Tips about Epcot, Mousecellaneous, Planning, Rental Car and Resorts

Pop Century - We arrived at Pop Century before our room was ready. We were hot, tired and in need of a shower before hitting the parks, but had several hours before our room was available. On a whim, we checked around by the pool and found that there is a restroom with showers and changing facilities at each pool in Pop. So we got our suits and toiletries out of the car, had a quick swim and then the shower we so needed, and were still off to the parks two hours earlier than if we had waited for our room! - Becky Hecker

Polynesian Resort - In late August we had a character breakfast planned at 'Ohana. When our server greeted us and offered juice and coffee, on a whim I asked about getting a French press of 100 percent Kona coffee, which they serve over at Kona Cafe. The server had never served one herself, but was happy to oblige our request! The coffee was the same price as next door, $7.99 for the pot, and worth every penny. After enduring Nescafe for more than a week, the fresh Kona coffee was like liquid gold to us! It was so good that we nearly ordered a second pot of it. For $7.99 this is a great way to perfect the 'Ohana breakfast experience. The French press serves about four cups of coffee. And remember that this is 100 perent Kona, not a blend like at the coffee bar. - Doug H.

Port Orleans Riverside - We just returned from a trip to the World, staying at Port Orleans Riverside. My daughter wanted to get a hair wrap at the station located behind the hotel. The price listed was $2 per inch. I should have asked before we even started what all the charges would be, but I didn't, and once her hair was wrapped I was informed that we HAD to purchase $5 worth of beads -- any other beads would be an additional $5. After all the hair is wrapped and beaded, THEN they measure the hair. What I thought was going to be maybe a $20 cost ended up being $30... I was really disappointed in the whole transaction. Make sure you ask what ALL the charges will be before you get any hair wraps! - Sharmon S.

On my family and friends' trips to Walt Disney World, we tend to be a bit tired when we arrive. We will get a snack and refillable mugs before heading to the pool to relax (some of us take a short nap there). Afterwards we go to the Animal Kingdom Lodge to see the animals they have there. It is a little taste of visiting one of the parks without using a park pass. We then get dinner at this resort before heading back to our own resort for a stroll around the paths and a good night's sleep. - Deb Wilde

Just want to add one note about car rental regarding the Sunpass. We have Fast Lane, the New England version, which can be used in other states. When we go away we bring it with us, and once the car is rented, simply log into our account on the Fast Lane website and add the rental car to our account. Get the benefits of zipping through the autolane without the rental company's fees. - Mike B.

Kudos to Mike Scopa for the very detailed article about car rentals in Walt Disney World (AllEars® Issue #615, July 5, 2011). As a professional road-warrior who has to rely on rental cars on a weekly basis, I'm intimately familiar with how the car-renting game works and I was very impressed at the thoroughness of his report. I would like to add a few more items to the list of things to consider when renting cars.

-- Check if your employer has a corporate rate with a particular car company. This could amount to more savings.

-- Some rental cars come equipped with SunPass for the toll roads. However, if you use that option instead of paying tolls with cash, the rental place may charge you an extra fee on top of the price of the toll.

-- This was implied in the article, but just to be clear. If you do not pre-pay for gas and forget to fill up before returning it, the rental place will charge you per gallon, at a much steeper price. So, unless stopping for gas will make you late for your flight, make sure to fill up!

-- Before you sign the rental contract, make sure to walk around the car and note any significant damages (quarter-sized dents, scratches more than 6 inches long) to the rental agent so they can mark those down on your contract. At an airport in San Francisco this week, an agent told me he had already walked around and inspected the car, but failed to notice a huge dent on the back bumper until I pointed it out. - Patricia O.

