You frog fans know we're all about vacation planning, especially when it comes to Disneyland. So it's no surprise that we're all about making Disneyland dining reservations as soon as our booking window opens up. While getting last-minute Disneyland dining reservations isn't quite as hard as it sometimes is at Walt Disney World, those who plan in advance have an advantage over those who do not. Some locations are harder to get into than others. If you are visiting in summer or during holiday times, it’s smart to get those Disneyland dining reservations in place as early as possible. After all, the early frog gets the flies! We've put together this post as the ultimate guide to making Disneyland dining reservations.

When and How to Make Disneyland Dining Reservations

For Disneyland dining reservations, the booking window opens 60 days in advance. While two months might seem like a long time out to book a dining reservation, for Disneyland, it's not.

If you know when you will be visiting, you can either call (714) 781-DINE or use the online reservations system to reserve your spot at restaurants in Disneyland Park, Disney California Adventure, Downtown Disney and the three on-site hotels. It is also a good idea to reserve your character dining experiences in advance. You can also make (and cancel or change) reservations even more easily through the Disneyland mobile app.

Depending on the restaurant and dates of your visit, you might need to reserve early. You can often find Disneyland dining reservations on shorter notice on weekdays, especially during less busy times. If you are booking for a weekend, a holiday or other busy times at Disneyland, you’ll want to book as early as possible. If you are looking to enjoy a romantic meal at Blue Bayou Disneyland, snatch up one of the few Lamplight Lounge Disney California Adventure reservations or have a proper Afternoon Tea at the Disneyland Hotel, it’s best to book 60 days in advance if you can.

If you are like me and like to keep your frogs all lined up in a row and guarantee that you get in all of the Disneyland your family wants, reserve as soon as you know your travel dates. Less worry + less stress = a relaxing good time! If you do not like to wait for shows or get stressed about getting a good spot, you can also reserve dining packages that provide a voucher for shows or certain parades.

You can reserve to-go meals or table service Disneyland restaurant meals that give you a voucher for reserved viewing areas for the Fantasmic! show in Disneyland Park; plus, during festivals and celebrations, there may be additional special dining packages, so keep your eye out for those. At Disney California Adventure, you can reserve table service packages for shows such as World of Color and Frozen—Live at the Hyperion. Another dining choice is a dessert party that offers the only seated viewing for World of Color with desserts and beverages. Plus, there is the Tomorrowland Skyline Lounge Experience at Disneyland, where you can relax and take in a unique view of the fireworks.

Disneyland Restaurants That Accept Dining Reservations

If you want to make advance Disneyland dining reservations, here are the restaurants that accept reservations:

• Blue Bayou is located in New Orleans Square. Its seating overlooks part of the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. Lunch reservations book up quickly. It offers prix fixe meal plans with vouchers for watching Fantasmic!
• Café Orleans, also in New Orleans Square, has both indoor and outdoor tables with a view of the Rivers of America. Lunch reservations book up faster than dinner.
• Plaza Inn on Main Street does not require reservations for lunch or dinner, but advance reservations are recommended for the Minnie and Friends character breakfast.
• Carnation Café on Main Street does take reservations for breakfast, lunch or dinner, but they also accept walk-ins if there is availability. If you have to wait, you can enjoy yourself in the park and they will buzz you when your table is ready.
• River Belle Terrace used to be a cafeteria-style restaurant, but it has been converted to a table service restaurant with a view of the Rivers of America. They serve breakfast, lunch and dinner. You can reserve a prix fixe meal with vouchers for viewing Fantasmic!
• The Hungry Bear restaurant is a quick service restaurant that also offers reservations for on-the-go Fantasmic! meals that you can take with you or enjoy at the restaurant tables. You will receive a voucher for a Fantasmic! viewing area.
• Tomorrowland Skyline Lounge Experience offers advance reservations for the balcony lounge at the Tomorrowland Expo Center. It's open from 8:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. nightly and includes boxed treats with fruits, cheese and sweets, along with hot or cold non-alcoholic beverages. If fireworks are shown that night, you'll be in for a sweet view of the show.

Disney California Adventure Restaurants That Accept Dining Reservations

California Adventure table service restaurants that accept reservations include:

• Lamplight Lounge is the newest restaurant to be added to the Disneyland Dining Reservations system. This gastropub, located on Pixar Pier, takes both reservations and walk-ins, but walk-in waits can be long. People with reservations may choose the full dining room or the bar when they arrive. Enjoy bubbly cocktails and fun eats with a view of the water and Pixar Pier.
• Carthay Circle books up about two weeks in advance, depending on the season. If you can’t get into this retro fine dining establishment, the swanky lounge and lobby have some tasty bar bits and cocktails that are sure to satisfy any walk-in. People tend to line up for the lounge before Carthay Circle opens for lunch around 11:30 a.m. and around 4:30 p.m. for dinner. They offer Frozen and World of Color dining packages, as well.
• Wine Country Trattoria: Reservations are recommended to dine where Napa Valley meets Tuscany. They also offer World of Color dining packages.
• World of Color Dessert Party: This is not a restaurant, but it is a delicious way to relax and watch the World of Color while eating dessert and enjoying a beverage. Adult beverages are available, and tadpole beverages make a splash in a cool, light-up, wave-shaped World of Color stein.

Downtown Disney Restaurants That Accept Dining Reservations

The Disneyland dining reservations system also includes the many restaurants at Downtown Disney, which is within a hop, skip and jump of both parks. There are many choices. Our old favorite is Ralph Brennan’s Jazz Kitchen, but the new Splitsville Luxury Lanes offers mouthwatering spins on classics like ahi tuna, filet sliders, grilled avocado and hand-tossed pizzas. If you drool over fresh baked bread, then perhaps La Brea Bakery is for you. Ballast Point Brewing recently opened, but their reservations are made through OpenTable.

