Tips about Food & Beverage, Magic Kingdom, Resorts and Travel

All Resorts - If you have diabetes, let the cast member know that you will need a special container for used medical supplies when you check in to your hotel. After checking in at Boardwalk, within 10 minutes housekeeping was at our door with a small haz-mat container. One less thing to worry about! - Judy Peek

I'd like to add two of my own tips for flying with young children. Firstly, if your plane is going to be equipped with seat-back entertainment (we fly from the UK so ours always are) consider buying your child their own pair of children's headphones. The ones the airlines give out are too big for little heads and young children should not use the in-ear type. Ours come complete with a volume limiter so we don't have to worry about our daughter accidentally turning them up too high. Secondly, even if your young child is out of diapers, bring along a few pull-ups and keep them on hand. Extended periods of turbulence can put the washrooms out of use for hours at a time and slipping a pull-up onto your child is preferable to a wet seat when you're in a "keep seats belts fastened" situation. - Melanie Dye

Wilderness Lodge - We are staying at Wilderness Lodge and have a room overlooking the pool area. We also have a couple of kids and tired grownups who like to nap during the afternoon. Unfortunately, Wilderness Lodge has a daily pool party blasting loud music, so be aware and request a garden view if this will be a problem for you. Luckily, we have our sound machine to help drown out the noise, but I wish I had known this. I might have stayed elsewhere. - Melanie Drake

EDITOR'S NOTE: The main pools at many Disney resorts feature similar afternoon parties and poolside activities, which tend to be quite noisy.

I enjoyed Laura's article on tips for Little Fliers. I would like to share one of my own. My ears would not pop on a flight long ago and the flight attendant gave me two cups stuffed with hot paper towels. You put one cup over each ear. There is something about how the hot air affects the pressure that will alleviate the ear pain. It may look a little silly, but it works. (And for the little ones, it will certainly distract them anyway.) - Sandi Lamborne

As a long-haul flying mum of four children (who have all flown from a very young age) I would like to add "KEEP CALM" to your tip list. If you get worked up about what 'might' happen, the chances are that the children will sense this and become nervous themselves. Treat every flight as if it is a perfectly normal way to travel and your child will soon become relaxed about flying. A distraction technique we used when our children were younger (and still do to a lesser extent today) was to have a 'goody bag' full of wrapped gifts. I used small things like toys, puzzles, colouring sets and candy all with a Disney theme and they were allowed to pick something from the bag every hour if they were good (UK to Florida flights can take more than eight hours!). I always included a few extra in case of delays, for friends made on the plane and to use on the final leg on the resort bus. - Debi

Parents who are traveling with little ones who have problems with their ears on planes might want to purchase EarPlanes. They are special ear plugs that help ease pressure during flight. They come in adult and child sizes. I had horrible issues with my ears when I was little and this was the only product that worked! Best of all they're only about $4/pair. - Emily Scotti

ALL PARKS - Just a reminder to check when counter service restaurants close. We were at Disney's Hollywood Studios three weeks ago, counting on eating our meal at one of the counter service restaurants. All were closed by 8:15, except for the one closest to Fantasmic, so we had to eat at Mama Melrose's and pay $150. It was a lovely meal, but we were on the dining plan and had carefully planned when to use our dining credits. - Ellen

ALL PARKS - Just a reminder to check when counter service restaurants close. We were at Disney's Hollywood Studios three weeks ago, counting on eating our meal at one of the counter service restaurants. All were closed by 8:15, except for the one closest to Fantasmic, so we had to eat at Mama Melrose's and pay $150. It was a lovely meal, but we were on the dining plan and had carefully planned when to use our dining credits. - Ellen

ALL PARKS - Just a reminder to check when counter service restaurants close. We were at Disney's Hollywood Studios three weeks ago, counting on eating our meal at one of the counter service restaurants. All were closed by 8:15, except for the one closest to Fantasmic, so we had to eat at Mama Melrose's and pay $150. It was a lovely meal, but we were on the dining plan and had carefully planned when to use our dining credits. - Ellen

Tea drinkers -- I have also brought iced tea mix and made it before we left for the water parks. I filled the container with ice and the mix and some water. If I left it in the locker, in the afternoon when we were leaving it would be very cold and still sometimes had ice left in it. You have custom-made iced tea and it's much cheaper than buying drinks. - Teri D.

Being a tea rather than coffee drinker, I want to fix my beverage of choice in the room. On my last trip I packed a ceramic mug from the local dollar store filled with my favorite tea bags. I could put the mug in place of the coffee pot, remove the interior of the brew basket, and run the hot water through without getting "coffee tea", a brew that many tea drinkers are familiar with. At the end of my trip, I just left the mug in the room, and had a bit more room for souvenirs. - Grandeb

Do you want real coffee on your trip? Sick of Nescafe? Can you find hot water at your resort? Bring Starbucks Via instant coffee (or your favorite instant coffee packets)! It's delicious, and it's small enough to carry in your pocket in case you want it while you're at a park. - Dani Maz

EDITOR'S NOTE: And if you don't carry instant coffee with you, refer to the AllEars.Net list of places you can find fresh brewed coffee around Walt Disney World: http://allears.net/din/coffee.htm

For those interested in low-carb dining -- There is a great fruit and cheese plate at Sunshine Seasons at the Land in Epcot -- less than $6 for a good amount of food. These disappear fast so grab one early for lunch. - Sue McGill

I just used the online dining reservations for our trip in July. There will be six of us and an infant. You have to include an infant in the number of guests for every meal. I called to confirm this and was told that was correct. Thanks for the great website! I do all my research for my trips here! - Alana DeFazio

Epcot - I just wanted to let you know there is now an additional place to get kosher food in Epcot. It is at the Electric Umbrella restaurant in Future World. This is helpful, because if you need the kosher food, you don't have to go all the way to the American Adventure's Liberty Inn in World Showcase. - Michael Lorch