We are planning a trip to WDW this December-January. I was surprised to find out that some tours do not take place the last two weeks in December. We were interested in Backstage Magic, which is one of the tours that does not go when the park is that crowded. Readers might want to check on available tours when planing their trips. - Sue Lykins

My daughter and I make Basin in Disney Springs Marketplace one of our first stops when getting to the "World." We buy soap and lotion we'd like to use while on vacation, and save the Mickey soap bars for when we're back home again. - Diane Peters

I just read the problem Denise Schlawin had with items melting in her family's luggage in the car. Don't forget that even if your room is not ready, you can check your bags with Bell Services at your resort. They will hold your luggage as long as you need them to. When your room is ready and you get back to your resort, go to the Bell Services desk and ask them to bring your luggage up to your room. It's better than 1) having items melt and possibly ruining clothing and 2) getting to your room THEN calling down to have the luggage brought up and waiting. We've waited for as long as an hour for our luggage, and have found going directly to the Bell Services desk to have the luggage brought up, they almost follow you directly to your room! - Elizabeth Kozdron

On a recent family trip to Disney I soon found out that a bottle of hand soap should have been on my list of things to bring. With five of us sharing a hotel room, the bar soap can be not so nice to share. - Susan Riedling

We recently returned from our trip to WDW! Such fun! We arrived early in the day, checked into our resort and headed straight for the parks. We left our luggage in the car and decided to unload it later on. We returned later in the day after temperatures in the 90s to find that several items had melted in the heat. Our deodorant and lip balms had melted and the packages of fruit snacks were melted into a giant "blob." My advice is to make sure to put anything that melts in a separate zipper-top bag and put it in a cooler. - Denise Schlawin

I just finished reading Mike Scopa's feature about car rentals during a Disney World vacation. It is much-needed information, as I found out last year when planning my family's most recent trip. We spent six nights at Pop Century Resort and then took the three-night Disney Cruise. The cost of Disney transportation from our resort to Port Canaveral was extremely prohibitive and the thought of loading all of our luggage onto a Disney bus to get to the "moderate" hotels to rent an Alamo car was unappealing! The solution came from Enterprise Rent a Car. Their advertising slogan is "We'll pick you up!" and that they did. I made our reservation prior to arriving in FL and then called the morning of check-out and they came to pick up my husband to rent the car. It was very convenient and did not cost anything additional. Thank you for all the amazing information about everything Disney, you made our trip the, "trip of a lifetime!" and I would not have been able to do it without you! - Stephanie Lundgren Parker

In response to Mike Scopa's excellent article, I take one more step when renting a car. Knowing for sure that I am headed to the World for a vacation, I immediately make a car reservation for the best deal I can find. Check back often after that as prices will fluctuate like airline prices (though usually not as much) and better deals can sometimes be had. You can cancel a reservation easily with no penalties if you find a better deal later. - Mike Nowicki

If you will be renting a car while on your WDW vacation and flying, check flying into Tampa Airport. Twice we found that we saved so much money flying into Tampa vs. Orlando. We always rent a car when we go and the drive from Tampa to WDW was almost the same amount of time. Also, the airport seems much more low key. - Kim Brown

Use the Disney bus from the airport to your hotel and as soon as you check-in call the car rental at Disney. They will send a shuttle over to pick you up, do the paper work and save approximately $100 over renting the same car at the airport. It is much more comfortable taking the bus from the airport than driving to the resorts (and no toll cost). Dropping your car off at the end of the vacation is easier and taking the bus back to the airport is much more convenient. When it is time to leave your resort you check out at 11 a.m., and the hotel will store your baggage. When you are approaching your departure time, you return the car and their shuttle will take you back to your resort and then you jump on the Disney bus. We have rented cars from the airport many times, but the last time we went we tried the above and it worked out very well. You also save the gas it takes to travel from and to the airport. Because we were able to keep the car well past check-out time, we went back into one of the parks, had a great lunch, went over to Disney Springs, shopped, filled the tank up with gas. Then we drove over to the Magic Kingdom parking lot and dropped off the car. They dropped us off at our resort and everything went as smooth as clockwork. And because we were so close to every place we wanted to go we only used $14 in gas for a 10-day stay (we had an SUV for four people). We found that we would normally lose close to two days of our vacation because of check-in/out, and getting the car back to the airport on time. - Dan Cotterell from Canada