Tips about Countdown, Planning and Souvenirs

This year I bought the travel BINGO cards at a store before we left for Disney World. I gave each of my children a card when we got in the car. The first round of BINGO was postage stamp, the next round was horizontal, etc. Each time one of the kids won, they would receive a Disney Dollar. The final round was a $10 Disney Dollar. Of course, no one wants to leave Disney World, so on the way home they played BINGO again. This time, while we were there, I had picked up a few pins, pens, an ornament, keychains, and a cup for the prizes. The grand prize was another $10 Disney Dollar to save for the next trip. - K. Watson

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

We have been several times to WDW throughout the past several years, with and without our daughters. Now that they are all grown up, we seem to visit WDW more often without them. They always get a postcard or two from us to let them know we are thinking of them. On our latest trip we started what we call our "audio postcards." While we were in Pirates of the Caribbean we called them on our cell phone and instead of saying "Hi" we put the speaker phone option on just as "Yo Ho, Yo Ho, a pirate's life for me" could be heard. After a few moments of that I quietly said (so as not to disturb others in our boat), "We're having fun and guess where we are." They LOVED it, and we used several more opportunities during our visit. Some easily recognizable sounds are "Dead men tell no tales,""It's a small world after all," the "zapping" sounds from Buzz Lightyear, and the drummers from the Japan pavilion. There were so many opportunities once we got started. We just had to be careful not to disturb our fellow park-goers with our phone. Toward the end, we didn't even have to say anything; we just let Disney do the talking for us. - Jodi and Jim M.

Flying the red-eye from Las Vegas to Orlando (three-hour time difference) on the first day of your vacation, after exhausting months of work earning this vacation, guarantees that when the excitement wears off you will hit the wall hard! I love the researching and planning and getting the most for my time and money, but stop! Think! After three eight-day vacations, I've learned that the best time I ever had was when I didn't hit the parks on the first day, but instead went to a water park for some exercise and sunshine (to reset my clock), then to World of Disney in Disney Srpings to get my pin collecting/souvenir shopping out of the way (check for discount deals from Disney Visa), then to an early seating at 'Ohana at the Polynesian. Trust me, a slow start will give you tons more energy over the next few days. - Leslie Seibert

If you are an American Automobile Association (AAA) member, be sure to tell Disney when booking reservations. We just saved $100 per night at the Animal Kingdom Lodge! You must specifically ask the Disney employee on the phone though. They never volunteer money-saving opportunities like this one! - Amy

For those Disney visitors who live in Florida, unless you specifically ask for a Florida residency discount when making reservations, they don't offer it. Case in point: when calling to make my reservation at Animal Kingdom Lodge, I told the Cast Member that I was a Florida resident, and she quoted me the same rate as it was online. Only when I asked about a discount for Florida residents did she quote a rate substantially lower. I asked her why she didn't quote the lowest rate from the start and she informed me that it's Disney policy not to "assume" that because you mention being a Florida resident that you are asking for a discount. - Bill

When my wife and I are at WDW we always send postcards home to our parents. Each parent gets their own postcard for each day that we are at WDW. It is a lot of fun finding the right card and writing the right message. Last year, while at breakfast at 1900 Park Fare, we had all the characters sign each card and we didn't add any message of our own. Our parents got the cards and couldn't figure out what was going on, since they had been reading our messages explaining what had happened on each day. They loved them! We later found out that these cards were our parents' favorites and are the ones that they show to other family members first. - Ray & Cindy Kuykendall

A really helpful site to visit when considering Priceline is biddingfortravel.com. Scroll down to Florida -- Orlando/Walt Disney World and see what bids others are winning. It's helpful to know prices that others got and on what dates, what hotels are in the different zones, and to read reviews from other travelers about the hotels that Priceline offers. - Christina

Regarding your tips on priceline.com, here is a tip for those who don't live in or fly out of major cities. (Example: my husband and I live 2 1/2 hours south of Chicago, but usually fly out of O'Hare going to Orlando.) We tend to take early flights before 10 a.m. Allowing for the two hours they recommend to be there before your flight plus driving time, it makes for an early morning departure. For a great way to save some morning hours, stay the night before near the airport. We have gotten rooms near O'Hare for as little as $40 a night (in a 3 star hotel) via Priceline, and it has saved us from being too tired the next day! - Sara

I have a file called WDW tips that I use to copy and paste any of the news bites and tips that I read on AllEars(R).Net or elsewhere. Now I won't forget anything when I plan my next trip to WDW. ALL EARS.net has the greatest tips and ideas. You don't want to forget any of them! - Diane Taylor

Save those receipts! Twice our receipts from food service locations at Walt Disney World included a 20 percent off total merchandise purchase (from store opening to 1 p.m.) coupon at the bottom, good at select locations, good through January 5. This happened at both Pizza Planet in Disney's Hollywood Studios and also at the Electric Umbrella at Epcot. - Cheyenna

EDITOR'S NOTE: This promotion usually runs several times a year. Be sure to check if your receipt is one that has the coupon.

Save those receipts! Twice our receipts from food service locations at Walt Disney World included a 20 percent off total merchandise purchase (from store opening to 1 p.m.) coupon at the bottom, good at select locations, good through January 5. This happened at both Pizza Planet in Disney's Hollywood Studios and also at the Electric Umbrella at Epcot. - Cheyenna

EDITOR'S NOTE: This promotion usually runs several times a year. Be sure to check if your receipt is one that has the coupon.