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

My family just recently returned from our week vacation at Disney World in May. We are a family of five. We always bring one water bottle per person into the parks. This trip I bought a ball of different colored rubber bands. Each person had their own color and attached it to the neck of the water bottle. So when all the water bottles were put in the stroller, you could tell whose bottle belonged to who. With young children, this ended all arguments of "Who drank all my water?" - Karen Hopkins

My family just recently returned from our week vacation at Disney World in May. We are a family of five. We always bring one water bottle per person into the parks. This trip I bought a ball of different colored rubber bands. Each person had their own color and attached it to the neck of the water bottle. So when all the water bottles were put in the stroller, you could tell whose bottle belonged to who. With young children, this ended all arguments of "Who drank all my water?" - Karen Hopkins

Animal Kingdom Lodge - A reader writes in about the new "Dining with Animal Specialists" at Sanaa that we reported on last week: The best way to book the new "Dining with Animal Specialists" offering is to call the Safari line for Wanyama Safari at (407) 938-4755. That gets you the Animal Kingdom Lodge Itinerary Planning Office. Calling the Kidani Front Desk will actually get you the call center, and they know almost nothing about the new offering and can't book it.

Animal Kingdom Lodge - A reader writes in about the new "Dining with Animal Specialists" at Sanaa that we reported on last week: The best way to book the new "Dining with Animal Specialists" offering is to call the Safari line for Wanyama Safari at (407) 938-4755. That gets you the Animal Kingdom Lodge Itinerary Planning Office. Calling the Kidani Front Desk will actually get you the call center, and they know almost nothing about the new offering and can't book it.

When we've made our Disney Dining reservations, one thing that helps us to get to our restaurant on time -- I enter my reservation number and time of reservation into my phone. I set my alarm to go off to remind me at least an hour before the reservation. That way, I'm not late and I have plenty of time to get from the Magic Kingdom to Epcot, or wherever I am. - Judy Shock

This was our second trip to Disney -- both equally awesome! Our hotels were great for our family of four (Port Orleans - Riverside and Caribbean Beach, respectively), with ample drawer and hanging space for our clothes, but never enough hangers. This year we brought extra hangers from home, which really helped to organize our clothes and to get some wrinkles out. And after we came home, I left the extra hangers in the suitcases for our next trip! - Sandy from Connecticut

Many seemingly "innocent" attractions have brief moments of darkness (Carousel of Progress and PeopleMover come to mind). Have your younger children wear "glow in the dark" type shirts to help avoid any darkness issues. - Julie from NW Florida

Please remember to keep your patio doors locked and secure your valuables, even when staying in the relative safety of a Disney resort. An article in the Orlando Sentinel a few days ago reported that the Orange County Sheriff's Office recently arrested two suspects trying to enter a room at Disney's Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa through a French door. There have been more than 20 cases of electronics stolen at that resort and others near by since late December. According to the article, Disney has been working closely with law enforcement throughout the investigation and has put additional security patrols in place. Disney has also encouraged its housekeeping team to ensure patio doors are locked, and literature has been left in the rooms to remind guests to lock all doors and secure valuables. - Editor Deb Koma

Please remember to keep your patio doors locked and secure your valuables, even when staying in the relative safety of a Disney resort. An article in the Orlando Sentinel a few days ago reported that the Orange County Sheriff's Office recently arrested two suspects trying to enter a room at Disney's Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa through a French door. There have been more than 20 cases of electronics stolen at that resort and others near by since late December. According to the article, Disney has been working closely with law enforcement throughout the investigation and has put additional security patrols in place. Disney has also encouraged its housekeeping team to ensure patio doors are locked, and literature has been left in the rooms to remind guests to lock all doors and secure valuables. - Editor Deb Koma

My husband and I did the 2015 four-day Disney Vacation Club Member's Cruise and then spent five days at the BoardWalk Villas. We realized that our shopping and all the DVC gifts we received during the cruise were not going to fit in our luggage and would add a lot of extra weight. I asked in the gift shop about mailing cruise items and was directed to the business center that is part of the Convention Center at the BoardWalk. We took all of our bags to the business center, including two pieces of art. They were carefully wrapped and put in a big box that we sent FedEx ground. The box arrived the same day we got home. It was so was nice to have our purchases right away. - Annette A.

I've just finished reading the latest in a great series of books about the World -- Ridley Pearson's "Kingdom Keepers IV: Power Play." The Kingdom Keepers books are written for teens, but us older folks will love them, too. They're great suspense reads, and if you are familiar with and love WDW, you'll have all the settings visually in your head. If you're headed to Orlando, have your teens read them (preferably in order) before you go. They'll be searching out locations and will never get bored. - Maggie Rioux

We took a nightlight for the room, and we brought a toddler toilet seat (our son would fall through otherwise). - Stephanie

I also bring on of those pop-up hampers that you can get for like $4. That way we can keep the dirty clothes separated. They have nice handles so I can take the whole hamper to the laundry room and throw a load in when the kids are swimming and then bring them back to the room. - Jamie

My entire crew is used to sleeping with a sound machine. On our first trip, I forgot to bring one, and needless to say we did not sleep well (there is no way to keep the bathroom fan or air conditioner running nonstop). So, if you are used to having one, make sure you take one along. They also cut down on the "traffic" noise from the hotel. - Heather

After my son's first trip to Disney when he picked up a nasty stomach bug, we've since learned to pack a travel-sized hand sanitizer to carry with us inside the parks. We use it to disinfect hands not only before eating, but also after EVERY encounter with the characters. When you stop to think about all the children who are touching and kissing Mickey, it just makes sense. My son stayed well all the way through the subsequent two visits to Disney. I can't say for sure that's what kept him well, but it certainly couldn't have hurt! - Terri in Bermuda