diff --git a/src/lib/dialog/dialog-container.ts b/src/lib/dialog/dialog-container.ts
index cca487d49a94..5753f2d57169 100644
--- a/src/lib/dialog/dialog-container.ts
+++ b/src/lib/dialog/dialog-container.ts
@@ -100,9 +100,6 @@ export class MatDialogContainer extends BasePortalOutlet {
   /** ID of the element that should be considered as the dialog's label. */
   _ariaLabelledBy: string | null = null;
 
-  /** Whether the container is currently mid-animation. */
-  _isAnimating = false;
-
   constructor(
     private _elementRef: ElementRef,
     private _focusTrapFactory: FocusTrapFactory,
@@ -147,13 +144,7 @@ export class MatDialogContainer extends BasePortalOutlet {
     // If were to attempt to focus immediately, then the content of the dialog would not yet be
     // ready in instances where change detection has to run first. To deal with this, we simply
     // wait for the microtask queue to be empty.
-    this._focusTrap.focusInitialElementWhenReady().then(hasMovedFocus => {
-      // If we didn't find any focusable elements inside the dialog, focus the
-      // container so the user can't tab into other elements behind it.
-      if (!hasMovedFocus) {
-        this._elementRef.nativeElement.focus();
-      }
-    });
+    this._focusTrap.focusInitialElementWhenReady();
   }
 
   /** Restores focus to the element that was focused before the dialog opened. */
@@ -174,6 +165,11 @@ export class MatDialogContainer extends BasePortalOutlet {
   private _savePreviouslyFocusedElement() {
     if (this._document) {
       this._elementFocusedBeforeDialogWasOpened = this._document.activeElement as HTMLElement;
+
+      // Move focus onto the dialog immediately in order to prevent the user from accidentally
+      // opening multiple dialogs at the same time. Needs to be async, because the element
+      // may not be focusable immediately.
+      Promise.resolve().then(() => this._elementRef.nativeElement.focus());
     }
   }
 
@@ -186,12 +182,10 @@ export class MatDialogContainer extends BasePortalOutlet {
     }
 
     this._animationStateChanged.emit(event);
-    this._isAnimating = false;
   }
 
   /** Callback, invoked when an animation on the host starts. */
   _onAnimationStart(event: AnimationEvent) {
-    this._isAnimating = true;
     this._animationStateChanged.emit(event);
   }
 
diff --git a/src/lib/dialog/dialog-ref.ts b/src/lib/dialog/dialog-ref.ts
index c169de0f8fca..76e22a0e8ae2 100644
--- a/src/lib/dialog/dialog-ref.ts
+++ b/src/lib/dialog/dialog-ref.ts
@@ -161,11 +161,6 @@ export class MatDialogRef<T> {
     return this;
   }
 
-  /** Returns whether the dialog is animating. */
-  _isAnimating(): boolean {
-    return this._containerInstance._isAnimating;
-  }
-
   /** Fetches the position strategy object from the overlay ref. */
   private _getPositionStrategy(): GlobalPositionStrategy {
     return this._overlayRef.getConfig().positionStrategy as GlobalPositionStrategy;
diff --git a/src/lib/dialog/dialog.ts b/src/lib/dialog/dialog.ts
index 8c3047a0146d..1dc4cbd9b484 100644
--- a/src/lib/dialog/dialog.ts
+++ b/src/lib/dialog/dialog.ts
@@ -117,13 +117,6 @@ export class MatDialog {
   open<T, D = any>(componentOrTemplateRef: ComponentType<T> | TemplateRef<T>,
           config?: MatDialogConfig<D>): MatDialogRef<T> {
 
-    const inProgressDialog = this.openDialogs.find(dialog => dialog._isAnimating());
-
-    // If there's a dialog that is in the process of being opened, return it instead.
-    if (inProgressDialog) {
-      return inProgressDialog;
-    }
-
     config = _applyConfigDefaults(config);
 
     if (config.id && this.getDialogById(config.id)) {
@@ -133,7 +126,7 @@ export class MatDialog {
     const overlayRef = this._createOverlay(config);
     const dialogContainer = this._attachDialogContainer(overlayRef, config);
     const dialogRef =
-        this._attachDialogContent(componentOrTemplateRef, dialogContainer, overlayRef, config);
+        this._attachDialogContent<T>(componentOrTemplateRef, dialogContainer, overlayRef, config);
 
     this.openDialogs.push(dialogRef);
     dialogRef.afterClosed().subscribe(() => this._removeOpenDialog(dialogRef));
@@ -253,7 +246,7 @@ export class MatDialog {
           <any>{ $implicit: config.data, dialogRef }));
     } else {
       const injector = this._createInjector<T>(config, dialogRef, dialogContainer);
-      const contentRef = dialogContainer.attachComponentPortal(
+      const contentRef = dialogContainer.attachComponentPortal<T>(
           new ComponentPortal(componentOrTemplateRef, undefined, injector));
       dialogRef.componentInstance = contentRef.instance;
     }