7 Tricks to Get Disneyland Dining Reservations For Even the Most Popular Restaurants

If you're planning a trip to Disneyland, it's a good idea to secure some advance dining reservations for popular table-service restaurants. You can make advance dining reservations for Disneyland restaurants in the theme parks, Downtown Disney, and the Disneyland Resort hotels. If you don't have a dining reservation, there is no guarantee you will be able to secure a table, so we always recommend reserving your spot in advance.

Disneyland usually releases reservations 60 days in advance, but lately we've seen restaurant reservations drop more sporadically, making the process of getting dining reservations a bit more complicated! With that in mind, here are my top seven tips for getting Disneyland dining reservations. You can also see our guide on what to do if Disneyland theme park reservations are sold out, in case you are planning on a spontaneous visit to the parks.

READ MORE – 11 Unwritten Rules of the Disney Parks You Really Need to Follow

1. Book Right Away

The first step in securing your dining reservations is to set an alert for the 60-day mark from the day you want to reserve. Disneyland dining reservations (typically) go live at 6 AM PT. There is a chance there may be a delay for certain restaurants, so don't panic if you don't see reservations appear for a restaurant you have your heart set on!

Disneyland App or Website?

You can book online or via the Disneyland app. I personally find the website to be more reliable than the app, as lately I will often find it will load all the reservations before the app does, giving you an advantage. The app can be quicker to get your reservation confirmed, though, so there are pros and cons to using both. On my last experience using the website, despite having my credit card information saved to my Disneyland account, I was still prompted to fill in all my payment details to confirm my reservation, which did slow me down. But when I checked the Disneyland app, not all of the restaurants were showing up yet, even though they were available on the website.

Disneyland Hardest to Get Reservations

There are a few best Mickey Visit Disneyland restaurants where reservations are in the highest demand, and if these are on your list, you need to be prepared! All of the reservations for the following restaurants will be gone very quickly.

• Trader Sam's Enchanted Tiki Bar
  • This is one of the hardest dining reservations to get at Disneyland, and these will disappear in minutes, so you need to be fast to secure yours! Remember: the interior of the bar (where all the fun is!) is 21 and up after 8 PM, so keep that in mind when making your reservation. See our review of Trader Sam's Enchanted Tiki Bar here.
• Oga's Cantina
  • The second of the hardest-to-get dining reservations is Oga's Cantina. This popular Star Wars-themed bar is just as popular as Trader Sam's, but with longer operating hours, so there's more availability to choose from. See our review of Oga's Cantina here.
• River Belle Terrace – Premium Fantasmic! Package
  • This offering has become one of the most coveted dining package experiences at Disneyland. Since there are a limited number of tables on the patio at River Belle Terrace, and this package is only for one time at 7:15 PM, these go lightning fast. You can see our review of the River Belle Terrace Fantasmic! dining package here.
• Blue Bayou Restaurant
  • This classic restaurant overlooking the Pirates of the Caribbean is famous for its ambiance. It's one of the most popular dining experiences at the resort, and dining reservations book up quickly.

If your dining reservations don't release at that 60-day mark or you miss out, then the best course of action is to check frequently. Disneyland recently added a feature to its website where a green dot indicates if there are any reservations available on a given day, which helps when searching for reservations for popular restaurants like these. I often keep an open browser to the restaurant I am trying to get to and just check it as often as I think of it. Of course, that can easily become a nuisance, which is why I recommend…

2. Set Up Dining Alerts

There are a couple of different websites that offer free and paid dining reservation notifications. This is a great feature if you miss out on a dining reservation and you want to try to secure any cancellations. 

All of these services work the same way: you set up a date/time range for the restaurant of your choice and their automated system searches the Disneyland website for any open reservations. If an open reservation appears, you will get a text message or email with a direct link to reserve your dining.

• Mouse Dining
  • This is a free service that allows up to six active reservation searches at a time. You will get an email when the system finds a reservation.
  • You can also opt to pay for text message alerts for only $9 a month. I prefer to receive text messages, since I will usually see those before an email.
• Mouse Watcher
  • This paid service searches for reservations, with each active search (including breakfast, brunch, lunch, and dinner) starting at $5. If you need to search for multiple restaurants, you can look into subscriptions, which start at $19/month.
  • WE RECOMMEND THIS OPTION! We had the best luck with this paid service. This works well for the most sought-after reservations.

When comparing these two services, the biggest difference is how often the websites search for open reservations. I have personally used both of these websites and had the most luck with the Mouse Watcher reservation finder. I usually find that I get the notifications from Mouse Watcher the quickest, although Mouse Dining isn't too far behind.

There is no harm in using them all, because the more searches you have running at one time, the more likely you'll find an open time. I recommend using the paid Mouse Watcher service for your top-priority restaurants, as we have noticed it searches more frequently than the others.

