Want our top tips for securing dining reservations at Walt Disney World before your next vacation? Here are our absolute favorite tips.

1. BOOK TWO MONTHS IN ADVANCE

It might sound crazy, but if you want to secure reservations at the most popular restaurants at Walt Disney World, you need to book right when the reservation window opens. Currently, the window opens 60 days in advance. This is the easiest and simplest way to guarantee you secure your ‘wish list’ of restaurants, like Be Our Guest and Cinderella’s Royal Table at Magic Kingdom, or Woody’s Round Up at Hollywood Studios, and Space 220 at Epcot.

2. MAKE 2-3 RESERVATIONS PER DAY

I know; this sounds crazy. Who can afford three sit-down meals a day at Disney? The thing is, you’re not going to. You’re making reservations for three meals a day, because if your family is like mine, they often change their minds. Nothing is worse than deciding last minute you want to eat at a different restaurant, but there’s no reservations available.

By having three meals each day (or even two), you provide yourself with options. As it gets closer to your vacation and you do your research, you can begin cancelling some of your reservations. (Remember, Disney won’t charge you if you cancel within 24 hours.)

3. MAKE THOSE RESERVATIONS AT DIFFERENT PARKS

This will provide even more planning flexibility. For my family, we usually let FastPass availability determine our final itinerary. By having multiple dining reservations at different parks each day, you can ensure you’ll have a great meal no matter which park has the best FastPass availability.

4. MAKE YOUR RESERVATION FOR THE LARGEST POSSIBLE PARTY

Maybe you’re planning your Disney World vacation and the in-laws are thinking about tagging along, but they can’t commit six months in advance. Go ahead and make all your dining reservations with them included in your guest count. Disney will not charge you or penalize you if less guests show up to a reservation than originally booked. However, if you bring more guests than originally booked, they can turn them away.

5. DON’T PANIC IF YOUR FIRST CHOICE ISN’T AVAILABLE

Sometimes you can’t plan six months ahead. And sometimes, even if you try to book right at the 180-day mark, you still can’t get the reservation at the restaurant you want. When this happens, relax. Remember, people cancel their dining reservations all the time – especially the final 24 hours before. Keep trying. You’ll be surprised what opens the day before.

6. TRY CALLING DISNEY DINING

If you’re not having luck with My Disney Experience, have your travel agent call Disney Dining directly at (407) 939-3463. For whatever reason, their system seems to be both more accurate and faster. We’ve been able to secure dining reservations by calling when they weren’t showing up in My Disney Experience.

7. AS A LAST RESORT, WALK UP

If all else fails, it never hurts to walk directly up to the restaurant and ask the host/hostess if they’ve had any last-minute cancellations. It doesn’t work all the time, but magic does happen – after all, you’re at Disney World.