7 Best Last Minute Dining Reservations at Disney World
You’re at the Disney Parks. You’re hungry. You want to go somewhere nice. You didn’t plan ahead. Lucky for you I’m sitting in my car at a piano lesson in Atlanta at 4 PM. I pulled open the My Disney Experience app for tonight and looked for a party of 4 reservation (probably not the night you’re reading this, but it’s indicative of what might be available for you).
Here are some of the last minute restaurants I wish I could fly in for. All of these have a reservation between 5:30 and 8:45, what I consider normal dinner time. I picked one from each Disney Park, Disney Springs, a Disney Character Dining Experience, and a Disney Resort.
If you are so last minute that you haven’t downloaded the My Disney Experience App yet, you’re going to want to do that. Then hit the plus sign at the bottom middle and find your last minute dining reservation at Disney World. You may have to connect it to your personal information first.
Jump to these Last Minute Dining Reservations:
Entrance to the Mexico Pavilion at Epcot where you’ll find the San Angel Inn
1. Disney Springs: Raglan Road
Raglan Road is an Irish pub with live Irish Dancing and music. The food is absolutely amazing, especially Braised Be Beef and the Bread Pudding (both of which are large enough to share). The kids love the show and often get to participate. They have a unique drink menu with great Irish beers and whiskey flights. We go here almost every trip, and it’s always easy to get a reservation.
Pro Tip: Book an early reservation. Then, ask for a table where you can see the performance. This will take awhile usually. Then wonder around Disney Springs until you’re table’s ready. Then voila, your prime table is ready at a normal dinner time.
The baby and I watching amazing Irish tap dancing at Raglan Road
2. Magic Kingdom: Jungle Navigation Co. LTD Skipper Canteen
Skipper Canteen is hands down our favorite restaurant in Magic Kingdom. It’s a great place to get away from the intense theming of the rest of the park, but it has its unique Victorian explorer theme connected to the Jungle Cruise. The waitstaff is hilarious with explorer puns much like the Jungle Cruise ride. The food is amazing, and they have a wide selection of decent alcohol, which is hard to come by in Magic Kingdom. And it’s kind of hidden away and not very busy. Check it out. They deserve it.
Pro Tip: Most people call it Skipper Canteen (actually they call it Skipper’s Canteen, which makes more sense, but I digress), but if you are looking for it in the My Disney Experience App, you have to look for Jungle Navigation first.
The entrance to Skipper Canteen, tucked away across the street from the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse in Adventureland (Photo cred: Steven Miller https://flic.kr/p/UP1C2X)
3. Epcot: San Angel Inn
The San Angel Inn is inside the Mexico Pavilion, and may be the most underrated sit down restaurant at Epcot. It has great lighting and mood as you sit in the shadow of an erupting volcano. You also get to watch the boats go by for Los Tres Caballeros (something you can send the kids on while you wait for your food). I recommend it because my kids love chips and quesadillas, and a lot of the items are big enough to split. The best item for us? The guacamole. And you can get a reservation pretty easily.
Our awesome view of the volcano at San Angel Inn. It deifinitely looks like there’s a person on the ziggurat, but that’s crazy right?
4. Hollywood Studios: 50’s Prime Time
50’s Prime Time is just fun. You get to eat Grandma’s cooking, possibly better than Grandma made it while watching TV shows from the 50’s, all while in a themed restaurant that looks like a catalog from the 50s. Our kids loved it. We loved it. My wife’s grandmother even loved it, probably because she didn’t have to make it. Try the meatloaf with a side of I Love Lucy. And did I mention it’s pretty easy to get a reservation?
Watching the Andy Griffith show at 50’s Prime Time in Hollywood Studios
5. Animal Kingdom: Tiffins
It’s hard to get a quick reservation at Animal Kingdom without spending a ton of money. If that’s not your goal, mobile order Flame Tree barbecue. But if you want a good experience and good food, head to Tiffins. The bread service is amazing. The beer selection is good, and they actually have healthy kid selections that my picky kids will eat. The food is from all over the place: Africa, Asia, and Latin America. I know it’s a lot of meat, but get the pork belly and the short ribs. You can enjoy all of this in a unique and exotic atmosphere.
Tiffins at Animal Kingdom Park (Phot Cred: Joel https://flic.kr/p/QHdwno)
6. Character Dining: Story Book Dining at Artist Point with Snow White (Wilderness Lodge)
Want to make a last minute surprise for a little girl? Check out the Story Book Dining. This is a great character experience because not only do you meet Snow White and some Dwarves, but you get to meet the Evil Queen. If you’ve never met a villain, it’s an awesome experience from an adult perspective because you get to watch someone thread the needle between being evil while also giving compliments and posing for photographs. I also picked this one (other options that popped up were Chef Mickeys and Akershus) because the food is creative and amazing. Finally, Wilderness Lodge is one of the most beautiful resorts on property.
Pro Tip: Go just before dark. Then take the boat over to the Magic Kingdom entrance and watch the fireworks.
The girls hanging out with Snow White at the Story Book Dining at Artist Point in the Wilderness Lodge. Awesome ambience made it hard for this regular dad to take a picture.
7. Resort: Kona Café (Polynesian Resort)
While this was available on the My Disney Experience App for dinner tonight, I really want to review the Kona Café breakfast. My family hit it up on the way to the parks while were staying at the Polynesian just to have somewhere besides the cafeteria to go. And we were blown away! The Tonga toast and the Macadamia Nut Pancakes are some of the best breakfast foods on property. But here’s what I wrote this whole paragraph to say: the Hawaii Kona Maragogype Press Pot coffee is the Best Coffee At Disney World. I said it. Fight me. I’m a coffee snob and usually drink my coffee black. I go out of my way to show up here just for the coffee. It’s that good. Sorry Carlos at Starbucks. And it’s so easy to get a reservation, you can usually walk up.
Of course the dinner is also amazing. Great sushi, short ribs, and other amazing Asian/Pacific entrees. The kids menu even has sushi (not that my kids would ever try it). They also have the basic kids food. The drinks are creative takes as well.
My oldest enjoying Kona Cafe at the Polynesian Resort. She’s definitely not about to try sushi.
Pro Tip: If you go for dinner, go early then watch the fireworks from the Polynesian Resort Beach.
Bonus Lucky Reservations:
Another benefit to waiting until the last minute for dinner reservations? Some times unicorn reservations pop up. Also available in my search were reservations to California Grill, Sanaa, and (I absolutely couldn’t believe it) Space 220 for a 6:55 reservation!! I hit refresh once, and it was gone. So play the last minute reservation slot machine. You might strike it big or find an underrated but awesome experience.
The girls enjoying space lemonade and space burgers while watching a space family at Space 220. We definitely did not get this reservation last minute, but I have hope for you.
If you’re thinking about Disney World in July, here’s what you need to know about weather, packing, and events.