More Readers Share tips
I love the book and all the helpful suggestions with your emails. Perhaps I've missed it
somewhere, but I would love to see you include something about wagons. I live in the
Northeast and here it is very common to pull our children around in wagons, especially with
two children. So years ago, when our children were young, we took the auto train and
brought our wagon all the way down to Florida to save money on strollers. Unfortunately,
we were just unloading it from the car when a kind passerby told us they were not
permitted in any of the parks. In all the reading I had done, nowhere had I found this
information. Apparently you are required to push something, not pull it. So we took a quick
ride to a Toys-R-Us and bought a double folding stroller which was still less than renting for
the entire time - and I used it when I got home as well. But we were very discouraged to
have wasted the space in our car for something we could not use. Please post this for other
parents - hopefully nobody will make the same mistake that we made. Keep up the great
work! Teresa
Discount Walt Disney World resort rates are available to the general public, even if
you don’t have the “secret” Disney discount codes. Here’s how: When you go to
http://disneyworld.disney.go.com price your dream vacation as you normally would.
Select “Vacation Packages” or “Room Only” option, enter your check-in and checkout dates, number in your party, and then select the resort you are interested in,
all as usual. Click “Find Prices.”
The Disney reservation system will return a price quote for that resort on those
days. For example, I just selected to go to the Pop Century resort Feb 2-9, 2010.
The Disney reservation system gave me a price quote of $786 for a preferred room
for my 7-night vacation, and $668 for a standard room.
Now here’s the key. On the left side of the screen there is an area where you can
change your search criteria. Look for the link that says “Start Over.” A new popup
screen will open, asking you why you did not book a reservation. (You can ignore or
close the original “Book Your Vacation” window.) In the new popup window, scroll
down to the bottom “Check Out Our Special Offers” button. Clicking on this option
opens another new window, which will show you the discount offers currently
available to the general public for vacation packages or room-only and other
discount offers.
In my example above, I clicked on “Save at least 30% on Disney Resort hotels.” I
selected “Value Resorts,” clicked on “Book Now,” then on “Book Room Only” option.
My dates and number of people remained the same. Under “Advanced Search” I
chose “Value Resorts” then “Pop Century resort,” then clicked on “Continue.” My
new price quote for a preferred room was now just $550 for 7 nights (30%
savings), and just $468 for a standard room (tax included).
Just for comparison, I also checked the savings on a 7-night room-only rate for a
Studio – Bay Lake View at Bay Lake Tower at Disney’s Contemporary Resort. My
original $3229 price quote was discounted down to $1776 for 7 nights, tax included
(45% savings). A Theme Park View room at the Polynesian Resort was discounted
from $4016 down to $2410 (40% savings). A standard view room at the Caribbean
Beach Resort was discounted from $1924.62 down to $1196. (38% savings).
This technique allowed me to save 30% on Value Resorts, 35% on Moderate
Resorts, 40% on Deluxe Resorts, and 45% on Deluxe Villas for stays through
February 11, when booked through the Walt Disney World Travel Company before
December 31. That’s also what the current discount codes would have saved me,
and the same savings was noted in an email I received with my own personal PIN
code.
Like all Disney offers, this technique may be discontinued at any time. Kerry
The Sci-Fi Dinner Theater is a dining option parents of young children should
consider with caution. It hadn’t occurred to us that it might be inappropriate for our
3 and 7-year old daughters. We assumed it would feature cute Disney movies on
the screen. We ended up having to leave soon after we received our food (boxed it
up to go) because our 7 year old was hiding in the car seat and covering her ears.
She’s not terribly sensitive but we do monitor what she watches carefully. My
husband had to sleep in the bed with her that night because she was afraid of
nightmares of the scenes she had seen… Martian monsters, giant killer Gila
monsters, etc. Just would be helpful to be warned in the reviews.
