Tips about Disney Cruise Line and Mousecellaneous

A little secret I'm not sure many people know about is about the Vista Cafe on the Disney Fantasy And Dream (I'm assuming the dream because they're sisters). During the day, they offer free sweets such as rice krispies and little cakes. At night they offer grapes, cheese, and other hors d'oeuvres. My family enjoyed sitting here and having a few of these snacks before either the dinner or show. Highly recommend if they're still doing it!

Fuel Rod is a company that for a one-time fee gives you a portable charger and three adapters that fit most phones. After that one-time fee, you can continue swapping it for a charged Fuel Rod at other Fuel Rod stations as often as you need. Disney has these Fuel Rod exchange machines in all the parks and at Disney Springs -- often located in shops or restaurants. Using the My Disney Experience app, the Play Disney app, and just texting others in your party, phone batteries can run down pretty quickly. Our family of four used the Fuel Rod to keep our phones charged throughout our trip. There are also exchange stations in most airports and many other locations. We noticed that the one-time fee at Disney was $30, but in our local airport it was only $20, so if you decide to use this service, it might be cheaper to buy it before leaving home. - Linda H.

Please stop feeding the wildlife! Birds, squirrels and yes, even alligators. Even with multiple changes and signs we still see this occurring every visit. Please also secure your food in your stroller, or the animals will have a buffet while you are on a ride. - Bonnie C.

Did you forget or lose your charging cable for your cell phone or laptop? Try the business center at the hotels with convention facilities (Yacht & Beach Club, BoardWalk, Coronado Springs, Swan/Dolphin) to see if they have replacements available. Failing that, ask at the front desk or lobby concierge at your Disney resort if there are any cords in their Lost and Found -- they may just have one that fits your device that you can borrow temporarily! (Don't ask me how I know this...) - AllEars® Editor Deb Koma

A few weeks ago, a reader named Barbara asked for advice on bringing a service dog to the parks. As usual, AllEars® readers came through with lots of helpful tips and ideas!

Jody H. and many others pointed out: Look into paw protection. The asphalt and walkways get very hot and will be very hot on dog paws. Also, take shade breaks when possible and keep water on hand. I hope you enjoy the parks!

Tammy K.: Please remember the asphalt gets very hot, which could be harmful to soft dog pads. We don't notice because we have shoes on. Please consider some type for foot covering while walking with the dog in the parks to avoid injury. Also in general they can get very hot and overheated from fur especially if they are not used to being outside all day so please have a constant supply of water for your service dog. You can find easy to use refillable pet squirt bottles at the pet store. Lastly make sure to take your dog to see Pluto for a sweet picture of you all together. Happy Worlding!

Gina: My father was blind, and he and his guide dog, Newley, made many trips to WDW with my son and I. Here are the most important tips I can think of: 1.) Make sure you're out of the park or in a remote part of the park before fireworks begin. They train these wonderful animals to ignore distractions as much as possible, but the fireworks are really too much for them. 2.) Cast Members are so great about guiding you to the closest service animal ‘relief area', getting them a bowl of water, and assisting with ride lines and show seating. 3.) Don't think your service animal can't ride anything! Newley rode most everything with us, roller coasters and thrill rides aside. His favorite, for some reason, was always the now-gone Snow White's Scary Adventures. He would rest his face on the edge of the car and intently watch everything going by. We have so many great memories with my dad and Newley… Pictures of Newley adoring Pluto from years ago keep resurfacing on the internet from time to time, and I'm so grateful we all had those amazing moments together at our happy place.

Becky: With all of the things that Disney does well, the one thing I found to be challenging when in the parks with my service dog was finding the designated potty areas. They could have done a much better job with this. They are very small, often extremely difficult to find and sometimes grouped in with smoking areas. Make sure you take the time to review the park maps before heading out to the parks so you have an idea as to where they are... If it is hot you need to be cautious about your dog's paws. I've seen dogs there with booties on, but that is not something my dog would tolerate so I use Mushers paw wax on her paws. It's a wax that is used for sled dogs, but it not only protects their paws from cold and snow but also from heat... For the rides that your dog can not ride there are some options. First, would be a ride swap, which is just like rider switch with a child. You go to the cast member at the entrance to the ride and tell them you need to do a ride swap. Someone from your party will wait with your dog while the others ride and when they come off the ride someone else will take the dog and the person who waited with the dog and one other person will ride. The second person who rides with the person that waited with the dog can be someone who rode with the first group. The other option I've heard of but did not try is that for certain rides they have a crate available to keep your dog in...The disability access pass was a huge help to us. It would have been difficult to wait in long lines with my dog; it made ride swaps pretty simple and gave us the breaks we needed for my dog and for me. Taking your service dog to Disney will be a different type of trip than you have taken in the past. The pace will be slower. Lots of people will ask you questions and want to pet your dog, so be prepared for that. You'll hear many many times, "I miss my dog so much. Can I pet yours?" Have a wonderful vacation! And don't forget to get your dog their "First Visit" button to put on their vest.

