Tips about Food & Beverage, Health and Mousecellaneous

We always bring breakfast items (granola bars, fruit cups) and juice boxes to eat for breakfast as we are getting ready for the day. The night before, we put what we will need for the next day in a bucket of ice or our small cooler so it's cold for morning. This means one fewer meal we have to buy in the parks, but it's also a time-saver, as we are early people and like to be heading for the buses early for park opening. And since it's a light breakfast we are usually ready for lunch around 11 a.m. and beat the big lunch crowds! Bonus! We still usually treat ourselves to one or two special breakfasts during our stay (Tonga toast!) but it's a great way to keep the food budget in check. - Kate

Since milk is not included in the Disney refillable mug program we always purchase the largest container of milk from the resort store. Price is much cheaper than food court. Saves time in the morning since the kids can have some milk and cereal in the room. - Steve

Whatever you do don't spend money on bottled water. It is so expensive and there are water fountains everywhere. This goes for the theme parks and the airport. Simply bring an empty bottle and fill it up as you need it. If you are really hardcore about it you can drink water the whole trip and skip buying drinks at the quick serves entirely. Also think about bringing lots of snacks from home such as granola bars and peanut butter cracker packs that you can eat instead of buying snacks and treats in the parks. You'll save a bunch of money this way. - Chris Kulp

I think it is important to know that you do not have to order a "meal" at a quick service restaurant. If you just want pizza without a salad, or a hamburger without fries, you can have it! And it costs less! - Kathy Jo Horan

For those who use a mobility scooter, pack a BBQ cover. When you need to leave your scooter outside, cover it up and if there is a rain shower you will have a dry seat to come back to. - Cindy Waters-Goodman

We are heading to Disney World for our first trip ever in just a few days. My 9-year-old daughter has Type 1 diabetes and I've used AllEars.Net to research restaurants and menus. I want to pass along something new we just found out from our endocrinologist this morning. Mickey Mouse has a new friend, Coco the Monkey, who's a Type 1 diabetic! My daughter was so excited to hear about this, especially with our upcoming trip... I understand Coco has been a part of the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and carries her diabetic supplies in a backpack, and wears a diabetes bracelet, too. Our doctor gave us a free book about Coco -- ask for one for your child at your doctor's office. Thank you Disney and Lilly Diabetes for bringing this very important issue to the public's attention and making a friend of Mickey's seem as normal as all the kids with diabetes want to be. - Sheila Meyle

For more information: www.diabetesdaily.com/voices/2011/07/meet-coco-1st-disney-character-with-diabetes/

My husband uses an ECV to get around the parks. After several trips to the parks, we came up with an easy way to attach our hotel refillable mugs: a shoestring! Usually the basket in front of the ECV is full of other things, so attaching our cups with a shoestring or cup holder is essential. - Judy Shock

Magic Kingdom - We were just at Disney World last week, and we spent two days in the Magic Kingdom. The crowds weren't too bad, but the lines for the Be Our Guest Restaurant were very long. The wait was 45 minutes around 11:30. A helpful cast member told me that many times the line is shorter around 1 or 1:30 p.m. We had a snack to tide us over and went back at 1:20 p.m. Sure enough, we were in the castle in 10 minutes. It was totally worth it! You can research allergies on the touch-screen menu to see what foods are OK to eat. It was wonderful for my gluten-free son. Lunch prices were just slightly more than prices at the Columbia Harbor House, but the ambiance and decorations were priceless. My kids spent half the meal staring at the snow falling outside the giant picture window lining one wall. I really enjoyed the vegetable quiche, and the gluten-free Lemon Raspberry Cream Puff was great, too. Everything about the restaurant is done right. It was a wonderful memory for us. - Ali Sanders

We all remember to notify our credit card companies before we leave home to let them know we will be out of town so we can use those cards. Something I failed to remember, though, was to notify the company that manages my health insurance "Flex Spending" debit/credit card that I would be in Orlando! Of course, the fourth day into our vacation I got sick. My physician called in an antibiotic to Turner Drug (which, by the way, does not accept any form of insurance). Turner Drug would have accepted my flexible spending card, but it was declined since I hadn't updated it with my traveling details. Also, you don't get a traditional receipt that you can turn in for reimbursement -- that fee was charged on my resort bill. I can't imagine trying to recoup that money with a Disney Resort receipt! - Peggie Radke

I like to bring an extra sandwich-sized zipper-top bag to the parks with me. That way if the kids don't finish a meal we can take some of it with us as a snack for later. - Ingrid

For all those with peanut and/or tree nut allergies, make sure you have a meal at the Be Our Guest Restaurant (which was breathtaking, by the way). The chef advised us that no nuts are used on premises, and although the bread was made in a facility that may have resulted in cross contamination, ALL of the desserts were safe for those with peanut/tree nut allergies! My son was able to pick his own cupcake for dessert, and I'm not sure who was more excited -- him or me. The chef just had to prepare the cupcake without the garnish, which did not take away from it at all. Not to mention the cupcakes are amazing! I would highly recommend Be Our Guest, as most other sit-down restaurants are only able to offer ice cream without the Mickey sprinkles for dessert! - April Slavin

For all those with peanut and/or tree nut allergies, make sure you have a meal at the Be Our Guest Restaurant (which was breathtaking, by the way). The chef advised us that no nuts are used on premises, and although the bread was made in a facility that may have resulted in cross contamination, ALL of the desserts were safe for those with peanut/tree nut allergies! My son was able to pick his own cupcake for dessert, and I'm not sure who was more excited -- him or me. The chef just had to prepare the cupcake without the garnish, which did not take away from it at all. Not to mention the cupcakes are amazing! I would highly recommend Be Our Guest, as most other sit-down restaurants are only able to offer ice cream without the Mickey sprinkles for dessert! - April Slavin

When our family stays on property we like to have breakfast at our hotel. The last time we went we stayed at the Caribbean Beach Resort so our room was pretty far from the food court. We didn't want to walk all the way back to the room to brush our teeth again after we had eaten and then walk again to get on the bus to head to the park. To solve this problem I purchased a few disposable toothbrushes. They are little pre-packaged toothbrushes that have a little bit of toothpaste on them. They are small enough to fit in your bag so you can take them with you to the parks to use after lunch and dinner, too. Just toss them in the garbage when you are done with them! - Nicole Benko

My family, which includes my 4-year-old son who has a peanut and tree nut allergy, recently visited Disney World. I did my research and contacted the Special Diets and Dietary Needs cast members prior to our visit, I noted his allergy on all of our Advance Dining Reservations (ADRs) and made sure we mentioned it at all quick-service meals. I am happy to say everything went great! The only minor issue we ran into was at all of our ADRs, some type of bread or rolls were served before dinner and if they were not made in the restaurant, there was no guarantee that they didn't contain any nuts or were cross-contaminated in the bakery. It doesn't sound like a huge deal but when you are a hungry kid and everyone else is eating, it is tough. If I had known this in advance, I would have brought some crackers or something for my son to snack on. Also, a lot of the desserts are not made in the restaurants, so we ran into the same concern there. - Stacy Hearn

The Ghirardelli Soda Fountain at Disney Springs now has soy milk for their coffee drinks. It does not show up on the menu. They do not charge anything extra for it. - A. D. Johnson