Where to Eat - The Easy Guide to Your First Walt Disney World Visit 2015 - page 197

One topic that surprises first-time visitors is the importance and fun of dining experi-
ences. Because quality and price vary so much between restaurants in the same vicinity,
researching your options and booking the best restaurants far in advance puts you in the
best possible position to have a fun, stress-free vacation. Identify your table service dining
favorites as soon as possible and then make your ADRs as soon as reservations open.
Note that ADRs are not “reservations” in the traditional sense. With the exception of
Victoria & Albert's and the dinner shows, the restaurant does not actually reserve a table.
Instead, your party will receive the next available table that opens up. This can lead to the
occasional long wait, particularly at the popular buffets that are often overbooked. To help
mitigate this, book a meal right after the restaurant starts service or near the end of service
when empty tables are more common.

Making Your Reservations
Reservations currently open 180 days before the date of dining—online at 6 a.m. and over
the phone at 7 a.m. Moreover, if you are staying at a Disney World hotel, once 180 days
from your hotel arrival date rolls around, you can make ADRs for not just that day, but also
for the first ten days of your visit. You'll sometimes see this referred to as 180+10. Input
your arrival date into PSCalculator.net/pscalc.php to identify the first day you can make
reservations. As an example, let's say you're visiting from December 1-8 and staying on
property at Art of Animation. According to the calculator, the first day you can make re-
servations is June 4. Not only could you make reservations for December 1, the first day of
our hypothetical vacation, but you can also make reservations for up to ten additional days
because you're staying at a Disney-owned resort. Off-site guests visiting on the same dates
would also be able to make their reservations for December 1 on June 4, but they would
need to call or go online again on June 5 to book December 2, June 6 to book December 3,
and so forth.
Most table service reservations require prospective diners to put a credit card on file. A
$10 per person fee will be assessed if the group does not show up within 15 minutes of
the reservation time. To avoid this fee, cancel the reservation no later than the day before.
Same-day cancellations will be charged the no-show fee. Note that only one person needs
to show up regardless of how many people are on the reservation. So if you have a reser-
vation for six and only three show up, your party will not be assessed any fees. If weather,
transportation delays, or something else causes you to miss your reservation, visit Guest
Services and explain your case. Disney will likely waive the charge for worthy stories.
The hardest reservations to get, and which you should book as soon as you can, are:
• Be Our Guest Restaurant [Magic Kingdom]

• Cinderella's Royal Table [Magic Kingdom]

• Chef Mickey's [Contemporary Resort]

• 'Ohana [Polynesian Resort]

• Akershus Royal Banquet Hall [Epcot]

• 1900 Park Fare Dinner [Grand Floridian Resort]

• California Grill [Contemporary Resort]