Tips about ECVs, Epcot, Food & Beverage and Mousecellaneous

On a recent trip I discovered that the new "Touch and Go" Key to the World cards (RFID) will work while in a lanyard pouch. However, if you have more than one of the new types of cards together in a pouch or hold them together, the sensors pick up both chips and cannot tell which is which. The cards work if you hold them up to the sensors one at a time, they just cannot be stacked together. - Mark

We will be going to WDW for our 19th trip in two weeks -- can't wait! One of the best tips we can offer is to definitely go to the parks at night -- they all look so different as the sun goes down. The sun setting and the darkness coming -- it really brings out the beautiful lighting and colors of the parks. Animal Kingdom will be open in the evenings when the Rivers of Light show debuts in 2016. I just wish Walt Disney could come back for one day and see the beauty and magic that he created! - Trudy

My new husband and I debated wearing Wedding Ears at Disney. We finally decided against them because of costs, weather, rides, etc., but we wanted people to know were on our honeymoon. No worries. The buttons we received at check-in were enough! Seriously, when going to Disney wear a button! And wear them with pride! Be honest, of course, but the mere symbol that we were celebrating our wedding was enough to have Disney making us feel even more special than we already did! The minute we put on the button, while leaving the Polynesian's Great Ceremonial House, we immediately had well-wishers congratulating us! - Emily Ebersole

I noticed in last week's AllEars Hears that someone mentioned the removal of the a la carte menu from the Grand Floridian Garden View Lounge's afternoon tea. Be sure if you see something like that to ask about it. We noticed the same thing, but asked and were still able to get everything we wanted a la carte, including the cheese plate (which had disappeared from the menu entirely). They have been changing the tea process and the strawberries and cream are now pre-made and are no longer gluten-free, so always be sure to ask questions every time you go somewhere! - Melissa Barlett

When we were at Disney World, we ordered self-contained cereal bowls and other fruit snacks from an online service. They arrived at Pop Century a day or so before us. Pop Century held the packages and delivered them to our room when we arrived. We then picked up milk every morning. It was quick and easy and saved some money. I did not use them all, so Pop Century helped me send the remainder back home. - Brenda Fitzsimmons

Our family does not eat pork, and at the Garden Grill, we mentioned to the server not to bring any pork products (several menu items mentioned bacon). A few minutes after we sat down, the chef came to our table to point out that a few other items also had pork in them, such as a topping or gravy. He offered some alternatives that were delicious and didn't take any extra time. We were also able to get seconds, since it is a family style meal. It's worth it to always ask! - Amy O.

We're a family of three that lives about 90 minutes from Walt Disney World. We usually pack our own picnic lunch of sandwiches and bottled water or sports drinks that we take with us when we have a Disney Day. It's amazing how hungry you get when you're touring, so we always bring our own snacks (packs of pretzels, cheese crackers, apples, bananas, etc.). It is a little inconvenient carrying a backpack loaded with food, but I figure that one small inconvenience saves us in the neighborhood of $50 per day that we spend in the parks, so it's worth it. Even though we love the Magic, we just can't look past some of the disproportionately high prices for things like bottles of soda and water. Lately, our favorite picnic spot has been the porch of the Main Street train station, where you can overlook all of Main Street, USA. There are tables and chairs up there that never seem to attract too many people. Once, we even had the Trolley Show cast members perform right in front of us on the porch as part of the "Walkin' Right Down the Middle of Main Street USA" show, and then as they left, they tried to bargain with us for a couple of the homemade chocolate chip cookies we were eating at the time! My son thought that was hysterical! We've also enjoyed the outdoor porch area of the Mexico pavilion at Epcot, which also has a number of tables and chairs that are usually vacant. - Diane C.

We live in Florida, so we are at the parks all the time. Spending even just a few hours at the parks can really hurt the wallet, especially when there are seven mouths to feed. What I began doing is making sandwiches for everyone, keeping them in a cooler and heading out to the car at lunchtime. I will have everyone tell me what they would like on their sandwich and assemble them at home. I will keep lettuce, tomato, mayo, mustard and Italian dressing on the side in the cooler. I label each of the lunch bags and finish adding the condiments as each person would like at lunchtime. We have drinks and bags of chips in the car as well. I will spend only 1/10 of the amount of money on lunch and it is delicious and more nutritious than eating in the park. We do this even if staying on Disney property or at our timeshare on 192. You get away from the rush of the park and it really does not take too much time out of your day. This does require a little extra work in the morning, but it is well worth it. I couldn't see spending $80 for lunch a few times a month, every month for the past four years... that adds up! - Margaret

I bring most of our beverages with us. I will bring a 12-pack of soda or three different two-liter bottles, a flat or a couple gallons of water. My biggest money-saver is bringing my own chocolate milk. My son drinks a lot of chocolate milk so I scope out the ads for the 10 for $10 sale and stock up the two weeks before we leave. One dollar milk is tons cheaper than the approximately $2.50 milk at Disney. - Shellie

Epcot - When your group is tired and thirsty, head to Club Cool in Epcot. You can sample Coco-Cola flavors from all over the world -- for free! - Natalie

Epcot - When your group is tired and thirsty, head to Club Cool in Epcot. You can sample Coco-Cola flavors from all over the world -- for free! - Natalie

We are also frugal and love being prepared. We were able to find collapsible water bottles with sport top spouts at our local dollar store, along with 12-pack Crystal Light singles and 10-pack off-brand powdered mixes. We took four bottles, then carried drink mixes in a baggie in our backpack, spending roughly $10 on supplies for four days of beverages! Many other guests were jealous of our neat bottles, which had a metal clip we used to hang from each of our bags. We filled them from water fountains with no problem, they didn't leak at all. - Kris

Visit table service restaurants for lunch instead of dinner. The menu items are similar, you get the experience, and the prices are often lower! You can have your cake and eat it, too, for cheap... er! - Clare

We are Disney Vacation Club members, Annual Passholders and have the Tables in Wonderland dining card... I go on AllEars.Net and look at the menus to help me get a feel of how much we will be spending on each meal -- don't forget to add on some drinks. Then I include my discounts and tip so I can estimate how much we will need per day for food. It is a lot of work to do this planning, but it helps us a lot and I will pretty much have it paid for before we leave. - Michelle G.

We visit the Mouse at least once a year. For our family of four that can get quite expensive, now that our two boys are over the age of 3. We always stay in a place that has a kitchen or kitchenette. This way we can always have at least one or two of the meals for the day in the room, depending on what we have planned. Since food alone is a HUGE expense when you are staying for a week, this really helps out. - Faith Turner