The Biggest Game-Changer at Disney World is Hiding in Plain Sight

Over the years (especially over the last several months since the parks have reopened), Disney World has introduced a number of ways technology can be used to offer a more frictionless experience for its guests. Heads up — they all love the world “mobile!”

Harambe Market Mobile Ordering

Many of us are well acquainted with Mobile Order, a contactless way to order food at various Counter Service locations. There’s also Mobile Dine Check-In, Mobile Check-Out at certain gift shops, and even MagicMobile just debuted, offering guests an alternative to MagicBands. But one of the biggest game-changers when it comes to planning your Disney vacation is hiding in plain sight all around Disney World (and on My Disney Experience): Mobile Dine Walk-Up Waitlist.

What is Walk-Up Waitlist?

This feature debuted in August of 2020 and allows guests to view Table Service Restaurant seating availability as a walk-up. NORMALLY, you’d have to plan your sit-down meals out in advance of your trip and make reservations ahead of time. You can still do that (and should for popular posts) but now, rather than arriving at a restaurant with an Advance Dining Reservation, you can try your luck and see on your smart device which restaurants have additional availability.

Look for this Walk-Up Waitlist sign!

Checking on a restaurant’s waitlist availability is simple, but can be tricky to find the first time you do it. First, you open up My Disney Experience on your smart device and select “Check Dining Availability.”

My Disney Experience Menu – select “Check Dining Availability” at the top!

Then, enter your party size as well as the date. There’s no option to search by restaurants with Walk-Up availability, rather you must select “Now”, as in the current time (instead of “breakfast,” “lunch,” or a specific window of time), to view the Walk-Up Waitlist. If you select a future date, the app will show you available Advance Dining Reservations. See? It’s kind of sneaky hiding in the regular ol’ dining reservations!

Mobile Dine Walk Up Waitlist — make sure you select the current date to view available tables!

A list of restaurants will appear in your immediate area, along with an estimated wait time. From there, you can add yourself to the Walk-Up Waitlist virtually!

Click here to learn more about the features behind Mobile Dine Walk-Up Waitlist!

How does Walk-Up Waitlist impact your Disney World vacation?

As many a Disney vacationer is well aware, some Advance Dining Reservations are really hard to come by, especially nowadays when the parks and restaurants are at limited capacity.

Walk-Up Waitlist is also available at Cinderella’s Royal Table

However, guests’ travel plans change all the time, and you can almost always find last-minute Dining Reservations popping up for at least some locations. The same logic applies to Walk-Up Waitlist. If you happen to be in the location of a hard-to-get restaurant, you can give this feature a shot to see if you can score a super last-minute table at some of Disney World’s most exclusive locations. (We’ve checked many times and, if you’re flexible with your schedule, they do show up from time to time!)

A reservation at California Grill could be tougher to grab once fireworks returns to Magic Kingdom!

Of course, Walk-Up Waitlist is not as much of a “sure thing” as an Advance Dining Reservation. If you know there is a restaurant on your must-do list, it’s imperative that you book those reservations the minute your dining reservation window opens up 60 days in advance.

Who else has had to set their alarm EARLY to grab a reservation at Be Our Guest Restaurant?

However, if the stars align, Walk-Up Waitlist could result in an unexpected meal at a bucket list restaurant. One of our writers shared a story about her friend who visited Magic Kingdom during the busy President’s Day Weekend and managed to get a table at Be Our Guest Restaurant (aka one of the toughest reservations to grab) for lunch with less than a 5-minute wait, thanks to Walk-Up Waitlist. We’ve scored a number of same-day spots at the ever hard to come by Oga’s Cantina in Disney’s Hollywood Studios as well!

Do you HAVE to use this new feature to get a table at Disney World? Click here to learn more!

Which Disney World restaurants offer Walk-Up Waitlist?

There are a decent amount of Table Service Restaurants that currently offer Walk-Up Waitlist across the four theme parks as well as the resort hotels. Your current location will determine which dining locations you can join the location for; for example, you cannot be in Magic Kingdom and join a walk-up waitlist for Tiffins in Disney’s Animal Kingdom. So keep that in mind when deciding which restaurants at which location you want to try to grab a table!

Have a sudden craving for Bread Service? You can check the Walk-Up Waitlist at Sanaa!

The restaurants that currently offer Walk-Up Waitlist are as follows:

Disney World Theme Park Restaurants

Disney’s Animal Kingdom Park

EPCOT

Disney’s Hollywood Studios

Magic Kingdom

Disney World Resort Hotel Restaurants

Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge

Disney’s Beach Club Resort

Disney’s BoardWalk Inn

Disney’s Contemporary Resort

Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort

Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa

Disney’s Old Key West Resort

Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort

Disney’s Riviera Resort

Disney’s Wilderness Lodge

Disney’s Yacht Club Resort

SO much of a Disney World trip revolves around planning. You still should do at least some planning, but this option lets you be a little more spontaneous with your plans. Or possibly score that REALLY tough to get spot you’ve been dreaming about!

We will continue to keep you updated as more restaurants are added this feature, as well as future mobile-friendly services from Disney World that you’ll need to know about in order to master your next vacation! Disney’s CEO Bob Chapek recently commented on how technology will become a more prevalent feature for the guest experience in the future, so we’ll definitely expect more services like this to pop up in the coming months and years!

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