Before heading to Universal Studios to hit my head, we hung out with royalty at Artist Point in the Wilderness Lodge. I'd never been to this restaurant before, but now it is my favorite place to go!
We were lucky to get in, the night before, we checked the Disney planning app to see where we might find an open reservation. If you have spent much time at the Disney parks you know about all of the tips and rules about making plans way ahead, to get the best reservations and fast passes. People plan months in advance to try to get the ideal dining experience and get up at 6am the day the window opens for them to make their plans.
We weren't even sure what day or what park we were going to the night before, so had no itinerary at all. But everything fell into place for us, after buying my ticket at 9pm that night.
One thing I have always found, is that while it can be hard to get reservations for the princess dining, there are thousands of people who are working the app to get exactly what they want, and they often book multiple experiences, as they weed through to finalize their plans. While it is kinda rude to hold up so many spots, eventually they do have to release the holds because they can't do it all. And they have a deadline where the restaurants are non refundable.
I have had lots of success in getting to go where I wanted, by checking online to see when cancellations pop up. 24 hours before you go usually has lots of openings, and it did this time too. Plus, we were fine with whatever happened, we were three adults who have been to the parks many times and weren't pinning all of their vacation hopes and dreams upon magical perfection.
We were winging it and just happy to be there, wherever we ended up.
There are some Facebook Disney groups I follow (because, yes, you know I am a Mickey nerd and can't get enough!) and these people can be quite over the top about details and spreadsheets and planning. I do believe you need to go into it with some idea of where and what and when you are doing things, or you waste a lot of time, but I sure don't think it needs to be as desperate as some of these people make it out to be.
Artist Point and the Story Book dinner was the BEST, and I hope to go again. But we would have had a good time, no matter what we did that day.
If you get a chance, you should try it out. It is in a resort, not a park, so no ticket is needed to get in. Just remember to check back again if reservations are full, some might open up.
And don't forget to give my pal, Dopey, a kiss on the top of the head. I got to, just like Snow White does. He was pretty dang cute.
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