We’re Always Sad to See These 10 AVOIDABLE Disney Dining Rookie Mistakes

Dining is a big part of the Disney experience, with so many iconic snacks and top-notch restaurants to try across Disneyland and Disney World. However, it's easy to make some mistakes that can negatively impact this area of your trip. New visitors are especially susceptible to making some dining errors that can unfortunately end up costing them, but it can still happen to the best of us!

We will cover the top 10 dining errors we most commonly see Disney guests make and how to avoid these for a better trip!

READ MORE – 3 Disneyland Single Rider Lines You Should Definitely Use and 2 You Should Skip

Waiting to Make Dining Reservations

Perhaps the worst Disney dining rookie mistake you can make is forgetting or neglecting to make dining reservations for table-service locations. The most popular restaurants book up quickly, so if you aren't ready right when the reservation window first opens, you may miss your opportunity. Unfortunately, you cannot expect to walk up and get guaranteed a spot.

While there are some restaurants that you can generally expect will have lots of booking availability—see our recommended easiest-to-book Disneyland restaurants and easiest-to-book Disney World restaurants—you shouldn't wait to book for some of the most iconic dining experiences offered at the parks. Take the above example of the booking availability for the popular Blue Bayou Restaurant at Disneyland during the summer—if I had waited to make a reservation, I'd be in trouble, as you can see!

Disney dining reservations typically open up 60 days in advance of your trip at 6 am (PT for Disneyland and ET for Disney World). Guests of Disney World resort hotels can make reservations 60 days in advance of their trip for their entire trip length (up to 10 days). While it can understandably be a pain to go through this effort to secure dining reservations before your trip even starts, it's definitely worth it if you want to be sure you have your desired reservations locked down!

However, not all hope is lost if you find yourself without reservations! There are still some ways, like setting up dining alerts, that you can snag a spot. See our top tips for securing Disneyland dining reservations and tips for getting last-minute Disney World reservations.

Not Making Any Table-Service Dining Reservations

On the flip side, not making any table service dining reservations at all can be an equally big mistake! While there are good quick-service options to consider, you're missing out on some of the best dining experiences if you skip table-service altogether. See our Mickey Visit best Disneyland restaurants and Mickey Visit best Disney World restaurants we recommend. Enjoying at least one or two of these top table-service options is, in our opinion, fundamental to the overall Disney experience.

However, an arguably even bigger reason why you don't want to skip table-service dining is that it provides a built-in break during your day (and something specific to look forward to as well). Skipping table-service meals is actually one of the things we regret doing most during our Disney trips. It can be easy to get so caught up in the mad shuffle between rides and experiences that you keep delaying sitting down for a meal, but this is not an issue if you have a table-service reservation time you have to make. It can be a big relief to have that structure built into your day!

Sitting Down for Breakfast In the Morning

The early mornings at the Disney parks are so valuable that you do not want to spend this time doing anything other than enjoying the rides with shorter wait times! This is not to say you should skip breakfast altogether. We recommend either getting breakfast at your hotel bright and early before you head into the parks or getting a grab-and-go item to eat as you're waiting to be let into the parks for rope drop.

Later in the morning, when the big crowds start coming in, is a good time to schedule a proper sit-down breakfast or character dining experience if you feel so inclined. That being said, if you're enjoying a longer experience like character dining at one of the resort hotels, we really recommend saving this for your arrival or departure day (or a general day off from the parks) so that it doesn't eat up your park time.

Not Getting Grocery Delivery/Not Bringing Your Own Snacks

On a related note, don't overlook the importance of ordering grocery delivery so you have breakfast items/snacks during your trip! The best solution to the breakfast problem we talked about above is ordering grocery delivery to your hotel so that you have some light items to snack on in your hotel room before you head out for rope drop. This can be a good option if you're not staying at a hotel with free breakfast and just want something easy to have on hand in your room.

Generally, it's a good idea to bring some snacks so that you have something to tide you over between meals. Even better if it's something more nutritious like trail mix or granola/protein bars to mix things up from the heavier snacks you'll find at the parks like churros, Mickey pretzels, popcorn, etc. It's very easy to accidentally fill up on these things and ruin your next meal if you're not careful! See our top recommendations for snacks to bring to Disney.

Overlooking Downtown Disney/Disney Springs and the Disney Resort Hotels

While there are some great dining options in the parks, you're missing out if you skip the restaurants at the shopping centers and resorts on property! Disney Springs is filled with excellent choices, whether you're looking for a quick bite or a delicious sit-down meal. Downtown Disney has also recently expanded, with some quality sit-down options in particular—see our favorite Downtown Disney restaurants ranked.

Don't forget the Disney Resort hotels! One of our top recommended ways to spend a day off from the Disney World parks is resort-hopping and enjoying the amazing dining options! The resorts are home to some top-notch restaurants and some of the best Disney World bars and lounges. Even during a day at Magic Kingdom, we think it's absolutely worth it to venture beyond the park for these much better quick-service options at nearby resorts.

