Disney Dining: The Basics

Today I thought I would begin a short series of posts on Disney dining. You've all heard that dining at Disney World or Disneyland is expensive, and it is. But there are some great tips on how to save, where to go if you don't mind the extra cost, what the costs are, what categories there are, when to make reservations, and more.

Here I will simply try to cover some of the basics, which are (in no particular order):

• Advance Reservations = Priority Seating: in other words, when you make a reservation you don't actually have a reservation, you are simply seated before the walk-ins
• For the more popular dining (i.e. dinner shows, character dining, full-service dining, etc.) you should definitely make Advance Reservations or you will probably not get in. Most allow reservations 180 days in advance (80 to 45 days in advance is usually fine), but for specifics stay tuned as a complete list will be posted soon
• Dress throughout the parks at all restaurants is informal, though some of the resort restaurants have a "business casual" dress code
• Avoid fancy food, stick to the basics (at least at Magic Kingdom and Disney Hollywood)
• Don't order specialty sea-food unless the restaurant specializes in it
• Making lunch your big meal can save you money on the nicer Disney foods
• if you want to relax and don't want to be rushed through, take time ordering, and order each part separately (i.e. order drinks, take time, order appetizers, take time, etc.)
• On the flip side, avoid full service restaurants if you're in a rush to see as much as possible

And that's good to get us started. We will provide you with many more tips on dining in the next few weeks, but armed with that knowledge you can start making your plan. Bon apetit!