As a rule, spur of the moment Disney trips are not advised. While the wait can feel like forever, you need that time to prepare. Every morning you wake up gets you one step closer. You start going over your head what you’ll need. Again and again. Until it’s almost ingrained in your mind. I usually try to be at least 30 days out for a “last minute” trip. This gives me plenty of time (usually) to get my dogs into their hotel, the plane fare lower and finding the resort I want. While some people prefer more time to save. The hardest thing to do at Disney, especially with less time to prepare is to score the dining reservation you want. I use mousewatcher.com. It’s $19 a month for 5 alerts. I only subscribe the month before and the time I’m there. But this has been invaluable.
Mousewatcher.com lets you set up to five alerts for their subscription. You simply tell the party size, date, time and restaurant you’re looking for (larger parties will have a harder time) and they’ll send you a text and email when that restaurant has an opening. I do this right through my vacation, because plans change. I was able to find Teppan Edo fifteen minutes prior to the reservation time when I was in Epcot last time. And if you haven’t been to Teppan Edo, that’s a post for another day. Best Japanese hibatchi restaurant I’ve ever had.
But one place you can easily lose the magic, is when you receive those texts. You can’t think. You just have to do…because Mousewatcher may be sending that notification out to 100s more just like you. It’s important to note, cancellations are free as long as it’s prior to the dining time at WDW, so if I see the time and if it’s remotely where I want to be, I jump on it. Knowing if my plans change, I’ll cancel and find something else. But technology at Disney has created times of disappointments. But the truth is, it’s created a lot more time of celebration when you actually do find that reservation. So even if you don’t get that dining reservation at first, let Mousewatcher.com help you out.