Many Walt Disney World restaurants are hotly in demand, with reservations being incredibly difficult to book if you aren’t up early 60+ days in advance. This post covers the ADRs that are the toughest to score, why that’s the case and how it might change, plus alternatives if you can’t score the toughest spots. (Updated April 14, 2024.)
Before we get to our list, we should probably offer some basics on Advance Dining Reservations at Walt Disney World beyond just “make them.” Conventional wisdom is that you should book ADRs as early as possible, either via the My Disney Experience app or DisneyWorld.com.
Although it’s gotten slightly easier to book in recent months, there are some tough ones–especially for larger parties. You’ll still need to make reservations early or luck-out last minute. See our Guide to Advance Dining Reservations (ADRs) at Walt Disney World for tips & tricks to score elusive ADRs, info about the 60+10 rule, and more.
Speaking of which, that 60+10 rule is pretty important here. Anyone can make ADRs 60 days in advance. If you’re staying at a Walt Disney World on-site resort hotel, this means you can book 60 days prior to your arrival date and make ADRs for up to the first 10 days of your trip. For some of the restaurants on this list, that +10 is essential, as ADRs are often fully booked by the 60 day mark, meaning off-site guests don’t even have a chance at them unless there are cancellations.
Most people don’t know where they want to eat 60 days in advance, and this problem is compounded by the fact that Walt Disney World almost never releases final park hours 60 days in advance. If you find yourself faced with this problem, the good news is that you’re not alone–cancellations, more ADR inventory being released, and Walk-Up Waitlist all are great options for snagging relatively last-minute tables. Recommendations for all of that are laid out in the above-mentioned ADR Guide for WDW.
Despite the existence of this post, we rarely make more than a couple of Advance Dining Reservations before each Walt Disney World trip. In part this is because we tend to travel more at the last minute now, and in part this is because booking same-day ADRs or scoring walk-up availability is easier than ever.
Then there’s the final part–that we now have a baby. She’s going to set a lot of the schedule and pace, so we don’t want to arrive with a rigid plan that we have to throw out the window. We’ve seen unrealistic expectations ruining trips for a lot of families when things inevitably don’t go according to the plan. So we’ve decided to set super low expectations and bare minimum planning.
For us, it’s a more pleasant experience to roll with the punches and be flexible in where we are willing to dine than determine our entire schedule months in advance and have our day be beholden to those plans–or “fail” at following through on those plans. There are a lot of restaurants we really enjoy in each park, and usually a few of them have same-day options.
Your mileage may vary on that, though. If you’re a first-timer to Walt Disney World and are doing a once-in-a-lifetime trip, your circumstances are certainly different than ours. We share this simply because there are multiple perspectives on planning your dining at Walt Disney World.
The vast majority of other sites out there certain a sense of urgency about scoring the most coveted ADRs and stress the importance of planning in advance. As a Walt Disney World planning resource, it behooves websites like this one to encourage people to plan. Us telling you to sometimes ‘wing it’ might be a bit self-defeating, but it’s honest. We feel planning is essential in some circumstances, but mixing planning with spontaneity makes for a healthy and balanced approach.
As one final note before we get going, both the Disney Dining Plan and Free Dining impact Advance Dining Reservations. We already know the impact of the Disney Dining Plan, as it’s now available and has already caused some changes in demand since its return in 2024 as compared to last year.
Free Dining is still a wildcard, but we’re expecting it to be even more impactful, as (statistically speaking) a higher percentage of guests will be using the Disney Dining Plan once Free Dining ‘season’ starts. Back in the good ‘ole days (2019 and earlier), Free Dining had a massive impact on both ADR availability and what got booked.
That always happens and, before you ask, it is not a sign that crowds will be high. It’s typically pretty localized to restaurants. (This was the case even in August and September 2019, when the parks were largely quiet but table service restaurants were packed.)
Anyway, we’ve digressed from the point, so let’s cut to the chase–the tough ADRs that you will want to book as far in advance as possible, plus alternatives if those are fully booked…
California Grill – This Signature Restaurant enjoyed a resurgence a few years ago thanks to improved menu quality plus a convenient location near Magic Kingdom plus a pretty fly location with great fireworks views. California Grill still has those last two things, but demand has fallen sharply for a number of reasons.
The big one is its move to a prix fixe menu, which was popular at first–but the novelty has worn off. It also takes California Grill off the table for those who want to order smaller portions or dine in any way inconsistent with the set menu. Finally, California Grill isn’t on the Disney Dining Plan at all, and very few restaurants can sustain popularity without that. It’ll be interesting to see if popularity falls further and California Grill gets another menu overhaul or starts accepting the DDP in 2025.
