Tips about Food & Beverage, Magic Kingdom, Mousecellaneous, Planning, Resorts and Strollers

We generally start planning at least a year in advance. I have a plastic tub that is labeled "WDW stuff." I place our heavy-duty hotel mugs in it so they are already packed. I also buy things throughout the year for the trip: toothbrushes, toothpaste, magic gloves and whatever else we normally use during our week-long trip. I also go to my local laundromat and pick up boxes of laundry detergent for $.50 a box. One box cleans two loads and is a lot cheaper than the hotel laundry dispenser. I also pack several dryer sheets in a freezer bag and place them in my suitcase. It keeps the clothes smelling nice and I have dryer sheets for use while there. One nice thing about the bin is that, for those times that we drive to WDW, we just put the lid on it and pack it in the van. After we arrive to the hotel we empty it out and use that as our clothes hamper for dirty clothes. It works great for those trips to the hotel laundry. - Sirena Penn

The restaurants certainly do get booked up in advance, but remember that you can still walk on up to the seating host/hostess and ask if they have anything available. We live in Tampa Bay and visited on Valentine's Day. I called the dining reservations line every day for two weeks before and couldn't get in anywhere. We drove up anyway, and a Polynesian Resort Cast Member offered to help us out by calling all the resort restaurants for us. There was still nothing available until late so we decided to just grab a quick bite anywhere. We took the monorail over to the Contemporary, tried the dining reservations number again -- nothing. Just for yucks, my brother-in-law went to talk to the host/hostess at Chef Mickey's (they were just opening), and they said, "SURE, we can get you in right now if you're ready." This also happened at 'Ohana on another occasion, with a wait of only 20 minutes. The dining reservations are great, but there's nothing like being there and asking.- Melinda M.

Hang on to your hat! My husband wears a baseball cap to prevent sunburn. He was astounded to have it fly off his head on the Tower of Terror. He was very relieved he caught it. What he didn't realize was that our brand new annual passes had been in his front shirt pocket. They, too, had levitated. Fortunately, the Cast Member saw them and called our names. WHEW! - TJ

All the counter service restaurants we went to at Disney World showed their sandwiches as a combo type meal with fries -- indiviual sandwiches aren't listed on the menu boards. But if you ask you can just get the sandwich (hamburger, ham and cheese, whatever) without the fries and save about $2.00 per meal. Also they give you plenty of fries, so we would just get one combo meal and the rest of us just the sandwich and we easily had enough fries to share. - Lisa Marrott

Sometimes when you order a kid's meal in the parks it comes in a Mickey shaped plastic plate (or some other special container). We took one of them home and my daughter has enjoyed using it for over two months now. I don't know how long it will last, but it has made the magic last just a little bit longer! - Alea

On our last trip to Disney we saved a lot of money on breakfast by bringing instant oatmeal packets, bowls and spoons from home. We used the coffee maker in the room to heat the water and had a quick, inexpensive breakfast. Plus, it required no refrigeration so we didn't spend the $10 per day extra for a refrigerator. - Katie in Maryland

EDITOR'S NOTE: The $10 per day charge is for value resorts only. Deluxe and moderate resorts now offer complimentary small refrigerators.

On our last trip to WDW, we were so excited to find that Columbia Harbour House sells sweet tea (a south Mississippi staple). This is "real" sweet tea that is fresh-brewed right there in the restaurant (not that stuff that comes out of a soda fountain that they call "tea"). The cast member working there told us that Columbia Harbour House was the only place in the Magic Kingdom that brews its own tea. Of course, throughout our stay we visited the restaurant many times to quench our thirst! - Lori K.

To help solve the problem of carrying leftover food, we tried those new Tupperware bowls that pop out. They start out flat and can be tucked into a backpack or purse very easily, and then open to three or four cups and a number of sizes in between. We bought a bag of chips and bagels from the gift shop and used the bowls to keep the chips and any leftover food from the food court. We used a number of dining vouchers and had so much food left over every day, so we really put those containers to good use. Sandi

Regarding mickderb's tip on ordering canvas bags for strollers, we brought two lightweight, fold-up umbrella strollers for our 3-year-old twins. (They were the kind where all four wheels collapse and fold up together, as opposed to a stroller that just folds in half.) To keep the strollers clean and get them through the airport easily, we just used the long canvas "tube" bags that our fold-up canvas chairs came in. The strollers fit into those bags very easily and most of those bags even have carrying straps. We slung the straps over our shoulders and easily carried the strollers around when we needed to. - Sharon Leonard

When you have WDW resort hotel reservations, the cancellation policy on the confirmation says you must cancel five days before scheduled arrival or forfeit the deposit, equal to the first night's stay. What that actually means is that you must cancel six days ahead, because what they are looking for is for there to be five days between the time you call and the arrival date. For example, we found out the hard way that you can't call on Sunday to cancel a Friday reservation. - Rhame Nelson

We visited WDW in early December with our 2-month-old granddaughter. Before we left I ordered canvas bags from Target.com for her stroller and infant seat. We used the strollers right up to the gate, and then easily slipped them into the bags and set them at the airplane entrance. The flight crews all commented on what a great idea this was. The bag does not protect them from all damage, but it certainly keeps them clean. (They can be used at home to keep the stroller clean in the trunk as well). - mickderb

We took our 3-year-old son to lunch at the Garden Grill. The character interaction was fun and he really enjoyed it. One tip for those with young kids: ask to be seated in the upper tier if you want a high chair. We went without and he felt free to hop down and run to the edge of the restaurant a lot. It would have been nice to keep him in one spot. All in all, this is a good meal, lots of fun and well worth your time. The character interaction was first-rate and our son was charmed by how the restaurant rotated. We were still full well into the evening. - Jennifer Maxwell

ALL STAR MOVIES - We recently visited Walt Disney World with my 3-year-old granddaughter. We stayed at the All Star Movies Resort -- I had forgotten how large it was. We had debated over the need for the umbrella stroller but were very glad we had it, as getting to the food court and bus stop was quite a hike for little legs. The airline transported this stroller with no problem. -Donna R.

POP CENTURY - I recently stayed at Disney's Pop Century Resort and I found parking to be a challenge. Beware, the parking spaces are extra-tiny, and there were several large SUVs that had to take up two spots -- which means you have to park further away from your room than you'd like. Other than that it's a great resort, and a real value. - Brennan P.

If you are renting a stroller and you need it for more than a day, you can do a multi-day rental. I stood in a line our first day to rent a double stroller for $15. On the second day, after standing in another line, I asked for a multi-day rental (three days, to be exact). I was given tickets for all three days at a discounted price! Each day, instead of waiting in line for a new stroller I just showed the attendant my stub and off we went, bypassing the line! Thanks for the great website! - Mary EDITOR'S NOTE: I saw the multi-day rental lines in action this past weekend and they really are great time-savers. In addition, the discount on multi-day rentals is 10 percent per day -- every little bit helps!