Planning a Disney World trip can be tricky!

After you figure out your hotel and Park Pass reservations, you’ll want to make dining reservations for the sit-down meals you’re hoping for. And you don’t need us to tell ya that can feel impossible sometimes! We’ve given you plenty of tips to help you snag those hard-to-get Advance Dining Reservations, but sometimes, they fill up before you can grab a spot. Luckily, we’ve got a pretty cool trick for you to try!

Lately, Disney World’s been in the habit of extending their park hours. This typically happens a couple of weeks out from the affected dates. And with these extensions, we’ve seen park time extended up to 4 hours! That’s a LOT more time to play in the parks, guys.

You may be thinking about how many more rides you’ll be able to hop on, but there’s a hidden bonus to these added park hours. And that’s dining reservations, friends! When park hours are extended, dining reservations are added for those “new” hours. And they tend to be wide open for a bit!

We’re gonna paint a picture for ya. Let’s say you’re struggling to snag a reservation for Oga’s Cantina in Galaxy’s Edge (trust us, we’ve ALL been there.). And let’s say Disney’s Hollywood Studios just announced that their park hours for next Monday changed from a 7PM closing to an 8PM closing. As SOON as you hear about that change, you should go to Disney’s website and try to grab that reservation for sometime between 7PM and 8PM.

Of course, that’s a totally theoretical scenario, but you can imagine how this little hack could play out in all sorts of different scenarios. Wanting breakfast at Cinderella’s Royal Table? Grab one when Magic Kingdom’s morning hours are extended! Dinner at Be Our Guest? Book for extended evening hours!

This trick is SO quick ‘n’ easy, but it does require you to keep a close eye on Disney World’s park hours. And it does require timing. More reservations may not be automatically released. The restaurant may close before the park. There are plenty of scenarios that can mess this up. But it’s totally worth the try!! And luckily, we update you every time those change here at DFB! Stay tuned so you know exactly when to grab those tough reservations. And we’ll keep bringing you lots more Disney news, too!

Check Out the Hardest Dining Reservations to Get in 2021!

Join the DFB Newsletter to get all the breaking news right in your inbox! Click here to Subscribe!

Don’t Miss Out on Any Disney Fun!

Order Your Copy of the 2021 DFB Guide to Walt Disney World Dining Today!

With more than 750 pages, the 2021 DFB Guide to Walt Disney World Dining is full of tips and planning tools developed by Disney World experts over 30+ years of visits. We’ve done the research for you, so you’ll know just which spots will uniquely suit your family’s needs!

With mini-reviews of every single restaurant, bar, lounge, kiosk and more; an entire chapter on the best snacks in Disney World; full Disney Dining Plan analysis (and how to get FREE dining); and a full chapter on discounts and deals; you’ll have everything you need to plan your best vacation yet.

Click here to order your copy of the 2021 DFB Guide to Walt Disney World Dining E-book with code WDW2021 to save 25% off the cover price today!

Use code WDW2021 at check-out for 25% off the cover price today!

Our guides are backed by a 100% money-back guarantee, so you have nothing to lose.

Which dining reservations are YOU trying to get? Let us know in the comments!

The post Our BRAND NEW Secret Tip For Getting the Hardest Reservations in Disney World first appeared on the disney food blog.