Tips about ChildId, Food & Beverage, Mousecellaneous, Resorts and Souvenirs

On the same idea as the kid ID tags, when we took our last trip we had five children under 8 years old in our family, and there were 20 of us in total. In the past I had witnessed parents frantically searching for lost children, so I wanted to put something on the kids without giving out too much information. My kids love the popular rubber-band type bracelets, so I picked out plain-colored ones (not multi-colored). We actually used the Mickey icon ones from Disney World, and with a permanent marker wrote "parents' cell #" on them. We then instructed the kids to, if lost, alert the nearest Cast Member and show them the bracelet. It worked well, but luckily we did not have to put them to use! - Lisa Legere-Fraser

A recent tip of the week reminded me of something I used with my son years ago. We used a luggage tag with a closed flap so that the information wasn't "exposed" unless needed. We placed the tag with mom's and dad's names, the name of our hotel, and telephone numbers -- not home information or room numbers (that information would be very valuable to thieves!) -- on a belt pack that our son wore all the time. In addition, we picked a secret password. He knew to only go to people with a Disney tag or if they used the password. Don't use Mickey as a password at WDW -- way too obvious. Our son picked Bugs Bunny. He said nobody at WDW would say, "Bugs sent me!" We also taught him that if he ever got lost at WDW to stay in one place and just yell, "Help!" Cast Members are everywhere and trained to zoom to emergencies. I felt he was safer and the belt pack was the perfect carrier for his autograph book and pen. - Malinda Orrico

The last time our family went to Disney World, our granddaughter was 2 years old. She could communicate pretty well, but if a child is scared, it can be difficult. What my daughter did was write her cell phone number on the inside front of her daughter's T-shirts with a permanent marker. You couldn't see it unless you looked on the inside hem. All my granddaughter needed to do was to show a Cast Member the hem of her T-shirt and they could call her mother's cell phone in the park. I thought it was a great idea. - Marie Kuhn

When we travel to the World, we make sure to purchase as much as we can on our Magic Band. On one hand, there's no need to carry cash around, but the real benefit for frequent visitors is that at the end of your stay you get an itemized list of all expenditures. We still pay for it all with cash when we check out. After we get home and are settled in from our trip, we go through the list and use it to track exactly where we spent our money (dinner, lunch, toys, etc.). Doing this allows us to budget almost exactly how much money we will need for our next trip and there's no need to save all of your receipts to do it. - Fred Block

Having once been lost for a terrifying five minutes in Disney World when I was a child, I have tried various tips mentioned in your newsletter to spare my children this experience. The hand holder at Wal-Mart didn't work, especially by the buses! I am not a seamstress, so putting their names in every shirt just isn't an option. Someone said to try these name tags that fasten to their shoes, except I thought the price was a little steep. Before we left on our last trip, I was in a store's luggage department. I purchased two waterproof luggage tags. I attached them to my kids' belt loops and stuck the tag in their pockets. It had all the important information on it, including our cell phone numbers. The kids knew if they were lost to go to a Cast Member and show them the tag. The best part about it is that the tags cost only $3 for both of them. - Laura Littner

We just got back after spending 10 wonderful days at the World. It is very hard for me because I can neither have sugar nor caffeine in any kind of drink. We stayed at the Wilderness Lodge and they do offer caffeine-free diet Coke. The tip that I have to offer, though, is that before you depart for your vacation, go to your local supermarket and buy the little packets of diet drink powder that you add to bottles of water. I found that one packet in the small bottle of water that Disney offers now was just right. You do, however, have to put two packets in the large bottle of water that they sell. If you're like me, and plain water just doesn't cut it, try this. It was very refreshing and a great change from the cola. - Debbie A. Holt

When my wife and I are at WDW we always send postcards home to our parents. Each parent gets their own postcard for each day that we are at WDW. It is a lot of fun finding the right card and writing the right message. Last year, while at breakfast at 1900 Park Fare, we had all the characters sign each card and we didn't add any message of our own. Our parents got the cards and couldn't figure out what was going on, since they had been reading our messages explaining what had happened on each day. They loved them! We later found out that these cards were our parents' favorites and are the ones that they show to other family members first. - Ray & Cindy Kuykendall

Three of the restaurants at Disney Springs (Fulton's Crab House, Wolfgang Puck Cafe, and Portobello Yacht Club) are operated by the same parent company, Levy Restaurants. They have a Preferred Frequent Dining Program that you can use at any of those three restaurants and earn points that can be traded in for gift cards, etc. http://www.levyrestaurants.com - Erick

I am an annual passholder and have realized that my pass usually has discounts available during lunch hours and not dinner. We either make the latest reservation that would still give a discount for lunch, or eat a nice lunch and grab something not as expensive for dinner. We would actually switch and eat our bigger or more expensive meal at lunch, and then have a hot dog or delicious turkey leg for dinner, which was usually a bit lighter also! - Niki Koullias

Try to go to a character breakfast in one of the parks for the first 8 a.m. seating before the park opens. You get to enter the park around 7:45 a.m., get your stroller/wheelchairs, eat a great breakfast and be in the back of the park riding the rides at opening time while everybody else is waiting in lines and just starting to come into the park. For a great photo opportunity, eat at the Crystal Palace and on your way there take a picture of your family in front of the castle -- since the park isn't open yet, your family will be the only ones in the picture. It's the only time you can ever do that! - Elizabeth Donoho

Port Orleans Fench Quarter - We had several problems with our room at Port Orleans French Quarter, the worst of which was being locked out three straight days due to a malfunctioning lock. Readers should know that there is a courtesy phone in the vending areas at each hotel that can be used to reach the front desk. This could have saved us the long walks back to the lobby had we been told! - Andrew from Boston

Magic Kingdom - Some people don't realize that many of the table service restaurants in the parks seat until park closing. We have found it's nice to have a late lunch, and then after watching the evening parade at the Magic Kingdom, go to the Liberty Tree Tavern for dinner. We've always been able to get seated as soon as we go in, even without reservations. When we've finished our wonderful meal, the park is practically empty and we can take our time walking down Main Street and not fighting a crowd. It really makes a nice, stress-free ending to an enjoyable day. - Stacey Kiefer

Save those receipts! Twice our receipts from food service locations at Walt Disney World included a 20 percent off total merchandise purchase (from store opening to 1 p.m.) coupon at the bottom, good at select locations, good through January 5. This happened at both Pizza Planet in Disney's Hollywood Studios and also at the Electric Umbrella at Epcot. - Cheyenna

EDITOR'S NOTE: This promotion usually runs several times a year. Be sure to check if your receipt is one that has the coupon.

Save those receipts! Twice our receipts from food service locations at Walt Disney World included a 20 percent off total merchandise purchase (from store opening to 1 p.m.) coupon at the bottom, good at select locations, good through January 5. This happened at both Pizza Planet in Disney's Hollywood Studios and also at the Electric Umbrella at Epcot. - Cheyenna

EDITOR'S NOTE: This promotion usually runs several times a year. Be sure to check if your receipt is one that has the coupon.

Save those receipts! Twice our receipts from food service locations at Walt Disney World included a 20 percent off total merchandise purchase (from store opening to 1 p.m.) coupon at the bottom, good at select locations, good through January 5. This happened at both Pizza Planet in Disney's Hollywood Studios and also at the Electric Umbrella at Epcot. - Cheyenna

EDITOR'S NOTE: This promotion usually runs several times a year. Be sure to check if your receipt is one that has the coupon.