Also, we would NOT recommend buying tickets to exclusive ticketed holiday parties
for the actual holiday date itself. We paid over $175 for the Mickey’s Not-So-Scary
Halloween Party ON Halloween Night. Disney ended up issuing more tickets to this
sold out event and it was VERY CROWDED. We couldn’t get on rides without a long
wait until 11:15 pm. We waited in long lines for candy and ended up with less than
we usually have LEFT OVER at our house. Character signing lines were long. It was
a huge disappointment. Friends who attended the same party in September and
October said it was not crowded at all. I really think it’s best to avoid these parties
on the actual holiday. Katherine
I just wanted to let your readers know that I recently used U-Save Auto Rental. I
got a Full-size car for the week at $179.00. The good thing about using them is that
they do not charge out of state visitors the customary $300-$500 deposit on your
credit card. I used multiple websites and kept doing searches every day. I finally
found the rate on U-save.com. When you arrive at the airport (Orlando), call their
number and they will come pick you up. (off-site rental) Another thing about their
company, my flight schedule has changed twice and they have been more than
accommodating in adjusting my rental schedule. Customer service has been very
good so far.
Here is a tip we used on our last trip. When we were handed a PhotoPass card we
would take a picture of the number with our cell phone. This way if we happened to
lose the card, we still had the number. Jeanne
I have a suggestion for those travelling with toddlers. We have an 18 month old son
who loves to run everywhere he goes. In crowded public places this is very stressful
as he doesn't like to be in the stroller for long periods of time. So we bought a
harness. It sounds worse than it is...it's a backpack style that looks like a puppy
dog with a bone in his mouth. The bone is actually a tether that pulls out about 6
feet. There is also a bit of room for him to stash a small toy and when he is sleepy
he likes to use it as a pillow. We are from Canada but I have seen similar ones on
Target.com. We prefer this to the wrist type as our toddler can un-do them. Jo Ann
We have done this the past couple of times we visited Disney, and have found it to
be great. Many of the shops at Disney (and some of the other parks - SeaWorld for
one) will ship your souvenirs to your home. With the concerns of overweight
luggage, we found this was a great way to pick up all our most wanted souvenirs
without having to worry about getting them home. There is a charge for shipping,
which is much less than the cost of overweight luggage, and if you live out of state,
there is no sales tax on those items shipped. That savings alone pays for a good
share of the shipping costs. We found that most of the items arrived at our home in
about a week. And, if you have a Disney Visa card, the 10% savings you get at the
World of Disney store will pretty much cover the cost of shipping. The only
downside, they won't ship any perishables such as candy, coffees, etc. Deb
When you are planning your Magic Kingdom day, make sure you aren’t going on a
special event night (like Halloween or Christmas party) unless you have Park
Hopper tickets, as the park closes early evening and becomes available only for
guests who have purchased party tickets. Pam
Just wanted to let you know of a scooter rental company we tried for our vacation
at Disney World. The hotel concierge gave us a card for Best Price Mobility, and I'm
here to tell you they were great to work with. They had my husband’s scooter at
the hotel in no time, & were very helpful in showing us how to use it. The scooter
was like new, and we had a great time. I would recommend them to all other
readers of your great book! Jeanne
I don't have a suggestion to share, I just wanted to thank you so much for the helpful hints
in your book. I had started planning our trip back in June, and had made car rental
reservations (we are driving from WDW on to the Keys). An economy car through Alamo
was $311. You noted to check back on car rental rates because they change often. So
now, with our trip just a week away, I did another search on SideStep and WOW! I was
able to book a compact, one class up, for only $161!!! That's $150 I can go spend on
souvenirs! (although my husband claims he wants to spend it all on pastries at the French
bakery in EPCOT ) So thank you for guiding us to be able to save so much on just one
piece of our vacation. Amy
We just returned from a 7 day vacation to Disney with 3 kids - various ages. Thank
