Tips about At Large and Souvenirs

When we go to get our traveler's checks and cash for our Disney trip, we always get a roll of quarters and a roll of pennies. We place them in a small convenient pocket in our park bag and whenever we see a smashed penny machine we are ready without having to search for 51 cents! - Glenn Vines

I would like to give your readers a tip about the Mail Order department at Disney. I have found that unless it is a "Disney Park exclusive", you are better to go home and shop around. My son went home dejected after our last trip due to the fact that we couldn't find the "air gun" that he played with at the Whispering Canyon Cafe. We were told that he could find it in Tomorrowland in Magic Kingdom. Well, we looked and looked but came up empty-handed. So, when we went home I did a search for the gun and found out what it was called. I later purchased the toy at our local Walmart for only $7. Disney had wanted $20. My advice: go home and hit the internet if you don't have to have it right that moment. - Dawn Clark

If you plan on sending postcards, take advantage of the pack of 10 postcards sold throughout Walt Disney World and in resort gift shops. On our last trip in October, a pack of the Magic Kingdom cards cost $4. This is much cheaper than buying individual postcards. If I have leftovers, I just save them for our next trip since the images are standard fare (castle, characters, Splash Mountain...). I believe that there are different packs for each of the parks, too. I'll be returning to WDW next week with six postcards in hand. - Janice Dion

I recently returned from a Disney trip and wanted to let everyone know about a souvenir I brought home. It is the littlest photo album I have ever seen! It is on a key ring and holds 12 pictures, sized about 1.5" X 1.5". It has a cover with a picture of Mickey on the front and the castle and fireworks with Tinker Bell on the back, and it says "My Disney Vacation." It was very reasonably priced at about $4! There was at least one more style with Stitch on it. What a great way to keep 12 of your most magical memories with you all the time! - Kimberly Lawton

Disney character toys are so expensive. We have found a great way to save money on our trip and let the grandchildren enjoy the characters on the way to Disney. We buy the toys on eBay for a fraction of the price, sometimes for as little as 99 cents plus shipping. I know it gives us more spending money and our grandchildren are just as happy. - Susan Smeltzer

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

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

I made a scrapbook of a WDW trip and on the book itself I used the road map that we used to drive there. At the starting and stopping points I put car stickers, traced the route in a red marker, and added interesting sites along the way. It makes a beautiful cover! - Michelle

A favorite stop for my 9-year-old daughter and me is the Basin bath shop in the Marketplace. Basin has very few locations around the country and has some of the best bath products. Our favorite is the "Mix Your Own Bath Crystals" section. For around $3.50, you receive a tube (1.25" x 5.5") that you fill with the bath crystals of your choice. They have a "buffet" of colors and scents for you to mix and match. It's a fun souvenir for "Mom and Daughter." They also sell an array of made-on-premises soaps cut straight from the bar, massage oil cakes for all ailments, and tons more. This shop should be a definite quick stop. - Maria Heuskin

I personally think Disney pins are a bit too expensive (and the clothes, too). Well, the answer to my problem was found on a trip to the Belz Outlet Mall right outside of WDW. We decided to stop at a shop called Character Warehouse. I ended up finding a few cheap shirts for about $5-$6 that sold for about $13 at WDW! And I also found Disney Pins for $.99! Some were even LIMITED EDITION! So, if you are a bargain hunter, this is a must-see! - Rachel
http://allears.net/btp/cware.htm

Use your camera phone to take pictures of items you think you want. First, take a picture of the sign of the store where it is located. Then take pictures of the item and the tag of the item. Review nightly or at the end of your trip. Best of all, you can buy it from Disney Mail Order Merchandise when you're back home if you forget! - Crissy Stout

My husband and I were getting married at Disney World and wanted to have one of our wedding photos framed with all the character signatures -- as if they were our guests at our wedding. We went to a local frame shop at home and had the person make a photo mat large enough to fit a 4x6 and all the characters' signatures. It worked perfectly and we carried it in a huge Disney shopping bag that a Cast Member had given to us. We were able to fit Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Cinderella, Belle and Beast, Mary Poppins and Bert, Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum, Snow White, Aurora, Minnie and many others on the back of the mat (and only my husband and I know they are there). It was a challenge to get all of them and a goal magical to accomplish! They usually have these types of mats at any craft store as well, and you can have them cut the way you want -- small or large. - Rob and Amy

On our last trip to WDW, my husband and I quickly tired of our 5-year-old son asking for every fascinating souvenir he saw. We came up with the idea of having our son keep a list of all the souvenirs he liked, and we promised that at the end of the trip we would go back for the one he finally decided was the best. While we still had to stop at a lot of souvenir stands, there was no whining or begging from the time we started the list. Charlie happily added to the list each day, and at the end purchased a wonderfully noisy blaster from the Star Wars shop at the Studios. - Cari Allyn Brooks

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