Tips about At Large, Food & Beverage, Kids and Planning

Similar to Lisa Dunn who wrote last week about staying at a Disney Springs resort on her first day in the World, we live in California and rarely arrive earlier than 9 or 10 p.m. on the first night. I realize rooms are pre-selected prior to arrival, but since we stay for nine or 10 nights, I've found when we check in early in the day, we sometimes have an opportunity to ask for a special location if our preference hasn't been already accommodated. That's less likely at 10 p.m. when most folks have already checked into the hotel. We have recently stayed at either the Hyatt in the Orlando airport or one of the other airport hotels. Because we are still running on west coast time, we're usually ready for dinner or a swim when we arrive and there are plenty of places to eat. I've found the room rates extremely reasonable at the near-airport locations -- often breakfast is included and the transportation from the airport to those hotels is free. - Lori Degliantoni

All Resorts - On our last trip to WDW we had a fridge in our room -- very handy! However, our fridge was too cold and it froze 12 bottles of water solid. At first I was mad but I took two of the frozen solid bottles to the park with me and it actually worked out great. It took a good part of the day for them to totally un-freeze, so we had cold water almost the whole day. If you have a fridge with a freezer, put bottled water in the freezer instead of the fridge and you'll have cold water much longer throughout a day at the parks. - BEARWIFME

EDITOR'S NOTE: This is a great tip, but if you try it, don't fill the bottles up to the very top -- leave an inch or two, since the water will expand as it freezes.

In a past newsletter you mentioned a product called Who's Shoes ID. I went to their website and ordered the ID tags that you place under the shoelaces in a child's shoes. I can't tell you how much better I felt knowing that if my 7-year-old got separated from us, our cell phone number was on his shoes along with all the pertinent identification information. They were $7.99 each and worth every penny! They come in blue and pink, and velcro together. What a great idea! - Dawn Burger

EDITOR'S NOTE: The website for Who's Shoes ID is: http://www.whosshoesid.com/

If there are restaurants your family really wants to dine at during your vacation make those reservations ASAP after planning your trip. Most restaurants reserve up to 180 days in advance. If you wait until you are actually on your trip, especially now that it's coming into the busy season, you may be shut out or get very late times (like 9 p.m.). We reserved almost all of our favorites in advance, then tried to get a few last-minute reservations and had to settle for either 4 p.m. or 9 p.m. dinners. Some readers may find it hard to believe but the more popular restaurants really do get completely booked up 160-180 days in advance. - Maria Heuskin

EDITOR'S NOTE: Remember that having the Magic Your Way Plus Dining Package does NOT guarantee you a reservation at any restaurant -- you still need to make Advance Dining Reservations!

We are annual passholders and try to go often to Disney and stay at an onsite resort. The convenience of that is worth the extra money. The night before we check into our Disney resort, however, we stay at one of the Disney Springs within walking distance to Disney Springs. We usually don't get there until after 6 p.m. so it seems like a waste to pay for the Disney resort for just a few hours of use. The hotels in Disney Springs aren't very expensive compared to the Disney resorts and we feel that is a good use of our less than half-day at the World. Plus Disney Springs is the best place for things to do. They usually have some sort of fun going on, like a dance party for the kids, or performers of some kind. There are fabulous goodies to eat and great shopping. The Guest Services here is the best place to buy tickets and passes because it's hardly ever crowded. You can take care of so many things the night before and then wake up at the crack of dawn, drive to your choice of Disney resort, drop off your luggage with them and start right out for the parks having had a good night's sleep and fun the night before. It's really a great idea to consider, especially if you live in Florida and have your car with you. - Lisa Dunne

When my wife and I took our nieces (ages 7 and 9) to Disney World two years ago, they especially wanted to meet Cinderella. I had already made reservations for the Cinderella breakfast in the castle, but I didn't tell the girls right away. Instead, I said only that if we were very lucky maybe Cinderella would invite us to meet her in her castle. In the meantime, my wife, Kathy, purchased some invitation cards at one of the shops, with Cinderella and the castle on the cover. She filled out the invitation from "Princess Cinderella," and, the day before the breakfast, secretly left them on the girls' pillows as we left the room for the day. When we returned, the girls found the invitations and were thrilled that Cinderella had personally invited them to breakfast! Also, don't give up if you can't get reservations for breakfast in the castle or for other popular character meals. If the meal is all booked up, try calling again for reservations just a day or two before the meal (or even the day of). Often there are cancellations. It worked for me! - Dennis Driggers