you for all the great tips and money saving ideas! We estimate that you saved us
over $500!!! We stayed at WorldQuest Resort - 1 mile from Disney - 3 bedroom, 3
bath unit with full kitchen and W/D PLUS a rental car for the week for only
$1700.(taxes included) through Expedia! WorldQuest was great - quiet, nice pool,
easy access to parks, grocery, restaurants, etc. Free shuttle (we didn't use). Our
tips are 1.) Take one long sleeve - we had cool weather in April and were
unprepared. 2.) Send an adult ahead to rental car area as soon as you land (unless
you have the "fast-pass"). Long rental car lines leave families frustrated and wastes
valuable park time. 3.) Most of us can only do one park per day. Park Hopper
options are nice, but we only were able to use ours 2 out of 7 days. Might as well
save money and commit to one park per day. You can come and go as you please even parking passes are good for the whole day. 4.) Get to Animal Kingdom at
least 30 minutes before opening. Go directly to the African Safari ride! The animals
are out and the line is short - it's well worth it. And whatever you do, DON'T miss
"It's Tough to Be a Bug". Betty Lynn
My family and I go the Orlando WDW parks no less than twice a year. We always
stay at one of the All Stars. I always ask for an in-room frig. which is $10 per
day. To save money at lunch, I buy a loaf of bread, lunch meat, chips, and drinks
from the grocery store. When we are ready for lunch, we take a break from the
parks and head back for a mid-afternoon break and rest. We also get bottled water
and Lipton-on-the-go packets. My kids just love this. The in-room frig is also great
if you have meds that need to be kept at cooler temperatures; this saves on hassle
of the ice machine. Lisa
I just wanted to thank you for a very informative book. We booked our first trip in
January with plans to travel in April. I called Disney to make my final payment
when I remembered reading about the free upgrade for the water park options. I
mentioned it to the man on the phone and saved $90 per person. The advice for
booking the restaurants early helped as well. I called about that the first week in
January and many of the restaurants were already filled up. Thank you so much for
the great tips. Tammy
While shopping at the Dollar Tree for rain coats we came across loads of different
glow sticks. We stocked up on them for some great night fun and at only $1 for a
pack of 15 we will have enough for the entire trip. Jason
I emailed Disney PhotoPass and learned that we can save huge by buying 1 pass
and then simply have everyone in the group register their passes to one account!
There’s no limit to the number of pictures for the account or number of people per
account. If there are more pictures than a single CD will hold, they provide the
extra CDs at no additional cost! We can all share the cost and get all the park
professional photographer pictures we want – all in one place. Jill
We put a flashing light necklace on our kids at night so they are easy to spot. We
also put one on our stroller. We went on one of the busiest days of the year and
instantly found the stroller among fifty or more parked strollers. They sell these
necklaces all over the park. Don
I thought I'd pass along our pillow tip. We just hate big, fluffy pillows and cannot
get a good night's sleep without our own, so we take our bed pillows along with us.
We have a couple of sets of "Space Bags," which you can buy at most any store like
Walmart, K-Mart, Target and I'm sure plenty of other retail stores. We put the
pillow in its own bag, zip it up, and roll out all the air, and it becomes flat as a
pancake and takes up no room in your suitcase! It is so wonderful to have our own
pillows wherever we go! Just unzip and magically all the air goes back into the
pillow or whatever you put in these wonderful bags! These Space Bags are also
wonderful for putting your clothes in for the suitcase. We have used them many
times and seem to get in twice as much! It probably is best to get the kind of
Space Bags that you roll up and remove the air. There are also ones that you can
suck the air out with a vacuum cleaner, and they are great too, but while on
vacation there often is no vacuum cleaner to help you out with this. The ones you
roll up are easy and can be used anywhere. Barbara
I just wanted to pass this along to help your readers. We just finally this week
decided to go to DW when school takes a winter break in February. We had a heart
attack when we saw what ALL the rental car companies wanted for a standard sized
car - with all the taxes it was $700+ for any of the companies - even with an AAA
discount in Hertz's case.
