Tips about Epcot, FastPass+ and Resorts

We always carry a cinch-sack to the parks. To help us get through the security bag check a little faster, my husband put all our items in two large zipper-top bags before we put them in the sack. Several security guards commented that it was a great idea. It made their job easier by being able to just look at the bags instead of digging through the cinch-sack. - Chris

My family and I just returned from a fantastic trip, staying at Beach Club for the first time and loved it! Wanted to share this tip: If you want a patio or full balcony, be sure request it when booking and through the online check-in system. Many second-floor balconies are standing room only. We were fortunate enough to have a full balcony and Epcot right outside our door. - Colleen Ziemkiewicz

A tip "for when you are almost on the ride and it gets stopped for bad weather": This happened on our last visit. We were just about to board Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and the ride was stopped due to storms. Although the wait was around an hour, my wife and daughter got chatting to others in the queue, and soon one of the girls opened up a game app on her phone. It kept quite a few people busy and the wait just flew by. It's worth loading a couple of games onto your mobile device for delays like this, especially if you have young children, to keep them occupied. - Tony M.

Most TVs in the hotels have an HDMI port. This means you can connect your HDMI-ready laptop to them if you have the proper cable. This is nice for end of the day unwinding if your little one needs a favorite movie or some such to go to sleep. - Mike Layman

I found out last week that distilled water is available to purchase upon request at the Everything Pop food court (at Pop Century Resort). Distilled water is important to the many guests who use CPAP machines. It was as easy as going to one of the cashiers at the Everything Pop food court and requesting it. They keep it stocked in the back. I'm guessing many/all of the Disney Resorts carry it, too. Next visit I won't have to pack small bottles of distilled water in my luggage! Thanks, Disney! - Catherine Ryan

If you love to raise your hands during high-intensity rides (or any that take a photo during the ride) please consider sitting at the back of the ride vehicle. If you sit at the front or even in the middle you block out the faces of the people behind you, ruining their pictures. Keep in mind this may be the once-in-a-lifetime trip for those people and they may only have time to ride that once. - Nicole

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

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

If you need to drive to the park to drop someone off, Disney provides very convenient guest drop-off areas at each of the four parks. It's as easy as telling the toll booth cast member at the main parking entrance that you're dropping someone off. They'll give you instructions on how to get to that park's area. At the Magic Kingdom, you need to be in the lanes on the right and they'll direct you down the road going to the Transportation and Ticket Center. At the other three parks, they'll send you into the regular parking area where you'll tell the second cast member you're dropping someone off, and they'll direct you to the spot at the front of the lot near the entrance. - Laurie Jennings

Remember, if you forget where you parked your car, tell a parking attendant about what time you parked. They can then usually tell you about where you parked within a row or so. - Fred

Make sure your kids are tall enough to ride the rides you're getting FastPasses for. I've seen a lot of people get really upset about this. They'll have FastPasses to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, only to get to the FastPass gate and be told their kids are too short to ride. FastPasses make wait times shorter, they do not make kids taller! And remember, close enough is NOT good enough when it comes to height restrictions at Disney. - Cast Member Jane

We recently visited Fort Wilderness for the Campfire Sing-a-long. We headed over early, and were surprised to find that they were playing games and Chip and Dale were there. My daughter was able to play with Chip for more than five minutes all by herself. She was in love! - Robin Tater

At many of the Disney Resort rooms the drapes don't always come together enough to ensure privacy, especially the ones that are right next to the entrance door or the ones on corner rooms. I always bring along a couple of clothespins to clip them together at night. Then I can use them to hang up wet bathing suits on the line over the tub, too. - Marlene Culver

When you are in the parks waiting on FastPass+, keep an eye on your smart/cell phone email. During the Memorial Day weekend at Animal Kingdom, I got an email on my iPhone informing me of a "Change to my upcoming Disney Fastpass+ experience". It told me my scheduled Dinosaur Fastpass+ wasn't available because the ride was "temporarily unavailable". But I was informed a new FastPass+, good anytime during normal theme park hours, had been added to my wristband and could be used at any of the premium experiences at Animal Kingdom. This let me chose any time and any ride from the following: Primeval Whirl, Dinosaur, It's Tough to be a Bug!, Expedition Everest, Kilimanjaro Safaris, Finding Nemo, or Kali River Rapids. It worked. I was able to walk right into the FastPass+ line at Kilimanjaro Safaris, even though I had already ridden Safari two hours earlier. Two Safaris before lunch is quite the treat! Bob Jackson

EDITOR'S NOTE: If a ride goes down and you are given the opportunity to use a FP+ for another attraction you cannot go back later in the day to the original ride if it comes back up and use a FP. Once you accept the new one and use it you are out of luck with the original. Be sure you aren't too quick to do something else if the down attractions is something you really want to do. Most attractions are not down the entire day, but it is a wait and see "game".

Here is a tip I discovered for remembering your time for FastPass+. My family and I have annual passes with MagicBands and go about every two weeks. (How lucky are we?!) Before we get to the parks I go to the MDE app under my plans and screen shot all the times on my iPhone (other smart devices do this, too), then save it as my lock-screen wallpaper. This way I only have to make the backlight turn on, like checking the time, and there are all our plans/times. Saves a lot of time rather than opening the app. Hope this helps someone! - Krystal Lane