Tips about Food & Beverage, Mousecellaneous, PhotoPass and Souvenirs

Just came back from a business trip and was informed by my little princess that I needed to bring a snowglobe back with me. Didn't get a chance to shop at Disney Springs so I thought I would pick one up at the airport gift shop. Wrong! Due to the new FAA regulations, snowglobes can't be carried on anymore. I was still able to check it into my luggage before boarding, thankfully. - Adam Guthy

As a fan of sugar-free desserts myself, I found that the children's applesauce dessert at the counter service restaurants is sugar-free and allowed with an adult meal as part of the Dining Plan. Also, "bakery," not pre-packaged desserts are still available at Seasons counter service in The Land at Epcot. The huge variety (and they also had fruit bowls) made this a must-do counter service on our next trip. - Heidi S.

My husband and I always buy the refillable mugs for our morning coffee or juice. However, we find we are never able to finish our drinks prior to leaving for the parks. We try to pack light for the parks so we prefer not to bring our mugs with us. So, we buy disposable coffee cups, with lids, from our local supermarket or discount store (they are just like the ones you would get at your local coffee shop). We can just transfer our coffee to the disposable cup and bring it along with us. When finished, they go right into the garbage. Then we don't need to carry the mugs around with us all day. - Joann W.

Before we go to the Parks I always go on eBay and buy packages of 100 or more glow bracelets. They are incredibly cheap in bulk and can be linked together for necklaces just like the much more expensive park ones. The kids can mix up the colors and have as many as they want by stacking them up necks, arms and legs so you can identify your little folks even in the darkest places. We even attach them to our stroller and bags to make them easier to find. The unbroken ones keep for up to a year or more and you can find tons of ways to use any leftovers during the year, like giving them away to trick-or-treaters at Halloween instead of candy (this is a REAL hit with the kids and parents around here), or wear them to July 4th fireworks, evening sports events, etc. - Nita Furlong

A certain "mart" store carries glow bracelets and necklaces around Halloween (quickly approaching) for only about 88 cents each! Needless to say, I grabbed a few to eliminate that extra expense, and so my kids have just a good a time as all the other kids who have glowing items at the SpectroMagic parade. Extra tip: If your trip is not until AFTER Halloween, the bracelets/necklaces go on sale (which is when I bought mine!) for HALF PRICE! 44 cents each! We're on countdown! - Angelique Williams

While school shopping at an office supply store we found these really neat fiber optic pens at each register. A press of the button changes the colors from red, blue and green to mixes, with it finally going into a mode where it rotates between the colors. The best part? They are only $2 each AND they are functioning pens! So far I've seen them at three different locations here in New England (always at the register). I've already bought eight and put them away for our next WDW trip. This is a very cheap way to get out of buying light-up toys from the carts at night! - Jody LaFerriere

We just returned from a week at the World. I had read more than once that the refillable mugs were a must purchase at the resort so we picked up a couple on our first day. Between the drinks included with meals and using snack options to purchase water at the parks, we did not make use of them at all. We did spend a few partial days at the resort pools, but did not have them with us to fill up at the right times. The tip here is: unless you plan to spend a lot of time in your resort, the drink options offered with the meal plans may be sufficient. - Jennifer

I enjoyed Joshua Olive's article on the little something extra and also his point that it can be the Cast Member you only see for a few moments that makes the difference. We have our own way of thanking folks -- my husband does origami and always carries paper with him to keep his hands busy. On our trips to WDW, when we see a Cast Member that we think needs a special thank you (because they never get noticed), he'll give them a small origami model -- a butterfly or an elephant, for example. We've thanked bus drivers, Fastpass checkers, and even a woman who was busing tables in the eating area of a counter-service restaurant. - Maggie Rioux

Your tip about deodorant reminds me of a trip we took not too long ago. On our Epcot day, my husband realized at around noon that he forgot to put on deodorant. Luckily we weren't far from the France pavilion. The perfume shop sells fancy French men's deodorant! He was able to get some, and it smelled very nice. I actually liked it better than what he usually wears! It certainly was better than not wearing any, and we didn't even have to leave the park -- a bargain in my opinion! (And actually the price wasn't bad at all.) - An anonymous reader

When we go to get our traveler's checks and cash for our Disney trip, we always get a roll of quarters and a roll of pennies. We place them in a small convenient pocket in our park bag and whenever we see a smashed penny machine we are ready without having to search for 51 cents! - Glenn Vines

I would like to give your readers a tip about the Mail Order department at Disney. I have found that unless it is a "Disney Park exclusive", you are better to go home and shop around. My son went home dejected after our last trip due to the fact that we couldn't find the "air gun" that he played with at the Whispering Canyon Cafe. We were told that he could find it in Tomorrowland in Magic Kingdom. Well, we looked and looked but came up empty-handed. So, when we went home I did a search for the gun and found out what it was called. I later purchased the toy at our local Walmart for only $7. Disney had wanted $20. My advice: go home and hit the internet if you don't have to have it right that moment. - Dawn Clark

My son (who is now 11) and I go to a Disney park every year. We have visited Disneyland six times so far, Disneyland Paris once and we are going to WDW for the third time in September. He was only 2 on our first Disney trip. Each trip I purchase several t-shirts for the both of us. I always try and get at least one with the year printed on it. (They do a new style each year.) I have saved all of them. In 5 or 6 years I plan to have them made into a quilt. I will give him the quilt when he leaves for college. His first t-shirt is so tiny compared to the newer ones and I know they will just keep getting bigger! I hope that when he looks at it he remembers all of the Magical Memories we have shared at Disney. - Shellie Bandy

Disneyshopping.com has t-shirts with Disney characters that you can personalize and they are very reasonable. There are several designs to chose from and they can say whatever you want. "The Smiths' Magical Adventure" or "The Smiths on Holiday," for example. It's fun. - ErinNGreg

Here is a fun twist on that (wearing identical t-shirts) idea. My family recently went to WDW for our 10th trip together. We had t-shirts made at our local sports shop before the trip (for about $15 each). "WDW Trip #10" was on the front of the shirts. On the back, each person got to customize. They all said "I'm here for" and the person got to pick what they were most excited about to fill in the rest of the sentence. Mine said "I'm here for the safari!" What an experience! Cast members and other guests commented on our shirts all day! We felt like VIPs. It was one of my favorite Disney experiences. - Dsnygrl8!

If you plan on sending postcards, take advantage of the pack of 10 postcards sold throughout Walt Disney World and in resort gift shops. On our last trip in October, a pack of the Magic Kingdom cards cost $4. This is much cheaper than buying individual postcards. If I have leftovers, I just save them for our next trip since the images are standard fare (castle, characters, Splash Mountain...). I believe that there are different packs for each of the parks, too. I'll be returning to WDW next week with six postcards in hand. - Janice Dion