Alternatives to California Grill would be pretty much any other Signature Restaurant. In terms of location, Citricos and Narcoossee’s are logical choices. In terms of cuisine and quality, Jiko or Flying Fish are the best fits. Under the same roof, Steakhouse 71 is a great option, but it’s in the “basement” of the Contemporary rather than the rooftop.
Dinner at Teppan Edo – This is the teppanyaki-style steakhouse in the Japan pavilion of World Showcase at EPCOT. Teppan Edo is located on the second floor of the the Mitsukoshi Department Store adjacent to Shiki-Sai: Sushi Izakaya (formerly Tokyo Dining).
Teppan Edo has been one of the best objective values on the Disney Dining Plan for years, and it claims the #1 spot on our List of the 10 Best Uses of Table Service Disney Dining Plan in 2024. That alone probably helps explain its surge in popularity. Interestingly, though, Teppan Edo is a much easier ADR for lunch when it serves the same menu.
Teppan Edo does not offer a fireworks view, so that doesn’t explain the dinner rush. Unless people are confused about the (lack of) view. Given that I just overheard a group of teenage boys on the monorail debating which of Magic Kingdom’s “most intense” roller coasters to ride first, TRON Lightcycle Run or Barnstormer, I’d say that’s a distinct possibility.
Regardless, the best alternative to Teppan Edo at dinner is…Teppan Edo at lunch. That’s arguably the better option, anyway, so you can be outdoors in the evening when it’s cooler and World Showcase comes alive. Just graze from festival kiosks for dinner.
Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater Restaurant – This is another one was almost impossible (especially for the “wrong” party sizes) for a few years, but now almost falls off the list. Nevertheless, Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater Restaurant can be difficult to book, especially for larger parties.
We’ve found that Sci-Fi Dine-In is easiest 60+ days in advance or at the last-minute. Now that the new restaurant smell has worn off Toy Story Roundup Rodeo BBQ, this is the toughest ADR in the park. (It’s also worth noting that Sci-Fi routinely overbooks, so the wait to be seated can be lengthy.) As for alternatives, the aforementioned Roundup Rodeo or 50’s Prime Time Cafe are your best options.
Breakfast at Crystal Palace – As a general rule, character breakfasts are more difficult to book than their lunch and dinner counterparts. This is interesting but not totally surprising. Breakfast is usually cheaper and has less ADR inventory, but offers worse bang for buck on the Disney Dining Plan.
Crystal Palace is not a difficult ADR for lunch or dinner. At all. But breakfast is a different story, especially for later seatings that bleed into lunch. Still, if you book early…or even wait until the last minute (Crystal Palace tends to have solid Walk-Up Waitlist availability)…you shouldn’t have too much trouble here.
‘Ohana – As the world’s first Irish-Hawaiian fusion concept, it’s understandable that ‘Ohana is so popular (their Boiled Cabbage and Pineapple Upside Down Cake is to die for!). Joking aside, Walt Disney World fans have come to love ‘Ohana thanks to its good fun, jovial atmosphere, and tasty Polynesian cuisine. This is especially true for dinner, but breakfast is also popular.
Alternatives include Sebastian’s Bistro (our favorite!), Liberty Tree Tavern, Boma, Garden Grill, or Cape May Cafe. Each of these offer a slice of the ‘Ohana experience, but none is a direct analogue. ‘Ohana is something of a lightning in a bottle experience, and it’s impossible for other restaurants to replicate that completely. If you’re unable to get dinner, you might consider “settling” for breakfast at ‘Ohana. We think dinner has by far the best food, but breakfast has characters and a decent slate of food (by Walt Disney World breakfast standards).
Breakfast at Topolino’s Terrace – Flavors of the Riviera – Topolino’s Terrace is basically two different restaurants, both of which are quite popular. For dinner, it’s a Signature Restaurant with a high-end meal that makes for a perfect date night. Although we’ve done ‘date morning’ meals at Breakfast à la Art with Mickey & Friends, it is obviously different by virtue of being a character meal.
Breakfast à la Art with Mickey & Friends is very popular because it’s higher end than Chef Mickey’s or Cape May Cafe (alternatives, I guess) and unlike the equally high-end dinner at Artist Point (another alternative) it features Mickey & Friends…and it’s breakfast. There’s also the fact that Breakfast à la Art with Mickey & Friends is only 1-credit on the Disney Dining Plan (for now), at a time when many premium character dining experiences are shifting to 2-credits.