Do not assume that all ride reviews apply to your child. Our 10-year-old son, who will ride any thrill ride again and again, got off the Haunted Mansion (one of my favorites) and was very upset. - Beth

I recently planned a birthday dinner for my fiance at the California Grill to correspond with fireworks time. When I made the priority seating a month prior to dinner, I was given a 10 p.m. fireworks time, so I made the priority seating for 9 p.m. When we arrived for dinner, we were told that fireworks would be at 9 p.m. and we couldn't be seated before the fireworks. I don't know if Disney Dining told me a wrong fireworks time, or if the time was later changed, but always confirm the fireworks times in the weeks leading up to your visit if you're planning on dinner, a cruise, or any other activity that involves Wishes or IllumiNations. - Kim Button

On a recent trip to WDW we elected to eat at 'Ohana at the Polynesian. We had a table right on the corner of the room facing the Magic Kingdom. To our surprise, the lights dimmed and the music for the fireworks at the Magic Kingdom started. What a delight! We had front row seats for the fireworks, music and all, and a wonderful meal to go with it. I would highly recommend this for people with small children who hate the noise of the fireworks like my 2-year-old son does. He was able to enjoy the fireworks and the music that went with it without the noise that frightens him so much. - Jody McElroy

The Earl of Sandwich, located in the Marketplace at Disney Springs, is a great place for a great sandwich. The sandwiches were a good size and filled us up. They also offer salads at a reasonable price. We ate there three times and enjoyed it every time. It is a counter service style restaurant right next to the Once Upon a Toy store. Also, if you booked your trip through AAA and received a AAA Diamond Discount card, you can save 10% there. - Kristen Secrist

http://allears.net/dining/location/earl-of-sandwich

We generally start planning at least a year in advance. I have a plastic tub that is labeled "WDW stuff." I place our heavy-duty hotel mugs in it so they are already packed. I also buy things throughout the year for the trip: toothbrushes, toothpaste, magic gloves and whatever else we normally use during our week-long trip. I also go to my local laundromat and pick up boxes of laundry detergent for $.50 a box. One box cleans two loads and is a lot cheaper than the hotel laundry dispenser. I also pack several dryer sheets in a freezer bag and place them in my suitcase. It keeps the clothes smelling nice and I have dryer sheets for use while there. One nice thing about the bin is that, for those times that we drive to WDW, we just put the lid on it and pack it in the van. After we arrive to the hotel we empty it out and use that as our clothes hamper for dirty clothes. It works great for those trips to the hotel laundry. - Sirena Penn

Epcot - If your kids aren't big enough to ride Test Track go into the gift shop/exit. I thought it was just a gift shop, and I was wrong. My 3-year-old was thrilled to be able to sit in a Hummer and a Saab. All he talks about are the cool cars he played in at Test Track. I am so glad I didn't walk by this attraction. - Robin from Deltona, FL

Epcot - If your kids aren't big enough to ride Test Track go into the gift shop/exit. I thought it was just a gift shop, and I was wrong. My 3-year-old was thrilled to be able to sit in a Hummer and a Saab. All he talks about are the cool cars he played in at Test Track. I am so glad I didn't walk by this attraction. - Robin from Deltona, FL

The restaurants certainly do get booked up in advance, but remember that you can still walk on up to the seating host/hostess and ask if they have anything available. We live in Tampa Bay and visited on Valentine's Day. I called the dining reservations line every day for two weeks before and couldn't get in anywhere. We drove up anyway, and a Polynesian Resort Cast Member offered to help us out by calling all the resort restaurants for us. There was still nothing available until late so we decided to just grab a quick bite anywhere. We took the monorail over to the Contemporary, tried the dining reservations number again -- nothing. Just for yucks, my brother-in-law went to talk to the host/hostess at Chef Mickey's (they were just opening), and they said, "SURE, we can get you in right now if you're ready." This also happened at 'Ohana on another occasion, with a wait of only 20 minutes. The dining reservations are great, but there's nothing like being there and asking.- Melinda M.

Our 3-year-old is very scared of fireworks, but she loved Wishes. This year we took the Wishes soundtrack and she listened to it on headphones while we watched our local fireworks. It worked like a charm and made the 4th of July fireworks enjoyable for all. This also works with the Fantasmic! soundtrack. - Konni Liechty