The short answer: You can make Disney World dining reservations 60 days in advance, starting at 6:00 am ET. If you’re staying at a Disney World Resort hotel, the 60+10 rule lets you book your entire trip (up to 10 days) starting 60 days before your check-in date, so the last days of a long trip open up even earlier than 60 days out. The most in-demand tables can vanish within minutes, so the 60-day mark matters.
Everything below breaks down exactly how this works, how to prep so you’re not fumbling at 6:00 am, and what to do if the reservation you want is already gone.
Getting Advance Dining Reservations as early as possible has long been a pro-move at Walt Disney World. Knowing the earliest time you can make an ADR at Disney World can mean the difference between getting a table for dinner at Be Our Guest and grabbing a disappointment burger at Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Cafe (no offense, Sonny Eclipse).
For most of Disney World’s restaurants, you definitely want to get a dining reservation ahead of time, as same-day reservations can be hard to come by. For the most in-demand Disney World restaurants like Beak and Barrel, Space 220, and GEO-82, getting reservations as early as possible is a requirement.
If you haven’t been to Disney World in a while, how early you can make a reservation has changed. So in this part of the Guide 2 Disney World Dining Reservations, we’re going over everything you need to know about making dining reservations as early as possible at Disney World.
Update: July 6, 2026 — This guide has been refreshed for 2026. Park pass reservations are no longer required for standard date-based tickets, and park hopping is available at any time of day, so we’ve updated the tips section to reflect both changes. We’ve also added a section on reservation alert tools for the hard-to-get tables.
How Many Days Ahead of Time Do Disney World Dining Reservations Open?
The window for Advance Dining Reservations at Disney World is 60 days ahead of time. As a rule of thumb, you should try to start planning your Disney World trip at least two months ahead of time in order to get all the dining reservations you want for your vacation.
However, Disney World Resort guests can start making their reservations even earlier thanks to the 60+10 rule. I’ll explain how that works just below.
Can Disney World Resort Guests Make Reservations Early? The 60+10 Rule
Disney World Resort guests have a real leg up when it comes to dining reservations. Resort guests can make dining reservations for their entire vacation starting 60 days before the first day of their trip, for up to 10 days. This is an amazing Disney World Resort perk for two reasons:
- You get earlier access for the latter days of your trip. If you’re staying 5 nights, you can actually make a reservation for the final day of your trip 65 days ahead of time. You’ll have an easier time finding hard-to-get reservations on these days, so we recommend making your dining reservations starting from the end of your trip and working backwards.
- You only have to get up early one day. Let’s face it, 6:00 am ET is extremely early. If you have a Disney World hotel reservation, you can book the dining for your whole trip in one sitting. You can always make modifications later, but the fewer number of times you need to set your alarm for before 6:00 am, the better.
Why is it called the 60+10 Rule? Because 60 days ahead of their check-in day, resort guests can make their reservations for up to the first 10 days of their vacation.
One important note: this perk applies to Disney-owned resorts (including Shades of Green). It does not apply to the Swan, Dolphin, or other Good Neighbor Hotels owned by third parties. And you’ll want to book your hotel room before your dining window opens, and make sure your resort reservation is linked to the My Disney Experience account you’re booking from. If you have a valid hotel reservation but the website or app won’t let you book your whole trip, we’ve got a guide for that.
What Time Can You Make Dining Reservations at Disney World?
You can start making reservations at 6:00 am ET, which is Disney World’s official opening time for reservations.
But here’s why you should set your alarm for even earlier. We recommend that you’re online and logged in by 5:45 am ET. While 6:00 am is Disney’s official stated time, sometimes the system releases dining reservations a little early. So it can help to start looking a bit before the hour.
According to a Disney World Cast Member:
“Dining reservations open at 6 am online. You can start looking at 5:45 am as there may be a time when they load them earlier. But, normally 6am is the time.”
Getting online early also lets you make sure the app or website is loading correctly so you can troubleshoot any issues before the reservations open up.
Disney World Dining Reservations Decoded – Video
If you want all the must-know info on Disney World Dining Reservations, including how early they become available, check out this video from Guide2WDW’s YouTube Channel.
How Can I Make an Advance Dining Reservation?
You can use the My Disney Experience app or DisneyWorld.com to make ADRs. You can also call 407-WDW-DINE to speak to a Cast Member and make a reservation. We recommend using the app or website to book as early as possible for your highest-priority restaurants.
