Tips about Food & Beverage, Kids, Mousecellaneous, Packing and Souvenirs

Two tips when eating at El Pirata Y el Perico (especially on hot days): 1) Ask for extra sour cream when you get your entrees (none at the topping bar), the packets are a little small; 2) when on the dining plan, ask them to hold the ice cream bars until after you've eaten. It was 90 degrees when we ate, and the cast member at the window was kind enough to hold ours so we could enjoy them as ice cream rather than soup! - NOTE: El Pirata Y el Perico is only open seasonally - tusportsfan

Though we pack a suitcase within a suitcase for souvenirs, I'm always nervous of going over the 50-pound weight limit for checking a suitcase onto an airline. Suitcases weighing over 50 pounds are typically charged an additional fee. This trip, we purchased a 50-pound fish scale for $5.00 at a local department store prior to packing. The scale has a small hook that can connect to the handle of a suitcase and it has another handle for you to lift the suitcase and scale. We were able to pack and redistribute items where needed to insure that we did not exceed the 50-pound limit. - Denny Shealer

Fort Wilderness - When I took my son over to Fort Wilderness for an afternoon pony ride, we were so disappointed when he couldn't ride because he was wearing open-toed sandals. It is required that kids wear closed-toe shoes to ride the ponies at Fort Wilderness. - Robin Jones

EDITOR'S NOTE: Parents should also wear closed-toe shoes.

When packing your suitcase, include in it a dryer sheet or two! It makes your suitcase and clothes smell fresh during your time away from home, and it keeps the static down from the dryness of the flight. You could also use them at the coin laundry at the resorts. - Denise Barry

For character breakfasts, I would recommend letting girls wear their princess dresses to the princess meals because it helps with the magical aspect of it. However, on extremely hot Florida days, try putting it on over their clothes a few minutes before your reservation or once you are seated. It will only take a moment and it will save the headache of your child whining about being hot. I put my daughter's dress on her after we sat down because I watched a slew of little girls crying outside while waiting in their hot and heavy dresses. - Mendy776

At Disneyshopping.com, you can customize polo shirts with embroidered characters and names up to eight characters long. For children and adults, the cost is only $12.50 per shirt! Check often and look for special codes on the site, and you can get an additional discount. With a 20% off code, I ordered seven shirts this past weekend for $82.50 including shipping. We're going to wear them on our next trip! - Dayshel Harwood

I spent most of a week visiting most every store on Disney property looking for a cell phone charm. All I seemed to come across were the Disney Mobile charms at more than $18 each. I finally found just what I was looking for -– a keychain! The keychain had four or five cell phone loops on the ring, and each loop held a metal charm representing a different WDW park. One loop had the castle; another, Mickey's sorcerer's hat; a third had Animal Kingdom's Tree of Life; and one had Spaceship Earth. On the keychain there also were two rubber charms: a Dreams Come True tag and Sorcerer Mickey. And this keychain with six charms cost under $8! I chose to use the castle and the sorcerer's hat, then added Mickey ears, Mickey's hand, and Mickey's red pants charms that I found in the "make your own charm bracelet" collection. Each of these charms has a lobster clasp that easily attached to the metal ring on the cell phone loop from the keychain. Yes, I probably spent more than the Disney Mobile charm, but instead of one charm, I now have nine to choose from! - Vicki Stephens

If your little ones are craving their favorite movie while on vacation, as my 2-year-old nephew (Toy Story 2) and my 5-year-old nephew (anything Power Rangers) were, bring along a portable DVD player. Many of the resort TVs have front plug-ins that will allow you to plug the DVD player to the large TV. They loved it. - Wendy J.

While at WDW last week I found out that most of the Swan and Dolphin restaurants give a 20 percent discount when you show your AAA card. Exceptions are Il Mulino, bluezoo, Shula's, and Kimono's. - Michelle Buchecker

EDITOR'S NOTE: We double-checked this and found out it's true! Be sure to bring those AAA cards with you. Also, Disney Vacation Club Members get a similar 20 percent discount at the Swan and Dolphin restaurants. Kimono's does participate in the discount program, however.

Regarding preparing the kids for Disney, this is what we're doing with our 4- and 6-year-olds: Following Super Nanny's lead, we've gone for goals. Having selected a collection of suitable rides, the kids have picked ones they would most like to go on. Now they are earning points to go on the rides (following a roller coaster track on a chart with pictures of the rides, and Disney characters trying to reach them). It seems to be working -- encouraging the kids to do their best, whilst giving them the idea that we aren't going quite yet -- got to get those points first! - Liz

We brought a travel-sized MagnaDoodle that we found especially handy at the water parks, where we would have a base camp, but would often split up to do different things. We would write messages to each other with the time and place we could be found. It actually became a fun game, as we got into giving clues to the names of the slides and rides. Overall, it was just a simple and fun way to communicate when you didn't want to have your cell phone with you. - Molly from Oregon

Along with remembering allergy medication, it is a good idea to pack cold medications in general. With all the places our hands touch, and all those little lips kissing Mickey's nose, someone is bound to share a cold! We learned it the hard way, having to pay inflated prices for cold medications in the resort gift shop. Also, keep in mind that there are non-liquid versions of children's medications available now (chewable tablets, strips, etc.), which are easier to pack with the liquid restrictions on flights. We were able to easily pack children's chewable Tylenol, Triaminic cold/cough strips, and Mucinex expectorant (powdery form, poured on the tongue). They condense very easily when removed from their boxes and put in zipper-top bags, and there is no worry of spillage within luggage. - Rhoda Smith

Just a quick tip about traveling with necklaces. If you cut a straw to fit the length of your necklace and then slide one half of the chain through it you won't have any problems with a tangled chain mess. I even use the straws in my jewelry box so my necklaces don't become a giant mess. - Kim Sanders

I often pack some earrings and necklaces with me in case the mood strikes me to accessorize while at Disney. However, it's pretty frustrating when nice gold or silver chains get knotted or kinked together in a travel bag or a large plastic bag. My solution is to use the small plastic bags that spare buttons for shirts or jackets come in. I put in one necklace/pair of earrings per bag. This saves my jewelry from getting knotted together, and it helps me keep track of tiny earrings that sometimes get lost in transit. - Jenny Beck

Before our recent annual family trip to Walt Disney World, our daughter and son-in-law built even greater happy anticipation in their 6- and 4-year-olds. Each evening, two of the children's cherished stuffed Disney characters would magically appear someplace in the house other than the children's bedrooms. Each character would be sitting on two one-dollar bills for the coming trip. So, there were one-dollar bills for the children and one each for Mommy and Daddy. One night, the characters had instructions for a treasure hunt. In the end, two of the dollar bills were found in the collar of Gus, their Golden Retriever. One was in Grandpa's pocket, and one was in Granny's pocket. This was done for the month before the trip, along with a special calendar on which the children crossed off one day every night. - Diane Schmitz