Disney Hotel Restaurants That Accept Dining Reservations

There are some great restaurants in the hotels. Our favorites for a nice, relaxing dinner (sometimes without Tad and Lily!) are Napa Rose at Disney's Grand Californian Hotel & Spa and Steakhouse 55 at Disneyland Hotel. There is also Storytellers Café at the Grand Californian and Disney's PCH Grill at Disney's Paradise Pier Hotel. Each hotel also offers character breakfasts, plus a character brunch at Storytellers Café and a character dinner at Goofy’s Kitchen. Coming March 30, 2019, the Disney Princess Breakfast Adventures Experience will bring a princess character breakfast to Napa Rose Thursday-Monday. You can also make reservations for Afternoon Tea at Steakhouse 55.

Disneyland Character Dining Experiences

Disneyland offers some fun character dining experiences available in Disneyland Park and each on-site hotel. Disneyland dining reservations are always recommended at the following locations:

• Goofy’s Kitchen is located in the Disneyland Hotel. Goofy’s Kitchen offers buffet dining at breakfast and dinner.
• Disney’s PCH Grill (in Paradise Pier Hotel) is where the surf’s up during the “beach party” breakfast hosted by Donald Duck.
• Mickey's Tales of Adventure is a buffet located in the Storytellers Café in the Grand Californian. (These critters are very friendly!) They also offer a daily brunch that includes the same breakfast choices, along with daily lunch specials.
• Disney Princess Breakfast Adventures is the newest character breakfast at the Napa Rose in the Grand Californian, available Thursday-Monday from 8:00 a.m. to 12 p.m. beginning March 30, 2019.
• Plaza Inn in Disneyland has a Minnie and Friends character breakfast in the park.

Dining Packages That Accept Disneyland Dining Reservations

Reserved dining packages at Disneyland restaurants provide a prix fixe meal or an on-the-go meal with a voucher for priority viewing for shows such as Fantasmic!, Frozen and World of Color. Keep in mind that you can also get a free FASTPASS (we recommended getting them early in the day) for viewing World of Color or Fantasmic! without buying a meal or a pricey dessert (you can find more money-saving tips at Disneyland here). There are no refunds on dining packages should the shows get cancelled or experience technical difficulties.

Fantasmic! dining packages include:

• Hungry Bear on-the-go meals that you can take with you or enjoy at the restaurant tables. You will receive a voucher for a viewing area. Reservations made from 3:00 p.m. to 6:45 p.m. have vouchers for the first show, and reservations from 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. are for the second show.
• Blue Bayou Disneyland (three-course, prix fixe table service). You can reserve a dining package that gives you a voucher for a reserved viewing location.
• River Belle Terrace's three-course dinner can provide you with a voucher for a reserved viewing location, or you can upgrade to the 8:00 p.m. seating to watch the show from your table while you dine. You can only upgrade in person or over the phone.

The vouchers for Fantasmic! will list the viewing area, time you should arrive and show performance time. Seating is on the ground, but guests with disabilities will be accommodated. Guests with free FASTPASSes for the show or in standby areas will be standing room only.

World of Color three-course, prix fixe menu dining packages at California Adventure are available at:

• Carthay Circle (lunch or dinner)
• Wine Country Trattoria (lunch or dinner)

Plus, you can reserve the World of Color Dessert Party, which allows you to dine at tables in a preferred viewing area while you watch the show. (Note that World of Color is under refurbishment until late 2018.) This is a pre-paid event.

Frozen dining packages offer priority seating in a reserved section for Frozen—Live at the Hyperion! You may enjoy a three-course lunch at Carthay Circle.

Should You Call or Make Disneyland Dining Reservations Online?

I like the flexibility of the online system and Disneyland app, which allows me to see what times are available or easily check different days. Plus, there is no on-hold time, making it more convenient for a busy parent. Certain events or dining packages are not available through the app, so be sure to check online or call if you don’t see what you are looking for through the app. Keep in mind that all Disneyland dining reservations require a credit card deposit. If you can’t keep your reservation, be sure to cancel with at least 24 hours’ notice, otherwise your card will be charged $10. Most restaurants require 24 hours’ notice of cancellation, but be sure to check the cancellation policy when you make the reservation. Certain restaurants (such as those during special events and holidays) may require up 72 hours’ notice.

If your restaurant has no availability, check for other party sizes. It's easier to modify a party size at the restaurant (to add or subtract people) then to get into a full restaurant when you don't have a reservation. But if you can't get in, you can always check in with the restaurant cast members that morning. They may have some cancellations that day or walk-in availability. Also, lunch service usually starts about 11:00 a.m. and dinner starts at 4:00 p.m. If you can eat during the off-times (like a 3:00 p.m. lunch or early dinner), they may be able to fit you in better. That comes in handy if you have jetlag and are hungry at odd times.

This is all you need know to successfully reserve your dining experience through the Disneyland Dining Reservations system. Try to book as soon as you can, but relax. Remember that the Disneyland Resorts are way more laid back than the Orlando resorts when it comes to reservations, so usually just a few weeks’ notice (and often less) is all you need to get your table.

Have a tip for making a Disneyland dining reservation that we haven't mentioned? Share in the comments below, then let us know your favorite Disneyland table service restaurant!

Related: Best Disneyland Quick Service Restaurants

Related: Uncovering the Disneyland Secret Menu Items

Hoppy planning!