Tips about Food & Beverage, Magic Kingdom, Planning, Rain and Souvenirs

I just wanted to share a tip for those who may be visiting Disney World as part of a graduation trip. If you want a really unique and affordable Disney keepsake, have Disney characters sign your graduation cap! Metallic silver and gold markers work really well for making their signatures stand out against a black cap. Also, make sure to bring more than one marker because they tend to dry out quickly. Many of the characters I met had a lot fun playing around with my cap during the meet and greet, especially the Mad Hatter! Based on my experience, I would suggest scheduling at least one character dining experience. This way, you don't have to carry around your cap all day. Even if you do decide to carry it with you, at least it is a very light item to keep in your travel bag. My college graduation was a very memorable experience, but now, each time I see my graduation cap, I feel that extra Disney magic that makes it even more special. - Chiara

Arrange for dinner at Chef Mickey's at the Contemporary Resort for the evening of your arrival. You may not want to waste a day on your ticket by going into the parks for just a few hours, especially if you've been traveling all day, but the kids want to get started. With young ones they want to SEE MICKEY and at Chef Mickey's you can see all the main characters right at your table, and get those autographs and pictures. The kids feel like they are at Disney right away and you aren't having to wait in line at the parks to see the main characters. We even had our daughter bring a picture she drew of Mickey and Minnie and they autographed it for her at the table. Very special. With little ones who want to see the princesses instead, I'd try to arrange for a princess character meal so the whole trip isn't about chasing down the characters. - Jennifer B.

If you love to raise your hands during high-intensity rides (or any that take a photo during the ride) please consider sitting at the back of the ride vehicle. If you sit at the front or even in the middle you block out the faces of the people behind you, ruining their pictures. Keep in mind this may be the once-in-a-lifetime trip for those people and they may only have time to ride that once. - Nicole

We aren't really big soda drinkers, so the refillable mugs aren't a good investment for us. However, we do like our morning coffee. I found disposable coffee cups with lids at the local dollar store. We make coffee in our room, take it with us on the way to the parks, then throw the cups away when we are finished. It's super-cheap and we aren't carrying around a cup all day! - Laura Briggs

If you are looking to have one of the world famous Monte Cristo Sandwiches at Disneyland, you have two choices: The Blue Bayou Restaurant or the Cafe Orleans. Although the Blue Bayou has wonderful atmosphere, the cost of the sandwich is double what it is at Cafe Orleans. Cafe Orleans is more of a small bistro type of restaurant. So if you are on a budget, you can get the same thing for half the price if you are willing to forgo the ambience. Also note that the Monte Cristo sandwich is available for lunch and dinner at Cafe Orleans, but is only on the lunch menu at Blue Bayou. - Janet Sherby

We just returned from a Disney World vacation. We purchased packages of MagicBand "bits" for our children on our first day there. The second day both boys had lost some of their "bits" from their Magic Bands. We asked a cast member at the Emporium if we were doing something wrong. We were sure we had pushed them all the way in the holes. She got a manager who told us you need to be careful, as they easily catch on things when getting on and off rides. He replaced one son's by opening a new pack, but he did not have my other son's, so he brought out a box of open packs and let him pick the two he wanted. - Jolene

A tip for UK visitors: In shops, kids struggle to work out the cost of something in British pounds, as they have to add the sales tax and then do the currency conversion. When ours were younger I made little conversion charts with the GBP equivalent (with sales tax added) of up to $20. As long as they can add up, they can then work out what things are going to cost from their spending allowance without having to ask Mum or Dad all the time. - Juli Williamson

Even though the price of a single bottle of water is now $3.00, there are 1.1 liter (51 oz.) bottles of water in some of the shops that are $4.50. They are a much better value than the single bottles sold at stands in the parks. And if you have any type of discount available to you -- such as Annual Pass, DVC, etc., you can get the 1.1 liter bottle for $3.60. - Mary Waite

Magic Kingdom - A not-well-publicized event that is fun to see for the little kids (and those kids at heart such as myself) is the opening ceremony at the Magic Kingdom. It occurs about 10-15 minutes before what Disney refers to as the "rope drop" (the time that they let people through the arches and into the park). The train arrives at the Main Street station above the floral displays with all the characters on board, with Disney music playing. They stop and wave to everyone waiting to enter the park. They let people through the turnstiles into the queue area about 20-30 minutes prior to the park opening. So get there a few minutes early if you want to see it. I believe it is worth seeing. - Mike

My tip is for fans of the trading pins. I have a lanyard and pins that I wear daily at school (I am a teacher). I had the problem of the pin backs coming off and losing my precious pins. I've solved the issue by using an eraser from a mechanical pencil. They can be purchased cheaply at local stores and I have yet to lose a pin that is backed by an eraser. - Angela

Something we tried this last time we stayed at the Boardwalk Villas was to bring a water purifier that you connect to the kitchen faucet. This worked amazingly well! We didn't have to haul or buy a whole bunch of water bottles for our trip, you just keep refilling a glass or reusable container. You don't have the waste of the plastic bottles or have to drink the nasty-tasting Orlando water! Just write down a reminder to take your purifier off the faucet before you leave. When you get home, connect the purifier back to your own kitchen faucet! - Tammy

When making dining reservations using the Disney website make sure you log in before you select your reservation time. I lost two reservations to 'Ohana (on two separate occasions) because after I selected the reservation time the system prompted me to log in. Once I logged in, the system did not hold the reservation that I selected. Very disappointing! I sent a message to Disney regarding this problem and their solution was to be sure that you are logged in prior to searching for a dining reservation. - Sarah Kelley

Like most of you reading this, I can't get enough of Walt Disney World and my family tries to make it there at least once a year. I am also an avid gardener who has brought home a couple of garden souvenirs from the Flower and Garden Festival, but those can be pricey. So I have started buying a couple of the antenna toppers for cars on each trip. I glue and insert a sturdy length of wire into each one and place them in some of my flower pots on the deck and throughout the yard. The toppers are really cute, inexpensive (by Disney standards!) and easily replaced as needed. My kids are grown, but it could also make for a fun backyard version of "find the hidden Mickeys!" - Sheril Maddox

We bring a sleeve of plastic disposable cups to the Disney parks in our backpack. That way we can buy two or three water bottles and share them among the five of us. The cups are light and when we buy five individual bottles no one ever finishes theirs. - Gail Geiser

If you need to drive to the park to drop someone off, Disney provides very convenient guest drop-off areas at each of the four parks. It's as easy as telling the toll booth cast member at the main parking entrance that you're dropping someone off. They'll give you instructions on how to get to that park's area. At the Magic Kingdom, you need to be in the lanes on the right and they'll direct you down the road going to the Transportation and Ticket Center. At the other three parks, they'll send you into the regular parking area where you'll tell the second cast member you're dropping someone off, and they'll direct you to the spot at the front of the lot near the entrance. - Laurie Jennings