Tips about Food & Beverage, Mousecellaneous, Planning, Souvenirs and Special Events

I just returned from Disney and I took some bubble wrap with me this time, because I knew I wanted the Roaming Mickey from Epcot, and I also knew its box would take up way too much room in my luggage. This was a great idea, it doesn't weigh anything and I can pack it flat, it doesn't take up any room at all. I am going to do this every time I go on vacation now, and I don't have to worry about not buying that breakable item that I see and fall in love with! - Melanie

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 tackled going to Walt Disney World with three boys ages 10, 8, and 5 who wanted to buy everything they had in front of them like this: We had them hold up the item they wanted and we took a picture of it. The day before we left, while I was packing, they went through the pictures to pick the one thing they liked the best. Now we knew what to look for, as well as having some extra pictures for memories. If we were going to a park, we used the Shop Disney Parks app, which we had downloaded. It told us where to go and in one case had the item delivered to Guest Relations at the front of the park. The app will also tell you what delivery options are available (to your room, to guest relations, or to your home). - Robbie Haines

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

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

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

I save the black, plastic Mickey-shaped "dishes" you get food on at some of the quickie eateries (like the eat-on-the-street Rosie's All-American Cafe in Hollywood Studios) and take them home. Every night I put out fresh veggies for our girls with ranch dressing in the ears for dipping. They get a kick out of it and we've been using them literally for years! We think it's neat that we recycled them all the way from Disney. I wash them on the top rack in the dishwasher with no issues. - Shanlee Ginchereau

CHRISTMAS - Our family had finished 10 days at Disney World the week before Thanksgiving. However we were in Florida for the entire month of November. Needless to say our girls, ages 6 and 10, were very bored and missing Disney very much before our time had ended in Florida. We wanted to go back to Disney, but couldn't afford more tickets. We had seen a special on HGTV about how Disney decorated for Christmas. We wished we could see some of the resorts after seeing this special. I called guest relations and they told us that we could see each of the resort decorations, such as the gingerbread house (amazing) at the Grand Floridian. The simplest way to do this is to park at a monorail resort and take the monorail to the Grand Floridian and the Contemporary Resorts. Of course if you wanted to see the Beach & Yacht Club, and the Boardwalk resorts then that is a separate drive or a bus ride. These decorations are absolutely breathtaking. Unbelievable how gorgeous these lobbies are. We have never stayed on property, but after seeing some of these resorts up close we plan to make a future visit. On our way to the resorts we passed by something we had no idea was at Disney World -- miniature golf courses. There was Winter/Summerland miniature golf, and Fantasia miniature golf. We had planned on going to a mini golf course that day around Orlando after touring the decorations. The prices are not any higher than any other course outside of Disney. These courses were so much fun and you have all the Disney magic surrounding you. Our girls loved it. We played the Wintertime course and then went to the Fantasia course and played that twice. Our favorite was the Wintertime course though. We finished up with a drive to the Animal Kingdom Lodge to see their decorations and had dinner at the Boma restaurant. We were able to have a great day at Disney even though we didn't have tickets to the parks. You get to see a lot of Disney property that you wouldn't normally see. I highly suggest touring the resorts and especially playing the golf courses. They are a blast. Thank you Disney for making our final day magical outside the parks. - Noelbigmac99 EDITOR'S NOTE: During peak times, many resort parking lots are closed to everyone except those staying there and those with dining reservations.

CHRISTMAS - One of the best-kept secrets of the holiday season is to walk through Fort Wilderness and view all of the Christmas decorations that the campers put up. Most of the decorations are more elaborate than anything many of us have at home. Stick around at the beach for the evening to watch the Electrical Water Pageant and view the fireworks from Magic Kingdom. - Susan Visconti

Early evening, we made our way to Fort Wilderness for a carriage ride (which is wonderful this time of year, with all of the personal Christmas decorations on the campsites!) Our ride was extra special because I told our driver, "Thank you for working on a holiday." She almost cried! She really appreciated just the simple gesture of "thanks" -- all of those cast members miss out on seeing their families on some holidays so that we can enjoy ours! After that it was time for 'Ohana. I love this restaurant, but I was especially excited to see they had a special Thanksgiving menu (as do many restaurants in WDW). It was a typical Thanksgiving dinner, 'Ohana style -- and of course delicious. We asked if we could please have a window seat, and even on a busy night they accommodated us. We timed it perfectly that we were able to watch Wishes while eating dinner, and it was beautiful! Our server had to ask if I was all right because I did start to tear up. We had seen Wishes several times, and this was a very nice, different perspective, and I thought of the thousands of people standing shoulder-to-shoulder in the MK while we enjoyed a wonderful meal. We ended the night grabbing hot chocolate and sitting on the Poly beach, watching the Electrical Water Pageant go by. To me, it was a perfect Thanksgiving! I did not have to deal with crowds, and I got to experience several unique things WDW has to offer. - Carissa

The parks got pretty crowded in the afternoon [on Thanksgiving] so we traveled to Disney Springs and did some Christmas shopping. After shopping we stopped at our villa (we stayed at Saratoga Springs) to watch a little football and drop off our purchases. That night we made our way to Hollywood Studios to see the Osborne Lights. As "snow" fell we sat on a curb, sipped hot chocolate and experienced all that is the Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing lights. What a wonderful day! - Penny Urell

We go to "The World" every other year at Thanksgiving and love going at that time of year. The decorations are breathtaking and the weather is wonderful! We have always had Thanksgiving lunch at Liberty Tree Tavern in Magic Kingdom because it feels like you're being waited on by the pilgrims themselves. The decor of the place and the costumes of the staff, not to mention the way they call you in for you reservation ("Hear Ye! Hear Ye!") really sets the mood for our Thanksgiving meal. Also, even though we are at Disney I don't miss out on my "Black Friday" shopping. I take care of most of it shopping in Disney Springs! - Peggy Benoit

On Thanksgiving Day we went to the Studios early in the morning. (I spent the day wishing all the cast members -- from the bus drivers to the Streetmosphere players -- Happy Thanksgiving and thanking them for working to make our holiday special. We saw the shows, rode the rides and had a great time. We ate dinner at the Biergarten. What a treat! My sister's kids (high school and college ages) danced and sang and had a blast. Everyone loved the food. They still say that it was one of the best Thanksgivings ever! Great food, fun music and a wonderful show. So my advice is try something non-traditonal for your Thanksgiving at WDW. Go see a show, fireworks or have a special meal, but it doesn't have to be right on Thanksgivng Day. And don't forget to wish the cast members you meet a Happy Thanksgiving too. After all, they are making your day special! - Nancy L. Gessner