Tips about Food & Beverage, Magic Kingdom, Resorts and Theme Parks

Magic Kingdom - Be sure you catch "The Magic, The Memories, and You!" light show projected on the front of the castle in Magic Kingdom! It was one of the most amazing things I have seen in my many trips to Disney World. I was surprised it wasn't highlighted more and it was scheduled at off times (9:45 and 10:35 p.m.) when we were visiting. - William Sharp

ALL PARKS - On water rides use one-gallon freezer bags over your shoes and socks. (You can zip them shut right around the lower part of your leg.) Keeps your shoes and socks dry and they are easy to fold up and carry until the next water ride. - Dennis Garwood

All Resorts - Disney resort guests should take advantage of theme park and resort delivery options. Any package can be delivered to the front of the four main theme parks (and also the "back" [International Gateway] for Epcot). If you plan on staying in the park for about three hours after your purchase you can send your package -- large or small -- free of charge to Package Pickup. No more worrying about carrying that favorite souvenir on Space Mountain or Rock 'n' Roller Coaster! If you are a WDW resort guest you can have your purchases delivered directly to your resort. Packages will be sent to the main gift shop at your resort on the day after your purchase. (The resort delivery option is not available on the last day/night of your stay because packages may not arrive before you depart the resort, but you can still send your packages to the front of the park for Package Pickup.) - Rob C.

All Resorts - Disney resort guests should take advantage of theme park and resort delivery options. Any package can be delivered to the front of the four main theme parks (and also the "back" [International Gateway] for Epcot). If you plan on staying in the park for about three hours after your purchase you can send your package -- large or small -- free of charge to Package Pickup. No more worrying about carrying that favorite souvenir on Space Mountain or Rock 'n' Roller Coaster! If you are a WDW resort guest you can have your purchases delivered directly to your resort. Packages will be sent to the main gift shop at your resort on the day after your purchase. (The resort delivery option is not available on the last day/night of your stay because packages may not arrive before you depart the resort, but you can still send your packages to the front of the park for Package Pickup.) - Rob C.

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

Magic Kingdom - After my trip to the World last week with my sister, I have a couple tips.

1) A lot of people leave the Magic Kingdom right after Wishes, but if you wait a little bit longer, you'll be treated to a replay of "The Magic, the Memories and You" on certain nights (and not just Extra Magic Hour nights). Best of all, you'll get excellent views during the second show! Last Thursday, Wishes was at 10 p.m. and the park would close at 11 p.m. We stayed around for a while and they announced they would be replaying TMTMAY. Since the Hub was virtually empty at that point, we could just lie down in front of the castle and watch as it was filled with magic all over again. That moment was one of the highlights of our trip!

2) Your writer Jack Spence always says to stop and smell the roses, and we took his advice to heart on this trip. We're glad we did! On Monday during EMH night, we were walking about Frontierland when we noticed the checkers board in front of the Shootin' Arcade. Our initial reaction was to just keep going to the next ride (we can play checkers while at home, right?), but then we decided to pause and play a little. It was so much fun! At one point a cast member stopped by to ask who was winning. In the end I won, and now my sister wants revenge on our next visit. That brief "stop and smell the roses" moment has now turned into a tradition that we'll have to repeat on our next trips to the World. - Patricia Ogura

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

I pack a travel French Press to ANY Walt Disney World resort hotel. The inability to get fresh-brewed coffee at WDW is frustrating to a coffee drinker like me! I only need one good cup in the morning for me and it makes my day. You can get a travel coffee press from online retailers for $20. It's only slightly bigger than a soda can and easily fits in a carry-on. Simply put the grounds in the bottom (you can buy Mickey coffee at the hotel), add hot water, wait 5-10 minutes, press, and pour a great cup of coffee!

EDITOR'S NOTE: If you don't want to bring your own, AllEars.Net maintains a page of places to get fresh-brewed coffee around the World: http://allears.net/din/coffee.htm

For anyone who has celiac disease or wheat allergies in general, Tony's Town Square was a treat. Two of my traveling party have celiac disease and the chefs were amazing. So many options for gluten-free, including pasta and special gluten-free, dairy-free meatballs. We all ate like royalty the entire trip and can't wait to go back. - Richelle H.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Just about every table service restaurant at Walt Disney World will try to accommodate guests with special dietary needs.

Epcot - We found that the Electric Umbrella restaurant at Epcot has free drink refills... not only for soft drinks but for apple juice as well, which worked out great for our little one. This is the only "quick service" restaurant we visited that didn't give us a juice box when we ordered her a kid's meal with juice. - Michelle P.