Then I found RentalCarMomma.Com on the web. We were able to get the same car,
from Thrifty - one of the companies we had previously looked at - for just $250. It
was a huge windfall. When I got the confirmation number on the RentalCarMomma
web site, I immediately went to the Thrifty web site and entered the number to
make sure everything was kosher - and it was! High five!
Joe
We want to tell the readers of a great shortcut to Disney and 192W in Kissimmee. If you are
traveling from the north, driving on the Florida Turnpike, you will come to a new toll way
when you almost reach I-4. It is 429 and it skirts the top of Disney property. There is a
Disney dedicated exit that lets you out on Western Way that intersects with Buena Vista
Blvd., which is a main artery through Disney property. If you want to go to Animal Kingdom
or the Lodge, just turn right and you are about 3/4 of a mile away. If you want to go to
Downtown Disney, the Swan, Dolphin or any other resort, turn left. This allows you to miss
all of the traffic on I-4 that can be extremely congested and makes the wait to get to Disney
even longer! If you stay at any of the resorts off of Disney property that are on the west of
I-4 off of 192, this is a great way to get there, too. It intersects 192 about a mile east of
Orange County Lake Resort. If you go to the left, you will find the Westgate resorts. It has
not been discovered by many as of yet. Bill
At the new Himalayan (Yeti) ride at Animal Kingdom there is a singles line to the
left of the gift shop. You may not ride together, but we went on the train 3 times in
under an hour while the FastPasses were out for the day already! Kevin
I’ll share a secret with you! We are renting a villa directly from the owner in nearby
Davenport, FL (only 6 miles from DW). Now, here’s the trick—look for the listing on
www.VRBO.com. On this site you can e-mail the owner directly (either in US or
abroad—many owners are from the United Kingdom). They will have the price they
charge, but guess what?? When you e-mail them – you can offer much less. I
emailed five owners and four owners took me up on MY price (sometimes only half
of what was asked). We actually rented a 4 bedroom and 3 bath villa (complete
with heated pool) for $500 per week. They were asking $750.00. I even got better
deals from other owners, but I had already accepted this one. They are complete
with full color pictures and sometimes virtual tours. It’s amazing!! Please pass this
on to other travelers—you can have these homes for less than you can rent into a
motel or DW property…and they’re spectacular!! Peggy
The last time we vacationed at Disney, we stayed at The All Star Movies Resort and
the pool was closed during the week of our vacation for renovations. I was
disappointed because I wanted a "relax day" at the pool... When I went to Guest
Services in the hotel lobby and let them know about my disappointment, they
offered us a complimentary one-day admission to any Disney Water Park with no
expiration date. (no name)
For the past 14 years we have taken a picture of our child/children at the fountain
in EPCOT near France - it was really cool to see how they changed from one
visit/year to another. LF
My family loves to go to Disney. We have been to Disney over twenty-three
separate vacations. I enjoy learning about new ways to save while there. We
attended Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party last year and now we're
hooked. Also, the Prime One Outlets have their huge fall tent sale around Oct.14-
16. Disney always has a tent with really awesome deals!!!!!! They do this again in
March. When I retire from teaching I want to work there. I would almost be willing
to pay them to let me work there. I love it that much. KP
We have a clear plastic back pack that makes the bag checks totally fast and
painless...the security guards love it! We bought it at Walmart. And the new item
that I love is the “Tide To Go” instant stain remover pen that is the size of a sharpie
type pen and is a miracle worker! Easy to travel with and safe for colors...even
takes out Taco Bell stains! Meg
A must see – the PhilharMagic in Fantasyland ... so cool – a cartoon movie
complete with 3D glasses and water splashes and the wonderful smell of apple pie.
Heather
Beth note: We agree that should be a must see and have added it to our list too.
Also a hint for your readers: Walker ECV rentals - if they sign up for their email
they can get repeat user discounts, we got one for a free day. I also got stuck in
the hurricane of 2004 and WDW compted me 4 free 1 day adult ultimates and 1
free night in a moderate WDW hotel at any time.
