When planning your Disney vacation you will probably see or hear the term ADR at some point. You are probably thinking what is it and is it important to me? The answer it yes!
ADR stands for Advance dining reservation.
First lets begin with the two main types of dining at the Disney parks and resorts:
- Table service-where you sit down and a waiter/waitress takes your order and brings you the food.
- Quick service-much like “fast food” you stand in line to order and pick up your food when its ready.
Most table service restaurants in the theme parks, at the resorts and even at Disney Springs/Downtown Disney offer ADR’s. If you are planning to eat a table service restaurant during your stay you should try to make a reservation as many of them do book up. The more popular ones book up half a year in advance!
When you pick the time you want your reservation it doesn’t mean your table will be ready at that particular time. You will usually be given the first available table for your party size but this can mean a bit of a wait before you are seated. Some time its a matter of minutes but more popular locations will have longer turnover time. I think the longest we waited with and ADR was about 20 minutes for our table at Le Cellier. We always try to make the reservation with this in mind and if we have the kids make sure they wont be starving by the time we hit the restaurant.
You can begin making your dining reservations as far out as 180 days from the first day of your trip. If you are staying at a Disney resort you can book up to 10 days out from the 180 day mark. For those not staying at a Disney resort (this includes the Swan/Dolphin resort and Shades of Green) you can still make them 180 days in advance but only 1 day at a time (unless your vacation is less than 6 months away). Booking does require a credit card but you will only be charged if you do not show or do not cancel by at least the day before. The “no-show” fee is $10 per person on the reservation.
Pro tip-When booking your reservation make sure you include any kids or babies in your party. Even if they won’t be eating they need to have a correct count for safety (maximum occupancy).
If someone in your party has a food allergy make sure let Disney know when you are booking the reservation. They are really great about helping guest with this. I know at the buffets a chef will usually come out and let you know what foods you can have (or which dishes have those ingredients in them) and some have even offered to make a dish minus the allergen!
You can make your ADRs on Disney’s website, the app or by calling (407)939-3463. If you make them online make sure you link them to your My Disney experience account, this will help keep all your reservations in one place!
There are some restaurants that are more popular and book up months in advance. If you are after one of these just keep trying especially when it gets closer to your travel dates and people are changing their plans and just in case have a back up location as sometimes it impossible to snag. We tried 3 trips just to get dinner at Be our guest!