Disney's online reservations for dining

I mentioned that Kevin and I are headed to WDW in January, sans kids.

And so, we have decided to spend that first day at Epcot and we thought wouldn't it be nice to have a nice, relaxing, character-free dinner? There are so many places to choose from - but I've been wanting to try Kouzzina by Cat Cora™, and since I know that you really shouldn't just show up at any WDW table service restaurant without reservations, I figured it was about time to make an ADR. (Which is an 'advance dining reservation' in case you were wondering).

Now, you can always call 1-407-WDW-DINE to make your ADRs. If you are staying 'on property' you should always call 180 in advance (meaning, count out 180 days from the day you arrive at WDW and call on that day. At 7 a.m.). If you aren't sure what your 180 day is, check out this site -- you can type in your arrival date and your 'call date' will be calculated for you.

However, I decided to try out the online dining reservations at the WDW web site.

For the table service restaurants at the parks, resorts or other on property locations there will be an orange square that says "Book a Reservation" -- click on that square and you'll be taken to a page where you will be asked to enter some basic information:

- the date and time when you'd like the reservation
- the number of people in your party (adults and children) - please be sure to count EVERYONE, even if there's a baby in the party [Note: if your party has more than 10 people, there is a number to call to make ADRs - (407) 939-5665]

After entering that information, click "check availability". From here you will be taken to a page that shows what times are available and other "options" at other restaurants.

For our trip, I had requested a 6 p.m. reservation at Kouzzina - and was given the choice of 5:20 p.m. or 6:10 p.m. -- and shown other options such as Artist Pointe at the Wilderness Lodge.

Choose the time you want and then you will be asked to provide some basic information - name, e-mail address and the phone number where you can be reached while on vacation. And then, that's it. Easy peasy. You'll be taken to a confirmation screen where you will find your reservation confirmation number. Write down this number!

After making my time choice and providing my cell phone number, I was done! A mere two minutes later I received my e-mail confirmation - which I will be printing and taking with me. Just in case.

The online ADR system is very user-friendly and so much faster than calling and talking to someone on the phone! I will definitely be using the online reservation system again!

- TLC