I Need Last Minute Dining Reservations Tips

[junecleaver83]

Making dining reservations has been extremely difficult this time around, because I have a party of 7. I need tips from you disney veterans on how I should go about changing or getting a last minute reservation. Thanks in advance.

 

[greentea]

Maybe sign up for a basic access/free Touring Plans account and use their reservation finder? I just used it for the first time and it worked really well for me.

I wanted to switch our Be Our Guest breakfast to lunch, but nothing was available when I checked. I saved a reservation search yesterday and got a text this morning with a lunch reservation time. I booked that, then set a search for an earlier time just in case -- within an hour I got another text and was able to replace my reservation with an earlier one. I would expect it to take longer with a party of 7, but it's worth a shot, and it's free.

 

[junecleaver83]

Maybe sign up for a basic access/free Touring Plans account and use their reservation finder? I just used it for the first time and it worked really well for me.

I wanted to switch our Be Our Guest breakfast to lunch, but nothing was available when I checked. I saved a reservation search yesterday and got a text this morning with a lunch reservation time. I booked that, then set a search for an earlier time just in case -- within an hour I got another text and was able to replace my reservation with an earlier one. I would expect it to take longer with a party of 7, but it's worth a shot, and it's free.

Awesome! Thanks for this tip.

 

[loves to dive]

Think of this as your opportunity to try something new instead of the "must have" place. We never make ADRs in advance and have never not been able to find somewhere to eat. Also, try a different number of people, put in 8 people instead of 7 or 5, you can modify the ADR after you have it and you aren't going to be penalized if you book for 8 and get there with 7.

 

[heather913]

I second the Reservation Finder. You do need to be quick when you get the text messages. Also, if you get a notification and you don't get the reservation, you'll need to go back and reactivate the search.

 

[momto3pirates]

Keep trying. Final package payments are due 45 days out so some will cancel. Also with the 24 hour cancellation policy some will open up the day before.

 

[Disney Bear]

I would also suggest thinking about dining at the resorts - The Broadwalk is easy from Epcot and the monorail resorts are easy to access from MK.

 

[shellyj]

Calling and doing it over the phone might help, too. It can be a super pain but it has worked for us. We usually as a group of 15-20 and sometimes we've needed several reservations at similar times to get us all in.

 

[Jackie35]

Maybe sign up for a basic access/free Touring Plans account and use their reservation finder? I just used it for the first time and it worked really well for me.

I wanted to switch our Be Our Guest breakfast to lunch, but nothing was available when I checked. I saved a reservation search yesterday and got a text this morning with a lunch reservation time. I booked that, then set a search for an earlier time just in case -- within an hour I got another text and was able to replace my reservation with an earlier one. I would expect it to take longer with a party of 7, but it's worth a shot, and it's free.

What a great tip! Is this thru the my Disney experience site?

 

[samara]

No, it's www.touringplans.com. Worked really well for me too! I was able to score an 8am Be Our Guest for our last trip about a week beforehand. You can only run two searches at a time though, so this won't work for a week's worth of reservations.

I also second the "being open to new places" thought. There is almost always availability somewhere!