Tips about Disney Cruise Line, Kids, Mousecellaneous and Souvenirs

The best idea I ever had was on our last visit with our 11- and 7-year-old grandsons. I bought the most inexpensive prepay phone I could find and $10 in minutes. I programmed my cell phone number in for one-button dialing and then programmed that phone's number into mine. We never lost the boys because we could call and find them if they got separated from us. We even let them do Tom Sawyer Island and similar attractions by themselves. We were able to call and let them know when it was time to return. This gave them a great feeling of independence and gave us a break. - SJPEC

We just returned from a fun vacation at Disney. We went when school was in session so my first-grader was asked to journal daily about what we did (school provided the journal). It occurred to me to bring his journal with him and have characters sign it. He then wrote before or after the autographs about his day and what we did. A great school project and a nice keepsake! - Lisa Kuehnle

All Resorts - For young children who are too big for cribs, bed rails may be available upon request at Disney resorts. Be sure to ask at the front desk if you need them. - Megan

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

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

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

Last time I went to Walt Disney World I bought a fleece shirt that had a "security tag" on it. Unfortunately, I did not realize until I got home that the cast member who checked me out never removed it. How frustrating! Do yourself a favor and double-check your clothes for those tags before leaving for home. - mkmouse

We reuse our popcorn containers we get from Disney. They come in handy for many things. Our main use for them is to cut up fruit, like watermelon or pineapple, and store the fruit in those containers. Then the kids can grab their fruit whenever they want some and it's already cut up. We also use them for markers and crayons, great storage containers. - Nicole Miller

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

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

Before our current trip to the World we were trying to come up with a way to tell each of our water bottles apart in the insulated bag that we carry to the parks. We decided to use six different color ponytail holders, which we placed around each bottle. No confusion as to whose bottle was whose! - Gerrie Springer

All Resorts - We just returned from a visit to the World. We have a 3-year-old, so upon check-in I asked if I could have a stepstool in the room so he would be able to easily use the sink to wash hands and brush teeth. I am happy to report they were able to accommodate my request! It was great! I thought other parents traveling with toddlers would find this helpful. - Amy Devoe

AllEars.Net Team Member Gloria recently returned from a family cruise on the Disney Dream -- with a party of 12! Here are some of her tips for "cruising by the dozen" -- and just on Disney cruising in general:

-- If you have your own transportation, get to the port early, as early as 10:30 or 11 a.m. The line to register the kids for the Oceaneer's Club activities can get quite long and they begin boarding the ship right about noon. If you're in the first few groups, you can go directly to Cabana's and have a leisurely lunch while you wait for your room to be ready.

-- You have two options for parking at the port: in the garage ($90) or on a surface lot ($110). We chose the surface lot because we were told the lines to get out of the parking garage can get pretty crazy. We walked off the ship, over to the car and were on our way with no wait at all. Well worth the extra $20 if you're in any hurry (and we were since we wanted to go to WDW for the day). Got to WDW right at 9 a.m. for park opening.

-- Read the directions to use the Wave phones. We didn't, and couldn't figure out why they weren't working! You must dial a 41 first if you're going phone to room or room to phone. Phone to phone, just dial the phone number. Wave phones work on Castaway Cay.

-- It is futile to try and limit soda and ice cream for the kids. Just explain to them that the cruise is special and regular rules apply once back on land.

-- It's hard to find 12 seats together at the buffets. Stick to the table service dining when possible.

-- Take an iPod with soft music or white noise. It is VERY quiet at night (except for kids [not ours!] running down the hallways).

-- We stored lots of "junk" in the coffee table. The top opens and there's lots of room for things you don't need, but don't want to lose. Just don't forget to empty it when you pack the last night.

-- Try to schedule a short nap (or at least an hour of relaxing time) each day if you plan on any of the late-night adult activities. Morning comes very early on the ship and you don't want to be dragging all the rest of the day.

-- Remy is awesome, but only worth the $75 up-charge if you truly enjoy food and food preparation as an "art," and understand that this is an "experience" and not just another great meal.

-- The second family beach (near Pelican Plunge) on Castaway Cay is much less crowded than the one near Scuttle's Cove.

-- Cookie's BBQ on the island is outstanding! Get off the ship if for no other reason than to have lunch, and don't pass up the ribs!

-- Bring a couple bottles of pump/foam soap for the bathrooms. It's much less messy than those little bars of soap.

-- Be sure to keep your smart phone on airplane mode (except when using it to access WiFi is you purchase a package). Otherwise, texts, "push" messages and e-mails may come through at international data rates.

-- Lost Key to the World cards are not a problem; just get a replacement from Guest Services. You WILL need your Key to the World cards to debark on the last day, so don't pack it in your luggage.

-- Bed rails are available. Think about doing without a porta-crib. It makes your room much less crowded to just use the bottom bunk with a rail for a little one if at all possible.

-- Don't forget that Disney will let you bring aboard wine in your carry on luggage (NOT in your checked luggage!). You cannot carry an opened bottle around the ship. If you take an unopened bottle to dinner, there might be a corkage fee.

-- If characters are scheduled to appear twice during a day (around 4:30 and 7:15 usually), go to the earlier appearances and get there a bit early. The lines are MUCH shorter than the evening appearances.

-- Don't wait until the last night to go to Shutters (for your photos). It's a zoo! Same advice for any souvenir shopping. The stores are really crowded on the last night, so shop earlier in your cruise.

-- If your gratuities are not pre-paid, go to Guest Services the second or third night of the cruise to take care of it. If you wait until the last day, you will have a much longer wait in line.

We recently went to Walt Disney World with a 7-year-old and 5-year-old. We rented a stroller with a glider board, which saved the day. Both kids were able to either sit in the stroller or stand on the board, and we never heard, "I'm too tired of walking." The stroller also came with a storage area underneath, a mini-cooler bag and a parent tray to hold a few bottles of water! - Scott Paul

I enjoyed reading the article on tips for taking children on an airplane (AllEars® Issue #661, May 22, 2012). It reminded me of the first time I took my four young children (age 6 months, 4, 8 and 10 years) on a plane. We were going to meet up with Dad who was doing work out of state, so I was on my own with them. To prepare for the flight we did "airplane practice" at home. I lined up chairs in our living room in rows like on a plane. We practiced how we would walk through the airport in a row like a mama duck and her ducklings. They carried their backpacks. We practiced talking to the flight attendants and having snacks. We practiced appropriate behavior on the plane and I told them they could only go to the airplane bathroom one time. (I knew my son would think it was cool and want to keep going in there.) That trip was many years ago, before the enhanced security requirements implemented by TSA, but we did practice walking through security as well. The funny thing is they still remember having airplane practice and they are 15, 19, 23 and 25. We were reminiscing a few weeks ago about that very thing. They were laughing so hard about airplane practice and walking like a row of ducklings. The practice really worked because I got several compliments on how well they behaved on that trip. - Jennie Blakeney