Tips about Food & Beverage, Kids, Resorts and Souvenirs
On our last trip to WDW, we were so excited to find that Columbia Harbour House sells sweet tea (a south Mississippi staple). This is "real" sweet tea that is fresh-brewed right there in the restaurant (not that stuff that comes out of a soda fountain that they call "tea"). The cast member working there told us that Columbia Harbour House was the only place in the Magic Kingdom that brews its own tea. Of course, throughout our stay we visited the restaurant many times to quench our thirst! - Lori K.
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To help solve the problem of carrying leftover food, we tried those new Tupperware bowls that pop out. They start out flat and can be tucked into a backpack or purse very easily, and then open to three or four cups and a number of sizes in between. We bought a bag of chips and bagels from the gift shop and used the bowls to keep the chips and any leftover food from the food court. We used a number of dining vouchers and had so much food left over every day, so we really put those containers to good use. Sandi
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I am an adult with no children and I anticipated getting my Mr. Potato Head pieces for two years. I can sit and play for hours. Do you know that the new World of Disney Store in NYC has special Disney New York pieces? I got a few duplicates for Christmas. - Leslie Johnson
At the Once Upon a Toy store in Disney Springs there is a "My Little Pony" display at the back of the store like the popular Mr. Potato Head one up front -- all you can stuff in the box for $18. The box is the same size as the Potato Head box, but My Little Pony pieces are MUCH smaller! In fact some of them are fabric -- skirts, collars and princess hats, along with plastic shoes, crowns, hairbrushes etc. You can squish lots of those into the box. There are also larger accessories like beds and a popcorn cart. We had put a pony and handfuls of the small accessories in our box and had lots of space left when my husband reminded me that the sign didn't say we could only get ONE Pony. We ended up with two ponies and tons of the "princess" outfits. We might have even been able to fit three ponies if we had tried! Little girls are very into My Little Pony now and as we continued shopping we were stopped several times and asked where we found them. I don't think many people make it all the way to the back and so they miss this display. - Laura Narney
Instead of bringing a towel to the park to dry the kids, stroller, etc., try a chamois. They are small and compact and so much easier to carry around than a regular towel. They work best when wet, and then when they are full of water, you wring them out and they are ready to soak up some more. You can find them in the automotive section of discount stores or a smaller size (for more money) in sport stores in the swimming section. Angela
Over the last weeks there has been some discussion on the Mr. Potato Head. We just returned from WDW, and my wife (a true kid at heart) had to have all those cool Disney Potato Head parts. She just stuffed the box full of all the parts, and planned to buy the potato from Wal-Mart when we got home. We don't have any kids, but we have all the cool Disney Potato Head parts! - Josh Nordgren
We took our 3-year-old son to lunch at the Garden Grill. The character interaction was fun and he really enjoyed it. One tip for those with young kids: ask to be seated in the upper tier if you want a high chair. We went without and he felt free to hop down and run to the edge of the restaurant a lot. It would have been nice to keep him in one spot. All in all, this is a good meal, lots of fun and well worth your time. The character interaction was first-rate and our son was charmed by how the restaurant rotated. We were still full well into the evening. - Jennifer Maxwell
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ALL STAR MOVIES - We recently visited Walt Disney World with my 3-year-old granddaughter. We stayed at the All Star Movies Resort -- I had forgotten how large it was. We had debated over the need for the umbrella stroller but were very glad we had it, as getting to the food court and bus stop was quite a hike for little legs. The airline transported this stroller with no problem. -Donna R.
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POP CENTURY - I recently stayed at Disney's Pop Century Resort and I found parking to be a challenge. Beware, the parking spaces are extra-tiny, and there were several large SUVs that had to take up two spots -- which means you have to park further away from your room than you'd like. Other than that it's a great resort, and a real value. - Brennan P.
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For my cousin's upcoming trip, I put together a booklet of coloring pages. She can color them and then have the characters sign the colored pages. It's inexpensive and you can find coloring pages online of almost all the characters now. I also added a packet of the "Puzzlers" section from old Disney Adventures magazines. These are great boredom-busters when waiting. Dania
Last week, Jill Murtha mentioned double-checking your Mr. Potato Head arms before purchasing to make sure they fit. Another tip when purchasing the Mr./Mrs. Potato Heads is to put pieces inside the potatoes before you put them in the box. You pay for whatever you can fit in the box, so you might as well get your money's worth. You can get quite a few extra pieces this way. - Elaine Frazee
This is something that my kids, ages 4 and 6, love to do. Whenever we are in the car going somewhere and they start to quarrel, we start a game. I start describing a Disney character and then they have to guess it. For example, "She wears a pretty blue dress and has blonde hair" -- Cinderella. Then the person who guesses it will be the next to give the clues. This worked on the plane this year to our favorite vacation place, Walt Disney World, and also when we were waiting in line or for a show to start. The whole family (there were 13 of us) all got into guessing and trying to think of the hardest character. You will be amazed at how many the kids really know. - Wooster Plumbs
I'm a kid myself, so trust me on this one. When you wait in those LONG, LONG lines, it's nice to have something to do, especially if you are young. I'm older, so I'm a little more patient, but if you're small, like 5, it'd be easier with something to do. Books aren't always best... a little too bulky. Coloring books and crayons? OK, but the crayons are hard to keep track of. I have an easy one: mini-pads of paper (white lined or plain) available pretty much everywhere, and a multi-colored pen. They are easy to keep around (keep them in your pocket!) and very entertaining to draw with. They are also very cheap. Now they make them with kittens and puppies on them, so it's even better. It's pretty handy around lunch, too, with waiting for your food and all. - Caitie
