Disney World dining reservations, or Advanced Dining Reservations (ADRs), are an essential for any WDW vacation. Getting a dining reservation will save you from having to join a long waitlist, and some of Disney World’s best restaurants require reservations. On Guide2WDW, we have an entire Disney World reservation guide, covering the hardest to get Disney dining reservations, and how early you need to make dining reservations at WDW. In this post, I’m going to tell you how to make Disney World dining reservations every way possible.
I’ll take you step-by-step on how to make dining reservations via the My Disney Experience app, as well as the Disney World Website. I’ll also show you where to find your existing dining reservations, how to change reservations to a different time, and how to cancel your reservations.
Update November 3, 2022 – Disney World just added the ability to make same day cancellations through the My Disney Experience app.
My Disney Experience: Making, Managing, and Cancelling Disney World Dining Reservations via the App
This section is completely dedicated to the My Disney Experience app, which we find is the best way to manage WDW dining reservations while visiting Disney World.
How to Make Disney World Dining Reservations via the App
1. Download the My Disney Experience app for iPhone and Android.
2. Sign in to your Disney account. This will be the same account associated with your Disney+ account or your shopDisney account if you have one. If you don’t, you can create an account by clicking “Create Account” on the front page of the app.
3. Click the plus button in the middle of the bottom of the screen.
4. Select Check Dining Availability.
5. Confirm your party size using the plus and minus buttons.
6. Select the day you want to make reservations for.
7. Select the time that you want to make a reservation for. You can search by mealtime like breakfast, lunch, and dinner, or you can search by specific time of day. Tip: You can swipe the list to the left to reveal more options.
8. A list of available restaurants and time slots will appear. To select a reservation, tap the time slot on the restaurant you want to dine at. In this example, I tapped on 8:50 for Skipper Canteen — one of our favorites!
9. You will now see a “Review Your Reservation” screen. Here, you can modify your contact information. You also will need to put in a credit card to guarantee your reservation. If you have a credit card on file in the app, it will automatically be selected. If not, you can enter your credit card information here.
10. If you have any allergy or special requests, click “Add a Special Dietary or Accessibility Request.” You can select your request from a checklist, including gluten, peanut, and shellfish allergies. Click save, and you will be returned to the “Review Your Reservation Page.”
11. Once you are ready to make your reservation, tap on the “I have read and agree to the Guest Policies” checkbox.
12. Tap Book Now.
13. Your Disney World dining reservation will now be booked! You will see a Dining Confirmation page, with a Confirmation Number. You will also receive an email with a the same Confirmation Number. Tip: It’s always a good idea to keep Disney World Dining Confirmation Numbers handy in case you run into any issues.
Tip: If you know which restaurant you want to dine at, you can also make a reservation from the map section of the app. Tap the Map Icon at the bottom of the screen (second icon from left). Then tap the arrow next to Wait Times. Select Dining. Then tap on the restaurant you want to dine at by scrolling to the location on the map. You can also filter by park with the Filter button in the top left, and switch to a list view by pressing Show List.
Once you are on the restaurant page, scroll the icon list to the left. This list will have “Find on a Map,” “Get Directions,” and possibly “Join Walk-Up List” on it. The next option is “Reserve Dining.” Tap that and then you can search by time and date for a reservation for the restaurant. Tap a time you want and follow steps 9-13.
Where to Find Your Disney World Dining Reservations in the App
1. Open the My Disney Experience app.
2. Your Upcoming Plans will be at the top of the front page of the app. Your next dining reservations should appear here.
3. To see all your dining reservations, click the three horizontal line button at the bottom right of the app.
4. Click Future Plans
5. You’ll find all your reservations on the Future Plans page.
How to Modify a Disney World Reservations in the App
You are able to change the time and date, as well as adjust the party size for your WDW dining reservation.
1. Go to the Future Plans section in the My Disney Experience app (see above section for instructions).
2. Tap on the reservation you want to modify.
3. Tap the “Modify” button, which looks like a pencil icon on the middle right of the screen.
4. On this page, you can adjust the Party Size, as well as select a new time and date. If a time and date is available, it will appear in the “Select an Available Time” section. If that section is blank, then there are no results for the new time and date you selected.
5. Tap on the new time and date that you want.
6. You’ll now see a Review Your Reservation screen. Tap the “I have read and agree to the Guest Policies” checkbox.
7. Tap Book Now to modify your reservation to the new time, date, and party size.
How to Update Your Party and Link Reservations to Other Guests in the App
What if you don’t want to modify party size, but you want to link your reservation to another guest so they can see the plans in their My Disney Experience app? It’s very easy to add your connected Friends and Family to your WDW dining reservation. Note that this step is not necessary.
