Tips about Food & Beverage, Mousecellaneous, Planning, Souvenirs and Wilderness Lodge

We split all of our counter service meals. Disney is so generous with portion sizes, that we often find that one meal shared between two is plenty -- and it leaves room for fun snacks between meals. Also, it's not illegal or against the rules to order more food! If, while eating, we think we're going to need more, we just get it (providing the line is short enough). - John and Cassandra Pinheiro

We always bring breakfast items (granola bars, fruit cups) and juice boxes to eat for breakfast as we are getting ready for the day. The night before, we put what we will need for the next day in a bucket of ice or our small cooler so it's cold for morning. This means one fewer meal we have to buy in the parks, but it's also a time-saver, as we are early people and like to be heading for the buses early for park opening. And since it's a light breakfast we are usually ready for lunch around 11 a.m. and beat the big lunch crowds! Bonus! We still usually treat ourselves to one or two special breakfasts during our stay (Tonga toast!) but it's a great way to keep the food budget in check. - Kate

Since milk is not included in the Disney refillable mug program we always purchase the largest container of milk from the resort store. Price is much cheaper than food court. Saves time in the morning since the kids can have some milk and cereal in the room. - Steve

Whatever you do don't spend money on bottled water. It is so expensive and there are water fountains everywhere. This goes for the theme parks and the airport. Simply bring an empty bottle and fill it up as you need it. If you are really hardcore about it you can drink water the whole trip and skip buying drinks at the quick serves entirely. Also think about bringing lots of snacks from home such as granola bars and peanut butter cracker packs that you can eat instead of buying snacks and treats in the parks. You'll save a bunch of money this way. - Chris Kulp

I think it is important to know that you do not have to order a "meal" at a quick service restaurant. If you just want pizza without a salad, or a hamburger without fries, you can have it! And it costs less! - Kathy Jo Horan

Did you know that the cost of booking a vacation with a Disney travel agent is the same as booking a vacation yourself directly through Disney? Sometimes it can even be cheaper, as the agent will watch for discounts to help you get the most value for your hard-earned dollar. - Melissa Weis

Take advantage of all the discounts -- we use the military and annual passholders' ones regularly. We also stay Sunday through Thursday to avoid "weekend" rates and bonus! -- parks are usually less full weekdays. - Katherine Marshall

Research! Utilize the excellent menu feature here on AllEars.Net. Know what the different restaurants or service counters offer so that you know they serve something both you and your kids like. With the costs of an entree, you definitely don't want your child to tell you they don't like what you ordered. Make a list of the places in each park that satisfy all of your needs. Then, if possible, actually make choices before you go. Stick with what you know works, especially for your kids. - Tom Galloway

I haven't seen this widely publicized yet, but Amazon Prime Now has started delivery to the WDW resort hotels. It's open to Prime members and can be used to order groceries, diapers and tons of other things that you may need while on vacation. Delivery is free within two hours and $7.99 if you want it delivered within one hour. They'll drop your items at Bell Services for you to pick up. You have to order through the primenow.amazon.com website or use the Amazon Prime Now app to place your order though, not the regular Amazon site or app. It's certainly a convenient way to get the stuff you need without having to leave the property. - Brian B.

Magic Kingdom - We were just at Disney World last week, and we spent two days in the Magic Kingdom. The crowds weren't too bad, but the lines for the Be Our Guest Restaurant were very long. The wait was 45 minutes around 11:30. A helpful cast member told me that many times the line is shorter around 1 or 1:30 p.m. We had a snack to tide us over and went back at 1:20 p.m. Sure enough, we were in the castle in 10 minutes. It was totally worth it! You can research allergies on the touch-screen menu to see what foods are OK to eat. It was wonderful for my gluten-free son. Lunch prices were just slightly more than prices at the Columbia Harbor House, but the ambiance and decorations were priceless. My kids spent half the meal staring at the snow falling outside the giant picture window lining one wall. I really enjoyed the vegetable quiche, and the gluten-free Lemon Raspberry Cream Puff was great, too. Everything about the restaurant is done right. It was a wonderful memory for us. - Ali Sanders

For international visitors, using mobile phones abroad can be very costly as roaming charges vary so much. We bought two-way radios to keep in contact in the parks. They have become a Walt Disney World trip essential for us. We bought ours with a charger pack. One word of advice though: the radios bought in USA are not legal in UK and vice versa. - Heather Young

I like to bring an extra sandwich-sized zipper-top bag to the parks with me. That way if the kids don't finish a meal we can take some of it with us as a snack for later. - Ingrid

Please call your credit/debit card company before leaving home and alert them to all the places you will be traveling. My card was locked out at Disneyland after I bought my annual pass! The companies are trying to minimize credit card fraud. The worst thing is if customer service isn't there 24/7, and you can't use your card until they reopen. - Leslie Seibert

For all those with peanut and/or tree nut allergies, make sure you have a meal at the Be Our Guest Restaurant (which was breathtaking, by the way). The chef advised us that no nuts are used on premises, and although the bread was made in a facility that may have resulted in cross contamination, ALL of the desserts were safe for those with peanut/tree nut allergies! My son was able to pick his own cupcake for dessert, and I'm not sure who was more excited -- him or me. The chef just had to prepare the cupcake without the garnish, which did not take away from it at all. Not to mention the cupcakes are amazing! I would highly recommend Be Our Guest, as most other sit-down restaurants are only able to offer ice cream without the Mickey sprinkles for dessert! - April Slavin

When our family stays on property we like to have breakfast at our hotel. The last time we went we stayed at the Caribbean Beach Resort so our room was pretty far from the food court. We didn't want to walk all the way back to the room to brush our teeth again after we had eaten and then walk again to get on the bus to head to the park. To solve this problem I purchased a few disposable toothbrushes. They are little pre-packaged toothbrushes that have a little bit of toothpaste on them. They are small enough to fit in your bag so you can take them with you to the parks to use after lunch and dinner, too. Just toss them in the garbage when you are done with them! - Nicole Benko