Breakfast at Cinderella’s Royal Table – This one has been on the list of most difficult Walt Disney World ADRs for ages. Long before I started covering Disney–possibly since I was in diapers. (Don’t Google “Howie’s Angels” unless you want to go down a fascinating-but-weird rabbit hole!)
While lunch and dinner have eased up a bit, breakfast is still incredibly difficult. This is probably in part because breakfast is ~$15 per person cheaper and because there are fewer breakfast spots than lunch and dinner (which are one in the same). To each their own, but we’re big fans of dinner here and think it’s arguably “worth it” (air quotes because you can’t really put a price on dining with royalty inside their castle, but if you could, ~$100/adult seems fair-ish).
Space 220 Restaurant – This one has managed to defy the odds, continuing to orbit above the competition. The trajectory here is similar to California Grill, except that it opened with a prix fixe menu a few years ago rather than being an existing venue with a redone menu. Space 220 Restaurant also does not accept the Disney Dining Plan and also has received more mixed reviews recently.
For our part, we’re big Space 220 fans. As a complete package experience–theme, cuisine, service, etc–it’s out of this world. We’re also admittedly surprised that at its enduring stratospheric popularity. The new restaurant smell hasn’t worn off, and there’s not really any sign that Space 220 will “need” to make changes in 2025 or move to the Disney Dining Plan. Maybe this summer and fall’s Free Dining ‘season’ will do the trick?
As for alternatives, the very obvious one is Coral Reef–like Space 220, but under (real) water. That’s much easier to book, unique in its own way, but not quite as good.
Brunch at Chef Art Smith’s Homecomin’ – This has become my white whale. I’ve been trying to book brunch at Homecomin’ ever since we last did it a few years ago, because I “need” to try a couple more things before publishing my review. (A great excuse for pigging out further, albeit one I think Sarah sees through.) My effort level hasn’t been that high…but there was a time when I was looking every single weekend while we lived in Florida.
Brunch at Homecomin’s popularity is essentially a math problem. It’s only available on Saturdays and Sundays from 9:30am until 1pm. That alone means a far smaller pool of ADRs than just about any other restaurant on this list. Add to that its cult following among locals and (probably?) sometime WDW diehards, and Brunch at Homecomin’ is exceedingly difficult to book.
All of that is probably a spoiler for our full review, coming at a date TBD, which is that Brunch at Homecomin’ is pretty pretty pretty good. As for alternatives, try Olivia’s Cafe at Old Key West or Grand Floridian Cafe at Grand Floridian–both of which serve glorious fried chicken that’s on par with Homecomin’.
Dinner at 1900 Park Fare – This is a tricky one since 1900 Park Fare just reopened after a multi-year closure. As we’ve seen with every character restaurant that has had a delayed return, there’s been a combination of pent-up demand for that venue and initial capacity constraints as the locations staff up and hit their stride. There’s undoubtedly some degree of that with 1900 Park Fare, too.
However, this restaurant has also been reimagined in a way that hasn’t happened with other character dining experiences, leading us to conclude that it probably has more longevity. At minimum, its “new meal smell” will sustain bookings through its first few months at which point Free Dining demand will takeover and carry it through the rest of the year. But we’re expecting 1900 Park Fare to be a hot ticket well into 2025, and perhaps beyond.
For reference, 1900 Park Fare ADRs were never this challenging pre-closure. It was middle of the pack, often having relatively last minute availability. Our gut says that the character changes, unpopular as they are with diehards, have given 1900 Park Fare wider appeal. Still, it’s not iconic like several other Walt Disney World character dining experiences, so we eventually expect 1900 Park Fare to drop off this list.
Breakfast at 1900 Park Fare – This is listed separately because breakfast at 1900 Park Fare is markedly more difficult to book than dinner. At the 60 mark, I can find a variety of options for dinner. By contrast, I cannot find anything for breakfast–not even a single table–without having the 60+10 advantage. It’s a big difference, but consistent with what we’ve seen for other breakfast vs. dinner character dining spreads.
With that said, we do wonder if Free Dining season will flip the script. While both are good uses of Disney Dining Plan credits, dinner is top tier. If fewer guests are paying out-of-pocket and instead using DDP credits, it stands to reason that more would opt for the pricier meal. But we shall see.
Alternatives to 1900 Park Fare include Story Book Dining at Artist Point, Cinderella’s Royal Table, and Akershus Royal Banquet Hall.
Space 220 Lounge – This is listed separately from Space 220 Restaurant because it is, technically, a different option. Not only is it a distinct ADR, but it’s also much more difficult to book. This is another white whale for me. We did the Space 220 Lounge a couple of times when it first opened, but have been shut out ever since. (I could’ve done it via walk-up a few times, but that meant sitting at the actual bar with no view into outer space.)
