Tips about Food & Beverage, Mousecellaneous, Resorts and Walt Disney World

PORT ORLEANS RIVERSIDE - The last night of our vacation at WDW was as magical as all the others. When we got back to Port Orleans Riverside, we stopped at the food court. My husband said he would be back in a minute. When he returned he told me they had carriage rides and we were going on one now. A beautiful horse named Rob took us on a gentle quiet ride around Riverside, down by the river and over to French Quarter and back. It was a cool evening and they had quilts for you to snuggle under during the ride. This was such a great romantic way to spend our last evening in the most magical place in the world. - Marylee Beitler

FORT WILDERNESS RESORT - I enjoyed your review of the Hoop Dee Doo Musical Revue. It brought back fond memories of our trip last December. Something I think worth mentioning for those going with kids are the pony rides. We traveled over a little early and enjoyed the ride. - Jim Morgenland EDITOR'S NOTE: The petting zoo is no longer operated at Fort Wilderness however, they do have pony rides for the younger children. Height and age restrictions are posted. Parents must walk the pony around a sandy path so be sure both parents and riders have closed toed shoes. Pony rides close at 5pm.

The Coral Reef restaurant is no longer considered a signature meal! When I visited in August it was still considered a signature. I went onto the Disney site recently, though, and noticed that it was changed to a table service meal. - Michael Venere

ALL RESORTS - Even if you have express checkout (where they hang your statement on your doorknob the morning of your departure saving you a trip to the front desk and a wait in line to check out) be sure to check your statement for errors! I always do this and have found errors such as overcharges, duplications, charges for things that were supposed to be free etc. A trip to the front desk, statement in hand, usually results in a quick fix. - Beth Eloheimo

ALL RESORTS - My wife and I just got back from Port Orleans Riverside and discovered a neat idea. All the TVs are in armoires. Tune into the daily happenings channel. They play just instrumental music in at least 60 minute groupings. Turn up the volume, close the cabinet door, and you have the Magic all evening long. On another channel they feature Disney Radio. Each evening from 7-10 they have audio stories. Again, just turn up the sound, close the door, and you've got more magic! - Jim Miller

A great new item for that hot thirsty Disney trip -- individual cold brew tea bags! Any restaurant will give you free tap water but it doesn't taste very good. Just pop in a tea bag and some sugar (if desired) and you have delicious iced tea. - Amy

ALL STAR RESORTS - When we stay at the All Star Resorts we like to make our room feel larger and also give our daughter more playing room. Simply push the two beds together against the wall and move the night stand and table between the beds and the door and these small All Star rooms become much more roomy. Just leave a note politely asking the housekeeping to leave the furniture the way you have arranged. - Amy Kearns

There is no milk on the beverage island at any of the food courts, but if you are a coffee drinker like me who prefers milk to cream, just ask one of the CM's. They have some put aside in the "back room" just for this. - Jack Marshall

We stayed at the All-Star Movies Resort. My tip to everyone who's gotta have MILK: Instead of buying the little cartons of milk at the food court for 99 cents each, go into the gift shop and buy a whole quart for $1.50. This saved us a lot of money, once we realized they sold milk in the back of the gift shop. Take your own cereal from home, send someone for the bottle of milk in the morning and this will save you lots of time and money. - Donna Glatfelter

SHADES OF GREEN - With a military ID, you can purchase items at the Shades of Green Gift Shop that are VERY reasonably priced. For instance, we bought pins there for my son to trade in the parks: $3 for pins that are $6.50-$8.50 in WDW gift shops. - Joseph and Renee Witmer

SHADES OF GREEN - We stayed at the Shades of Green this past October during the National Car Rental Golf Tournament. The great perk of staying there was admission to the tournament was FREE! My husband got to see Tiger Woods in person for free. Needless to say we've made reservations for this year's tournament. - Connie Roberts

I just returned from 17 days in Orlando. Although I stayed off-site, I ate quite a bit at Disney hotels. We all know about character dining, but all you Brits should try normal meals at any of the hotels. Fantastic! - Chris M. from the UK

Did you get a great hotel deal for a Disney All Star "value" resort? Don't let the food court prices steal your bargain. At your value resort, a little Minute Maid sip box costs $1.50, and a 2-liter Coke in the gift shop is $3.50. You will probably not exceed your baggage allowance for a 4- or 5-day trip, so you can bring along another suitcase without exceeding your airline limit. Get that old suitcase out of the basement or buy one from a flea market, and the day before your trip, take the family on a grocery shopping trip. Let everyone pick out their favorite snack items. It will be a fun start to the trip, and you could literally save hundreds of dollars. Make sure you have included breakfast items like donuts, fruit cups, juices, bottled water, etc. Breakfast in the room can save you up to $10 per person, per day. If you are a coffee drinker, bring along that old coffee pot or pick up a little five-cup pot at Walmart. Not only will you save money, but you'll also save time not having to walk back and forth to the food court each morning. - Timothy Helm

We just returned from WDW, which was wonderful as always, and I wanted to give you a tip about eating at Chef Mickey's without a Priority Seating. When we called during the day for a Priority Seating for the same evening, there were none available. Since we were staying at the Contemporary, I went to the hostess around 4 p.m. (they close for lunch) and was told that they start taking seating requests at 4:30 p.m. for the 5 p.m. restaurant opening. I went at 4:30, put in my request, got my buzzer, and went to the shops. Promptly at 5 p.m., my buzzer went off, sending me back to the restaurant for dinner with my party of five. - Linda Bradley

I have some tips on how to save money on food at WDW. For breakfast, consider room service! You would think it would be expensive, but you can get a tea, muffins, croissants, and fruit platter for 2-4 people for under $20! And many rooms have free coffee machines... Another option is to do the two-meal-a-day plan. Have a big meal (breakfast/ brunch) around 10-11 a.m., and another big meal around 3-4 p.m. This way, you beat the restaurant rush at the more popular meal times, and when everyone else is eating, you are enjoying the slightly shorter ride lines. - Laura P., Bel Air, Md.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Room Service breakfasts are only available at deluxe resorts and Coronado Springs.