Tips about Countdown, Epcot, Kids, Magic Kingdom, Resorts and Souvenirs

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

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

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

Wanting our kids to have the items they "needed" at WDW but wanting to build the magic before and during the trip, we decided to bring our own treat box and let the girls "shop" from that box before each day's activities began. I gave each girl a fanny pack or small backpack, water bottle and an autograph book/pen on the airplane. I packed a small shoebox with treats (gum, mints, fruit roll-ups, cookies, etc.) and another with Disney-related trinkets (keychains, playing cards, stickers, personal fan, etc.). Each morning the girls "shopped" for edible treats to place in their backpacks and a trinket -- this sometimes eliminated them even wanting to shop at a gift shop during the day! I saved countless dollars and had a great time selecting the items for the treat boxes. - Diana L. Maslowski

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

We have just returned from a stay at the Art of Animation Resort, in a Little Mermaid room. It didn't have any tea- or coffee-making facilities in it, so if you want to make a hot drink in your room or warm a baby bottle, you'll want to bring a travel kettle (or something similar) with you. - Katy Hand

We are going to Disney soon and since our last trip 2 years ago, my daughter has been asking to go to "see Mickey Mouse in Florida." Since she is only 3 and doesn't really understand the concept of time yet, we found an easier way for her to get ready (sort of). We bought her a medium-size piggybank and told her that when she filled it up, we would go to Disney World. She gets so excited now for any little amount of change that it seems like the magic of Disney has already started! We have already booked our trip, but haven't told her yet. Our plan is to try to get her bank filled a day or two before we leave so that she really thinks she made it! And, of course, all the money from her bank will be hers to spend on our vacation! - Liz Weimann

We are going to Disney soon and since our last trip 2 years ago, my daughter has been asking to go to "see Mickey Mouse in Florida." Since she is only 3 and doesn't really understand the concept of time yet, we found an easier way for her to get ready (sort of). We bought her a medium-size piggybank and told her that when she filled it up, we would go to Disney World. She gets so excited now for any little amount of change that it seems like the magic of Disney has already started! We have already booked our trip, but haven't told her yet. Our plan is to try to get her bank filled a day or two before we leave so that she really thinks she made it! And, of course, all the money from her bank will be hers to spend on our vacation! - Liz Weimann

We have accumulated so many Disney photo keychains over the years that I decided to use them to decorate our Christmas tree. I crochet around the keyring with red and green yarn. I make a loop and it is all set to hang. Now I have my own Disney Memories ornaments. - Joanne Dillon

My 4-year-old is so excited that she was asking and asking how long before we go to Disney or, "Are we going today?" A friend of mine suggested making a paper chain to count down the days until we take flight. I can t stress enough what a great idea this is. She wakes up excited to take one of the "links" off the chain and see it get smaller and smaller. She no longer asks how long; she just takes a look at the chain and points to the last one and says, "That's when we are going to Disney." I also added the corresponding number to each chain and on the last one I wrote, "We are on our way to Disney today." She absolutely loves it. - Christine McCarthy

ANIMAL KINGDOM LODGE - During a recent stay at Animal Kingdom Lodge, we walked outside to enjoy a warm evening, seeing if we could see any animals. Well, being nighttime, there wasn't much to see. One of the guides stationed at the observation posts offered us his night vision goggles. It was absolutely incredible. Each of us got to see the animals moving around. It was literally like opening my eyes when looking through them. There were lots of animals where we thought there were none. We have been to the Animal Kingdom Lodge before, but this was a first for us. I highly recommend this experience. Ask the guides; they are always so helpful. It's just another reason tolove this resort, and Disney! - Linda Waltz

Epcot - Just returned from our annual Thanksgiving trip to WDW. At Epcot there is now the Character Connection (by Innoventions and Club Cool). This is replacing the Double Decker bus that used to travel through Epcot with multiple characters. At the Character Connection we found Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Donald and Chip & Dale. This is all inside and kids can get to see all of them and get autographs, too. While I loved the bus, the Cast Member said that they had a lot of complaints that the bus took off too quickly and kids did not get enough time to see their favorite characters, and also it is very hot outside in summer and the bus would not come out in the rain. This area was not very busy; my kids waited about two minutes to frolic with the characters. My tip would be go get a FastPass for Soarin' and go to the Character Connection! - Amy G.

Epcot - Just returned from our annual Thanksgiving trip to WDW. At Epcot there is now the Character Connection (by Innoventions and Club Cool). This is replacing the Double Decker bus that used to travel through Epcot with multiple characters. At the Character Connection we found Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Donald and Chip & Dale. This is all inside and kids can get to see all of them and get autographs, too. While I loved the bus, the Cast Member said that they had a lot of complaints that the bus took off too quickly and kids did not get enough time to see their favorite characters, and also it is very hot outside in summer and the bus would not come out in the rain. This area was not very busy; my kids waited about two minutes to frolic with the characters. My tip would be go get a FastPass for Soarin' and go to the Character Connection! - Amy G.