1. Go to the Future Plans section in the My Disney Experience app (see above section for instructions).
2. Tap on the reservation you want to link to someone else’s account.
3. In the middle to bottom of your screen, there will be a Party section. Tap Update Party.
4. On this page, you’ll be able to add Friends and Family that you’ve already connected Disney World accounts with. Check every account you want to add to this reservation.
5. If you want to add someone not on your list, tap the “Add a Guest Button.” You can link accounts easily by scanning their Disney World account linking code.
6. Once you’ve selected all the guests you want to link the reservation
How to Cancel Your Disney World Dining Reservation in the App
Knowing how to cancel your Disney World dining reservation is extremely important. Disney World has a no-show fee of $10 and up per person. In order to avoid this charge, cancel any reservation you aren’t planning on using at least 2 hours ahead of time. Fortunately, it’s very easy to cancel your reservation via the My Disney Experience app, and Disney World just updated the app to allow same day cancellations.
1. Open the My Disney Experience app.
2. Tap the three horizontal line button at the bottom right of the app.
3. Tap Future Plans to see all of your existing dining reservations.
4. Tap the reservation you want to cancel.
5. On the Dining Reservation page, tap the Cancel button with an x icon on the middle left of the screen.
6. You will see a prompt that says “Cancel this reservation?” Tap the Yes, Cancel checkmark.
7. Your Disney World dining reservation is now cancelled. It will no longer appear in the app. You will receive an email with a Cancellation Confirmation number.
DisneyWorld.com: Making, Managing, and Cancelling Disney World Dining Reservations via the web
You can do everything I described above on Disney World’s official website. If you are on a desktop or laptop, you might prefer using the Disney World website to make dining reservations because you can see more reservations at once in your search results. It’s also easier to add linked accounts to your dining party as part of the reservation process.
How to Make Disney World Dining Reservations via the App
1. Go to DisneyWorld.com and sign into your Disney account by clicking “Sign In or Create Account” at the top of the screen. If you don’t have a Disney account, you can create an account here.
2. Once logged in, hover over the Things To Do section of the menu. Click on Make Reservations in the Dining section. This will be the first option in the menu.
3. Select the date and the time you want to dine, as well as your party size. Click the Search Times button.
Tip: At the top of the page, you can filter by location by clicking the “All Disneyworld Resort Locations” button. You can also change how the search results are sorted.
4. Scroll through the list of available restaurants and time slots. Click on the restaurant/time slot you want to reserve. We got lucky with a California Grill opening for the next day in this example, which is why checking 24-48 hours out is one of our favorite Disney World dining tips. Note: If you’re not logged in, you’ll be prompted to log in at this step.
5. You now will see a My Dining Party page, where you can select who will manage the reservation. By default, it will be your Disney account. The Reservation Contact cannot be changed once the reservation is made. You can also add linked Friends and Family accounts as other members of your dining party. This is optional, but it will make sure that this reservation shows up in their Disney World plans on the app or on the website.
6. Once you’ve selected the Reservation Contact and party, click the green Next button on the very bottom of your browser window.
Tip: I’ve found that it’s very easy to miss this button, especially if you don’t have the full window showing on your computer screen. If you can’t find this button, resize your window so you can see the very bottom.
7. You’ll now be on the Payment page. You need to put in a credit card to guarantee the reservation, due to the no-show fee. Enter in your credit card and billing address, then tap the Next button at the bottom of the browser window.
8. You’ll now be on a Confirmation page. You can adjust your contact information here.
9. If you have any allergy or special requests, click the Edit button in the “Food allergy or Special Requests” section. You can select your request from a checklist, including gluten, peanut, and shellfish allergies. Click save, and you will be returned to the Confirmation Page.
