Tips about Food & Beverage, Kids and Money and Magic Kingdom

ALL PARKS - Just wanted to share a fun tip for kids taking a foreign language at school (or adults trying to pick up a second language!). At each park, pick up a guide map in the foreign language. Your learner will only be allowed to look at that guide and will be responsible for finding and describing the rides and eateries your group is going to by translating the foreign language guide map for the rest of your group. (The guide maps are IDENTICAL to their English counterparts, by the way.) Even reading the FastPass rules becomes fun this way! (The maps are usually available on the front steps of City Hall at Magic Kingdom, as you come through the gates at Epcot, across from the stroller rental near the washrooms in AK and at the round photo/souvenir stand just after you enter the Studios. A lot of times they are out in dispensers and you do not even have to ask a cast member for a copy.) I've even had a cast member wish me well in French when I requested the map in French from him! - Jen from NYC

T-REX, the restaurant, is loud. We brought earplugs, but only needed them during the meteor shower. I saw some people complaining about the ice room, but it was actually pretty cool (ha ha) to look at... We were seated in a room that had the woolly mammoth, the baby mammoth and some flyers. The Dino room was very cool as well, and one of the tables is surrounded by a dinosaur. Neither of my kids was overwhelmingly disappointed that they weren't in that room, though. They liked looking around. - Holly P.

MAGIC KINGDOM - The little containers that the individual chocolate cakes come in at the Columbia Harbor House (and other places on property) make great little recycled "terrariums" to start seeds and tiny plants in. Just remember to poke little holes in the top for air to get in or the contents will get moldy! They can be reused several times and are a fun way for kids to remember thier Disney vacation later on in the year. - Lynn Quintieri

MAGIC KINGDOM - The little containers that the individual chocolate cakes come in at the Columbia Harbor House (and other places on property) make great little recycled "terrariums" to start seeds and tiny plants in. Just remember to poke little holes in the top for air to get in or the contents will get moldy! They can be reused several times and are a fun way for kids to remember thier Disney vacation later on in the year. - Lynn Quintieri

As United Kingdom visitors we are not used to adding sales tax to the cost of purchases (and then we've got to work out the exchange rate as well) so to make it easier for the kids to work what their souvenirs are costing in UK pounds I make a little conversion chart for them once I have our currency. I add the sales tax and apply the exchange rate to amounts from 10 cents to $1 (in 10 cent increments), $1 to $10 (in $1 increments) and $20 and $30. They are about credit card sized, so I laminate them and they keep them in their own wallets. Then in a shop they only have to look at the ticket price and the chart tells them what this is in pounds, the only math they have to do is add the $10 amount to the $2 amount to get $12. As there are three of them this saves me spending my shopping time doing sums! We also give them their own money to spend but only $10 a day so if they want to make small purchases they can without constantly asking for cash. For bigger purchases they still have to come and negotiate with me or Dad. We did both of these on our last visit in 2003 and it was a great success so we'll be doing it again this year. - Juli

My kids, ages 7 and 9, take me to Disney World for a three-day weekend about six times a year. Through our many trips, we have come to learn that it's necessary for us to have enough energy to enjoy ourselves and eat as healthy as possible. It also cuts down on the whining that occurs when kids are bored and tired and hungry, and saves us some money as well. As a routine, each night each kid packs himself parent-approved snack bags, brought from home or bought in the gift store, divided up into those little snack bags (fruit roll-ups, Chip n' Dale pretzels, raisins, grapes, etc.). My kids are usually OK with about four to six little snacks apiece. The kids are then responsible for their own fanny pack all day and can help themselves to what snack they want when they want without whining or fighting or arguing. I keep additional snack baggies in my purse for those times when we indulge in some Cheetohs or chips in the park so the kids can share more easily or save for later. It works well for us!! - Ellen Holbrook

Another place that serves real coffee (including espresso drinks) is the walk-up window at Pepper Market at the Coronado Springs Resort. The latte I ordered there was actually larger and cheaper than the one I usually get at my local Starbucks. - Anne Hickling

For your vegetarian readers -- We had dinner last week at the Garden Grill at the Land in Epcot, and I was talking with our server about vegetarian options. Usually I request a child's dinner in addition to the usual family style fare (even though we travel without kids), because it gives me a few more side dishes to snack on. However, the server told me that they are now serving a vegetable couscous for those who want a vegetarian option. He said they had just started offering it. I'm not usually a fan of couscous, but it was wonderful! I also still sampled the sides from the regular dinner plates. I definitely felt like I had a healthier dinner, instead of just filling up on mashed potatoes and mac and cheese! - Shelley

On our way out of the park, my daughter and I spied a silhouette cart down a side alley of Main Street, USA. It was after midnight, but the young woman was still doing silhouettes. We hurried over and she cheerily did one more silhouette for us. We were done in about 15 minutes, and for only about $15 including a frame, I think it's one of the best and most unique souvenirs at Walt Disney World. It's a special keepsake for my 9-year-old daughter of our fun marathon day at Magic Kingdom. - Natalie H.

I make many ADRs for every trip I take to Disney. When it comes to checking in at some restaurants it can, at times, be a noisy, bustling and confusing atmosphere. To make it easier on both myself and the host, I neatly write my name and confirmation number for each ADR on individual sticky notes, which I hand to the host when I check in. I've found that having the information on paper in front of them cuts down on any confusion (about the spelling of my name, etc.) and allows them to look up the reservation more effeciently and quickly. - Juliette Miranda

I have been very nervous about making Advance Dining Reservations (ADRs), especially since I feel like I am making them "last minute" with only about a month to go before our trip. After several phone calls, trying to get character meals booked and a couple of other "fun" reservations for my family, I realized that my notes were a mess and I couldn't decipher them all. With more than a little hesitation I called WDW-DINE and expected to get an unhappy CM who would have to go through many computer screens and so forth to help me sort it all out. However, I did one thing right. I made all the reservations under the same phone number (my cell) and I knew what that number was. Just by typing in my number the CM was able to pull up all my reservations in one list and read them back to me. So my tip: make sure you make your ADRs all under the same phone number, and know that number. It would have been very easy for me to have mistakenly used my husband's cell number for some, or our home number, or our hotel number, especially since the ADRs were made over a period of a few weeks and multiple phone calls (looking for cancellations, etc). - Rebecca Addison

Magic Kingdom - I enjoyed reading the article on bashful travelers (AllEars Newsletter Issue #460), as I am one myself. I had a comment that might help people who want to see the Monsters, Inc. show in Tomorrowland. There are tabletops in front of everyone when you sit down in the theater. On the tables, there are "reading" lamps every so often. Those conceal the cameras that they use to interact with guests. Avoid sitting directly behind one of those and you should be fine. - Mandy Blank

If you like Sweet'N Low artificial sweetener, bring lots with you. The parks only have Splenda and Equal (although the resorts had Sweet'N Low). - jnscook

Going through the metal detectors at the park entrances, you have to remove celebratory buttons and put them in the little bins with other metal objects. This can be a pain, especially if you're park-hopping! Consider wearing buttons on a lanyard or bag strap to make it easier to take them on and off. - Gilly R.

If you're looking for Kosher food while visiting Walt Disney World, you'll find it now at Satu'li Canteen in Animal Kingdom (no longer at the Kusafiri Bakery). And it's also at both Liberty Inn and the Electric Umbrella in Epcot. By the way, the vendor for Kosher food has changed. It is no longer Weberman -- they now use Sterling. Thanks for the great site! Hopefully these updates will help others. - Josh