Discount Disneyland Tickets

Our favorite Disney-approved re-seller, Get Away Today, offers the best Disneyland discount tickets around. In addition to great discount prices, their customer service and easy support is absolutely fantastic. They have an entire department dedicated to making sure every order has a wonderful experience and they are on-call to help you during your vacation if you need them.

Book your discount tickets NOW >

Buying tickets from Get Away Today is easy and convenient since all their tickets are sent electronically. You can take their vouchers and head straight to the gate without needing to wait in any ticket booth lines. They also offer layaway plans so you can pay off your vacation over time.

You can read my review on my personal experiences booking through Get Away Today and how much you can save here!

3. Get Creative with Party Size

One thing I've noticed when getting Disneyland reservations is that the app would deprioritize parties of 2 as opposed to parties of three or four. This is likely a logistical move, as Disneyland would rather not give away a table of four to a party of two. You may find more reservation availability by changing your party size to three and booking the open spot. Restaurants will usually seat you if you show up with less than the specified party size, so long as your reservation details aren't completely inaccurate and most of the party is present.

If you're trying to find reservations for a bigger group, like a party of six, you can try to search for smaller groups instead. For example, you might try two searches for a party of three or a party of four and two. Sometimes you just have to try and work around Disneyland's dining system. When you arrive at the restaurant for your reservation, you can let them know you're part of the same group and see if there is a way they can seat you as a group. However, keep in mind that they may not be able to do this.

4. Keep Searching When You Arrive

Many guests may arrive at Disneyland and stop searching for those must-do dining reservations. This makes sense because you're busy and you may not want to spend time doing this on your trip. However, even if you set aside a few minutes in the morning and evening to check, you may find the dining reservation you were looking for!

Since Disneyland's policy is to charge $10 per person cancellation fee for no-shows if guests don't cancel 2 hours prior to their reservation, you may have the most luck with cancellations the same day you were searching for a reservation. I found two of my sought-after reservation times while already at Disneyland because I took the time to keep checking, and it paid off. You'll see dining reservations pop up sporadically throughout the day now for popular options.

5. Use the Walk Up List

READ MORE – We Visit Disney Parks Weekly. You Really Don't Want to Forget These 10 Things During Your Disney Vacation.

If all else fails and you cannot secure a dining reservation, then plan on going to the restaurant you want to dine at first thing in the morning when it has opened—you can check the restaurant hours in the Disneyland app. Usually, most Disneyland restaurants will offer a walk-up list. They will take your contact information and send you a text if they can get you a table. But remember, you need to do this as soon as possible in the morning, otherwise the walk-up list can fill up.

There's never a guarantee you can get a reservation this way, but many people have had success with this option, so it's worth a try.

6. Don't Wait to Book Anything During Busy Periods

Beyond the most highly sought-after locations we listed earlier in this article, there are other popular locations that will book up quickly during busier times of year.

For certain restaurants, like Lamplight Lounge, Cafe Orleans, Carthay Circle Restaurant, and Minnie & Friends – Breakfast in the Park at Plaza Inn, you can't expect to get a reservation at the last minute if you are visiting during an especially crowded time at Disneyland. In addition to these restaurants, you may be surprised to see that even some of the restaurants that typically have lots of open availability will quickly book up during peak periods.

If you are visiting during a busier month or stretch of time marked on our Mickey Visit Disneyland crowd calendar, even if you are planning on dining at a restaurant that typically doesn't book up instantly at the 60-day mark, you do not want to wait to make reservations! It's easy to let this task slip by and then find that there aren't any openings left when you eventually go to book.

7. Try Some of the Easiest-to-Book Restaurants

Even if you don't end up snagging that reservation at Blue Bayou Restaurant, there are still plenty of options to choose from if you want to enjoy a table-service experience. For example, one of our favorite restaurants in the resort, GCH Craftsman Bar, often has lots of last-minute reservation availability. See why we eat at this hidden gem restaurant almost every trip! There are also some other great, easiest-to-book Disneyland restaurants you should consider that have great food and atmosphere.

It's also absolutely worth mentioning here that some of the best Disneyland restaurants are the quick-service locations in the parks. Some of our favorites include Bengal Barbecue in Disneyland Park and Lucky Fortune Cookery in Disney California Adventure, which are two quick-service restaurants we frequent most for healthier, affordable food. These are often our go-to choices when we don't have dining reservations. Jolly Holiday Bakery Cafe is another one of our favorites that consistently delivers excellent food. See all of our favorite Disneyland quick-service restaurants here!

Don't Miss the Latest Disney News

Don't miss the latest Disneyland and Disney World news from Mickey Visit. Join the FREE Mickey Visit newsletter that over 100k readers receive every single week. Mickey Visit is here to help you save money and experience more during your Disney and Universal vacation. See the Mickey Visit guide to Disneyland and the Mickey Visit guide to Disney World for tips.