We booked Animal Kingdom Dbl Standard for $221 per night through
www.traveltry.com. Travel Try had the Savanna rooms for $325; Disney’s price
started at $435. Darren
A couple tips for landing a cheap car rental: make car rental reservations without
paying in advance or having to take penalties for canceling, so you can make and
cancel numerous times as you find better prices. Alamo.com is normally the best
place to go. In the reservation area, make sure to click More Options. Here, you can
key in an I.D. code and coupon codes. On the Alamo site they always have coupons
for free days, upgrades, or $$ off weekend or weekly rentals. Use the coupon code
when making your reservation, but make sure to print it out and bring it with
you! The I.D. code can save you a ton of money as well. This is for Walmart
customers, so it's available to anyone. Plus, you also get a free additional driver
(over 25). Rates are normally high when checking during peak travel times, but
they drop late in the season. Last year, using the ID code and a coupon for $25 off
a weekly rental I got a Mid-Size car (Monte Carlo loaded) for $109! And yes, that
$109 is including all of the taxes.
One last side note about rental cars. I've found a strange quirk... When checking
for prices for a full week (in my case Sept. 5 (noon) - Sept 12 (noon)) I found that
having a car a few hours over a week saves money. After booking airfare, I had to
modify my search because I needed a different return time (Sept. 5 (noon) - Sept
12 (1 PM)). The price dropped $33! I don't know why, but keeping the car that
extra hour completely changed the rates. After you choose your car class, the final
page shows extra discounts not normally there. So when checking for car rentals,
play around with the time as well. An extra hour here or there can make quite a
difference in prices! Mike
We watched the fireworks from the Winnie the Pooh playground (and got ice cream
from the ice cream shop you recommended) what a GREAT spot to watch the
fireworks. The kids were able to run around (and hide if they wanted to!) and really
enjoyed it all.
The breakfast at Cinderella's castle was worth every penny. The best food and
really a lot of interaction with the princesses if your child is into that. I was able to
get reservations by psycho calling the week before hoping for cancellations! One
tip: tell the reservationist that you are flexible and the dates of your stay. I got a
nice one on the line that checked every day for me.
Test track photos can now be added to your photo pass card (very cool)!
Warning: the High School Musical pep rally at Hollywood Studios is a stampede to
get a spot. They mark out a section in a white tape and tell everyone to get behind
it. Then, they mark another section in red tape. After the cast arrives on a
homecoming float, they tell everyone behind the white line to move forward (run,
push, shove) to get up to the red line. That being said, we really enjoyed it.
I also did not realize the major savings that you get if you have an annual pass.
You can get discounts at retailers and restaurants! Flash it if you've got it. There is
a list on the little booklet that they give to you. Jean Marie
Watch the fireworks from Narcossees (Grand Floridian Resort). It’s a great value on
the Meal Plan, but also, they have a walkway outside the restaurant facing Magic
Kingdom that only dining patrons have access to. When the fireworks started, the
restaurant emptied out except for us; we had seats good enough to see over the
people on the walkway and to see almost all the surrounding fireworks sites while
we finished supper.
One Sunday night I got to Thunder Mountain just after the parade ended and there
was a 5 minute wait. Later it was a 30 minute wait.
I did a lot of research on park tickets over a period of 6 months and finally made
my decision and bought from DW Tickets. I scheduled meals and events to
eliminate the need for the Park Hopper Option and figured not everyone would need
the Water Park etc. options. So I purchased base tickets from DW for 7, 6, and 4
days (the 4 actually upgraded to 5), as the 12 members of our group arrived and
left on various days. This was a significant savings.
Many airlines, including Southwest and US Air offer group rates for 10 or more.
Southwest offered $300 per round trip that were fully cancelable.
The Floridian has a great soap and bath accessory store at the monorail entrance –
I got some Mickey Soap with embedded Mickey silhouettes and a Mickey Ball, which
throws off confetti as it dissolves.
