Tips about Resorts and Souvenirs

My daughter and her friends enjoyed pressing pennies and quarters while on our Disney trips. You can purchase a "book" to keep your pennies in. They have press machines in all the parks and resorts, even Disney Springs. They tried to get one for everything they did. We just purchased a new roll of pennies from the bank before the trip so that we had enough and they were all new and shiny. - Cindy Firmin

For those Disney fans who loved the SpectroMagic Parade in Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom and miss it as much as I do, you now have an opportunity to buy the music. The full 14-minute song is available for purchase in the iTtunes store for $3.99. My wife and I now have it on our iPods and enjoy taking a 14-minute trip to the Most Magical Place on Earth (without having to travel to Tokyo). - Patrick Markham

Pop Century - If staying at the Pop Century Resort, you might want to bring along a noise maker or a fan. The rooms are very quiet, not a lot of background air conditioner noise like you get at many hotels. To muffle the sound of people outside, we always bring a fan. - Jenifer Markham

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

Boardwalk Villas - I have a money-saving tip for all of the BoardWalk hotel guests staying without cars. As DVC members we almost always stay at our home resort, the Boardwalk. We also use Magical Express and never bother to rent a car while there. (Gotta love that free Disney transportation!) Luckily there is a Hess station across the street from our resort entrance. On our first day there my husband and I will unpack one of our large suitcases and wheel it on over to that Hess station where we fill up on gallons of water, bottles of soda, orange juice and beer, plus some snacks and simple breakfast foods to stock our hotel fridge. We may look a little strange loading all that up into a suitcase and walking back to our hotel but we are able to stock up on drinks for a whole week at less than half the cost of the resort. - Erin

Ever since my son was small, I have purchased Disney plush characters at home, at either a drug store or when The Disney Store has sales. I bring them hidden in our luggage and surprise him with one every day we're at WDW. He believes it's Disney magic that he gets a fun, new toy every day! He doesn't ask for as many toys from the parks and I save a ton of money not having to pay retail prices! - Nancy Cohan

A great way to save money is pre-purchase Disney souvenirs for your kids before you leave for your trip. You can then surprise them every morning with something new. Whether it just be a dollar store Mickey sticker book or a new t-shirt, your child will love it and you will save money! My mother did this on our 1998 trip and to this day I can remember receiving something every morning from a character. - Jessica Stahl

The $1 section of Target and Michaels craft stores always have Disney items. Check out your local Disney Store and Disneystore.com to buy items for the kids before you get there and present them as a gift. I am not going to lie, we still buy stuff at the parks, but give the kids a limit. Also if you drive like we do, check out the Disney outlets in St. Augustine and Orlando. - Michelle G.

I didn't buy our goodies to take home with us until the last day. I know it is tempting to buy everything right away, but if you wait, then when you do buy them, you don't spend more than the budget. - Heather

For someone who wants to visit the parks often and have a souvenir each time without spending a ton of money, postcards are the key! Postcards are like miniature art. Upon your return, they can be framed, made into a collage, or even turned into a border around the room. On the back, you can also write the date or even a message about unique details from that trip. - Crissy Stout

If you are staying at Pop Century or Art of Animation, you can ride the other resort's bus from the park to the resort. The bus stops at the parks are next to each other (except AK) and it is a quick walk across Generation Gap bridge. My wife and I would take whichever bus arrived first instead of waiting. For example, we recently stayed at Pop Century (the '60s) and would sometimes ride the AOA bus if it came first, the Pop Century line was really long or if a scooter needed loaded. It only takes a couple minutes to walk from the AOA bus stop across the bridge to the '60s. - Mark

We stayed at the Art of Animation Resort in the Little Mermaid rooms from April 21-28. I was a little apprehensive since I read so many posts about how far the walk to the building was! We stayed in building 9 (even got a free upgrade to a King bed for our anniversary), and we had no issue with the walk. Walking to the buses in the morning is easy, using the sidewalk on the outside of the buildings. This was especially convenient because they set up a breakfast cart by the Flippin' Fins pool every morning with grab-and-go items, so we didn't have to deal with the crowds at Landscape of Flavors. - Ginger

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

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