Tips about Food & Beverage, Planning, Souvenirs and Travel

I am an annual passholder and have realized that my pass usually has discounts available during lunch hours and not dinner. We either make the latest reservation that would still give a discount for lunch, or eat a nice lunch and grab something not as expensive for dinner. We would actually switch and eat our bigger or more expensive meal at lunch, and then have a hot dog or delicious turkey leg for dinner, which was usually a bit lighter also! - Niki Koullias

A really helpful site to visit when considering Priceline is biddingfortravel.com. Scroll down to Florida -- Orlando/Walt Disney World and see what bids others are winning. It's helpful to know prices that others got and on what dates, what hotels are in the different zones, and to read reviews from other travelers about the hotels that Priceline offers. - Christina

Regarding your tips on priceline.com, here is a tip for those who don't live in or fly out of major cities. (Example: my husband and I live 2 1/2 hours south of Chicago, but usually fly out of O'Hare going to Orlando.) We tend to take early flights before 10 a.m. Allowing for the two hours they recommend to be there before your flight plus driving time, it makes for an early morning departure. For a great way to save some morning hours, stay the night before near the airport. We have gotten rooms near O'Hare for as little as $40 a night (in a 3 star hotel) via Priceline, and it has saved us from being too tired the next day! - Sara

Regarding your tips on priceline.com, here is a tip for those who don't live in or fly out of major cities. (Example: my husband and I live 2 1/2 hours south of Chicago, but usually fly out of O'Hare going to Orlando.) We tend to take early flights before 10 a.m. Allowing for the two hours they recommend to be there before your flight plus driving time, it makes for an early morning departure. For a great way to save some morning hours, stay the night before near the airport. We have gotten rooms near O'Hare for as little as $40 a night (in a 3 star hotel) via Priceline, and it has saved us from being too tired the next day! - Sara

I have a file called WDW tips that I use to copy and paste any of the news bites and tips that I read on AllEars(R).Net or elsewhere. Now I won't forget anything when I plan my next trip to WDW. ALL EARS.net has the greatest tips and ideas. You don't want to forget any of them! - Diane Taylor

Try to go to a character breakfast in one of the parks for the first 8 a.m. seating before the park opens. You get to enter the park around 7:45 a.m., get your stroller/wheelchairs, eat a great breakfast and be in the back of the park riding the rides at opening time while everybody else is waiting in lines and just starting to come into the park. For a great photo opportunity, eat at the Crystal Palace and on your way there take a picture of your family in front of the castle -- since the park isn't open yet, your family will be the only ones in the picture. It's the only time you can ever do that! - Elizabeth Donoho

Magic Kingdom - Some people don't realize that many of the table service restaurants in the parks seat until park closing. We have found it's nice to have a late lunch, and then after watching the evening parade at the Magic Kingdom, go to the Liberty Tree Tavern for dinner. We've always been able to get seated as soon as we go in, even without reservations. When we've finished our wonderful meal, the park is practically empty and we can take our time walking down Main Street and not fighting a crowd. It really makes a nice, stress-free ending to an enjoyable day. - Stacey Kiefer

Save those receipts! Twice our receipts from food service locations at Walt Disney World included a 20 percent off total merchandise purchase (from store opening to 1 p.m.) coupon at the bottom, good at select locations, good through January 5. This happened at both Pizza Planet in Disney's Hollywood Studios and also at the Electric Umbrella at Epcot. - Cheyenna

EDITOR'S NOTE: This promotion usually runs several times a year. Be sure to check if your receipt is one that has the coupon.

Save those receipts! Twice our receipts from food service locations at Walt Disney World included a 20 percent off total merchandise purchase (from store opening to 1 p.m.) coupon at the bottom, good at select locations, good through January 5. This happened at both Pizza Planet in Disney's Hollywood Studios and also at the Electric Umbrella at Epcot. - Cheyenna

EDITOR'S NOTE: This promotion usually runs several times a year. Be sure to check if your receipt is one that has the coupon.

EPCOT - While at Epcot recently (in Future World, near the Mouse Gear entrance), I noticed that the soda/ice cream carts had a new item: chocolate/vanilla swirl push-up pops for only $1.00! That will be a great low-cost treat when it's hot! - Carol Kelley

EPCOT - While at Epcot recently (in Future World, near the Mouse Gear entrance), I noticed that the soda/ice cream carts had a new item: chocolate/vanilla swirl push-up pops for only $1.00! That will be a great low-cost treat when it's hot! - Carol Kelley

ANIMAL KINGDOM - At the Harambe Fruit Market in Animal Kingdom, they now have a really nice fruit and cheese dish in addition to the other fruit choices. It contains apple slices -- probably half a good-sized apple, plus a nice bunch of grapes, and three slices each of cheddar and gouda. It was just about perfect for something light on a warm day. The price wasn't too bad, either, at $5.49 (2008 price). - Lynn Pernezny

We have found it very difficult in the past to manage maps, stroller, our other child and all the gear that goes with them. To maximize space, we trimmed the park maps from the PassPorter Walt Disney World guidebook and had them laminated in an 8x10 sheet. We then placed velcro dots on the map and the canopy of the stroller. The night before, my husband and I would circle the attractions we really wanted to get to, including Fastpass information, and write our Priority Seating number and any other info we might need during the day. Our map was always available and in plain sight. We had many folks tell us what a great idea this was. A few Cast Members were even surprised to see how accurate and up-to-date the PassPorter's maps were. - Melissa Pagel

Similar to Lisa Dunn who wrote last week about staying at a Disney Springs resort on her first day in the World, we live in California and rarely arrive earlier than 9 or 10 p.m. on the first night. I realize rooms are pre-selected prior to arrival, but since we stay for nine or 10 nights, I've found when we check in early in the day, we sometimes have an opportunity to ask for a special location if our preference hasn't been already accommodated. That's less likely at 10 p.m. when most folks have already checked into the hotel. We have recently stayed at either the Hyatt in the Orlando airport or one of the other airport hotels. Because we are still running on west coast time, we're usually ready for dinner or a swim when we arrive and there are plenty of places to eat. I've found the room rates extremely reasonable at the near-airport locations -- often breakfast is included and the transportation from the airport to those hotels is free. - Lori Degliantoni

All Resorts - On our last trip to WDW we had a fridge in our room -- very handy! However, our fridge was too cold and it froze 12 bottles of water solid. At first I was mad but I took two of the frozen solid bottles to the park with me and it actually worked out great. It took a good part of the day for them to totally un-freeze, so we had cold water almost the whole day. If you have a fridge with a freezer, put bottled water in the freezer instead of the fridge and you'll have cold water much longer throughout a day at the parks. - BEARWIFME

EDITOR'S NOTE: This is a great tip, but if you try it, don't fill the bottles up to the very top -- leave an inch or two, since the water will expand as it freezes.