Space 220 Lounge is such a difficult ADR for two reasons (above and beyond regular Space 220 Restaurant): supply and that it offers an a la carte menu that can be cheaper. With far fewer tables and the chance to dine in space on a dime, its popularity is sky-high. Also, I personally prefer the view from these seats, but I really don’t think others are taking my personal preferences into account when booking the lounge versus the restaurant.
Victoria & Albert’s – Chef’s Table goes very quickly, in large part because of limited supply: it’s an intimate experience with only one seating per night. The main dining room is easier since there are more tables, but it still can be a big challenge because of scarcity.
Victoria & Albert’s winning accolade after accolade probably doesn’t hurt with demand, either. This is one of the few Walt Disney World restaurants that is elite by real world standards, likely making it appealing to Four Seasons, Golden Oak, etc. guests looking for a sophisticated dining experience.
Unfortunately, there is no suitable alternative to Victoria & Albert’s. The closest you’ll probably get is Monsieur Paul in the France pavilion or Takumi-Tei in Japan. There’s also Capa or Ravello at Four Seasons Orlando or Bull & Bear at Waldorf Astoria Orlando. Maybe a few other third party options I’m forgetting.
No Longer or Not Currently Difficult ADRs
Be Our Guest Restaurant – Ever since Be Our Guest Restaurant moved to a Signature prix fixe three-course lunch and dinner menu, which requires 2 credits on the Disney Dining Plan, its popularity has dropped off. ‘Forcing’ guests to use 2-credits from the Disney Dining Plan or pay for an expensive meal out of pocket has discouraged many guests from doing Be Our Guest Restaurant. It also hasn’t helped that the tides have turned and guest sentiment is now largely negative towards it.
We’re keeping Be Our Guest Restaurant here because we could see that changing. It feels like something’s gotta give. Its menu, DDP status, meal services–something. It’s rare for any restaurant to go from that popular to being mid-tier, but that’s more or less what happened here.
Dinner alternatives include Skipper Canteen if you want a fun themed environment, or Akershus and Cinderella’s Royal Table if you want a dining in a royal environment experience. The latter two restaurants are also difficult to book and are pricey, so that may not be much help.
Bon Voyage Adventure Breakfast – Trattoria al Forno at Disney’s BoardWalk Inn is no longer a difficult ADR because the Bon Voyage Adventure Breakfast is still (temporarily?) suspended. It actually boggles my mind that it hasn’t returned, which I previously attributed to a princess shortage. Now…I dunno? Maybe they’ve discovered tables turn over much faster without characters?
At some point, Bon Voyage Adventure Breakfast is probably going to return. Or a new character dining concept will debut here. If and when that happens, it’s sure to be one of the hottest tickets again, just as it was before.
Lunch and Dinner at Akershus – This princess meal in the Norway pavilion at EPCOT has lost a lot of its luster since moving to 2-credits on the Disney Dining Plan for lunch and dinner. Prior to that, it was the #1 value on the Disney Dining Plan, and quite popular as a result. The 1-credit breakfast is still reasonably popular, but not impossibly so.
While we’re on the topic of character dining that recently became 2-credits, we should note that Storybook Dining at Artist Point is borderline. It has dropped off a lot in the last year, but it’s still far from easy to book–especially for larger parties. And we wouldn’t be surprised to see it make this list during Free Dining when families have credits to burn and don’t really care about the one vs. two credit value proposition, since it was a “free” (air quotes) Disney Dining Plan, anyway. However, it’s still too early to tell whether this will be a highly coveted ADR, or if it will settle into more modest popularity.
Alternatives include Garden Grill if you want an EPCOT character fix (with better food, in my estimation) or Cinderella’s Royal Table in Magic Kingdom. Even though the latter is more expensive, we think it’s the better character meal. Plus, who can exist dining inside Cinderella Castle?!
Restaurants that didn’t make the cut but that can be fairly difficult include Beaches & Cream, Via Napoli, Rose & Crown, Minnie’s Seasonal Dining (especially during Free Dining), pretty much all other character meals during Free Dining, and most special options like the Candlelight Processional Dining Package or the Fantasmic Dining Package.
A few others that have been historically difficult include Le Cellier, Crystal Palace, and Chef Mickey’s. More recently due to price increases or policy changes, I’d say these restaurants have become much easier to book. That doesn’t mean they’re downright easy, but gone are the days of these being must-book dining options 60 days out.
Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!
Your Thoughts
Which Walt Disney World restaurants do you think are the most difficult to book? Do you agree or disagree with our list? Any tough ADRs we didn’t mention? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing feedback about your experiences is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
