Tips about Disney Dining Plan, Mousecellaneous and Planning

The Walt Disney World Lost and Found department is amazing! My designer sunglasses flew off during Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and I thought they were gone for good. I called the Lost and Found department and described what day and location I lost them, gave a description of the glasses, and to my surprise, in true Disney Magic they were found! (Allow 24-48 hours for cast members to process your lost items.) - Michelle

EDITOR'S NOTE: You can report missing items at Guest Relations in the theme parks, but if you don't discover the item has been lost until you get home, try calling Theme Parks Lost & Found: (407) 824-4245. They're open seven days a week between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. EST. Give them a description of the item and where you lost it, and if it's been turned in, they'll let you know.

On a recent trip I discovered that the new "Touch and Go" Key to the World cards (RFID) will work while in a lanyard pouch. However, if you have more than one of the new types of cards together in a pouch or hold them together, the sensors pick up both chips and cannot tell which is which. The cards work if you hold them up to the sensors one at a time, they just cannot be stacked together. - Mark

My new husband and I debated wearing Wedding Ears at Disney. We finally decided against them because of costs, weather, rides, etc., but we wanted people to know were on our honeymoon. No worries. The buttons we received at check-in were enough! Seriously, when going to Disney wear a button! And wear them with pride! Be honest, of course, but the mere symbol that we were celebrating our wedding was enough to have Disney making us feel even more special than we already did! The minute we put on the button, while leaving the Polynesian's Great Ceremonial House, we immediately had well-wishers congratulating us! - Emily Ebersole

If you feel the cold easily, consider bringing a sweater or sweatshirt! The air conditioning on the buses, and in the restaurants, hotel rooms and indoor attractions can be quite cold. - Kristy

One of the best things I found to buy with the Disney Dining Plan Snack Credits are single serving items at the resort's quick service dining area. We go down to the quick service dining on the first morning and buy a couple bagels, some yogurt, single-serve cereals boxes, single-serve milk, bananas, and muffins. We bring them back to the room and use them for our breakfasts in the room each morning. We never have leftover credits that way and don't have to use a meal credit for breakfast. If you don't have a refrigerator in your room, bring a soft collapsible cooler bag, fill it with ice and put your cold stuff inside, replenishing the ice each morning. - Linda Brantner

We have gone to Walt Disney World every year for the last five years with our two kids (now ages 5 and 10) and I have one "must purchase" item prior to a summertime Disney trip: a personal size water fan -- and extra batteries. The water fans in the parks are around $20, but you can buy your own at home for $5 to $7. If you have a stroller, a clip-on stroller fan is great, too. - Ingrid

If a member of your party likes to wear certain types of pants with fairly loose pockets (i.e., athletic or cargo pants), and carries a wallet, it would be a very good idea before your trip to purchase those small Velcro closures and sew them inside the top edge of the pocket. These are just small round bits of Velcro with adhesive on the back so you can place them where you want them. Then just a couple of stitches to secure the front of the pocket to the back, and you are good to go. The Velcro will come apart easily with just a finger tug. We learned the hard way that wallets tend to pop right out of some pants, especially the very loose and comfortable exercise pants my husband favors for park-wear. Luckily, the wonderful people at Cosmic Ray's were able to find his wallet and return it, but we know next time to add a little security! - Joyce A. Deen

We started planning trips around events so that even if we could only go for a weekend, it was still possible. Just last October, we took in Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party. That was our only visit to a park during our three-day stay, but not our only Disney adventure. We visited the Winter Summerland miniature golf for the first time -- what a blast! We also visited a few resorts, eating in some of our favorite locations like the Kona Cafe at the Polynesian. Although we enjoy spending four, five, or more days in the park, these shorter trips have meant just as much, and we have plenty of memories! - Shawna

We love the Disney dining plan, but have learned that three meals a day, even counter service, can be a bit much, and if one of the meals is a buffet -- calorie overload! We discovered that by having a late breakfast (often snack credits) on a buffet day, we could save that counter-service credit. Then, on our last day, we could use it, plus any leftover snack credits, to get food to take on the plane ride home that afternoon. Earl of Sandwich makes sandwiches that are wrapped well enough to be carried around, and Goofy's Candy company has lots of bags of candy that are one snack credit each. By taking an extra-large tote purse with me, I could carry two sandwiches, two cookies, and whatever candies we got and not have to rely on buying airline food. Next time, we may try combining two of our table-service credits and eating an upscale meal! - Joyce A. Deen

The Disney Dining Plan is a must, especially since we usually get it for free in the fall. We also bring a case of water bottles and cereal to eat in the room for breakfast. - Tammy W.

Did you know that the cost of booking a vacation with a Disney travel agent is the same as booking a vacation yourself directly through Disney? Sometimes it can even be cheaper, as the agent will watch for discounts to help you get the most value for your hard-earned dollar. - Melissa Weis

Take advantage of all the discounts -- we use the military and annual passholders' ones regularly. We also stay Sunday through Thursday to avoid "weekend" rates and bonus! -- parks are usually less full weekdays. - Katherine Marshall

Research! Utilize the excellent menu feature here on AllEars.Net. Know what the different restaurants or service counters offer so that you know they serve something both you and your kids like. With the costs of an entree, you definitely don't want your child to tell you they don't like what you ordered. Make a list of the places in each park that satisfy all of your needs. Then, if possible, actually make choices before you go. Stick with what you know works, especially for your kids. - Tom Galloway

At the end of our last trip, we had quite a few counter service meals remaining. Since we had a 17 hour drive ahead of us, we went to Disney Springs the morning of our departure. There we used our free dining plan meals that remained. We purchased breakfast pizzas as well as regular pizzas which we later used for lunch [storing them in the cooler and eating cold}. Wolfgang Pucks has great food! This saved us purchasing meals an entire day as we had leftovers. We also earlier in the week spent a day at the coast, using our free dining plan to purchase sandwiches/sides and drinks to take along for a picnic lunch. - Joyce Anderson

Just got back from a wonderful 11-day trip to the "World." While there, we had the chance to use the new RFID key cards. One note of caution, many of the cast members are getting used to the new technology. We were surprised to see we had seven snacks left on the last day of our trip. When we looked at our room charges, we saw that many of the snacks we thought we were using were actually being charged to the room. So we had to rush to use all of our snacks. Make sure to specify to the cashier that you want to use a snack and then check your receipt, or you will end up with a carry-on bag full of Mickey-shaped Rice Krispy treats! - Garrin L. Goebel