Tips about Epcot, ESPN Club, Kids and Souvenirs

Magic Kingdom - Unfortunately, I am a victim of motion sickness. When I took my 7-year-old son to Magic Kingdom, he had no fear of riding the "big" rides by himself. I was able to stand in line with him and once we reached the ride, he got on, and I found the exit and waited for him to get off. However, we ran into a problem on two of the rides (Space Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad). Both of these rides have two exits depending on where you get on. So if you plan to do this, be aware and pick a good meeting place. In our case, before our trip, I ensured my son knew my cell phone number and we discussed how to find a cast member if he got lost. - Christine Crews

ALL PARKS - We have gone down to Walt Disney World 24 times and are looking forward to going again in November. My tip is that when you go, always take a break where there is a water feature. If you are over-warm, they will help cool you off and if you are not then the sound helps relax and focus your mind so you can enjoy the rest of your day. At Magic Kingdom, the best one is right next to the Splash Mountain ride. If you don't want to get wet, step back. In Epcot, they are all over. They are in every park and various places, so ENJOY. - Dana Lind

EDITOR'S NOTE: The water features Dana refers to include the various fountains, water play areas, and misters found around the parks, such as the squirting Tiki Gods in Magic Kingdom's Adventureland or the Cool Wash mister near Test Track in Epcot.

First just wanted to say THANK YOU for all the wonderful and very useful tips you post -- I have used more than a few on our trips. My tip is for anyone traveling to WDW by car with kids. A few days before we leave, I head to one of our local "dollar stores" and purchase toys or games they can play in the car. When the inevitable "I'm bored" virus goes around, I pull out a new game/toy and have peace for another hour or so, then repeat the process. The things I buy only cost a dollar or two so if they get "lost" in the car it's no big deal and the joy "mine" of having a peaceful ride... priceless! - Tina McCall

On our last trip to Walt Disney World, when our girls ordered kids' meals we saved the Mickey-shaped plates they were served in. I cleaned them and once we returned home I pasted/taped snapshots of our girls in each compartment. Makes for a really cute, one of a kind souvenir that doesn't cost an arm and leg. - Karen Connell

Epcot - My husband and I recently learned of something called the "Wine Walk" at Epcot. For $20 you can purchase a passport at the France, Germany or Italy wine shops. The passport allows you to taste six different wines (two per country). The passport lists the two specific wines in each country. What is unique about the Wine Walk is that you do not have to use the whole passport in one trip. You can try a few and then save the rest for a future trip if you like. Each wine is a two-ounce pour, but Germany seems to be the only country that was very strict on this. Italy and France were a bit more liberal with their pours. Our favorite country for the tastings was Italy. Even though you only get about two ounces per taste, we felt it was a pretty good bargain as we would have paid about $35 if we bought each pour individually. - Tiffany Harmon

Epcot - My husband and I recently learned of something called the "Wine Walk" at Epcot. For $20 you can purchase a passport at the France, Germany or Italy wine shops. The passport allows you to taste six different wines (two per country). The passport lists the two specific wines in each country. What is unique about the Wine Walk is that you do not have to use the whole passport in one trip. You can try a few and then save the rest for a future trip if you like. Each wine is a two-ounce pour, but Germany seems to be the only country that was very strict on this. Italy and France were a bit more liberal with their pours. Our favorite country for the tastings was Italy. Even though you only get about two ounces per taste, we felt it was a pretty good bargain as we would have paid about $35 if we bought each pour individually. - Tiffany Harmon

The entire Disney World resort now has 3" Vinylmation trading. Shops that sell Vinylmation have a trading box out on the cash register that contains three Vinylmation figures. Like a pin-trading lanyard, you are free to trade from this box. In addition, some locations have large, black "mystery boxes" containing about 25 Vinylmation figures that you cannot see beforehand. You pick a number and they trade the Vinylmation that is located in that number's corresponding box. It was a lot of fun. - Nikki

