Tips about Magic Kingdom, Mousecellaneous, Planning, Resorts and Special Events

Food & Wine Festival - This will be our fourth year in a row for the Epcot International Food and Wine Festival. Some things we have learned over the years:

-- The signature dining experiences are well worth it. They fill up fast, so watch for the schedule and book as soon as you can. Be adventuresome!

-- The special kiosks set up for sampling food and wine have very short lines during the week, Monday-Thursday. It gets crazy Friday and Saturday nights. So do your sampling during the week and save the weekends for hard-ticket events such as wine and cheese tastings and signature dining!

-- Disney gift cards are great for paying at the food and wine kiosks. If you're local or staying at a hotel without room charge privileges, such as the Swan or Dolphin, or off-property, it is easier/safer than dealing with a credit card, chasing around for cash, or managing change from a bunch of small transactions.

-- Give everything a try. You might find something new you really like.

-- Sample more dishes and leave room for even more by sharing with a friend!

-- Give yourself time to graze all afternoon and evening. Rather than making full ADRs for every day, plan to go kiosk hopping for a meal or two during your stay. The selections typically include small servings of salads, meats, fish, vegetables, soups, and desserts in addition to wines and beers. You can have a lot of fun feeding yourself a progressive dinner while touring around World Showcase.

-- Don't try to do it all in one day! There's too much to learn, enjoy, and experience! - Janet S.

Food & Wine Festival - This will be my fourth year in a row going to the Epcot Food and Wine Festival. My husband and I enjoy all of the sights, sounds, and definitely the food that this festival brings to our favorite park. My number one tip is to print out all of the food booth information from AllEars.Net ahead of time and place those printouts in a pocket, purse, or bookbag to bring with you to the park. This has saved us so much time and sanity trying to see what each booth has to offer. We have found that several people crowd around the signs displaying the food and wine selections at each booth, and with the printouts, you will already know what the booth is offering and can get straight in line. This will also allow you to plan on how much money you will be spending in the park. Also, we found that weekdays were less crowded and so you are able to enjoy more food and activities without having to wait in line in the hot sun. And if you're staying in Disney, going to Epcot during the Extra Magic Hours will allow you to avoid the crowds and enjoy the nighttime festivities at the park. This festival is our absolute favorite time of year to visit Epcot. It provides so much culture and fun to an already outstanding park. - Rachel

Food & Wine Festival - If you are planning to do the Party for the Senses, skip the Eat to the Beat Concert unless you really like the group. Seating is limited in the dining venue. People start to line up at least one hour before the World Showplace opens. Once it does, which is before the concert is over, it's a mad dash to grab a table or at least a seat. If you don't mind standing while you eat, enjoy the concert. If you like to sit and eat, get to World Showplace early. - Ray S.

Food & Wine Festival - To get the most "bang for our buck" from the experience, I save our Disney Reward Dollars from the Disney Visa and use the "reward card" to purchase from all of the vendors. I can swipe the card and get a printout of my balance. It takes some of the pain out of spending so much at Epcot during this time. We try just about EVERYTHING around the World. - Susan Black

Food & Wine Festival - We absolutely LOVE Epcot's Food and Wine Festival and would go every year if we could! The first time we attended we quickly discovered that even when we shared each country's offerings, we'd become full way too fast and never get a chance to try everything. So now we try to plan at least two days (three is better) to munch our way around the World. We carry a program with us that lists the offerings in each country. Then we do every OTHER food stand! It gives us the chance to walk a bit between "meals." We make sure to mark off the items that we try in each country. Then, when we return the next time, we visit the food stands that we bypassed on our first visit. If we do have a third day to spend at Epcot, and if we managed to make our way around the World on our second visit, we return to those stands where we really enjoyed the offerings and have seconds! Otherwise we just pick up where we left off. It is also great fun to attend with another adventurous couple! Be sure to attend any seminars being offered, and if there are any wine tastings going on, do those, as well! - Donna Brewer

Please be aware if you have food restrictions or allergies that hopping from booth to booth can take a while. At each booth they will have to call a chef to clear what the ingredients are for the food served and this can take up to 10-15 minutes. This becomes hard when the rest of your group is ready to move on. (Kay)

Food & Wine Festival - Most people don't realize that the Food & Wine Festival stands have a "sneak peek" on the day before the Festival officially opens. It was a great time to sample the food and wine offerings with little or no wait... - Elaine P.

Wilderness Lodge - Just returned from a week at WL and they now have a photopass counter in the hotel as well as sessions (for a fee) with photographers for pictures around the lodge - Lesley

Forgive me for recycling these old tips I learned a few years ago. I am a planner and before I leave home (UK), I prepare all my "mousekeeping" tips in separate envelopes with a little message of thanks and the date to be given. This saves a great deal of time -- more time for the World -- and a lot of scrabbling in purses and wallets for the requisite amount. Before travelling and when changing my currency I always ask for small denominations so I am prepared for those immediate gratuities (luggage, valet parking, etc). I am already writing my envelopes for our next trip, September '08 -- Boardwalk Villas!

Magic Kingdom - I enjoyed reading the article on bashful travelers (AllEars Newsletter Issue #460), as I am one myself. I had a comment that might help people who want to see the Monsters, Inc. show in Tomorrowland. There are tabletops in front of everyone when you sit down in the theater. On the tables, there are "reading" lamps every so often. Those conceal the cameras that they use to interact with guests. Avoid sitting directly behind one of those and you should be fine. - Mandy Blank

Flower and Garden Festival - If you plan on seeing any of the Flower Power concert acts, keep in mind that only the front part of the American Gardens Theater is covered. If being seated out of the sun or rain is important to you, you need to be in line at least 1-2 hours before the show time. - Jack Marshall

We took a short trip to the Magic Kingdom and Epcot, and it rained quite frequently. We have two children in strollers, and the best thing we bought prior to the trip were two $10 stroller covers. Our girls were comfortable and dry, even when it was pouring and windy. There were a lot of people using ponchos, but we noticed that they did not stay on the strollers like ours did. When it stopped raining, we put them in the storage area under each stroller (ours are the larger umbrella strollers). - Angie

If you're a teenage girl (like me) and you're going to Disney, bring your cellphone or iPod with you! It's nice to be able to listen to your music while waiting in line. Another thing: make sure you put your name and address on everything -- with iPods or mp3 players, stick some white tape on the back and write your info with a pen or marker, because Disney will return items if they find them! - Stephanie

If you're a teenage girl (like me) and you're going to Disney, bring your cellphone or iPod with you! It's nice to be able to listen to your music while waiting in line. Another thing: make sure you put your name and address on everything -- with iPods or mp3 players, stick some white tape on the back and write your info with a pen or marker, because Disney will return items if they find them! - Stephanie

If you're a teenage girl (like me) and you're going to Disney, bring your cellphone or iPod with you! It's nice to be able to listen to your music while waiting in line. Another thing: make sure you put your name and address on everything -- with iPods or mp3 players, stick some white tape on the back and write your info with a pen or marker, because Disney will return items if they find them! - Stephanie