Tips about Christmas, Kids, Mousecellaneous, Planning and Resorts

I loved the article on traveling to Disney with babies (AllEars® Issue #721, July 16, 2013). I agree with all the tips, and I have one of my own. We took our daughter to Disney World when she was 16 months old. As anyone with small children knows, diapers can be bulky to pack so we took enough to get us thru the first day. When we checked into the hotel (Caribbean Beach Resort) we called the front desk. A cast member gave us the phone number for a local pharmacy and we ordered diapers from them, along with a few other things like soda and water and snacks. They were delivered to our room that night, and it was a great experience. We went back when she just shy of 2 years old and did the same thing. I highly recommend this! - Jane Carlson

For international visitors, using mobile phones abroad can be very costly as roaming charges vary so much. We bought two-way radios to keep in contact in the parks. They have become a Walt Disney World trip essential for us. We bought ours with a charger pack. One word of advice though: the radios bought in USA are not legal in UK and vice versa. - Heather Young

Please call your credit/debit card company before leaving home and alert them to all the places you will be traveling. My card was locked out at Disneyland after I bought my annual pass! The companies are trying to minimize credit card fraud. The worst thing is if customer service isn't there 24/7, and you can't use your card until they reopen. - Leslie Seibert

Magic Kingdom - It's easy for small children to become over-stimulated by all the input at Disney World, especially Magic Kingdom, and certainly Fantasyland. When taking my granddaughter for her first time, just after her 2nd birthday, we purposely visited Adventureland, doing Aladdin's Magic Carpet first, and then Frontierland on her first morning. On her second morning we visited Fantasyland, riding Dumbo first. She enjoyed the attractions at Fantasyland more, I think, after getting acquainted with the park on her first morning. We have continued the "two mornings" routine at Magic Kingdom, beginning with Adventureland, since that first trip. Our trip when my granddaughter was 5 brought home especially how overwhelming all the sights and sounds of Main Street and Magic Kingdom can be. She thought she remembered, but the reality was something else. She definitely had that deer in the headlights expression on her face, walking down Main Street. Except for our old standby, Aladdin's Magic Carpet -- she greeted that ride enthusiastically. On the trip when she was 7, I thought we would probably do something else first, but she insisted that the Carpets were tradition. And that's what we did first. At rope drop, we're almost the only ones in line. It's like our own private carpet ride. - Kim

Pop Century - Just stayed at Pop Century for the first time and really enjoyed the resort. Wanted to mention that the "Mom's Night Out" dinners at the food court are fabulous for about $10! The fried chicken was excellent. Sad to report that those dinners are no longer served in metal TV dinner trays, though. - Susan

ALL PARKS - I have three kids and live a couple hours away from Disney. My children range in age from 5 to 14. One of the most useful tips I could give is to pack a pair of flip-flops in your backpack for water rides. Before you get in line, change from your tennis shoes to flip-flops and then you can change back into your dry tennis shoes after the ride. - Elizabeth

When booking rooms at a WDW resort, be aware that adjoining rooms and connecting rooms are not the same thing. Adjoining rooms are next to each other. Connecting rooms share an interior door. Don't rely on the reservation employee to explain the differences in terminology to you. - Elizabeth

Christmas - Just a tip for booking the Candlelight Processional Dinner Package: Use the online system and try calling. I called and was told there was no availability for any shows at any restaurant on the two days I was considering. I prepared myself to just make a "regular" dining reservation and stand in the longer line. But when I got to disneyworld.disney.go.com/reservations/dining/ I noticed a radio button that said "Dining Event." And what do you know? "Holidays around the World - Candlelight Processional" was a choice. Looks like you can also book Fantasmic, Victoria & Albert's Chef's Table, etc., which I don't remember being able to book in the past either. I was able to find a TON of choices for the dates and times that the Disney Reservation Center told me were unavailable for the Candlelight Processional -- including some of the "harder to find" restaurants. Cheers! - Gregory

Christmas - About the ABC Christmas Parade taping -- it was a wonderful experience from the perspective of someone interested in film and media as a potential career, but if done again I would not stress out as much about predicting the schedule. My family wanted to attend the actual parade, not the castle performances, so we based our park days on Disney's schedule the year before, and everything was opposite. So if you like TV production, definitely go! Just don't get caught up in details, know that things may change from year to year, be prepared for stop-and-go filming, and soak in the experience, because it is pretty cool. - Blake Taylor

Christmas - My 7-year-old daughter and I take an annual trip to Disney to see the Christmas decorations. Since we started in 2006, I have decorated her stroller with battery-operated lights! She loved it and it got a lot of attention. It was also easy to find when you come out of a ride and a cast member has reorganized the stroller parking! - Jennifer M.

Christmas - If you want to see everything decorated for the holidays, consider driving your car or rent a car for Disney World. That's the only easy way to see all of the decorations at each of the hotels and Fort Wilderness. Otherwise, you'll have to see the Grand Floridian, Polynesian, and Contemporary by monorail (or boat), the Wilderness Lodge by boat (from the Magic Kingdom), and then the Epcot hotels (Swan, Dolphin, Yacht & Beach Club, and Boardwalk) by boat from either the back entrance of Epcot or from Hollywood Studios. Don't forget to check out the World Showcase at Epcot where each country shows its Christmas traditions in both decorations and several performances a day of someone dressed in character. And finally, don't miss the Osborne Lights show at Hollywood Studios. - Terri Jensen

All Resorts - My wife and I get to go to Walt Disney World fairly often, so we always build "relax" time into our trips. Sometimes, that means going back to the resort for a quick nap in the middle of the afternoon. We find that turning on the "WDW Today" channel on the TV provides the perfect background music for this. "The nap channel" (as we call it) provides soft, instrumental versions of Disney songs. We hop in bed, turn the volume down a bit, and drift off to a rejuvenating sleep. And while I can't prove it, I'm pretty sure the music helps to make magical dreams! - Brian Lawrence

The best investment of my recent trip at Disney was two notebooks and a couple of pencils. They were real lifesavers to entertain the girls while we were waiting, or just when they were bored. They used them at restaurants, on the buses, in the stroller, in the lines, waiting at the shows... and they also used them as autograph books. They ended up being the most useful thing I brought with me! - Melanie

We love the refillable mugs at the Disney resorts and find them to be a great value. Before leaving home, I purchase disposable dishcloths and spray them with a foamy dish-washing detergent, let them dry and place in a zipper top bag. Just dampen the wipes to thoroughly clean the mugs with soap and water. Each wipe lasts for several washings. No leftover, sticky residue; just a nice clean mug. Especially great if one member of the family has the sniffles. - Linda Jacobs

All Resorts - If you have toddlers and/or crawling babies, it is a good idea to check the floor, including under the beds, for medications dropped from the previous resort guests. We found an unknown pill picked up by our one year old as he was scouting out the place. It only takes a minute and is well worth the effort! - Timothy