Lisa N.: In June 2017 my husband and I went to the world with my service dog. Some of the best experiences are when you meet characters. My dog, Jack, loved Pluto and absolutely adored Elsa. Be sure to get PhotoPass so you have great memories captured! We stayed at Animal Kingdom Lodge and Port Orleans Riverside... Although legally you do not have to have your dog wear a vest, I find it best that they wear one. You can attach potty bags, collapsible water bowl, and people will respect more that the dog is indeed a service dog. I always carry a copy of my dog's up-to-date vaccine record in case needed. Finally, have a great time! Pace yourselves and your dog and you will have many magical moments to remember!

Even if you start out the day with a fully charged phone, there is a good chance you will need to recharge it, especially if you are using My Disney Experience (app) or taking Uber/Lyft. These apps tend to really eat up your battery in a hurry. Bring a portable charger or a charging cable. Remember that switching your phone to airplane mode will help it charge faster and also will save your battery in a pinch (but, of course, you won't receive any texts on airplane mode). - A.D.

Here's a tip for solo travelers, teens, or anyone who needs some down-time: Consider downloading anticipated new music or bringing along a new book or e-book. Disney related or not, you'll associate it with your trip. It's good for long road/air trips, waiting in line, or just for some down-time between parks. - Pogo

Be prepared if you're doing The Pirates' League. Our dear son finally was old enough to participate in the Pirates League. We were gung-ho to select the Zombie Pirate look. The day of the reservation the cast member at the registration was steering many of the guests away from the "full make-up" because of the heat/humidity. We were so glad she did. Not only was my son constantly touching his face the whole afternoon, but the dark eye make-up was a bear to remove before bedtime. I had purchased travel-size make-up remover wipes before our vacation since I knew my son was going to have make-up on. The make-up artists do give you one wipe and make-up removal tips, but it took almost a whole package of wipes plus a lot of elbow grease to remove the black eyeliner, etc. I wish I had packed cold cream or Vaseline in addition to the make-up remover. - Judi Sifuentes

We've run a tip about distilled water before, but Albert G reminds us: Before my last trip in December 2016 I looked everywhere to find out where I could purchase distilled water for my CPAP machine without going offsite. We used the Magical Express and didn't have a car. Taxi cab and Garden Grocer seemed a little expensive for a gallon of water. Even the Disney Mom's Panel said that there is nowhere onsite to purchase distilled water. I decided to ask a cast member at Pop Century and found that they indeed do stock distilled water by the gallon, it's just not out on the shelves. You have to ask and they will be more than happy to get it from the back, and the cost isn't bad. I got sick on my previous trip without water in my machine. I'm not sure if all the resorts sell it, but it's worth asking for.

Many people do not know, but Disney now sells battery power packs through FuelRod in at least one location in every park (there are four in Magic Kingdom), Disney Springs and ESPN Wide World of Sports. They're about $30, but that price gives you a lifetime membership to any FuelRod terminal around the country. Their chargers can be switched out for fresh ones a limitless number of times per day. - Amanda

Remember to bring spare power packs for your phones. Because of so many people being in the parks, phones die quickly because they are constantly looking for a signal... even with the WiFi in the parks, it still takes up a lot of battery power. I think people tend to forget that these "smartphones" die so quickly. - Anna Kirch

In last week's tips, Gretchen Foster wrote about the difficulty of finding birthday cards on Disney property. The Japan pavilion in Epcot has a wonderful selection of all types of greeting cards. One of my grandsons has a summer birthday and I was able to find the perfect card there and slipped in a Disney gift card. - Carol Trainor

I loved your article last week on birthday trips. However, people should be aware that it's difficult to buy greeting cards, wrapping paper, gift bags or ribbon on-property (I don't know why). If you are going to bring gifts that need to be wrapped, bring your own cards and wrapping from home. Also, don't bring pre-wrapped packages if you are flying as they will almost always stop you at security and make you unwrap it. - Gretchen Foster

If you are in the World now or will be soon, keep your eyes open. We saw two bald eagles last week on World Drive, between Buena Vista Drive and the Epcot exit. The next day I saw one at the entrance to the Wide World of Sports complex. Beautiful birds and my phone's camera did not do them justice. - Michael S.

For our readers who are Verizon customers: We've discovered that many of you are not receiving our newsletter every week, due to some technical issues. If you have noticed that you have periodically missed an issue of this newsletter, please do the following:

1. Visit this link on the Verizon website: http://my.verizon.com/micro/whitelist/RequestForm.aspx?id=member

2. Complete the "whitelist" form you'll find there. In the section asking for the email address or domain you cannot receive e-mail from, fill in: [email protected] The Outgoing Mail Server is: m1e.net

We hope that this will allow Verizon to accept mailings from our bulk mail service, so that you can continue to receive the AllEars® Newsletter, uninterrupted!