rolls somewhere between midnight and 7:00 am (when the phone lines open up), but it's not really critical to be online right when the system rolls. If you get online on the 60-day mark and something shows as unavailable or no times are available, it's much more likely that they've not yet loaded it into the system (opposed to already being fully booked). Just keep checking back and they'll get loaded (sometimes it takes a few days to weeks, but it eventually shows up). Sometimes some special dining events (usually one-offs) fill up pretty quickly, but regular reservations tend to be available for quite a while.

Also note that dining reservations open up one day at a time, so if you did go to make reservations on your 60-day mark, you'd need to check in sequential days for the length of your trip. They don't have the "length of stay" or "+10" that WDW offers to onsite guests.

 

[tarheelalum]

You don't have to do anything like that for Disneyland. I've made reservations for places 2 hours before we ate. Things are much different at Disneyland.

 

[gemologygal]

All of this is great info and I feel a lot less stressed out! Thank you all so much!

 

[maltdizzy]

One last tidbit to drives the planners nuts...dining reservations are supposed to up up 60-ways in advance, sometimes they are days late, and since the park hours are only published 45 days in advance, dining packages sometimes post 1-2 weeks late as they wait for hours and events to be set.

 

[Whistlebee]

I’ll also add that if you’re going with a big group it is nice to make reservations early , like maybe 3 weeks before you go. We often travel with a group of 8-10 and try to make our reservations early so we can get the times we want. But even day of we’ve been able to make reservations on the app for our large group.

 

[DLgal]

I wouldn't even bother. Wait until you get here and make reservations the day before, unless you want to do a parade/Fantasmic/WOC dining package. Book those when you can.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

In addition to the good advice you've gotten above, this thread will give you lots of helpful information: A DLR Guide for WDW Vets.