The absolute best viewing seat for Fantasmic! is centered between the center
support pole and the left support pole (in the Scar section) because you can see the
fireworks and the lasers over the Fantasmic! set. (The images are projected on
sheets of water which are angled slightly outward from the center.) Steve
You may want to mention that WDW has an AMAZING alternate food program for
people who have food allergies! It is wonderful for people who have gluten or dairy
allergies. WDW has availability of gluten free hot dog buns and dairy free (Rice
Dream) ice cream. If you call the dining reservation line, they can give you all the
information. Suzanne
Beth’s reply: I’ll add a second to your comment, Suzanne. I have a child with a fatal peanut allergy
and must always consult with the chef before dining. Disney goes out of their way to make
accommodations for their guests.
My helpful hints – Before the trip, I bought a water bottle holder for each member
of the family. These have a tight rubber collar that fits over the neck of a standard
disposable water bottle and has a carabineer, for attaching to a belt or belt loop.
(Mine also have Mickey Mouse ears on the rubber collar, as I got mine at
Disneyland, in California.)This way, everyone carried a water bottle attached to
them at all times. We refilled them at water fountains throughout the parks. And,
because my family does not care for the taste of the water there, I carried packets
of "Crystal Light To Go" in a wide variety of flavors in my purse. It helped us stay
hydrated and cut down on the expense of drinks in the parks. Elizabeth
I wanted to ask if you had any tips regarding communication in and around
Disney. I live in Toronto and so when we go to Disney we take our cell phones with
us. Since we often split up while in the park and around the Disney area, we are
often forced to use cell phones to get in touch, which gets mighty expensive
because of roaming fees (over $1.25 per minute). Rachel
Beth’s reply: See if your cell phone provider has a roaming plan that can be purchased for your
vacation period. We have used walkie-talkies in the past too, though you may have to change
channels on occasion.
We were on the Meal Plan, but as I'm watching my eating. I didn't want the dessert
that was included with my counter meal. So when I ordered my lunch I joked with
the register girl that it didn't matter what I was getting for dessert, I wasn't going
to eat it anyway. She suggested that instead of a dessert I could get a bottle of
water. So rather than wasting food or eating calories that I didn't want, I got
something that did me and my kids a lot of good. And I did that in every park we
visited, without a fuss. Margaret
My daughter has done 3 Walt Disney World trips + Cruise packages. There are
some pretty cool arrangements for transportation between WDW, the ship, the
airport, and handling luggage. I’ve heard some are now booking “back-to-back” 4
night, then 3 night cruises.
My daughter and children did an early morning Railroad Experience on their last
visit. They were escorted into the Magic Kingdom before opening time, then rode
the train around to Toontown, where the engineer threw a switch and took the train
to the maintenance facility. He showed them how the trains are cared for and told
about their history, including how much Walt loved trains.
The fact your Guide is internet-based is great. In addition to lower "publishing"
cost, it lets you keep the information really fresh and, if desired, modify it for
something like the special experiences Disney offers. In the past we had only books
like Steve Birnbaum's (pretty much the corporate line, as if written by Disney) and
Bob Sehlinger's (more candid, quite useful). But all of them became yesterday's
news not long after purchase, as Disney World is an evolving, ever-changing
experience and any compendium of tips and rules has to be constantly tweaked to
stay relevant. Jim and Georgann
We went to Disney World last month, using your guide. Thanks to you, we used the
Armed Forces Vacation Club discount for 1 week and, because Shades of Green was
full, got the military rate at Pop Century for the final 2 days of our stay. We also got
discount tickets at Shades of Green for Disney and for Universal. Elizabeth
I bought a slightly used Pal Mickey for our first WDW trip last year on eBay. I got it
for about $30.00, plus $10 S&H (still $25 less than in the parks). It arrived in
essentially new condition, only without the box and tags. Pal Mickey entertained our
small children when the lines became long or if we had a long walk somewhere. In
addition to providing entertainment, Pal Mickey also told us about things like the
