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

While vacationing in Walt Disney World last week, my wife and I opted to change our ride view experiences slightly; we switched seats. As a true "Prince Charming", I normally hold doors open for my wife to enter buildings or vehicles first, but on this trip she was "Princess Charming" and had me enter ride vehicles with only one entrance first (e.g., Spaceship Earth, Haunted Mansion, Peter Pan's Flight, etc.). We were amazed at the new views of the attractions we had! - Denny

If you are planning a summer trip to Walt Disney World, it is pretty safe to assume that you will experience both very hot temperatures and rain. My tip is to buy inexpensive water shoes for the whole family at your local discount or dollar store prior to your trip. The pavement around the pools and in the water parks gets very hot. Areas with sand can become so hot that you can barely walk on them. I would recommend water shoes instead of flip-flops, because you will not be allowed to wear flip-flops on water slides. Water shoes can be purchased at WDW, but you will easily pay double for them. My second tip is to also purchase rain ponchos at the discount/dollar store. Ponchos take up much less space in luggage than rain coats. Buy one for each member of your party, and if you will be taking a stroller on your trip, buy an additional large poncho. Why? To cover your stroller while you are in an attraction. Nothing is worse than exiting an attraction only to find that a sudden rain shower has soaked your stroller, and everything in it. At WDW, strollers are almost never allowed inside of buildings or attractions. Instead, you will have to put your stroller in the "stroller parking" area. This area will be outdoors, and will rarely be under cover. Because the summer weather in Orlando can be unpredictable, I put our ponchos in a large zip top plastic bag, and keep them in the pocket of our stroller at all times. - Shannon Barrett

On our last trip we brought a couple of the battery-operated tea candles. Used one in the bathroom as a night-light. - Brenda

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.

I'm sharing a tip that definitely bears repeating. Everyone should sign their Key to the World (KTTW) cards as soon as they receive them, especially if the cards are valid for room charges or if any dining options are included with the reservation. If each KTTW card is signed this will help prevent someone else from using your card for food or merchandise purchases should you lose it. If you find you can't sign your card with a regular ink pen, try applying scotch tape to the signature panel (sometimes you need to do this a few times) then you should be able to sign the signature panel. If you didn't bring your own scotch tape every front desk and merchandise register location have tape available. Cast members may ask for a photo ID if your KTTW card is not signed -- be prepared! - 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

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

For those wishing to use the web while at the resorts: If you have a smartphone, check if it can be used as a wireless hotspot (also known as tethering). Verizon charges $20/month for tethering with a hotspot-enabled 3G phone (I use a Droid X), which is a great deal when compared to the resorts' $9.95 per 24 contiguous hours fee. There is no cancellation fee for this feature, so you can activate it just for the month you'll be staying at the resort. Plus, you're no longer limited to the length of the ethernet cable. It sure came in handy on my stay at Caribbean Beach last week! A few things to consider: speed is dependent on 3G signal strength in your room, and there's usually a data cap per month (mine is 2GB). - Patricia

Pick up some 3M Command hooks with the removable adhesive and put them, along with some extra adhesive, into your suitcase. We are a family of six, and I have the problem of too many wet things and not enough room, too, and this seems to solve the problem. They're easily removed when you leave and don't take paint off the walls. - Beth McMeekin

The last trip to Walt Disney World, I brought three plastic hangers with me -- handy for drying bathing suits or any hand wash things. They can be hung on the shower rod or in the closet. - Gaylin in Vancouver

My way to dry bathing suits when there are a few of us in a room: I bring a bungee cord in my suitcase, then string it up on the balcony outside my room. Instant clothesline! - ckjrn1959