Tips about Food & Beverage, Resorts and Tables in Wonderland

If you have something in a restaurant at WDW that you like, don't hesitate to ask for the recipe. They have always given it to me. I still can't figure out how to cut down the recipe for Cheddar Cheese Soup from Le Cellier but my best surprise was the email that was waiting for me from Boma after our last trip. It adds the fun and extends your trip. - Joan Riegger

DISNEY'S HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS - Being a finicky eater I have found that in a lot of the restaurants, '50s Prime Time Cafe is one, just ask and they will do their best to please your tastebuds. For example, at Mama Melrose's, our server noticed we were not crazy about all types of cheeses on the four-cheese pizza, so he offered to have it prepared the way we wanted it. It was great! - Malcolm Mann

As a health inspector and food safety education specialist, I implore you to please, please advise your readers NOT to carry perishable leftovers around in the parks. Leftover portions of entrees and prepared foods can multiply bacteria *very* rapidly, especially in the heat of Florida. Even if reheated, these foods can make you or your family mildly or very ill... a sure vacation disaster. - Michele Samarya-Timm

Dining at Disney World is fun and delicious and first quality, but can get expensive. We eat our larger meal at lunchtime - some restaurants will even serve as late as 3:30 or 4:00 for lunch. The same item for dinner can be lots more expensive. All the theme parks have "turkey leg" carts. I believe they cost about $5 and are a hugh piece of meat. One smoked turkey leg will serve 2 children or 2 smaller-appetite adults. This or food from other carts (baked potato, etc.) are filling enough for a light dinner and inexpensive. This helps us with our family of 5. - Peggy from Florida

We asked a locker attendant where we needed to go to make dining reservations, assuming it would involve standing in a line, and were told all we needed to do was to pick up any WDW pay phone and dial *88. This was perhaps the most timesaving and convenient tip we received while at WDW. We made calls from virtually every park and were usually able to make our dinner reservations in about two minutes. - Laura Bynum

To those Disney enthusiasts who know about the suspension of early entry days [Editor's Note: this was written during the time that early entry or Extra Magic Hour as it is now know was not being held], it didn't matter during this time of the year. Besides, we encountered a lovely way to enter the park early... Character Breakfast. We arrived at the Magic Kingdom one day about 35 minutes before the turnstiles were open. We saw people going in so we headed in that direction. We were told that only people with breakfast priority seating were able to enter early, so we made them. That's right! We made them at the gate and entered into the park and got a 5- minute head-start on everyone who didn't have priority seating. Our breakfast was at the Crystal Palace and we loved every bit of it. The food was good and the characters were everywhere. Because it was not 100% full, the characters made many rounds to the tables and all the kids got hugs, autographs, and pictures. It was awesome! We decided right then and there that we were going to have Character Breakfasts every morning for the rest of our stay and we did and we loved it!!!! - Skipbroome

One more tip: Schedule your character breakfast just before lunchtime. We had ours at Hollywood & Vine (in Disney's Hollywood Studios) at 11 a.m. We were seated by about 11:15 and were able to enjoy the breakfast and lunch buffet. It was great! - Barb Jensen

EDITOR'S NOTE: This tip applies to all the other character breakfast locations.

We just returned from a wonderful week in WDW. We were traveling with a 2 & 5 year old and it was imperative that we stay stocked on water. The bottled water was expensive and often not very cold. We did have a small Coleman personal water bottle container. I know you can request ice water at any location that serves drinks in cups, however the wait for a single drink could be 20 minutes or more. We found that in some of the outdoor cart locations where they sell the squeeze breeze misters, the hosts were more than okay with us getting some ice and some water out of the tub. It was quick, free and easy (as very few things are in WDW in August. LOL!) - Amy Miles

ALL STAR RESORTS - If you have the option to pay extra for a "premium room" at the All Star Resort, do it. The room will be just the same as the others, but it will be located in one of the two buildings nearest the lobby, food court, and bus transportation. The All Star resorts are huge, and it can be quite a walk from the furthest building to the bus transportation. - Timothy Helm

DOWNTOWN DISNEY RESORTS - If you're staying at one of the seven Disney Village hotels, don't forget that you don't have to rely entirely on their bus system. For example, at the Magic Kingdom, the Disney Village buses don't go to the main gate. While this isn't a big deal for getting to the park (you just have to use the monorail or ferry like all other non-Disney hotel visitors), it's quite inconvenient at the end of an exhausting day, especially if you exit at park closing time. We just took a Disney bus to a resort (Port Orleans is close to Disney Springs, so it works well), hopped on a bus to Disney Springs and from there you have lots of options! You can shop, visit Pleasure Island, take the Disney Village shuttle, or just walk back to your hotel -- most are an easy walk from the first Disney Marketplace bus stop. From Epcot, after IllumiNations, there's another great option -- exit via International Gateway (allowing you a convenient view of IllumiNations from the far side of the lake), walk to the nearest resort and take the bus to Disney Springs. - Jacob Love

BOARDWALK - Because of the size of our "purchases" pile, my sisters and I started using the UPS mailing service at the Boardwalk. This year we took everything to them in large trash bags, which we had packed and tied shut. They put the bags in shipping boxes and everything arrived in great shape. It was much easier to be sure the small and large items were received OK. Opening the boxes a couple of days after we got home was almost like being in WDW again. - Joanne Kammer EDITOR'S NOTE: Shipping is available from resorts which have business centers such as Contemporary, Yacht and Beach, Coronado Springs, Swan and Dolphin and Grand Floridian. Please note that shipping costs are quite expensive.

ALL STAR MOVIES - I just returned home from our week-long vacation in Disney and it was fabulous. I wanted to remind everyone to please tip Housekeeping. We stayed at the All-Star Movies and these men and women worked very hard at cleaning up our mess, giving us more towels and Mickey soaps, and placing our kids' stuffed animals in cute little scenes. - Charlotte Reine

ALL RESORTS - If you have a little one who isn't used to sleeping in a regular bed, call housekeeping from your room and ask if there's a bed rail (or two) available. There's no charge, and it can sure save your child from a nasty bruise or scratch! - Beth Foss

ANIMAL KINGDOM LODGE - I'm not sure if you are aware of this, but Animal Kingdom Lodge does not allow balloons inside the resort. Any balloons brought to the resort (from the theme parks, for example) will have to be checked with Bell Services for the duration of the guest's stay. They will be returned upon departure. This information might be helpful to families with younger children, so there are no disappointments when returning to the resort. - Susan

ALL RESORTS - My family and I live in Atlanta, but have annual passes to WDW. We go down 4 to 5 times a year and usually stay at Disney resorts. Over the last few trips I learned something that I want to share. When you check into your resort, call Housekeeping from your in-room phone and give the Cast Member your room number and preferred time you would like them to service your room. You can even change it day to day and every time I have asked, they have honored my request. If you know that your family will be going to a theme park until 11 a.m. and will be back for the kids to take a nap at 11:30 and don't want housekeeping to be waking them up, try this. When you get in at 11:30 the room will be clean and you don't have to worry about what time they will be knocking on the door. And this is available at all resorts from the Grand Floridian to the All Stars. - Bryan Ray