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

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

Put money you would spend on food onto American Express gift cards, especially if they can be purchased as part of a school fundraiser (http://www.shopwithscrip.com)!. - Cindy

We have learned how to do "Disney on a Dime". All my husband's business expenses go on our Disney Visa Card so that we can get about $1000 a year in reward dollars to put toward our trip (you could also do this with personal expenses). We pay the entire balance every month so there are no charges. - Tammy Wilczek

A way my family saves money is by using Mypoints and cashing in our points for gift cards. I have been able to redeem my points for $50 gift cards to BP and Shell gas, $50 Visa gift cards and gift cards to restaurants, i.e. Rainforest Cafe, Subway, etc. All you have to do is click on emails, take surveys and buy through Mypoints from your favorite retailers to earn points on purchases. For our trip this March, my mom and I cashed in points between the two of us for $200 worth of Visa gift cards that we are using for food, gas and souvenirs in Disney World! - Shannon Mason

We rack up Disney Reward Dollars on the Disney Visa like mad for the time between trips. We recently upgraded to the new premier version of the card, and that has helped immensely! Two percent back on groceries and gas? DONE! We use it like a debit card and just pay it off each month. That really helps! Then we cash it in right before the trip and use it for food, souvenirs, park tickets, etc. - Faith

The best thing we ever did was to get a Starwood American Express card. Starwood Hotels runs the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin. You accumulate points through purchases. We haven't paid for lodging on our last two Disney trips. And I think we found out about it on AllEars.Net! - Julie Maguire

Many attractions at WDW are tied to amazing stories, but some of the stories are not as popular as they once were. We recommend watching classic movies like "Swiss Family Robinson" and "Tom Sawyer" so young children can understand, appreciate and experience the attractions. Otherwise, climbing a tree house or rafting to an island may not have the same "magic" as it could. Also, as a mother of boys who are not as familiar with princesses, we watched "Snow White," "Cinderella" and "Little Mermaid" so they are familiar with the stories and could recognize the princesses more easily. - Sandy

The best idea I ever had was on our last visit with our 11- and 7-year-old grandsons. I bought the most inexpensive prepay phone I could find and $10 in minutes. I programmed my cell phone number in for one-button dialing and then programmed that phone's number into mine. We never lost the boys because we could call and find them if they got separated from us. We even let them do Tom Sawyer Island and similar attractions by themselves. We were able to call and let them know when it was time to return. This gave them a great feeling of independence and gave us a break. - SJPEC

We just returned from a fun vacation at Disney. We went when school was in session so my first-grader was asked to journal daily about what we did (school provided the journal). It occurred to me to bring his journal with him and have characters sign it. He then wrote before or after the autographs about his day and what we did. A great school project and a nice keepsake! - Lisa Kuehnle

All Resorts - For young children who are too big for cribs, bed rails may be available upon request at Disney resorts. Be sure to ask at the front desk if you need them. - Megan

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

I loved the article on traveling to Disney with babies (AllEars® Issue #721, July 16, 2013). I agree with all the tips, and I have one of my own. We took our daughter to Disney World when she was 16 months old. As anyone with small children knows, diapers can be bulky to pack so we took enough to get us thru the first day. When we checked into the hotel (Caribbean Beach Resort) we called the front desk. A cast member gave us the phone number for a local pharmacy and we ordered diapers from them, along with a few other things like soda and water and snacks. They were delivered to our room that night, and it was a great experience. We went back when she just shy of 2 years old and did the same thing. I highly recommend this! - Jane Carlson