Tips about At Large, Epcot and Mousecellaneous

One thing I find myself doing... as I read along the fantastic tips shared in the ALL EARS® weekly newsletter, I copy and paste segments of the tips and email them to myself, so I do not forget them. Later, I scroll through my email and print out or save the important tip to a folder on my PC. I even go as far as making a brightly colored folder for my "Disney Information," which becomes my lifeline for all things related to any future trip. It is easily carried along on the trip when the time comes and has my notes, tips, dining reservations, hotel information, grocery store lists... you get the idea. - Bonnie from PA

ALL PARKS - When a Cast Member asks you how many people are in your group, tell them the ENTIRE number in your group. The Cast Members are trying to group your entire party onto the ride at the same time. If you tell them a number less than your party, don't be surprised when your party gets split up. (You might be asked by up to three different Cast Members for your party size.)

I was reading through your site for something new and fun at Disney that we hadn't done and that is a little less "Disney" so my husband might quit complaining about another trip to WDW. Well, I found it -- parasailing. After reading the reviews I decided to schedule two double tandem flights for two adults with two children, ages 7 and 10. Wow, was that great! The kids loved it and so did my husband and I. (Note: maximum combined weight is 300 lbs. per flight). We went to the Contemporary Resort marina, and the boat driver and instructor were both excellent at their jobs. - Crystal

ALL PARKS - As a teacher I have found the park maps to be a wonderful way to teach map skills to my first graders. I always make sure to pick up a handful for my students. I also laminate them and put them in our reading basket. Even laminated, they get a lot of wear. Too bad...I guess I'll have to go back for replacements! - Rae Vautrin

ALL PARKS - As a teacher I have found the park maps to be a wonderful way to teach map skills to my first graders. I always make sure to pick up a handful for my students. I also laminate them and put them in our reading basket. Even laminated, they get a lot of wear. Too bad...I guess I'll have to go back for replacements! - Rae Vautrin

ALL PARKS - When visiting the Disney parks, I usually like to pick up an extra guide map or two. I use them to decorate my cube walls at work and will also give extra copies to friends and family who may be planning their own trip in the near future. This helps them get a better idea of the park layout and make plans. - Kerry Kollasch

I have a comment to add to Josh's tips for larger guests (ALL EARS® Issue #342, April 11, 2006). He mentioned that he had tested Typhoon Lagoon water rides with the exception of Crush 'n' Gusher. When I visited in November '05 with my husband and two children, I went on Crush 'n' Gusher with my 8-year-old son and it was AWESOME! I was a little anxious about whether I would be able to manage this because of my weight and I had my husband try it out first (he is much closer to average weight). I am 5'4" and weigh about 290 lbs. We used the two-person raft and I sat in the back (as instructed by the attendant). The great thing about this water ride is that you can get yourself situated properly on the raft since you are resting on rollers, not water, before you are launched. The attendant had no problem waiting until we were ready. My son was so happy that I was able to ride with him. We went on all three slides, each being different in its hills and turns. The ride does have rollers throughout the slide to help propel you up the inclines. For a larger person, I would recommend keeping your backside raised up off of the bottom (the raft has a cut-out hole in each seat portion) as far as you can because hitting the rollers with your backside is quite a shock and can be painful. It didn't stop me from going on multiple times and I would do it again in a heartbeat, but I did have some bruising the next day because of it. This evidently is not a problem with average weight individuals, as they don't sink down as far as a larger person. Also, Crush 'n' Gusher is somewhat hidden off to the right when you enter Typhoon Lagoon. It wasn't on the map when we went so we had to ask to find it. We didn't discover this area until late in the day and I wish we had found it much earlier. It has its own large chaise area, sand areas, and a walk-in pool area adjacent to the splash-down pool at the bottom of Crush 'n' Gusher that was beautifully landscaped (as would be expected). - Anne Marie

Epcot - Since we're passholders, the kids have been so many times it can get boring for them. They've done the masks and passports at Epcot over and over. What I do before each trip is make up a new passport. I include a picture on the page and certain facts about the country that they need to find. It's interactive with the Cast Members in that country and they enjoy teaching the kids! For instance, in China, learn how to count from 1 to 10 in Chinese. In Germany, have a Cast Member tell you about the wall that used to separate their country. In America, what does the Liberty Bell stand for? As I said, the Cast Members love the interaction with the kids. They are proud to talk about their countries. As a prior homeschooling mom, I am always trying to sneak in a learning experience when I can and Epcot is the perfect place to do so without the kids realizing it! - Julie Turbide

