To say that my family loves Disney would be an understatement. My sister and I grew up in a world in which family vacations meant loading up the car to visit a mouse living in the magical land of Orlando. My dad tells stories about the history of the company and Walt Disney as if he were there, a habit my sister and I picked up as we grew older. People scoff at our choice to revisit Disney World year after year, saying things like “Is that really a relaxing vacation?” and “Disney? That’s just kids’ stuff.” For us, it is a relaxing vacation. For us, Disney is our home away from home.
Part of what makes Disney vacations stand above the rest is the dining experience. Disney theme parks are known for their attention to theme detail and atmosphere, as well as their incredible customer service. Bottom line: Disney dining is top notch.
Planning Your Trip
When planning our most recent trip, we wanted to do something really special. My sister had started the Disney College Program, truly making Disney and Orlando her home, and we had not seen her in a couple of months. We wanted to celebrate our family of four being reunited. What better way to do that than dinner at Ohana, a family-style paradise feast nestled in the Polynesian resort? Now, if you have seen “Lilo and Stitch,” you know “Ohana (a Hawaiian tradition) means family, and family means nobody gets left behind.” That is, until you can only make a dining reservation for three, then it’s every man for himself.
Stop the Madness with MouseDining
Lucky for us, we used MouseDining and avoided the inconveniences common to planning Disney dining. Only two weeks before the vacation, we worried we had waited too long to get a seat at one of Disney’s most popular eateries. With MouseDining’s notification service, making a reservation was a painless process. We’d be noshing on coconut bread pudding and sipping tiki drinks in no time.
The MouseDining homepage greets you with colorful images of Walt Disney World’s nine most popular restaurants. Disney dining creates an experience with food and atmosphere that can only be described as Disney magic. Whether it’s dining like royalty at Cinderella’s Royal Table or enjoying dinner and a show at The Hoop Dee Doo Revue, these restaurants will not disappoint.
Clicking on any one of these images will take you to a page displaying that restaurant’s availability. The page organizes availability by day and each meal the restaurant serves. Clicking the blue “Make Reservation” button will take you straight to the Walt Disney World Resort website, where you may complete your reservation. The red and white “Get Alerts” button appears next to times when there currently is no availability.
Set Up a MouseDining Account
Clicking this button will take you to the page where you can set notifications to alert you when there is availability at that time. First, a prompt will ask you to login or, if you have not used MouseDining before, create an account. After giving your name and e-mail and creating a password, you will be on your merry way. Free MouseDining accounts come with a few limitations: you may only have six simultaneous watches, a maximum of two email addresses, and only one phone number. If you are a high volume user, we suggest that you become a MouseDining Pro. MouseDining Pro offers a maximum of 50 simultaneous watches, up to five email addresses, three phone numbers, and you can add “Notes” to your watches.
Sign up for the MouseDining newsletter to receive news on Disney restaurants and tips for your vacation.
Receive Alerts
Once you log in, you may click the “Get Alerts” button once more. A prompt will ask you to choose the number of people for your party and set an alert.
Once you set the alert, access it under the “Manage Alerts” tab. If this is your first time using MouseDining, it is important that you save a phone number and/or e-mail address for your account. This is how MouseDining will send your desired alerts.
Make a Reservation
When your selected time is available, MouseDining will send an alert with a link. Clicking the link will take you to your manage alert page, now giving you the option to “Make Reservation.” Like before, clicking “Make Reservation” will take you directly to the Walt Disney World Resort page, where you will finalize your reservation. E-mail alerts work the same way.
MouseDining includes more restaurants than the nine listed on the homepage. The MouseDining homepage contains a link to the full list of the 100+ available restaurants in Walt Disney World and Disneyland.
MouseDining is a simple, easy to use tool that will save you a headache when making your Disney dining plans. Sign up today, and it won’t be long until you enjoy an unforgettable dining experience, as only Disney can make it.