High School Musical parade at Hollywood Studios, so we were able to see it from a
nice vantage point. [insert here girl squeals from my daughter...] I would have also
re-sold PM upon our return but the kids had become pretty attached to him by
then. At least now we've got him for the next trip. I highly recommend trying to
locate one on eBay or elsewhere for families traveling to WDW with small kids. Jen
Hi Beth, I just wanted to rave about your book. We wanted to go to Disney over
spring break and had always dreamed of staying at the Boardwalk. However the
rate of $350.00 a night was too steep. After reading your book and studying your
tips and graphs, we placed an ad for renting out points. We ended up with a stay
at the Boardwalk Villas for 5 nights for only $660. And we were entitled to all the
perks DVC members get. We had complimentary valet parking, use of the fitness
facilities and restaurant discounts. We had the best time ever. A bonus was the
fact that our room faced Epcot and we got to watch the nightly fireworks from our
balcony. The kids loved it. Cheryl
We just returned from our first family trip to DW and loved it! We stayed 6 days/5
nights at the Disney Swan and paid for all 5 nights with Starwood Points using our
Starwood Preferred Guest American Express Card. We applied for it just about a
year ago when we decided on this trip and used it for everything. We were able to
earn enough points for 4 nights, and with their program, if you buy 4 nights you get
the 5th night free. It's a great card and a great program with points usable as your
book points out at both the Swan and the Dolphin. The link to the SPG American
Express site is:
https://www201.americanexpress.com/cards/apply/jsp/includes/StarwoodDualLanding.jsp?va
nity=starwoodcards2 Charlie & Monica
Another option I have found that we've tried while travelling is using
Restaurant.com. If you sign up for to get their emails, you'll frequently find
promotions where you can purchase restaurant.com gift certificates for next to
nothing. For example - they recently had a promotion where you could purchase
$25 gift cards for $5 each! I've purchased some in the past that were $25 each for
as little as $3. It takes a little pre-planning though. You have to know the address
& zip code of where you are staying, and then do a search on their web site to find
restaurants participating in the program that are nearby. This is easy enough to do,
and with MapQuest, you can easily determine how far away the restaurant is. I
contact the restaurant to verify that they are still participating in the program
before printing off my gift card. You can leave your gift cards stored on line for later
use. Since we usually stay at hotels that have internet access and provide a
computer & printer in the lobby, I can go down to the lobby to print off my gift
card, or I can print them before leaving on our trip and take them with me. No you will not likely find that chain restaurants (i.e. Chili's, Olive Garden, Uno, Red
Lobster, etc.) participating in this program, but we have found some great,
independently owned restaurants that have terrific food, for decent prices. Imagine
feeding 4 adults and 2 kids (under 3) for $6 - $10! This option is probably better for
those who are staying off DW property at a nearby hotel, Villa, Condo, etc. Kim
Note from Beth: The Lake Buena Vista area zip code right next to Disney World is 32830. You can
then search different amount of distances out from that zip code.
My 4 year old daughter and I are vegetarians and have had good experiences at
different Disney restaurants that I wanted to share. It tends to be hard to eat out
when you're a vegetarian because there is an endless supply of cheese pizza,
macaroni and cheese or pasta, but nothing that's really exciting. We had really
great experiences at these restaurants:
The Animal Kingdom's Rainforest Cafe has a fabulous veggie sandwich and
vegetarian friendly kid's food.
The T-Rex Restaurant at Downtown Disney doesn't have much that isn't predictable
(pasta) but the kitchen manager came out and talked to me and made me the most
fabulous veggie sandwich.
The Animal Kingdom's Yak and Yeti was awesome and the people working there
were very accommodating. When I asked them at the front if they had vegetarian
options, they said yes and that if I didn't find anything I liked, the kitchen manager
would come out and work with me.
The Magic Kingdom's Tony's Town Square made me a veggie calzone that was
awesome. Not overly cheesy like most are.
There is also a Tex-Mex restaurant by Disney, off exit 68, named Chevy's that had
great vegetarian enchiladas and a fabulous veggie burrito. Carmen