Tips about Food & Beverage, Mousecellaneous, Packing, Planning and Resorts

Epcot - My husband and I recently learned of something called the "Wine Walk" at Epcot. For $20 you can purchase a passport at the France, Germany or Italy wine shops. The passport allows you to taste six different wines (two per country). The passport lists the two specific wines in each country. What is unique about the Wine Walk is that you do not have to use the whole passport in one trip. You can try a few and then save the rest for a future trip if you like. Each wine is a two-ounce pour, but Germany seems to be the only country that was very strict on this. Italy and France were a bit more liberal with their pours. Our favorite country for the tastings was Italy. Even though you only get about two ounces per taste, we felt it was a pretty good bargain as we would have paid about $35 if we bought each pour individually. - Tiffany Harmon

Pack a 4-cup coffee pot and folding cooler in your suitcase if staying at a value resort, saves a lot of money. We love the magic of staying at a Disney resort. We like to go every two years and look for ways to save money. - Bev

I just returned from chaperoning my son's band trip to Walt Disney World. I shared a room with another mom and, between the two of us, we had NUMEROUS gadgets (cell phones, iPods, cameras, batteries) that needed recharging. I wish I had packed a power strip or two so we could charge things without hunting all over the hotel room to find outlets. We had to unplug several lamps in order to get everything of ours plugged in. The power strip would make it less likely to leave behind a charger cord, too, if the power strip was located in a prominent location where it would be easily seen while packing at the end of the stay. - Debi Koehn EDITOR'S NOTE: You can also purchase electric outlets that allow 2 or more usb connects.

While Disney resorts don't have microwaves in the room, they do have at least one microwave for common use that is usually situated close to the food court. They are available 24 hours a day and can be a great money-saver. From a snack such as popcorn to soup or noodles, using the microwave to replace or supplement bought food can be a big money-saver. - Connie McGouldrick

While Disney resorts don't have microwaves in the room, they do have at least one microwave for common use that is usually situated close to the food court. They are available 24 hours a day and can be a great money-saver. From a snack such as popcorn to soup or noodles, using the microwave to replace or supplement bought food can be a big money-saver. - Connie McGouldrick

We just returned from a great five days down at WDW... One thing I discovered this trip was how many cards I ended up carrying around: park ticket, hotel room key, Disney Visa redemption card, Photopass card (or cards, because we always end up with more than one), Fastpasses... whew! That's a lot, and that's not even counting what's usually in my wallet, like a credit card and ID. I was constantly afraid I would lose something. My uncle (I have to credit him on this one) came up with a great solution: he picked up a small business card case (around $5) at an office supply store to keep all of his important cards in. He always had his Fastpasses ready to get in line while the rest of us were still digging through our pockets. I've already picked one up and it's in my "things to take to Walt Disney World" pile for our next trip! - Nathan Jones EDITOR'S NOTE: Magic Bands have eliminated a few cards to carry around the parks. However you will still want to carry your Annual Pass card (for discounts), photo ID, and if you have it, your Tables in Wonderland Card

If you are there for a week or longer, find out how much it is to take a cab for shopping. We did a roundtrip cab (having him even wait for us in parking lot) and it cost us $32 with tip to Walgreen's. We got much needed cold/flu supplies, drinks, and snacks. I added up just two of the tons of items we bought price for price for what they were in the gift shop, and there alone was our cab fare! - Dana Barish

For those staying at a value resort and driving, you might want to bring a small coffee maker if you have the room. Value resorts don't include coffee makers and if you are in a standard room at Art of Animation like we will be, it can be time-consuming to get that first cup of morning coffee. Standard rooms are a bit of a walk from the food court. We bought paper coffee cups and plastic spoons from our local "dollar store" and are bringing coffee, sugar and milk from home. I found a small coffee maker (5-cup maker) on clearance, so I have about $15 invested (not including coffee, sugar and milk, which I'd be using at home anyway) instead of almost $40 on refillable mugs, plus we can take the paper cups on our walk to the bus stop and just throw them out when we are done. - Lynn

Animal Kingdom - If you're looking for a cheap, healthy snack in the Animal Kingdom, check out the fruit cart in the Harambe Village of Africa. There's lots of fresh, ice cold fruit that's cheap and much healthier than ice cream or popcorn. Our family got apple slices with caramel, fresh oranges and bananas, and it was delicious. The cart also sells chips, water and drinks. - Katherine

Animal Kingdom - If you're looking for a cheap, healthy snack in the Animal Kingdom, check out the fruit cart in the Harambe Village of Africa. There's lots of fresh, ice cold fruit that's cheap and much healthier than ice cream or popcorn. Our family got apple slices with caramel, fresh oranges and bananas, and it was delicious. The cart also sells chips, water and drinks. - Katherine

Animal Kingdom Lodge - If you are staying at Animal Kingdom Lodge, Jambo House, I would strongly suggest considering renting a car. My husband, 4-year-old and I have just returned from a 14-night trip and found that with the completion of Kidani Village, the bus transportation picks up and drops off at Kidani FIRST. This meant that when the bus transportation arrived at Jambo House to go to the parks, it was sometimes already full (standing room only) and on the return journey from the parks we had to drive past Jambo House to drop off and collect new people at Kidani before going to Jambo House.

The BoardWalk often offers jugglers and magicians in the evening. My son loves just sitting and watching all of the performers. But we just returned from our rainiest Disney trip ever. We certainly thought that the performers would not be on the BoardWalk on those nights. We were right, they weren't -- but, to my son's delight, we found that they perform indoors on those nights. We found the performers near the bar area and also in the lobby. - Kelly

Even when the weather dips down into the lower 70s or 60s in the evening, you may not feel the need to pack a jacket if you are taking a resort bus or a taxi. But if you decide to take one of the boats to a park (like to the Studios or Epcot) or resort (Port Orleans, Ft. Wilderness, etc.), it is important to bring that extra layer. The waters and the outdoor breeze make the air feel a little extra chilly! - Callie Conrad

Here's a money-saving tip: One year I made a point of packing every Disney shirt my kids owned when we headed to Disney World for vacation. My intention was that they would wear them just for fun in the parks. An unexpected benefit was that neither of them asked to buy a new Disney shirt as a souvenir! - Cathy

Here's a money-saving tip: One year I made a point of packing every Disney shirt my kids owned when we headed to Disney World for vacation. My intention was that they would wear them just for fun in the parks. An unexpected benefit was that neither of them asked to buy a new Disney shirt as a souvenir! - Cathy