Tips about Epcot, Food & Beverage, Planning, Resorts and Special Events

I pack a travel French Press to ANY Walt Disney World resort hotel. The inability to get fresh-brewed coffee at WDW is frustrating to a coffee drinker like me! I only need one good cup in the morning for me and it makes my day. You can get a travel coffee press from online retailers for $20. It's only slightly bigger than a soda can and easily fits in a carry-on. Simply put the grounds in the bottom (you can buy Mickey coffee at the hotel), add hot water, wait 5-10 minutes, press, and pour a great cup of coffee!

EDITOR'S NOTE: If you don't want to bring your own, AllEars.Net maintains a page of places to get fresh-brewed coffee around the World: http://allears.net/din/coffee.htm

This is for brides-to-be who are interested in planning their wedding at Walt Disney World, but who are not into the traditional Disney Wedding Pavilion: be aware that there are unique sites available for your ceremony and reception. When we mentioned to our Disney wedding planner that Animal Kingdom was our favorite theme park, she told us about a wonderful site in Harambe. Our daughter and son-in-law had a truly magical outdoor wedding ceremony in the candlelit Tamu Tamu courtyard with a fabulous dessert reception to follow at Tusker House. - Debbie Gneshin

For anyone who has celiac disease or wheat allergies in general, Tony's Town Square was a treat. Two of my traveling party have celiac disease and the chefs were amazing. So many options for gluten-free, including pasta and special gluten-free, dairy-free meatballs. We all ate like royalty the entire trip and can't wait to go back. - Richelle H.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Just about every table service restaurant at Walt Disney World will try to accommodate guests with special dietary needs.

Epcot - We found that the Electric Umbrella restaurant at Epcot has free drink refills... not only for soft drinks but for apple juice as well, which worked out great for our little one. This is the only "quick service" restaurant we visited that didn't give us a juice box when we ordered her a kid's meal with juice. - Michelle P.

Epcot - We found that the Electric Umbrella restaurant at Epcot has free drink refills... not only for soft drinks but for apple juice as well, which worked out great for our little one. This is the only "quick service" restaurant we visited that didn't give us a juice box when we ordered her a kid's meal with juice. - Michelle P.

Epcot - We found that the Electric Umbrella restaurant at Epcot has free drink refills... not only for soft drinks but for apple juice as well, which worked out great for our little one. This is the only "quick service" restaurant we visited that didn't give us a juice box when we ordered her a kid's meal with juice. - Michelle P.

Epcot - We found that the Electric Umbrella restaurant at Epcot has free drink refills... not only for soft drinks but for apple juice as well, which worked out great for our little one. This is the only "quick service" restaurant we visited that didn't give us a juice box when we ordered her a kid's meal with juice. - Michelle P.

Going to a sit-down, outdoor presentation on a cold winter's night? Here's a simple, easy-to-carry way to keep your rump from freezing: bring one of those bubble-wrap filled envelopes of an appropriate size to sit on. The bubble-wrap insulates your nether regions from that cold, cold seat, is light as a feather and is easily carried in one of those many Disney World plastic bags you've acquired. It makes quite a difference! - Mamayama

Even though Tables in Wonderland hasn't officially announced that the 20% discount would be available at La Hacienda de San Angel in Mexico, I asked our server anyway if they took the discount and they did. So be sure to let your server know if you have it! - Jeannine Wallace

EDITOR'S NOTE: The official word from the Tables In Wonderland people is that the discount is not valid at La Hacienda de San Angel. It never hurts to ask though.

Did you know that you can use the Disney Dining Plan for Candlelight Processional Guaranteed Seating? We used two dining credits for our meal, but this also included a reserved viewing area for the holiday version of IllumiNations in the Showcase Plaza. Excellent views. I don't think many people were aware of this, as the area was not at all crowded. - Cindy Lopiano

Food & Wine Festival - Just wanted to add that if you miss the Welcome Center, the Festival passports can usually be found at any of the DVC kiosks throughout the World Showcase. - Mary W.

I really wanted to make a reservation for T-REX: A Prehistoric Family Adventure restaurant during our upcoming trip, but the Disney online reservation system was showing absolutely no availability for dinner. So, I looked up the phone number for the restaurant and called them directly. I told them I wanted anything they had for a certain night and they told me I could pick any time I wanted because all the times were available. The phone number I used was 407-828-TREX. Definitely give them a call if you're having trouble getting a reservation. - Whitney

Food & Wine Festival - Please note that the food and wine vendors for Epcot's Food and Wine Festival close at 9 p.m. every night. We decided to go to Epcot during the evening Extra Magic Hours so we would have more time and hopefully smaller crowds to eat and drink around the world. We arrived at 8 p.m. to start and only made it to 3-4 vendors before all started closing.

If you are spending Christmas at Disney you will want to have the family open gifts for sure on Christmas morning. We found that it was too cumbersome taking gifts with us so we took pictures of the gifts before wrapping them at home. We wrapped the pictures and brought those with us. Of course we had a couple of toys that the kids could open but they loved seeing what was waiting to be unwrapped back home when we returned. Saved on shipping and a lot of hassle with packing.

To survive large crowds, I suggest that you go out early, at the time the parks open. Bring just a snack for breakfast if you can't manage to get up early enough to eat breakfast at your resort. You then will have 3-4 hours of park time before lunch. Since lunch is when the crowd volume really picks up, this is when you should go back to your resort to refresh and relax by the pool, or you could go shopping. Then go back to a park after you eat dinner. Leave the park before any fireworks shows to avoid long waits at the bus stops. Of course, if you want to experience more, then you will have to get out in the crowds. I've been so many years (at all times of year) and I've learned my lesson. The one thing that will drain your energy and make you more ill and fussy, is fighting a crowd daily. That's no vacation. Find time to rest and relax. - Melody Moore