Tips about Disney Dining Plan, Food & Beverage, Planning, Resorts and Souvenirs

If you are there for a week or longer, find out how much it is to take a cab for shopping. We did a roundtrip cab (having him even wait for us in parking lot) and it cost us $32 with tip to Walgreen's. We got much needed cold/flu supplies, drinks, and snacks. I added up just two of the tons of items we bought price for price for what they were in the gift shop, and there alone was our cab fare! - Dana Barish

Animal Kingdom - If you're looking for a cheap, healthy snack in the Animal Kingdom, check out the fruit cart in the Harambe Village of Africa. There's lots of fresh, ice cold fruit that's cheap and much healthier than ice cream or popcorn. Our family got apple slices with caramel, fresh oranges and bananas, and it was delicious. The cart also sells chips, water and drinks. - Katherine

Animal Kingdom - If you're looking for a cheap, healthy snack in the Animal Kingdom, check out the fruit cart in the Harambe Village of Africa. There's lots of fresh, ice cold fruit that's cheap and much healthier than ice cream or popcorn. Our family got apple slices with caramel, fresh oranges and bananas, and it was delicious. The cart also sells chips, water and drinks. - Katherine

Animal Kingdom Lodge - If you are staying at Animal Kingdom Lodge, Jambo House, I would strongly suggest considering renting a car. My husband, 4-year-old and I have just returned from a 14-night trip and found that with the completion of Kidani Village, the bus transportation picks up and drops off at Kidani FIRST. This meant that when the bus transportation arrived at Jambo House to go to the parks, it was sometimes already full (standing room only) and on the return journey from the parks we had to drive past Jambo House to drop off and collect new people at Kidani before going to Jambo House.

When on the Disney Dining Plan, signature or character restaurants require the use of two table service meals. To compensate for not having a table service dinner one night try having a late lunch/early dinner on your first night with the counter service meal for that day at Disney Springs's Wolfgang Puck Express at the Marketplace. You won't even miss the table service meal for that day with selections like roast chicken and garlic mashed potatoes. The portions and items on the menu are large and definitely not your typical counter service fare. Since you'll be eating a little earlier than usual, that day's snack will definitely hit the spot later that night. - Diane Fehring

EDITOR'S NOTE: The only character meals that currently require two table service credits are those at Cinderella's Royal Table. All others currently require just one. We apologize for any confusion this may have caused.

I save the black, plastic Mickey-shaped "dishes" you get food on at some of the quickie eateries (like the eat-on-the-street Rosie's All-American Cafe in Hollywood Studios) and take them home. Every night I put out fresh veggies for our girls with ranch dressing in the ears for dipping. They get a kick out of it and we've been using them literally for years! We think it's neat that we recycled them all the way from Disney. I wash them on the top rack in the dishwasher with no issues. - Shanlee Ginchereau

We just stayed at the Old Key West and took the basic Dining Plan. What we didn't know was that the OKW doesn't have too many counter service options, basically just sandwiches, so the counter service option really isn't useful here. It would have been much cheaper if we had just paid for our table service meals. Also with the change of tip not being included and appetizers not being included, it's not such a good deal anymore -- unless all you do is eat 24/7, and not visit the parks at all. The resort itself is great though. We had an older unit, huge, and a great location. Bus service was very dependable. - Nancy Morris

Our family has found an easy way to keep track of our dining information during a Disney trip. I use my cell phone's calendar to enter the times and confirmation numbers of all our meals. My phone is always with me, so I don't have to carry an extra list. If we're really trying to pack a lot into our day, I set my alarm to go off a half hour before our reservation. Having our confirmation number handy helped us out a couple years ago when our reservation got mixed up. - Deborah Shauan

Our most recent trip to Disney was a very busy one between extra activities and dinner reservations. Before leaving home, I prepared a schedule, which upon arrival I posted on the fridge (we stayed in a villa) with magnets I brought from home. This way, everyone knew where and when they needed to be somewhere. - Ann

On our last trip to the world we were pleasantly surprised upon check in at our resort to be stopped by a family asking if they could give our 3-year-old princess their princess balloon as they were leaving and wouldn't be able to take it with them. They explained that they had been given the balloon in the same fashion upon their check-in and was passing on the favour! What a great idea! We continued the balloon's travel upon our check-out in the same fashion with no tears from our princess of having to leave it behind! What a great way to spread a little magic to incoming guests and teach our children about sharing! - Karen

If you purchase the foil balloons for your children, but do not have space in your car (or the plane) to transport them home, there is a quick and easy solution! All you need is a regular drinking straw. Undo the knot that ties the balloon to the string. Insert the straw into the hole and push it a few inches up into the balloon. That releases the valve and you can deflate the balloon, fold it and pack it in your suitcase. Ideally, you can hide it away, and then when the kids' birthdays come around, you can bring it to the local dollar store or party supply store and have them refill it with helium for you!! You won't believe the looks on your kids' faces when the Disney balloons re-appear! (And if you don't want to go that far, you can simply blow it up with your own lung power, and the same straw, when you get home). - D. French

All Resorts - Remember that Disney Gift Cards are not honored to cover valet parking. - Nalyn Marcus

Most of the Disney balloons have a Mickey weight on them. When it was time to leave the balloon couldn't go with us so I quickly took the Mickey plastic weight off of the bottom and added it to my camera strap as a souvenir. Imagine my delight when I realized not only did I have a constant reminder of a a wonderful trip, I no longer had to search for my little camera! The Mickey is distinctive enough for me to always spot -- unlike the camera strap -- and easy to grasp. The camera has made two more trips back to Disney with us and people always comment on the Mickey. It would work on anything that has a narrow strap. - Sherry Huff

We are going to WDW in January. Right now, we have two nights at Kidani, followed by four nights at Bay Lake Tower. We are wait-listed to get into BLT for the first two nights. In speaking with DVC, they are considered two separate reservations. Thus for the Disney Dining Plan, we will have to purchase twice. Once at Kidani check-in for those two nights and then again at BLT for those four nights. If any entitlements from Kidani are not used by midnight on the night of checkout, they are lost. You cannot transfer them to the BLT entitlements. So, for those who are staying at WDW, but are splitting their stay between two or more resorts, they need to plan accordingly, so that they don't lose entitlements. This is not just for DVC of course, but for anyone using the DDP. Also, for anyone in a family/group staying in the same room, where any members of the group may only be in the room for a subset of days, they still need to get the DDP for everyone in the party for all nights. - Marc

Port Orleans Riverside - I go to the gym daily, it's part of my lifestyle. As you know, gyms are only located in the deluxe resorts in Disney. Last trip we stayed at Animal Kingdom Lodge, and I advised the concierge there that I would be staying at Port Orleans Riverside next trip and asked about gym accommodations. I was told that I could attend any gym for a $35 fee that would cover my entire length of stay. When we checked into Port Orleans Riverside recently, I inquired about the gym fee, and was told that guests staying at Port Orleans can use the gym at Saratoga Springs at no charge! This was an extra savings that was unexpected! - Linda A. Graffagnini