At Disneyland, one of our favorite hidden gem restaurants is located at the Grand Californian, and three out of the four character dining experiences at Disneyland are located in the resort hotels. If you're looking to explore options off property, be sure to also check out our top 5 options for foodies beyond Disneyland in Anaheim!

Waiting to Place Your Mobile Order

Using the app to mobile order food can be a great time-saver at quick-service restaurants that offer it as an option, but it can be a huge mistake to wait to place your order, especially if you're visiting during a busier season. There is no worse feeling than being super hungry and ready to eat, going to place your order, and having to wait another hour for your food!

During busy times, your return window will quickly be pushed out further into the day, so you shouldn't wait until peak mealtimes to place your order for the most popular quick-service dining locations. As soon as you know what you want to eat, we recommend placing your order as early as you can. You can always modify this pickup time and push it out a little later if something comes up. See our tips for mobile ordering at Disneyland and our tips for mobile ordering at Disney World.

Blowing Your Dining Budget

One of the biggest mistakes you can make is underestimating the cost of dining and blowing your budget in this area! When you're looking at the cost of a Disneyland vacation or the cost of a Disney World vacation, it's arguably the easiest to overspend on food. Table-service dining expenses add up very quickly for a family, and day-to-day snacks and treats can be a sneaky cost that adds up quickly if you're not careful.

Before your trip, make sure to sit down and calculate a rough idea of your dining budget, taking into account different areas (table-service, quick-service, snacks, splurges like fine dining and dining packages, etc.), so that you're not caught off-guard by the total cost. When budgeting this area of your trip, it's always best to leave a little bit of wiggle room and round up a bit just to be realistic.

This will also help you to make some decisions about how you'll approach dining during your trip. For instance, you might decide to bring your own food like sandwiches into the parks on certain days to save a bit of money, or you may decide that you'll opt for quick-service dining most days so you can splurge on a fine dining experience or dining package for a night of your trip, etc.

Missing the Cancellation Window

A really disappointing mistake is if you miss the dining reservation cancellation window and end up having to pay a per-person penalty for a reservation you're not attending! It's very important to make sure you are 100% clear on the cancellation policy of a restaurant before booking.

For most Disneyland and Disney World restaurants that offer advance reservations, you must cancel at least 2 hours before your reservation time to avoid a $10 per person penalty. However, this policy is different for some of the most popular dining experiences at the parks. For example, at Disneyland's premium Disney Princess Breakfast Adventures at Napa Rose, you need to cancel at least one day prior to your reservation to avoid a cancellation fee of the full price of the experience—a whopping $142—per person!

You'll want to be especially careful about this if you're keeping a dining reservation as a backup option or holding onto a less desirable time while watching if a better one will open up. If you do snag a better time for your reservation before your trip, make sure to cancel the reservation you're not attending immediately, so that you do not forget and end up having to pay the cancellation fee.

Skipping Character Dining Meals

Skipping character dining at Disney is a huge missed opportunity! These meals are a great way to spend more relaxed, quality time with several characters rather than dealing with the long lines and rushed nature of meet-and-greets in the parks. Some may balk at the price of these experiences as they are usually more costly than your average sit-down dining, but this price reflects the great value you're getting between the quantity of food and the memorable interactions with characters.

Each meal offers a completely unique atmosphere and lineup of characters. At Disney World, for example, you can spend time with classic characters at Disney's Riviera Resort's Breakfast à la Art with Mickey & Friends, see Winnie the Pooh characters at The Crystal Palace in Magic Kingdom, or spend some time with Disney Princesses at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall in EPCOT. There are plenty of different experiences to choose from, so you can pick which one appeals the most to you!

We highly recommend scheduling a character dining meal during your trip. See our review of all of the Disney World character dining experiences and Disneyland character dining experiences for an idea of what to expect from each.

Ordering Too Much Food

Ordering too much food is unfortunately such an easy mistake to make, and it's sad to see it go to waste, especially with the high Disney prices! More often than not, Disney portions are pretty generous, and you may find that you or your kids are struggling to finish your plates. It can be a good idea to split meals so that you don't waste any food or money (the only exception would be if you're eating somewhere with a per-person charge like a prix fixe or buffet). Alternatively, you can bring a ziplock bag for any snack items that won't go bad if you store them for a little bit, like Mickey pretzels or popcorn, so these don't go to waste.

Also, keep in mind that if you're a light eater and know that the Disney portions are often too much for you, it's always an option to order a kids' meal from a quick-service restaurant! These smaller portions are great if you're not that hungry.

READ MORE – Secret Target in Disneyland’s Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters Gives You 50,000 Points

Getting a high score on this ride can sometimes be easier said than done. While there are certain tricks to maximizing your score, there is one secret target you can hit to really blow it out of the water. This is everything you need to know about this secret target in Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters that will give you 50,000 points!

READ MORE – 3 Disneyland Single Rider Lines You Should Definitely Use and 2 You Should Skip

Single Rider is a service offered for several rides at Disneyland that allows you to split from the rest of your party to fill the remaining spots in ride vehicles that aren't occupied by groups in the standby line. We are frequent Disneyland visitors who have tried all of the Single Rider lines and formed some opinions on which you should definitely do and which you may want to skip.