Tips about Epcot, Food & Beverage, Planning and Train Travel

One of the best money-saving things we found on our last trip was the Rotisserie section at the Caribbean Beach food court. The turkey and chicken meals came with enough food (vegetable, mashed potatoes, etc.) that I was able to split the meal with my 2-year-old. Plus, I felt like we were eating something a little healthier than just hamburgers and hot dogs. - Elizabeth Doda

Even though a counter service restaurant offers meals in a combo form, it may be possible to buy the items separately. Recently, I did this at Pecos Bill's in Frontierland. I wanted the vegetarian burger, but didn't really want the fries that came with it. I asked and ended up saving almost $3. I was amazed at the difference in price. - Debbie

Eat at buffets to maximize your value for the cost. This is especially true for the breakfast/lunch time. If you time your ADR (advance dining reservation) so that they change out the breakfast menu for the lunch menu during the course of your meal, you basically get two meals in one, and you can satisfy the heartiest appetite. Also, if you can travel during the International Food & Wine Festival, you can enjoy eating around the world, which is extremely good and extremely filling at about the same cost as a counter-service meal. - Josh Olive

My money-saving tips come from the perspective of a traveler who goes to WDW either with my husband or solo, though they could certainly be adapted for travelers with children and/or larger groups. 1. Bring your own coffee and, if your resort room doesn't have a coffee maker, a cheap coffee maker. We purchase Starbuck's coffee beans then grind them up and take a supply on vacation. (Given that Disney coffee is often pretty bad, this also makes sense from a taste perspective!) 2. Bring breakfast and snacks foods with you and enjoy them in your room. We often either request a fridge or bring fruit that doesn't have to be refrigerated. A cooler can also work well. Some good cheese, olives, crackers and wine can be a wonderful and romantic way to end the day or a nice interlude between park time and dinner. 3. Bring your own alcohol rather than having a nightcap (or a morning Bloody Mary! it is vacation, after all) at the hotel bar. Because we fly to Florida, we often stop for supplies at a grocery store before arriving at the resort. - Hilary Huffman

Bring a Brita water filter. That way, you can refill your water bottles in your room with water that tastes good. - Josh Olive

I think that most people would agree that the water from the drinking fountains at Walt Disney World is barely drinkable. However, with the heat and humidity there you need to stay hydrated. Since I think the bottled water is too expensive I bring a refillable bottle to fill at the fountains. To make it taste all right I add a powdered drink mix. They come in single serving sizes, so just throw a few in your bag so you always have them. I usually get the green tea or white tea flavor so the taste isn't too strong so it's as close to water as you can get. - Moira

My favorite money-saving tip is to save on breakfast. We pack in our luggage, paper bowls, plastic silverware, cups, cereal, bagels, Pop-tarts and bottled water. (You will then have room when you go home for souvenirs.) You can either pick up milk and OJ at a resort shop or order all your groceries from gardengrocer.com for delivery right to your room. For the $12 delivery fee and a tip you will still be saving a ton of money just on bottled water alone! - Tina Snyder

We bring breakfast food with us and eat in our hotel room. Our usual assortment is instant oatmeal, granola bars, oranges, apples or bananas, bagels and cream cheese and orange juice. Everyone gets what they want and it saves LOTS of money and time in the mornings when we are anxious to get into the parks. We take some sort of snack with us -- usually trail mix -- to eat while in the long lines. It keeps the kids occupied. With the weather usually being so hot we don't get very hungry during the day, but purchase some snacks to share at lunch or in the afternoon. It is usually something like a turkey leg and popcorn, ice cream, etc. -- just something snacky. By dinner time we are usually pretty hungry so we eat something in the parks if it is a long day. Otherwise we go back to the hotel and eat in the restaurant or food court. We usually have snacks in the room for the evening--pretzels or cookies. We have used this method of saving a few dollars while still eating well while at Disney. For a family who wants to eat three full meals a day or big "sit-down" meals this wouldn't work, but it is perfect for us! - Jan Gruver

At buffets where beverages are included, you can order two drinks to start with (or change what you're drinking instead of getting a refill). I'm mainly an iced tea drinker, but I like to treat myself with a glass of rich and creamy calorie-filled chocolate milk. I always start with a request for both beverages, and then just have the iced tea subsequently refilled. - Jennifer Bogdanski

My tip is to take a deep breath, relax, and let the magic come to YOU. So many people go to Disney World frantically searching for it and hunting it down, meanwhile they're missing it! It's passing them right by. The most magical moments happen when you least expect them. Experiencing the magic that happens shouldn't be stressful. It shouldn't be work or effort. People who have never been, hear so much about other people's experiences and memories. My tip for them is don't go looking for those particular things that you've heard about. So much can happen there -- let your OWN memories happen. Forget about what other people experience. You'll have your own stories to tell when you get back. And for people who have been a million times, they might go back trying to recapture the fond memories they've had from past trips. So my tip to them is keep those experiences as fond memories and every time you go back, create NEW memories. Just let the magic happen. Don't force it and don't rush it, because believe me, it WILL happen. - Twincess

For anyone dining at the Tusker House for Donald's Safari Breakfast, please be aware that the buffet is not your typical 'stand in line' type of buffet. While we were at the AK last week eating, cast members at the Tusker House kept announcing that we did NOT have to just stand in line waiting to get to the food we wanted. Rather, the buffet was a free flowing buffet -- you could just jump in line where you wanted and grab a plate. Unfortunately, not many people were listening and some guests got very angry when I stepped in line to get some scrambled eggs for my daughters... So, the moral of this story is, please listen to the cast members at the Tusker House breakfast buffet! And be kind to other guests. - Traci Curth

Here's a tip for families from the U.K. In the U.S., lemonade is not a fizzy drink, it's a still drink. It's like old-fashioned, homemade cloudy lemonade. It's excellent if you don't want to fill your kids up with cola, especially, if they can't manage to eat all their dinner as they're so full of pop! Also you'll find variants like pomegranate lemonade in Disney. - Louise Herrick

I had been trying to get an ADR at 'Ohana for three weeks prior to our visit. I even checked daily during our actual week of vacation with no luck. Then it occurred to me that guests need to cancel the ADR by midnight prior to the day of the ADR or they are charged a fee per guest. The next morning I checked for an ADR at 7 a.m. and found an available table for the same evening at 6:35 p.m., which had the extra bonus of ending our evening watching Wishes from our dining table. - Ellen Bemis

Just wanted to mention that readers of this newsletter in the UK can use MouseFanTravel.com to get quotes or book trips to WDW (as well as those readers in the US). The prices are very competitive and often better offers or packages are available than here in the UK. It seems that some of the deals that Disney offers are not recognised by UK travel agents. - Mark Burden, Dorset, UK

ALL PARKS - This is a tip for anyone who celebrates a special day or occasion on the same day every year at one of the Disney parks. My wife and I have celebrated every one of our 11 wedding anniversaries at Disneyland. To add to our tradition, we get a Fastpass that is marked for that day and covers the time that we were married, i.e. 4 p.m. Then we have a cast member take a picture of us in front of that attraction at the exact time that we said our "I Do's." Between the photo and the Fastpasses, it makes a nice keepsake of that specific day and time. The only drawback is we can see how we have aged over the years. Go out and CELEBRATE! - Michael Greening