Tips about Rental Car and Resorts

If you are driving your vehicle to one of the Epcot or Magic Kingdom resorts and plan to dine, be sure to have your confirmation number handy. Guards are being more strict on parking at these resorts! - Deb Wills

You really need to check what perks your various credit card and loyalty programs provide. I just noticed that my credit card entitles me to Avis President's Club membership. I use National Car rental in Orlando, but National will match the elite levels for Avis and Hertz. I joined the Avis President's Club, sent a copy of my Avis membership to National, and in about two days National authorized the match. I was upgraded from Emerald Aisle to Executive Aisle service. I was able to rent a Toyota Highlander for the price of a Toyota Corolla, saving $80 per day. - Ellen

All Resorts - Use On-Line Check-In every time and indicate your approximate arrival time. Disney has designated cast members working on these room assignments. Keep your room requests to a minimum, and prioritize them. Everybody wants to have a nice view, near the lobby and next to friends and family, but too many requests may make it impossible to find your perfect room, in your room category. Which request is most important? When Disney has to decide they may not pick yours. - A Cast Member

Shades of Green - The laundry facilities at Shades of Green only accept tokens, not actual quarters. We learned that the hard way when we brought down about $12 in quarters last summer. You must purchase tokens from the change machines in each laundry room to do your laundry there. On the plus side, the kids had a blast at the arcade with those leftover quarters! - Teri Biebel

Animal Kingdom Lodge - I just wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed reading "Zamgwar Sleeps with the Giraffes". The last time my husband and I were in Disney World was in September 2009. We were recently married and a family friend let us use her Disney Vacation Club points as a wedding gift. We stayed at Animal Kingdom Lodge and reading Zamgwar's article brought back such wonderful memories. AKL truly is an amazing resort. I have a tip for anyone staying there: Our room was located on the Uzima Savanna. We much preferred this savanna to the main Arusha Savanna. Arusha is extremely large with lots of trees and bushes and when we went down to one of the public viewing areas, we had trouble seeing a lot of the animals. They were either hidden, or too far away. The Uzima Savanna is much smaller and you are guaranteed an up-close and personal look at the animals! - Jillian

All Resorts - For young children who are too big for cribs, bed rails may be available upon request at Disney resorts. Be sure to ask at the front desk if you need them. - Megan

We typically stay off-property in a condo and rent a car for travel around Kissimmee and the parks. When driving from the Orlando airport there are various Sun Pass tolls that you are required to pay. This year, our rental car came equipped with an EZ Pass, which would automatically charge our credit card on file for the tolls if we activated it. It was great because we didn't need to have cash, wait in a line for a toll taker, etc. We didn't see until later (read the small print on the label underneath the pass) that they charge you $2.95 per day up to $14.95 max for the USE of the EZ Pass! Great convenience, but beware the extra charge! - Heidi Potenza

Pop Century - Just stayed at Pop Century for the first time and really enjoyed the resort. Wanted to mention that the "Mom's Night Out" dinners at the food court are fabulous for about $10! The fried chicken was excellent. Sad to report that those dinners are no longer served in metal TV dinner trays, though. - Susan

All Resorts - My wife and I get to go to Walt Disney World fairly often, so we always build "relax" time into our trips. Sometimes, that means going back to the resort for a quick nap in the middle of the afternoon. We find that turning on the "WDW Today" channel on the TV provides the perfect background music for this. "The nap channel" (as we call it) provides soft, instrumental versions of Disney songs. We hop in bed, turn the volume down a bit, and drift off to a rejuvenating sleep. And while I can't prove it, I'm pretty sure the music helps to make magical dreams! - Brian Lawrence

We love the refillable mugs at the Disney resorts and find them to be a great value. Before leaving home, I purchase disposable dishcloths and spray them with a foamy dish-washing detergent, let them dry and place in a zipper top bag. Just dampen the wipes to thoroughly clean the mugs with soap and water. Each wipe lasts for several washings. No leftover, sticky residue; just a nice clean mug. Especially great if one member of the family has the sniffles. - Linda Jacobs

All Resorts - If you have toddlers and/or crawling babies, it is a good idea to check the floor, including under the beds, for medications dropped from the previous resort guests. We found an unknown pill picked up by our one year old as he was scouting out the place. It only takes a minute and is well worth the effort! - Timothy

All Resorts - We just returned from a visit to the World. We have a 3-year-old, so upon check-in I asked if I could have a stepstool in the room so he would be able to easily use the sink to wash hands and brush teeth. I am happy to report they were able to accommodate my request! It was great! I thought other parents traveling with toddlers would find this helpful. - Amy Devoe

Art of Animation - Six of us (four adults and two kids) recently stayed in a Cars suite [at Disney's Art of Animation Resort] for 10 days. It was great to have the extra space and having two bathrooms was especially nice. The only complaint we had was that some of the electrical outlets are at the perfect height to entice a curious 14-month-old and they have no child protective covers. I would strongly suggest that anyone traveling with a toddler bring their own. - j2mom

All Resorts - On our trip in June 2012 we learned that they leave the scales on all night at the airport luggage check-in desk. This made it easy to find out if our suitcases were too heavy before we had to check them in the next morning. - Sharon H.

Coronado Springs - The Pepper Market at Coronado Springs is now doing a regular breakfast buffet. No ticket and stamping, it's just pay one price (I think it was $15) and it's all you can eat. - Juli Ruffing

EDITOR'S NOTE: The $14.99 buffet service was tested at Pepper Market earlier this year, and has apparently been implemented full-time now. We have updated menus here:
http://allears.net/menu/menus.htm#cs