We have 5:30 Advanced Dining Reservations at the California Grill in May. (They call them ADRs and not reservations because they aren’t really holding  a table for you - just the chance for a table. Just part of the Disney “magic”, I suppose, and if you believe and you wish hard enough you’ll get to eat.) I didn’t want to have dinner at 5:30, I wanted 7:30 or 8:00, but that was all that was available, even having called a month in advance. With those popular dining plans at WDW, the restaurants are becoming so busy that only a crazy person would show up without any ADRs.

So we’re having dinner at 5:30 - we’re planning to stretch out a campari and soda or two for awhile so that we can actually have dinner at 6:30. But the point is, I called a month in advance! How early do you have to call for reservations - er, I mean ADRs these days?

The Disney Information Station has a chart that tells how far in advance you are allowed to make ADRs and a calculator to help you not miss the first days available - I guess I’d better start using it. If I want to have dinner at the California Grill at 8:00 and not with the early birds (there is no special - and it’s just as expensive at 5:30, by the way) I’d better start calling 180 days in advance like they suggest. Unless you want to have burgers at Cosmic Ray’s for every meal you’d better make those ADRs! Don’t say I didn’t warn you!