Tips about Disney’s Magical Express, Epcot, Food & Beverage and Kids

ALL PARKS - We have gone down to Walt Disney World 24 times and are looking forward to going again in November. My tip is that when you go, always take a break where there is a water feature. If you are over-warm, they will help cool you off and if you are not then the sound helps relax and focus your mind so you can enjoy the rest of your day. At Magic Kingdom, the best one is right next to the Splash Mountain ride. If you don't want to get wet, step back. In Epcot, they are all over. They are in every park and various places, so ENJOY. - Dana Lind

EDITOR'S NOTE: The water features Dana refers to include the various fountains, water play areas, and misters found around the parks, such as the squirting Tiki Gods in Magic Kingdom's Adventureland or the Cool Wash mister near Test Track in Epcot.

Magic Kingdom - On our May 2010 trip to WDW we ate, as always, at Pecos Bill's at the Magic Kingdom. We always order the veggie burgers. The cast member gave us our tray with only our drinks and sides. She told us the burgers were being prepared at the "Fixin's Bar" and we needed to go there to pick them up. The reason given was that they are prepared on a separate grill, away from meat, making them totally vegan. Other counter service restaurants which grill them in the kitchen told us they always use a separate grill. - Jeannie B.

First just wanted to say THANK YOU for all the wonderful and very useful tips you post -- I have used more than a few on our trips. My tip is for anyone traveling to WDW by car with kids. A few days before we leave, I head to one of our local "dollar stores" and purchase toys or games they can play in the car. When the inevitable "I'm bored" virus goes around, I pull out a new game/toy and have peace for another hour or so, then repeat the process. The things I buy only cost a dollar or two so if they get "lost" in the car it's no big deal and the joy "mine" of having a peaceful ride... priceless! - Tina McCall

Epcot - My husband and I recently learned of something called the "Wine Walk" at Epcot. For $20 you can purchase a passport at the France, Germany or Italy wine shops. The passport allows you to taste six different wines (two per country). The passport lists the two specific wines in each country. What is unique about the Wine Walk is that you do not have to use the whole passport in one trip. You can try a few and then save the rest for a future trip if you like. Each wine is a two-ounce pour, but Germany seems to be the only country that was very strict on this. Italy and France were a bit more liberal with their pours. Our favorite country for the tastings was Italy. Even though you only get about two ounces per taste, we felt it was a pretty good bargain as we would have paid about $35 if we bought each pour individually. - Tiffany Harmon

Epcot - My husband and I recently learned of something called the "Wine Walk" at Epcot. For $20 you can purchase a passport at the France, Germany or Italy wine shops. The passport allows you to taste six different wines (two per country). The passport lists the two specific wines in each country. What is unique about the Wine Walk is that you do not have to use the whole passport in one trip. You can try a few and then save the rest for a future trip if you like. Each wine is a two-ounce pour, but Germany seems to be the only country that was very strict on this. Italy and France were a bit more liberal with their pours. Our favorite country for the tastings was Italy. Even though you only get about two ounces per taste, we felt it was a pretty good bargain as we would have paid about $35 if we bought each pour individually. - Tiffany Harmon

Epcot - My husband and I recently learned of something called the "Wine Walk" at Epcot. For $20 you can purchase a passport at the France, Germany or Italy wine shops. The passport allows you to taste six different wines (two per country). The passport lists the two specific wines in each country. What is unique about the Wine Walk is that you do not have to use the whole passport in one trip. You can try a few and then save the rest for a future trip if you like. Each wine is a two-ounce pour, but Germany seems to be the only country that was very strict on this. Italy and France were a bit more liberal with their pours. Our favorite country for the tastings was Italy. Even though you only get about two ounces per taste, we felt it was a pretty good bargain as we would have paid about $35 if we bought each pour individually. - Tiffany Harmon

