Y’ALL! Do we have some NEWS for you!
The way you search for dining reservations for Disney World and Disneyland is about to CHANGE in a great way!
Breakfast at Garden Grill
At the moment, you can search for Advance Dining Reservations via the Disney World or Disneyland websites or apps, but sometimes finding these reservations isn’t all that easy given the way that Disney’s system is set up — limiting your search by specific dining periods of times. You could find yourself messing around with the system for a while, changing between searching for “breakfast” versus “8AM” or other specific times until THE reservation time you want pops up. But soon, that’ll all be changing!
Disney has announced that within the next few days, the way you search for dining reservations for both Disney World and Disneyland will CHANGE and it should make things a whole lot easier.
Specifically, if you’re looking for a particular dining reservation, you’ll actually be able to see ALL of the available dining reservations for the restaurant and timeframe you’re looking at.
So, for example, if you’re looking for a breakfast reservation for The Garden Grill in EPCOT (a favorite of ours!) for a Friday, you’ll be able to see ALL available breakfast reservation times for that Friday that are open for The Garden Grill.
Plate Mickey on the Table at Garden Grill!
Currently, you often just see a few available reservation times by selecting “breakfast” and then you might see different times if you select “8AM,” “9AM,” or “10AM.” With this change, EVERY available breakfast reservation time for The Garden Grill for that Friday will pop up all at once, and you’ll be able to pick whatever works best for you. For those who are familiar with the Open Table booking service/app, it’s a little bit more like that in terms of the overall feel.
To give you a better idea of what we mean, let’s take a look at some graphics. In the image below, you’ll see the current reservation view for Walt Disney World dining reservations on the left and the updated view on the right.
©Disney
On the left, you can see how only a few available reservation times are shown for the time period being searched (not a complete list), while on the right-hand side, you can see how a much more EXPANSIVE list of reservation times is shown (with the ability to see even more) which can really help you get a feel for what times might be available that could work for you.
Here’s how it’ll look in the My Disney Experience app. Again, you can see the current view on the left and what will be the updated view on the right.
The left only shows a few limited times when “lunch” is selected, but after the update is implemented you’ll be able to see ALL of the available reservation times in a much easier way (as the image on the right showcases).
©Disney
As you can see, with this update reservation availability will be organized by meal periods — breakfast, lunch, dinner, etc. This is meant to help everyone see just what menu will be served during the time of your reservation, so you know whether you’ll be picking from the lunch menu or if you technically fall into dinnertime with that 4PM reservation, for example.
Space 220
And, as we mentioned above, this won’t just be done in Disney World. The change will also be rolled out in Disneyland. The image below displays the current view on the left and the updated view on the right. Again, you can see just how many more reservation times will be showcased (provided reservations are available).
©Disney
And here’s how it’ll look on the Disneyland app.
©Disney
This dining reservation change should be implemented on the Disneyland website today. It will then be implemented on the Disney World website in the next few days.
In terms of the apps, the My Disney Experience app and Disneyland app should both feature the new system with the next update from what we understand. Be on the lookout for a notification from the iOS and/or Android stores for updates on those apps.
San Angel Inn
The key here is to know that (1) you’ll be able to see ALL available dining reservation slots for the restaurant and dining timeframe you select on the updated apps and websites (rather than just a few), and (2) the reservations will be sorted by meal period, making it clearer what menu you’ll be able to order from.
This is a critical change that could really make finding that perfect dining reservation time SO much easier for your trip!
Cinderella’s Royal Table
We’ll continue to look for other updates that might make your next vacation easier and share those all with you, so stay tuned!
In the meantime, click our links below to see some more updates you NEED to know about before your next trip:
- NEW TICKET DISCOUNT Announced for Disney World
- The 14 Best Restaurants in Disney World in 2024
- 5 Ways Disney World Will Cost You Thousands More in 2024
- Alert! The Way You Get to Disney World from the Orlando Airport Has CHANGED!
Things are changing in Disney World
With DOZENS of places to eat at Disney World, we know it can be tough to plan your meals. That’s why we wrote the DFB Guide to Dining at Walt Disney World. We have reviews, pictures, and details about every restaurant all in one digital download – along with ALL of our best tips and strategies from decades of Disney World trips. We’ve got a special discount code for DFB readers, too! Use WDW2023 at checkout for 25% off!
Grab the DFB Guide!
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I wish they would just show all reservation times available with no filter (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner) unless I choose to add the filter. Too many times I have backed out of the meal reservation page just because I wanted to switch from Lunch to Dinner… aaarrrgggg!
Is there a way to tell what the date of this article is?
Sometimes articles say the actual dates when things will change or activate. Sometimes, such as with this story, it discusses, “today,” or, “in a few days.”
How can I tell whether I’m reading an article that dropped 3 months ago or one that just published today?
Thank you, Disney! I love this change….it will be so much better than having to spend so much time looking for availability.
I’m happy to read about the dining reservation change. The new changes should make things easier for me. Thanks for the information!
Hi Allegra. You can find the dates of the articles in the URL. For instance, this one was published on August 2nd, 2023.
Now if they can just update the Disneyland app so that you can add the people you travel with to your reservation so it shows up in their daily view in the app just like they do for Disney World. Currently only the person who made the reservation sees it.
Why can’t they just list all the times available for the restaurant you choose? Why is this hard? Disney, do better! You’ve got the technology. You’re just continuing to frustrate your base
Now, can we PLEASE return to the 180-day ADR window for on-property guests?
Well done Disney. This will make getting a reservation much easier.
Hopefully people want make reservations for several times now on the same day and decide which one they want to use later
OMG, now if they would just do this for making resort reservations!
Is the time frame to make reservations still 60 days out?
Bravo. Step in right direction but i agree, should be able to view all slots for the day with the option of filtering by breakfast, lunch and dinner if want.
Upgrading their search from 1998 to 2003! Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!
That reservation UI has always been a little mystifying. Glad they’re making an effort to improve!
This is definitely better but I agree with Brian about showing a whole day. In fact, I wish it were possible to search for availability by restaurant over a period of days or weeks so that if a particular dining experience is your top priority you could build a plan specifically around that.
Hi Janice! Yes, it’s still 60 days.