"It Turned Out to Be the Best Meal of Our Whole Vacation" — If You Haven't Tried This Disney World Restaurant Hack Yet, What Are You Doing?!

We’ve eaten at every restaurant in Disney World, and along the way, we’ve tried a LOT of dining hacks!

We’re frequent users of Mobile Order, we’ve tried many weird snack combos in the parks, and we’ve learned the best menu workarounds to try and save money. But there’s one really underrated dining tip that could save your Disney World trip.

We recently posted a query on Facebook, asking our followers which restaurant surprised them the most in Disney World (in a good OR bad way), and there was a wide variety of answers. But among those responses, one stood out to us!

Our follower Michele said, “Trattoria Al Forno. It was delicious, and we loved the atmosphere. It was a last-minute walk-up waitlist decision and turned out to be the best meal of our whole vacation.” That’s right, they ended up having the BEST meal of their vacation at a spot they didn’t even reserve in advance!

So what is this marvelous hack? Well, in the My Disney Experience app, you can search table service restaurants, and often, on their home page, you’ll find the option to “Join Walk-Up List.” You can also find this option by clicking the plus sign at the bottom of your screen, selecting “Check Dining Availability,” and then choosing “Join a Walk-up List” after selecting your party size and current date.

With the Mobile Dine Walk-up Waitlist, you can check walk-up availability digitally for restaurants that are close to you. You’ll need to be physically near the dining location (usually at least inside the same park or at the same hotel), but we’ve snagged many dining options this way over the years.

If you’re struggling to find reservations for your wishlist restaurants 60 days before your trip, this is a great backup option. Sometimes, even the most popular dining locations have last-minute availability. And even if those don’t, you might surprise yourself by trying out a hidden gem like Trattoria al Forno.

So the next time you’re in Disney World, make sure to give this a shot if you have the chance. It’s a great way to expand your dining options and try new things.