If you’re working with a travel agent to plan your Disney World vacation, they can also handle your dining reservations for you. Our friends at Be Our Guest Vacations are an Authorized Disney Vacation Planner, and they’ll book your ADRs, watch for discounts, and handle the rest of your trip planning at no extra cost to you. It’s a nice option if you’d rather not set that 5:45 am alarm yourself.
Should I Use the App, Website, or Phone?
If you can, you should definitely use the My Disney Experience app or Disney World’s website to make your reservations. As I mentioned above, Disney World opens reservations at 6:00 am. But Disney World’s reservation phone line doesn’t open until 7:00 am Eastern, and you’ll most likely encounter a wait.
The website has one big advantage over the app: tabs. You can open up multiple browser tabs for all the restaurants you want prior to the reservations opening up. So if you’re a power user and want the best shot at getting ADRs for Space 220, Be Our Guest, and Beak and Barrel for your next vacation, may the browser tabs bet with you!
(Worth knowing: Disney overhauled the reservation system in mid-2025, and you can now search all available times across a range of dates and restaurants at once, which makes hunting for that one open slot a lot less painful than it used to be.)
Tips for Making Advance Dining Reservations at Disney World
- Plan out each day of your vacation. For the in-park restaurants, you’ll need valid theme park admission to dine. Good news since our last update: as of January 2024, standard date-based tickets no longer require a separate park pass reservation, and park hopping is available at any time of day (the old 2:00 pm hopping start time is gone). Knowing which park you’re headed to each day still helps you know which restaurants to target.
- If you’re a resort guest using the 60+10 Rule, make your reservations starting on the last day of your trip and work backwards. You’ll be able to book the days toward the end of your vacation the most days in advance, giving you the best shot at the hard-to-get ADRs.
- Set up your My Disney Experience account and link a credit card before you try to book. Each reservation requires a credit card to hold your spot.
- There is a no-show fee. You’ll be charged $10 per person for reservations you don’t use. You can cancel up to 2 hours ahead of time through the app or website without penalty, so cancel in time and you’ll avoid the charge. (A handful of prepaid experiences and signature restaurants have stricter windows, which you’ll see when you book.)
- These reservations can sell out fast. For restaurants like Space 220, Le Cellier, Cinderella’s Royal Table, or Be Our Guest, you’ll want to be ready right at 6:00 am ET, 60 days out.
- Didn’t get the reservation you wanted? You might not be out of luck. Keep reading, and check out our guide on what to do if you don’t have a reservation at Disney World.
Can You Make Dining Reservations 180 Days Out?
Not anymore. Disney World used to let you make dining reservations 180 days ahead of time. That policy changed after the 2020 closure, and the window has been 60 days ever since, which is honestly much more reasonable than planning your meals almost half a year out.
What If You Can’t Get the Reservation You Want?
Here’s the thing about the 6:00 am scramble: even if you do everything right, the very hardest tables can be gone in minutes (I’m looking at you, GEO-82). And sometimes your trip is already booked and you’re inside the 60-day window with no luck.
Don’t give up. Cancellations happen constantly. Because guests can cancel penalty-free up to 2 hours before a reservation, tables open back up all day long, right up to the day of. The problem is you can’t sit there refreshing the app every five minutes for two weeks straight.
That’s what a reservation alert tool is for. I partner with Booking Magician, a dining-alert service that watches the Disney reservation system around the clock for you. You set an alert with your park, date, restaurant, and preferred time, and their monitors keep checking. When a matching table opens up, you get an email or text and a link straight to the Disney checkout page to grab it. (One honest caveat: an alert is not a guaranteed reservation. It’s first-come, first-served, so you’ll want to book the second you get pinged.)
The free tier gives you 3 alerts by email, which is plenty if you’re just chasing one hard reservation. Paid tiers start at $10/month for 25 alerts with text notifications if you’re managing a whole trip’s worth of tough tables. Use code GUIDE2 for 10% off. It’s the tool I point people to when the 60-day scramble doesn’t go their way.
Be sure to check out other entries in our Guide 2 Disney World Dining Reservations:
- How to Make and Cancel Disney World Dining Reservations – A Step by Step Guide
- What to Do When You Don’t Have a Reservation at Disney World
- The Mobile Walk-Up Waitlist at Disney World – Perfect for Last Minute Tables
- The Hardest Dining Reservations to Get at Disney World
- The Easiest Dining Reservations Worth Getting at Disney World
- Disney World Dining Reservation Errors, Problems, and Fixes for Hotel Guests
Frequently Asked Questions
How early can you make Disney World dining reservations?
