Tips about Disney Dining Plan and Souvenirs

Another idea to control the "I wants" from your kids. My daughter earned money before going on our trips. Sometimes she collected cans to recycle, sometimes she did chores around the house. She was much more selective about her choices and valued her souvenirs much more. - Suzanne P.

We just returned from Disney World (not our first time). We discovered if you are on the dining plan and do not stay at one hotel for your entire stay, you REALLY need to plan. We stayed Saturday night at hotel #1 and knew enough to use all our meals before checking into hotel #2 on Sunday morning. What we DIDN'T know, is that our second dining plan wouldn't work with our MagicBands until after midnight on Sunday. We had to charge our meals and then have the hotel take the meals off our bill. They were willing to do so, but you should keep your receipts to make it easier on all. My advice is that if you use the dining plan, stay in the same hotel for your entire visit. (Disney cast members we spoke to are aware of this problem, but have not yet found a solution.) - David Bowman

We just returned from WDW for a wonderful week at Saratoga Springs Resort. However, we were unable to use all of our dining plan counter service and snack credits before the last day arrived. We spoke with a cast member, Sandra, about not wanting to lose them, nor wanting 10 breakfast platters. She informed us that for a counter service credit you can do several things. (This was breakfast time.) We used two counter service credits for two breakfast sandwiches and two drinks, and we used three credits for three packaged ham and cheddar sandwiches in the refrigerator section with three desserts and three drinks. The final five credits were used to make five continental breakfasts -- one piece of fresh fruit, a pastry and a beverage times five. This made the trip home easier as we didn't have to stop for food along the way. This is a much better idea than just letting your credits go to waste. - Kristen Filer

We secured one of those D-ring keychain clips to the stroller handle with a Velcro strap. It was a handy place to hang all of our souvenir shopping bags that we would accumulate! - Jackie Beering

I was a lucky kid -- visited Disney three times before graduating high school... One of my favorite souvenirs from Disney is my sterling silver Doc charm. My sisters and I got silver charm bracelets while in elementary school, and whenever there was an "event" or trip we'd get a silver charm to commemorate it. I've since married and have three daughters of my own. The girls each have a silver charm bracelet and plan on adding another character charm for each of our visits to Disney. Who knows? Maybe someday we'll be adding charms to their daughters' bracelets! - Suzanne Vallillo

The dining plan is a huge plus for our family. We love not worrying about prices, and we consistently save tons. One thing to note when you're figuring out if it works for you, make sure to include the Orange County tax of 6.5 percent. When you're on the dining plan you don't have to pay that as well, which can tip the scales in the favor of the dining plan if you're on the fence. - Britney Phillips

Just call 1-407-363-6200 -- WDW Merchandise Guest Services! You can order just about anything they sell at WDW! Holly