Epcot - When my family and I go to Epcot we try to make our World Showcase adventure memorable. We have tried making a mask and saving a section for each country and writing a special fact in that section, but that didn't work very well, so we then tried having the people working at the Kidcot station write our names on the attachable paper picture from each country. This was very cool, but if they got wet from rain they bled and washed away. This past time my sister and I decided to get a candy from each country. You can usually find these in the gift shops or even at restaurants. At each pavilion we took a picture of us eating the candy and we saved the wrapper/box. We then came home and made a collage with the wrappers and pictures. This was a very exciting thing for us -- we had never thought of doing anything like this before. You can even do this with the little kid menus. I know when I was little I used to circle what I wanted to eat, write the restaurant name and chef's name on top, and then if it was a character meal, have the characters sign the menu. I did this with my younger sister and she loved doing her paper menu collage while I worked on my candy wrapper collage. I think this is a very creative and fun activity for kids of all ages. My mom is going to do it with us this time! - Lindsay

Epcot - When my family and I go to Epcot we try to make our World Showcase adventure memorable. We have tried making a mask and saving a section for each country and writing a special fact in that section, but that didn't work very well, so we then tried having the people working at the Kidcot station write our names on the attachable paper picture from each country. This was very cool, but if they got wet from rain they bled and washed away. This past time my sister and I decided to get a candy from each country. You can usually find these in the gift shops or even at restaurants. At each pavilion we took a picture of us eating the candy and we saved the wrapper/box. We then came home and made a collage with the wrappers and pictures. This was a very exciting thing for us -- we had never thought of doing anything like this before. You can even do this with the little kid menus. I know when I was little I used to circle what I wanted to eat, write the restaurant name and chef's name on top, and then if it was a character meal, have the characters sign the menu. I did this with my younger sister and she loved doing her paper menu collage while I worked on my candy wrapper collage. I think this is a very creative and fun activity for kids of all ages. My mom is going to do it with us this time! - Lindsay

I just returned from Disney and I took some bubble wrap with me this time, because I knew I wanted the Roaming Mickey from Epcot, and I also knew its box would take up way too much room in my luggage. This was a great idea, it doesn't weigh anything and I can pack it flat, it doesn't take up any room at all. I am going to do this every time I go on vacation now, and I don't have to worry about not buying that breakable item that I see and fall in love with! - Melanie

We tackled going to Walt Disney World with three boys ages 10, 8, and 5 who wanted to buy everything they had in front of them like this: We had them hold up the item they wanted and we took a picture of it. The day before we left, while I was packing, they went through the pictures to pick the one thing they liked the best. Now we knew what to look for, as well as having some extra pictures for memories. If we were going to a park, we used the Shop Disney Parks app, which we had downloaded. It told us where to go and in one case had the item delivered to Guest Relations at the front of the park. The app will also tell you what delivery options are available (to your room, to guest relations, or to your home). - Robbie Haines

On our last stay, we stayed at the Port Orleans Riverside for 10 nights. We were a bit worried: How could we enjoy some late night TV without waking our 5-year-old daughter? How would she fall asleep with the lights and TV on? We found a great solution. We bought our daughter a small dome tent (it packs up very compactly), which we shipped ahead of our arrival. When we got to the room, there was just enough space (once we rearranged a table and chair) to set her tent up in a corner. She loved it! She put all her "babies" in there each night with her, and couldn't wait to zip herself in for "camping out." Interestingly enough, the housekeeper brought in extra bedding unasked and one of those foam egg-crate pads to soften the "bed" inside the tent. Housekeeping also rearranged the "babies" around the tent each day. - Laura Suffi

Epcot - Just wanted to add to the reason to pick up a Passport kit from Epcot. I got one on our last trip and secretly had each country stamp and write Happy Birthday to my husband on the Passport. A month after we got home it was my husband's birthday. I put the Passport in a Mickey birthday card and he was very pleased and surprised with his multi-language greetings. - Sue S.

Epcot - Just wanted to add to the reason to pick up a Passport kit from Epcot. I got one on our last trip and secretly had each country stamp and write Happy Birthday to my husband on the Passport. A month after we got home it was my husband's birthday. I put the Passport in a Mickey birthday card and he was very pleased and surprised with his multi-language greetings. - Sue S.

Epcot - To save money, instead of buying the Epcot passport in the parks, create your own passport! You can make your own by cutting regular 8x11 paper into fours and stapling the pages together. You can have your children personalize the cover with their names, so Kidcot cast members don't have to ask them. And for each country, you can have children draw out the flag of that country. This can help prepare your children for the experience of World Showcase! Remember to leave the adjacent page empty for the special messages the cast members will be writing. - Ban-Hing Ng