Epcot - My husband and I recently learned of something called the "Wine Walk" at Epcot. For $20 you can purchase a passport at the France, Germany or Italy wine shops. The passport allows you to taste six different wines (two per country). The passport lists the two specific wines in each country. What is unique about the Wine Walk is that you do not have to use the whole passport in one trip. You can try a few and then save the rest for a future trip if you like. Each wine is a two-ounce pour, but Germany seems to be the only country that was very strict on this. Italy and France were a bit more liberal with their pours. Our favorite country for the tastings was Italy. Even though you only get about two ounces per taste, we felt it was a pretty good bargain as we would have paid about $35 if we bought each pour individually. - Tiffany Harmon

Epcot - When my family and I go to Epcot we try to make our World Showcase adventure memorable. We have tried making a mask and saving a section for each country and writing a special fact in that section, but that didn't work very well, so we then tried having the people working at the Kidcot station write our names on the attachable paper picture from each country. This was very cool, but if they got wet from rain they bled and washed away. This past time my sister and I decided to get a candy from each country. You can usually find these in the gift shops or even at restaurants. At each pavilion we took a picture of us eating the candy and we saved the wrapper/box. We then came home and made a collage with the wrappers and pictures. This was a very exciting thing for us -- we had never thought of doing anything like this before. You can even do this with the little kid menus. I know when I was little I used to circle what I wanted to eat, write the restaurant name and chef's name on top, and then if it was a character meal, have the characters sign the menu. I did this with my younger sister and she loved doing her paper menu collage while I worked on my candy wrapper collage. I think this is a very creative and fun activity for kids of all ages. My mom is going to do it with us this time! - Lindsay

Epcot - When my family and I go to Epcot we try to make our World Showcase adventure memorable. We have tried making a mask and saving a section for each country and writing a special fact in that section, but that didn't work very well, so we then tried having the people working at the Kidcot station write our names on the attachable paper picture from each country. This was very cool, but if they got wet from rain they bled and washed away. This past time my sister and I decided to get a candy from each country. You can usually find these in the gift shops or even at restaurants. At each pavilion we took a picture of us eating the candy and we saved the wrapper/box. We then came home and made a collage with the wrappers and pictures. This was a very exciting thing for us -- we had never thought of doing anything like this before. You can even do this with the little kid menus. I know when I was little I used to circle what I wanted to eat, write the restaurant name and chef's name on top, and then if it was a character meal, have the characters sign the menu. I did this with my younger sister and she loved doing her paper menu collage while I worked on my candy wrapper collage. I think this is a very creative and fun activity for kids of all ages. My mom is going to do it with us this time! - Lindsay

While Disney resorts don't have microwaves in the room, they do have at least one microwave for common use that is usually situated close to the food court. They are available 24 hours a day and can be a great money-saver. From a snack such as popcorn to soup or noodles, using the microwave to replace or supplement bought food can be a big money-saver. - Connie McGouldrick

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

On our last stay, we stayed at the Port Orleans Riverside for 10 nights. We were a bit worried: How could we enjoy some late night TV without waking our 5-year-old daughter? How would she fall asleep with the lights and TV on? We found a great solution. We bought our daughter a small dome tent (it packs up very compactly), which we shipped ahead of our arrival. When we got to the room, there was just enough space (once we rearranged a table and chair) to set her tent up in a corner. She loved it! She put all her "babies" in there each night with her, and couldn't wait to zip herself in for "camping out." Interestingly enough, the housekeeper brought in extra bedding unasked and one of those foam egg-crate pads to soften the "bed" inside the tent. Housekeeping also rearranged the "babies" around the tent each day. - Laura Suffi

Epcot - Just wanted to add to the reason to pick up a Passport kit from Epcot. I got one on our last trip and secretly had each country stamp and write Happy Birthday to my husband on the Passport. A month after we got home it was my husband's birthday. I put the Passport in a Mickey birthday card and he was very pleased and surprised with his multi-language greetings. - Sue S.