You can make Disney World dining reservations 60 days in advance, starting at 6:00 am ET. Guests staying at a Disney World Resort hotel can book their entire trip (up to 10 days) starting 60 days before check-in, thanks to the 60+10 rule.
What is the 60+10 rule at Disney World?
The 60+10 rule lets Disney Resort hotel guests make dining reservations for up to the first 10 days of their trip starting 60 days before their check-in date. This means the later days of your trip effectively open more than 60 days out, and you can book everything in one sitting instead of waking up early on multiple mornings.
What time do Disney World dining reservations open?
Reservations open at 6:00 am ET. We recommend being logged in by 5:45 am, since the system occasionally releases reservations a few minutes early, and it gives you time to make sure everything is loading correctly.
Do you still need a park reservation to eat at Disney World restaurants?
No. As of January 9, 2024, standard date-based tickets no longer require a park pass reservation. You still need valid theme park admission to dine at in-park restaurants, but the separate park reservation step is gone for most guests. (Some ticket types, like annual passes, may still require reservations.)
Is there a fee if I miss my Disney World dining reservation?
Yes. Most table-service restaurants charge a $10 per person no-show fee. You can cancel penalty-free up to 2 hours before your reservation time through the app or website. Some prepaid and signature experiences have stricter cancellation windows.
What should I do if I can’t get a hard-to-get reservation?
Keep checking, because penalty-free cancellations open tables up all day long. To avoid refreshing the app constantly, use a dining alert service like Booking Magician (code GUIDE2 for 10% off), which watches the reservation system and notifies you the moment a matching table opens.
We want to hear from you!
Let me know in the comments below: Have any more questions about how early dining reservations open at Disney World?
More from Guide2WDW
Thank you for the great information! How do you make all your reservations at once? The dining calendar only allows you to click 60 days ahead. What am I missing? We do have a Disney hotel. Thank you!
Hey Steph! Thank you for your question, hopefully I can provide some assistance.
First of all, the extra reservation privileges is available at Disney-owned resorts, including Shades of Green. It is not available at Swan/Dolphin or other Good Neighbor Hotels owned by third parties. If your resort reservation is at a Disney-owned hotel, you should be able to make up to 10 days of dining reservations starting 60 days out from the first day of your trip.
If you’re booking online, you must be logged into the Disney World/ My Disney Experience account that your Disney resort booking is linked to. So make sure that your resort reservation is linked or that you’re logged into the correct account. Also, if you’re having issues booking on the app, try the website, or vice versa. Unfortunately, Disney’s online tech can have mysterious glitches.
If you’re logged in to the correct account and still are having issues, I would recommend calling 407-WDW-DINE, and be sure to have your Disney World Resort reservation number handy. They should be able to help you make all of your reservations.
I hope this helps! Best of luck!
Below information is incorrect. Cancel time is still 24hrs. “Guests can now cancel their Disney World dining reservations up to 2 hours ahead of time using the Disney World app.”
Hi Tiffany! Disney World just recently updated the MyDisneyExperience app to allow for same day dining reservation cancellations, up to 2 hours ahead of time (excluding prepaid experiences). See our update on dining reservation cancellations here. This was first reported by Scott Gustin on Twitter.
However, you are correct that they have not updated their official dining cancellation policy to reflect this new ability. So while the policy says 24 hours, guests can now cancel reservations same day using the app without incurring the no show fee.
I’ve been up trying to get reservations at 5:45 am ET and nothing was actually available at that time. I had to wait until 6. Did I do something incorrectly?
Hi Stefanie!
You didn’t do anything incorrectly! Disney World dining reservations open at 6:00 am ET. We had some conflicting information about the correct time and erred on the side of earlier, so my apologies about that. But we just confirmed with Disney that 6 am is the correct time. Thank you for bringing this to our attention. I just updated the article.
However, we have received the advice from cast members that sometimes reservations can open up before 6 am (this isn’t the norm, but can potentially happen), so getting online at 5:45 isn’t a bad idea. That also will give you a chance to make sure your devices are working correctly.
Hope you have a wonderful day!