Tips about Animal Kingdom, Epcot, Food & Beverage, Planning and Souvenirs

We took our 3-year-old son to lunch at the Garden Grill. The character interaction was fun and he really enjoyed it. One tip for those with young kids: ask to be seated in the upper tier if you want a high chair. We went without and he felt free to hop down and run to the edge of the restaurant a lot. It would have been nice to keep him in one spot. All in all, this is a good meal, lots of fun and well worth your time. The character interaction was first-rate and our son was charmed by how the restaurant rotated. We were still full well into the evening. - Jennifer Maxwell

Epcot - The new Disney and Pixar Short Film Festival in the Magic Eye Theater (in the Imagination pavilion) has a 15-minute standing pre-show that, while informative, is not very entertaining for kids. - A Reader

Epcot - The new Disney and Pixar Short Film Festival in the Magic Eye Theater (in the Imagination pavilion) has a 15-minute standing pre-show that, while informative, is not very entertaining for kids. - A Reader

Epcot - Don't forget the single rider lines at Test Track and Mission: SPACE, especially if you're just part of a couple. This is a GREAT way to ride quickly. Even when we have the kids, we'll each take the 9-year-old (the other kids are too small) and ride using the single rider line, then we switch... oftentimes it even beats out the child swap option because you don't have to stand in the regular line. - - Sarah

Epcot - Don't forget the single rider lines at Test Track and Mission: SPACE, especially if you're just part of a couple. This is a GREAT way to ride quickly. Even when we have the kids, we'll each take the 9-year-old (the other kids are too small) and ride using the single rider line, then we switch... oftentimes it even beats out the child swap option because you don't have to stand in the regular line. - - Sarah

Last week, Jill Murtha mentioned double-checking your Mr. Potato Head arms before purchasing to make sure they fit. Another tip when purchasing the Mr./Mrs. Potato Heads is to put pieces inside the potatoes before you put them in the box. You pay for whatever you can fit in the box, so you might as well get your money's worth. You can get quite a few extra pieces this way. - Elaine Frazee

I just read over the section on postcards and remembered a crazy idea I had with them. On one trip to Disney World, a friend asked me to get Mickey's autograph. Not wanting to come back with a piece of paper, I bought several different postcards of Mickey. I waited in line to meet the Mouse and when I got to him, I asked if he would give me his autograph on the postcard. He took the postcard, looked at it for a brief second, and then gave me a thumbs up and signed the postcard. It's a great way to add a little magic to the postcard. I would suggest mailing autographed postcards to kids and family members as well. - Skip Broome

If you buy one of those Mr. Potato Head toys where you can fill the box up with whatever parts you want from the bins, double-check that the "arms" fit into the arm holes. Our 7-year-old recently purchased a Mr. Potato Head at Once Upon A Toy at Disney Springs, and after we got back to the hotel room we found that the pegs in the arms were too small for the arm holes so the arms wouldn't stay in their sockets! Luckily we were able to exchange them for a new pair of arms at a different toy store at Disney's Hollywood Studios. When we were exchanging them, we noticed that the bin of arms varied a lot in the size of the pegs -- some were bigger and fit fine, while many others were too small and didn't fit. So, a word of advice: check to make sure that your Mr. Potato Head parts fit into the potato before purchasing them! - Jill Murtha

ANIMAL KINGDOM - Rafiki's Planet Watch is the perfect place for families with small children to catch a breather from park viewing, much like Tom Sawyer's Island at the Magic Kingdom. I suggest grabbing some take-out from one of the counter service restaurants and riding the train to Planet Watch when you hit the afternoon slump. A relaxing break here can revive your entire afternoon! There are a few picnic tables where you can enjoy your lunch, right next to an ice cream/soft drink stand, and your toddlers will enjoy petting the goats and sheep in the petting zoo. An indoor conservation center offers a refreshing air-conditioned discovery zone for your kids to run wild. And there are always Disney characters there for photo ops. Don't miss Pipa, the talking recycle bin. She's our favorite part! - Buffy

For those who are staying in Home Away from Home accommodations and are interested in grocery delivery, I would highly recommend a company called WeGoShop. They are a national grocery shopping and delivery company, and their Orlando location is run by a husband and wife team who are very nice people. You can email them your exact order (including product brand names, sizes and quantity), your hotel and the time you'd like your delivery, and they will be there with your groceries safely stowed in a large plastic container. They will charge you cost for the items you've bought, as well as a modest delivery charge. Their website is at www.wegoshop.com. Our groceries were just as we'd asked for them, and they even brought them to Bell Services for us as our room wasn't ready yet. - Jessica Slivak

ANIMAL KINGDOM - Here is a tip that will surely be helpful and save others LOTS of money! The bridge over Kali River Rapids is the perfect place to take pictures of your group as they float down the river. It is a great meeting point after the ride as well. What the bridge is NOT good for is "reloading" your pockets after the ride. My husband put his wallet and cell phone in the stroller to keep them dry while he rode. I put my "fanny pack" in it. Smart idea. After everyone rode using child swap, (the stroller was never unattended!) we got the stuff out of the stroller to put back on. The slats on the bridge's handrails aren't very wide -- they wouldn't want a small child to fall through. But guess what? They are just wide enough to allow a cell phone, dropped on the bridge, to bounce right through the slats and into the river! Fortunately my husband was in too much shock at what had just happened to be too mad, and EVENTUALLY he even laughed about it! So... be careful of your belongings while standing on the bridge! (Can you hear me now? Nope!) - Amy Van Riper

ALL PARKS - I just returned from a trip to WDW. The 3M Company now has a new Post-It Flag Highlighter that includes both a highlighter and Post-It flags in one. It was PERFECT for marking the maps to the parks. I would circle the attraction number with the highlighter and then put a Post-It flag on the number on the map. They are see-though, so they don't cover up the number. The "pen" fit perfectly in my fanny pack! - Leah Price

ALL PARKS - I just returned from a trip to WDW. The 3M Company now has a new Post-It Flag Highlighter that includes both a highlighter and Post-It flags in one. It was PERFECT for marking the maps to the parks. I would circle the attraction number with the highlighter and then put a Post-It flag on the number on the map. They are see-though, so they don't cover up the number. The "pen" fit perfectly in my fanny pack! - Leah Price

When I know a trip to WDW is approaching, as I reach the last of the shampoo, conditioner, etc., I stash the almost empty bottle aside, then pack it for the trip. When I run out, I discard the bottle and there is automatically more room for Mickey stuff to bring home! - Jenny Drake

A great souvenir to buy from the China pavilion in Epcot is bamboo. The plant costs about $1-$1.50 and comes with care instructions. You can also buy a vase for the plant starting at about $3. - Jen Wolf