Thursday's Tip

In full disclosure, I have to say that I am a planner. A detailed planner. A chart/graph/write-it-down-in-increments-of-30-minutes kind of planner. And so, this Thursday's Tip in another one of those kind: plan your daily meals at Walt Disney World. Now, if you're doing the Disney Dining Plan, you are essentially forced into planning at least your one table service meal each day--as you likely won't find seating without an Advanced Dining Reservation. But even for those of us who don't typically use the DDP, it's a good idea to at least check out menus and know which restaurants at WDW will meet your dining needs.

For example, we don't plan exactly where we will eat each meal, but we know that if we find ourselves in Animal Kingdom around meal time, we're going to visit the Flame Tree BBQ. Likewise, if we're in Future World/Epcot and get hungry, we'll almost always head over to Sunshine Seasons. These are two of our perennial favorites, and they never disappoint. Another great reason to check out menus before you go is that there is so much yummy food at WDW, and it would be a true crime if your family ended up eating burgers/dogs/fries all week because you hadn't done your menu homework. A true crime, indeed! Not to mention that planning will help ensure that everyone gets proper nutrition on the trip. When nutrition suffers, we tend to get draggy or grumpy, or we might even encounter--how should I say this delicately?--unpleasant intestinal "issues." (In other words, fiber is your friend!)

Checking menus and making a list of 3 or 4 counter service restaurants in each Park before you go will ensure that you find something to eat before the blood sugar drops below a tolerable level. You can find menus from WDW eateries on a number of websites, but I find the easiest site to navigate is allears.net (click here for the full list of menus). They are not always up-to-date, but even the older menus will give you an idea of the type of food served at each location.