10. Click the “I have read and agree to the Guest Policies” checkbox.
11. Click the Reserve button at the very bottom right of the browser window.
12. You’ll now see a Confirmation page. It will include your Confirmation Number, which will also be emailed to you.
Where to Find Your Disney World Dining Reservations on DisneyWorld.com
1. Go to DisneyWorld.com and log in
2. Hover over the My Disney Experience section of the menu.
3. Click on My Plans.
4. Scroll down to see My Plans, Reservations and Tickets. Your dining reservations will show up here.
How to Modify a Disney World Reservations on DisneyWorld.com
1. Go to DisneyWorld.com and log in.
2. Hover over the My Disney Experience section of the menu.
3. Click on My Plans.
4. Scroll down to see My Plans, Reservations and Tickets. Your dining reservations will show up here.
5. Click on the Change Reservation button on the right hand side of the screen on the reservation you want to change.
6. This will take you to a Change Existing Reservation page. Here you can select a different date, time, and party size to search by. If a time and date is available, it will appear in the “Select a Time” section. If that section is blank, then there are no results for the new time and date you selected.
7. Click on the new time slot you want to select.
8. Click the green Change button on the bottom right of the browser window.
9. You’ll be prompted to confirm your dining party next
10. Your reservation will now be changed to the new time, date, and party size.
How to Update Your Party and Link Reservations to Other Guests on DisneyWorld.com
If you made the reservation through the Disney World website, you’ll have already been prompted to
1. Go to DisneyWorld.com and log in
2. Hover over the My Disney Experience section of the menu.
3. Click on My Plans.
4. Scroll down to see My Plans, Reservations and Tickets. Your dining reservations will show up here.
5. On the righthand side of the reservation you want to update, click the Update Guests link.
6. On this page, you’ll be able to add Friends and Family that you’ve already connected Disney World accounts with. Scroll down to “Add a Guest” if they don’t appear in the list.
7. Confirm your changes and your reservation will be updated.
How to Cancel Your Disney World Dining Reservation on DisneyWorld.com
1. Go to DisneyWorld.com and log in.
2. Hover over the My Disney Experience section of the menu.
3. Click on My Plans.
4. Scroll down to see My Plans, Reservations and Tickets. Your dining reservations will show up here.
5. Click on the Cancel Reservation button on the right hand side of the screen on the reservation you want to change.
6. A prompt will pop up asking “Are you sure you want to cancel this dining reservation? Click Yes, Cancel Reservation.
7. Your Disney World dining reservation will now be cancelled. You will receive an email with the Cancellation Number.
How to Make, Manage, and Cancel Disney World Dining Reservation via the Phone
You can call 407-WDW-DINE (407-939-3463) to make, change, and cancel any Disney World dining reservations by phone. Disney’s phone lines are open 7 am – 11 pm EST.
We consider this a last resort, as it’s more time consuming than managing dining reservations via the app or website. If the website is down or you run into any technical issues, the phone line is a good option.
What to Do If Your Disney World Dining Reservation isn’t Showing Up In Your Plans
If you don’t see your dining reservation in your plans, you can link a reservation to your account with your confirmation number.
How to Link a Dining Reservation via the App
1. Open the My Disney Experience app.
2. Tap the three horizontal line button at the bottom right of the app.
3. Tap Future Plans
4. Look for the “Missing a reservation” text. Immediately below that is a Link to Account button. Tap that.
5. Enter the confirmation number and last name on the reservation
6. Tap Link This Reservation
How to Link a Dining Reservation on DisneyWorld.com
1. Go to DisneyWorld.com and log in.
2. Hover over the My Disney Experience section of the menu.
3. Click on My Plans.
4. Scroll down to see My Plans, Reservations and Tickets.
5. Click the Add More Plans button on the right side of the screen. This will show a mini menu.
6. Click Link Reservations and Purchases
7. On the next page, click the Select button under the Dining Reservation icon and text.
8. Enter the confirmation number and last name on the reservation. Tap the next button at the bottom of the browser window.
9. Follow the prompts to confirm your selection. The reservation will now be linked to your account.
Disney World Dining Reservation Guide
Be sure to check out other entries in our Guide 2 Disney World Dining Reservations.
- How Early Can You Make Disney World Dining Reservations
- What to Do When You Don’t Have a Reservation at Disney World
- 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
Have any questions about how to make and cancel a Disney World dining reservation? Let me know in the comments below!
More from Guide2WDW
Am I correct in understanding that I only need to choose the quantity of people to secure the reservation? That is, if we have three families going together (nine children and adults and one infant), I just need to make the reservation for the correct number? Our accounts don’t need to be linked to make the reservation (just for them to be able to see it in MDE)? Thank you!
Hi Rebecca! Great question. You are correct, you don’t need to link every account of every diner to your reservation. You just need to correct number of people dining. The only real advantage of linking is that it shows up in the MDE app, but it is not a requirement at all. Let me know if you have any other questions!
Thank you!