A detailed guide on how to use Disney World mobile ordering plus tips for the best possible experience!
Use Mobile Order at Flame Tree Barbecue, Animal Kingdom
Waiting in line at Disney World isn’t limited to rides. It’s common to have to wait in a long line just to order food at Disney’s “quick service” restaurants.
However you can avoid waiting in line at many restaurants IF you know how to use Disney World Mobile Ordering!
It’s basically a way to pre-order your meals and skip the lines at some quick service restaurants. Think of it as FastPass for dining.
In this post I’ll walk you through how to use this time-saving tool and share my tips for having the best possible experience.
How Does Disney World Mobile Ordering Work?
Yes, you can mobile order a cupcake
The only way to use Mobile Order at Disney World in is the My Disney Experience app. If you don’t already have it downloaded on your phone, it is essential for your trip.
Here is a link to download on Apple devices and here is a link to download on Android devices.
The easiest way to access Mobile Ordering is by tapping the “Plus” button at the bottom center of the home screen.
Tap the + and select “Order Food” to see your current options for Mobile Ordering.
Restaurants are orangized by location, so scroll until you find where you want to order.
A handy feature of Mobile Order is that it allows you to see what restaurants are currently open. This is particularly useful for finding breakfast in the parks, which is usually only found at a handful of locations!
At this point you can do one of two things: place an order for the next possible arrival, or schedule an order ahead for any later time that same day.
To place an order for the next arrival time, just tap “Begin Order”.
To see all possible arrival windows to schedule for later in the day, tap on the name of the restaurant. Then you can scroll through and pick a later time.
Note that this is a window of 15 minutes during which you can “arrive” and tell the restaurant it’s ok to prepare your meal. They won’t do anything until you confirm that you are on your way or in the restaurant, at which point they will begin making your order.
How To Put Together A Mobile Order
Use mobile ordering for this delicious pizza at Disney World
Once you’ve found the restaurant and picked your arrival time window, you can start putting together your mobile order!
In my experience there are sometimes specialty items available physically at the restaurant that are not available for mobile order. But all of the regular menu items will be there and can be added to your order.
You can customize your mobile order
I like that you can give clear instructions to customize your order. This is sometimes hard to do when ordering at the counter.
After you’ve added all of your items you will be taken to an Order Summary screen. If the location offers any discounts that you qualify for, you can add them there!
These include discounts for Annual Passholders, Disney Vacation Club members, and Disney Visa Card Members (click here to learn all about the excellent discounts available for cardholders).
Then you can pay with a variety of methods:
- Disney gift card (click here to find the BEST places for discount Disney gift cards!)
- Disney Rewards Redemption Card (rewards earned from the Disney Visa Card)
- Credit or debit card
- Apple Pay
- Use credits on the Disney Dining Plan
After you pay you will see this confirmation screen. Now on to picking up your food!
How To Pick Up Your Mobile Order
Use Mobile Order at Satuli Canteen, Animal Kingdom
After you’ve placed your Mobile Order, you’ll need to take one more step to have your food prepared and be ready to pick up.
You should see any Mobile Orders on your home screen on my Disney Experience, in the “Upcoming Plans” section along with any Lightning Lane advance reservations and any dining reservations.
If it is during your arrival window you can go ahead and click on “Check Order Status” and have the restaurant prepare your food.
Now timing when to have the restaurant prepare your order depends on how busy the restaurant is!
If it’s a popular dining location at peak hours (11:30 – 1 pm for lunch, 5:30 -7 pm for dinner) I click “I’m here, Prepare My Order” at least 10 minutes before I want to pick it up.
Now if you aren’t physically close enough to the restaurant it won’t let choose this option. So you have to at least be in the vicinity.
If it isn’t peak hours then 5 minutes is usually enough time.
While your food is being prepared, you will see this notification in the app.
Note that you do have to have notifications and location service enabled for the app in order to receive updates for your order, so be sure to do that in advance.
I notified Pecos Bill’s that I was ready to have them make my order at 11:22 am.
Four minutes later, I was notified in the app that our order was ready! We were just walking up to Pecos Bill, so the timing was absolutely perfect.
There was a special area assigned for Mobile Order pickups, which was clearly labeled and easy to find in the center of the counter.
As I approached, a cast member asked “Are you Leah?” and had our order ready to hand directly to me.
I have to admit that I was pretty impressed. Another guest picking up his order told me that he had used mobile ordering a bunch of times on this trip and loved it.
There was already a line building for the lunch rush at Pecos Bill, so I loved walking right in and having our food waiting for us.
I would suggest planning to be there right when your order is ready. I can see food being served cold if there is much of a delay. But since we timed it right, our food was plenty hot.
And of course, I loaded my veggie bowl up at the toppings bar! That’s my favorite part of dining at Pecos Bill’s. Click here for my full review of Pecos Bill’s Tall Tale Inn and Cafe in Magic Kingdom.
Where Can I Use Mobile Ordering at Disney World?
There are now over 50 locations that accept Mobile Ordering at Disney World.
The best way to find what’s currently accepting mobile orders is by clicking here to see the official list on the Disney World site.
Get my expert picks for the BEST Quick Service restaurants (and tons of other helpful information) in my Disney World Dining Cheat Sheets!
Disney World Mobile Order Tips & Tricks
I often only bring my Magic Band and ID with me to the parks and forgo bringing my wallet. I was concerned that I would not be able to use Mobile Ordering because I didn’t have a credit card in hand – but luckily that wasn’t the case!
When I ordered, the app charged my meal to my credit card on file in My Disney Experience, and I did not have to enter a card number. Keep in mind this is distinct from any room charges that you may be putting on your Magic Band.
We decided to eat lunch at Pecos Bill in Frontierland, which opens at 10:30 am. You can see all of the menu items in the app, and it was easy to select and customize our order.
I was even able to add a Mickey straw to my daughter’s kid’s meal, which I had been meaning to do throughout the trip but always seemed to forget!
I love to place Mobile Orders while waiting in lines at Disney World. It’s a great way to kill time that even saves you more time later!
I placed our order while waiting in the queue for Peter Pan’s Flight. I loved being able to take my time looking at all of the menu items.
I always feel rushed when ordering at quick service restaurants, especially with those annoying screens that change just when you are about to decide on your meal!
I was very impressed with my Disney World mobile order experience. Once I figured out the ground rules and how the process worked, it was incredibly easy and convenient.
In fact, later that afternoon we stopped by Aloha Isle for my favorite snack, a Dole Whip swirl, and the line was crazy long.
I remembered seeing Aloha Isle as a mobile order location earlier that day, so I opened up the app and was able to quickly place my order. My Dole Whip was ready a few minutes later and I effectively skipped the line by using Mobile Order! I think I am hooked.
My Dole Whip was ready a few minutes later and I effectively skipped the line by using Mobile Order! I think I am hooked.
In summary, I strongly suggest giving Disney World Mobile Order a try if you plan to eat at a popular quick service dining location (such as Satu’li Canteen, Flame Tree Barbecue, Columbia Harbor House, or Pecos Bill) at a peak time.
I can’t see it saving you any time if there isn’t a line due to eating at an off-peak time or at a less-popular restaurant.
Any questions about Disney World Mobile Ordering? Leave a comment below or join the discussion in my free private Facebook group – The Budget Mouse!