Epcot - Since we're passholders, the kids have been so many times it can get boring for them. They've done the masks and passports at Epcot over and over. What I do before each trip is make up a new passport. I include a picture on the page and certain facts about the country that they need to find. It's interactive with the Cast Members in that country and they enjoy teaching the kids! For instance, in China, learn how to count from 1 to 10 in Chinese. In Germany, have a Cast Member tell you about the wall that used to separate their country. In America, what does the Liberty Bell stand for? As I said, the Cast Members love the interaction with the kids. They are proud to talk about their countries. As a prior homeschooling mom, I am always trying to sneak in a learning experience when I can and Epcot is the perfect place to do so without the kids realizing it! - Julie Turbide

ALL PARKS - My tip is for keeping track of your hats while on rides or shows at the World... I bought some carabiners that we put on the strap of our fanny packs. I learned the hard way to put it through a part of the strap so that the carabiner is trapped and can't fall off when you take the fanny pack off. When we step inside at WDW, we both take off our hats, and snap them to the carabiner on our fanny packs -- it's easy to keep track of, and we don't worry about losing our hats or leaving them behind. We even do this on the rides, and find we can ride most things with our fanny packs (and hats) left on our waist. For wet rides, we put the hat over our fanny pack, and it helps keep splashes off. - Jill Neill

Epcot - I just returned from a day at Epcot and wanted to give you a tip about Test Track. When I (5'3", 315 lbs.) asked the Cast Member at the end of the queue if I would fit, he told me that there was a mock car I could sit in. He called another Cast Member who escorted me to a private area. The car wasn't an exact copy of the cars in use, but was close. I found that I did not fit enough to be comfortable. The Cast Member showed me the side exit and I went on about my day. It was handled with care and privacy and I was never made to feel embarrassed. - L.

Epcot - I just returned from a day at Epcot and wanted to give you a tip about Test Track. When I (5'3", 315 lbs.) asked the Cast Member at the end of the queue if I would fit, he told me that there was a mock car I could sit in. He called another Cast Member who escorted me to a private area. The car wasn't an exact copy of the cars in use, but was close. I found that I did not fit enough to be comfortable. The Cast Member showed me the side exit and I went on about my day. It was handled with care and privacy and I was never made to feel embarrassed. - L.

ALL PARKS - I mistakenly left my video camera in a locker after Fantasmic last April at the Studios. The following morning, after a harried cab ride and security escort back to the locker rental (I was checking out and flying home that day), I was surprised to find out that they do not clean out the lockers each evening. It is up to the next rental guest to turn in left packages, etc. It was even more difficult, as the manager could only open one locker at a time (there was no master key) and I couldn't remember the exact locker number.TIP: Take a digital photo of your locker number in case you lose your key or, like me, leave articles in it overnight. That way the manager can go directly to that locker and find your personal belongings. The next guest DID turn in my things, the manager called my cell phone immediately, and WDW shipped my articles back to me at no charge. I am very grateful for this service, but could have saved everyone a lot of confusion if I had just snapped a quick photo. This is helpful if you jump parks and have different lockers to memorize every day. - Elizabeth Marsh

Ever wonder how much walking you do at the different parks, or on different days? So did we. A couple of years ago I bought an inexpensive pedometer basically for this purpose. You may want to consider this, as it gives you a little more to talk about after your vacation. We keep a daily log of the miles we walk and share it with our friends back home. Also you will either confirm what you already think about how far you walk, or you may be quite surprised that you walked as far as you did. Just a note -- we always rack up the most miles on our days at Epcot. - Bob Rogers

Animal Kingdom's Expedition Everest - Large bellied folk, listen up! I'm a 5'9", 325-pound woman who looks as if she's nine months pregnant but is not. I had already made the decision not to ride the new Everest attraction, but took the opportunity to sit in the sample car. Here's the deal: I had plenty of hip and shoulder room, but not one breath of belly room to spare. The bar would have "clicked" one notch had I been in an operating vehicle, but I'm not sure how my belly would have fared on the ride. Bruised, most likely. The lap bar on the sample car has a gauge that shows how far down the bar is. If your indicator line gets from the red area, past the black line, and into the green area you are assured your lap belt will get at least one click and you are safe. You may need to stand up and shimmy around. And take note that the Cast Members will not assist you with the bar (or so I was told by several Cast Members who came to see me not fit in the car). The sample cars are out of the way, and I did not feel put on the spot whatsoever. Try it out if you aren't sure! - Big Mama EDITOR'S NOTE: To find the sample car, exit the gift shop and turn right. For Expedition Everest seating photos visit: http://allears.net/tp/ak/ak_ee5.htm