Disney Dining and Fastpasses

[PoptartPoptart]

Following on from my previous thread regarding the extortionate quote to stay onsite in a Disney hotel, we are now looking at other options like staying in a villa or on International Drive.
My question is, how many days beforehand can we book to eat at a Disney restaurant?
Obviously we won’t have the dining plan if we stay offsite, but I believe we can still book and pay as we go in a Disney restaurant. I know reservations get very booked up, so how far in advance can we make reservations as an off site guest?
Same question re Fastpasses. We will purchase 14 day Disney tickets in advance (they are offering 14 days for the price of 7 at the moment) but how far in advance can Fastpasses be booked if we are not staying onsite?
Grateful for any knowledgeable advice.
Hopefully @hulababy will see this thread as I know she is very knowledgable about all things Disney

Have you looked at the Dibb forum? Absolutely everything you ever wanted to know is on there by British travellers.
Just a thought but by the time you have figured in free dining, free transport, no parking costs etc, we always found on site cheaper. The on site Mickey band, advanced booking and extra hours make quite a difference to your experience.
Enjoy your holiday

Hello op
We are going to Disney this October. I was at the disney resort prices so am staying at CoCo key resort and Waterpark as the DD and DS adore water more than anything atm. I will get fast passes 30 days before we go. We have hired a car (well,came with the package really) and will going to ifly,Ripley's believe it or not, icar NASCAR indoor go carting and a day at the beach.

I wasn't going to bother with dining reservations as the reviews said the meals can take up to 2hrs, which would be hell with DD. Will be nice to have an up to date thread to get some more info.

Restaurants are available to book 180 days in advance. That’s the same onsite or offsite. Fast passes are available 30 days in advance for off site guests.

@sluj - I originally wanted to stay onsite at a moderate hotel as we did this last year and had a fab time (DF paid!) but the quote for next year has come in at £16k for 2 weeks!
Admittedly that was for 2 rooms but even so!
I know the DIBB is a great source of information but I don’t find the website very easy to navigate for some reason.

There are two non Disney hotels within the Disneyworld site - Waldorf and the Hilton. I can highly recommend the Waldorf! There is a regular coach that runs from both of them to all the Disney parks and some of the shopping malls.

Personally, I loathe the Disney hotels as they are tacky and ridiculously overpriced - even the supposed high end ones. Fast passes can be booked 30 days in advance - remember to allow up to a week for your booking code to come through. Dining reservations are 90 days in advance.

@Musicalstatues - thanks, that’s interesting and good news re the dining reservations. Can I ask how you book them as an offsite guest? I’m guessing we won’t have access to the mydisneyexperience app if not staying onsite?

Oh see now I’m confused - is it 180 or 90 data for restaurant reservations?

Sorry, 180 days for ADRs!

Oh yes you definitely will - we always stay in a villa and use MDE.

The only things you can’t do are to book fast passes at 60 days out, it’s 30 - although there were rumours about that changing to equal. Also you won’t be able to do extra magic hours. I highly recommend the early morning breakfast at MK which gives you a morning with a handful of other people to enjoy the rides before the park opens!

You can use the app if offsite - it links to your ticket booking ref number.

Dining reservations are 180 days in advance. We booked last week for our October trip, bang on 180 days, and already done were gone. If you haven’t already, register with the My Disney Experience app; it coordinates everything.

I've just been into virgin today and apparently they are offering 14 days for 7 and free Disney dining for next year?

Poptart 16k!!

MrsGloop what was the weather like in October?

@theaveragewife and @Yodaforpeesident - what reference number do you link to MDE? Is it your flight booking number or Disney park passes?

Yes anyone can use the my Disney app and book dining. You have to link it to your tickets.

You can book Disney dining through the official Disney site. Although you won't have Extra magic hours if you're off site it's worth going early on the first few days and getting in before the queues and making the most of being awake early (assuming you're flying from the Uk). Also worth remembering that when booking fast passes.

Your Disney park passes! We book flights and villa separately so the only thing we get with Disney is the actual tickets. Sometimes they are cheaper on the agent sites like attraction tickets direct, but last year direct were cheaper and often you get memory maker included.

You can book dining reservation at 180 days, I'm not doing Disney Parks this year but have a couple of character breakfasts booked.

MakeTheMan we are going this October, and I expect it to be high 70s low 80s.

We are taking a stroller for our two youngest, I think it’ll be very warm for them...

Thank you MrsGloop i think I will get a stroller too, even though DD is 5. Disney can be so overwhelming

Thanks all, very helpful.

We’ve just priced up for next year and art of animation is coming up at £80 extra pp than last year.

Not sure when you’re looking at though etc

some of the very popular restaurants get booked up straight away, so make sure you know your login and be ready to book straight away after the window opens. We never managed to get toT-rex despite me being well prepared.

Also - although this is some time in the past so might not be true now - you can make reservations for restaurants and then cancel if a better slot comes up - worth looking periodically if you don't get what you want initially.

Dining isn't cheap and we were somewhat surprised at the buffet restaurants to be expected to add 20% tip for serving ourselves - but some of it was worth it like the Chef Mickey breakfast which our DS absolutely loved.

Yes you can make reservations and as long as you give 24 hrs notice there is no charge to cancel so there is plenty of flexibility to move things around.

maketheman we will be getting a double stroller again this year for my 7 and 4 year olds. Do not underestimate how much walking you will do, the parks are huge!!

180 days for restaurants and 30 days for fast passes if you're staying off site.

Currently 17 days away from my 180 days does a little dance we're staying on site this time with the dining plan, did a villa last time. I didn't like it personally, but MIL and FIL are staying in a villa again this time and us in a villa at Disney.

If you're on Facebook, join 'it's Orlando time' you really won't find better information.