Tips about Disney Cruise Line, Food & Beverage and Planning

If you are looking to have one of the world famous Monte Cristo Sandwiches at Disneyland, you have two choices: The Blue Bayou Restaurant or the Cafe Orleans. Although the Blue Bayou has wonderful atmosphere, the cost of the sandwich is double what it is at Cafe Orleans. Cafe Orleans is more of a small bistro type of restaurant. So if you are on a budget, you can get the same thing for half the price if you are willing to forgo the ambience. Also note that the Monte Cristo sandwich is available for lunch and dinner at Cafe Orleans, but is only on the lunch menu at Blue Bayou. - Janet Sherby

A tip for UK visitors: In shops, kids struggle to work out the cost of something in British pounds, as they have to add the sales tax and then do the currency conversion. When ours were younger I made little conversion charts with the GBP equivalent (with sales tax added) of up to $20. As long as they can add up, they can then work out what things are going to cost from their spending allowance without having to ask Mum or Dad all the time. - Juli Williamson

Even though the price of a single bottle of water is now $3.00, there are 1.1 liter (51 oz.) bottles of water in some of the shops that are $4.50. They are a much better value than the single bottles sold at stands in the parks. And if you have any type of discount available to you -- such as Annual Pass, DVC, etc., you can get the 1.1 liter bottle for $3.60. - Mary Waite

Something we tried this last time we stayed at the Boardwalk Villas was to bring a water purifier that you connect to the kitchen faucet. This worked amazingly well! We didn't have to haul or buy a whole bunch of water bottles for our trip, you just keep refilling a glass or reusable container. You don't have the waste of the plastic bottles or have to drink the nasty-tasting Orlando water! Just write down a reminder to take your purifier off the faucet before you leave. When you get home, connect the purifier back to your own kitchen faucet! - Tammy

When making dining reservations using the Disney website make sure you log in before you select your reservation time. I lost two reservations to 'Ohana (on two separate occasions) because after I selected the reservation time the system prompted me to log in. Once I logged in, the system did not hold the reservation that I selected. Very disappointing! I sent a message to Disney regarding this problem and their solution was to be sure that you are logged in prior to searching for a dining reservation. - Sarah Kelley

We bring a sleeve of plastic disposable cups to the Disney parks in our backpack. That way we can buy two or three water bottles and share them among the five of us. The cups are light and when we buy five individual bottles no one ever finishes theirs. - Gail Geiser

For all those folks writing about nightlight options -- Make sure your wall-mounted hair dryer is plugged in! Each room I've ever stayed in, regardless of pixie dust level, has the built-in night light feature. Though, as a retired teacher, I admit that the cyalume sticks (glow sticks) are always fun! - Scott Stuart

As a new Disney Vacation Club member, I decided to give the Tables in Wonderland card a try. We had a dinner reservation almost every night, so it paid for itself within the week. I can also use it when we return next year since it's good for about 13 months. You automatically get charged gratuity of 18 percent, which is about what I'd tip anyway. The 20 percent discount from the card basically covers that gratuity and then some. It was definitely worth the $100. - Jennifer

We have vacationed many times at Walt Disney World since 1993. Oftentimes, I will ship a package a week in advance, filled with snacks and surprises. I've learned the hard way, if you're staying at a conference center resort (for example, the Contemporary or Bay Lake Tower) send the box via USPS. If it is shipped UPS or FedEx, you are charged a service/handling fee when you check-in and claim your package. - Ann

The gluten-free offerings [at 'Ohana] for my husband were excellent, and included lettuce wraps, chicken wings, all of the grilled meats and a special dessert. They did require my 10-year-old to be charged as an adult, which made the price tag high in my opinion, but the food was great. - A reader in the AllEars.Net Rate and Review section

When traveling to Orlando from the UK you tend to get to Orlando about 3 p.m. By the time you get to your Disney hotel it's about 6 p.m., so instead of rushing to the parks we head to Disney Springs, pick up our park tickets at Guest Relations (this saves doing it the next morning when you want to hit the parks), then go and have dinner and do some shopping. We are then fresh for the next morning. - Ruth

Save the little bottles of bubbles you get at weddings and bring them with you to Disney. Our daughter keeps one in her fanny pack. She has stopped many a potential meltdown by blowing bubbles for a fussy toddler as we waited in line. It's portable pixie dust! - Karen B

On a recent visit to the Magic Kingdom, I stopped in the Main Street Bakery to check out the recent renovation and treat myself to a Starbucks coffee. When I reached the counter to pay, I was pleasantly surprised to be able to pay with my Starbucks gift card. Not only did I buy coffee with my gift card, but also a bottle of soda for my son. Don't leave home without your gift cards! - Kim Chesser

-- I bring along suction cups to stick to the bathroom walls. This gives everyone their own place to hang washcloths or other personal bathroom items.

-- A power strip gives everyone easy access to plug in their electronic devices instead of searching for an unused one in the room.

-- Lastly, we always have a spot in the room (a table or the spot next to the door) where we put the things we take with us each day -- for example, sunglasses, backpack, water bottle, celebration pin, jacket. That way when you are ready to walk out the door, you can just grab your stuff instead of scrambling around the room trying to make sure you remembered those things. - Traci Regan

If you have dietary concerns, don't assume you know your "safe" foods, especially at buffets. When recently dining at Cape May Cafe for dinner, I told the chef that I had a shellfish allergy. Surprisingly, he warned me not to eat the steamed corn or steamed potatoes -- they are both steamed with shellfish/fish. The chef offered to make them separately for me, saying it would take only 15-20 minutes.

Another time I was unable to have the chicken dish at Yachtsman Steakhouse because it was fried with seafood.

A friend was also at a buffet with an onion allergy and told not to eat the corn as it was steamed in a broth that contained onions.

Better to be safe than sorry! Be sure to tell the hostess, server and if needed, ask for a chef. - Deb Wills