Tips about Epcot, Hollywood Studios and Mousecellaneous

Disney's Hollywood Studios - If you are going to Disney Junior Live on Stage, get there to line up early (10-20 minutes before show) to get in. Also, don't sit in the very front because you will not see the whole show. Our little ones couldn't see anything but the tops of the heads of the characters most of the time. Very disappointing. - Steffi Finnerty

All the way in the back of Morocco (in Epcot) across from the restaurant is an area where characters sometimes appear (especially during rain)... but late at night it's empty back there and there is a great backdrop for taking photos. There is a carpet and a wall painted to look like the city where Aladdin and Jasmine live. We spent a good 20 minutes back there with our Princess Jasmine fresh out of the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique before anyone else came in and got some great shots! - Cathy

All the way in the back of Morocco (in Epcot) across from the restaurant is an area where characters sometimes appear (especially during rain)... but late at night it's empty back there and there is a great backdrop for taking photos. There is a carpet and a wall painted to look like the city where Aladdin and Jasmine live. We spent a good 20 minutes back there with our Princess Jasmine fresh out of the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique before anyone else came in and got some great shots! - Cathy

Epcot - My wife and I went to the Epcot Flower and Garden Festival a couple of weeks ago. Knowing we were going to end our night in the Magic Kingdom we parked there in the morning and took the monorail to Epcot. My tip comes from that ride. When you get to Epcot, the monorail goes into the park so you get a bird's-eye view of the flowers that you can't get otherwise. Now that we have taken this ride we plan to do it more often. - Mike Sikorski

Epcot - My wife and I went to the Epcot Flower and Garden Festival a couple of weeks ago. Knowing we were going to end our night in the Magic Kingdom we parked there in the morning and took the monorail to Epcot. My tip comes from that ride. When you get to Epcot, the monorail goes into the park so you get a bird's-eye view of the flowers that you can't get otherwise. Now that we have taken this ride we plan to do it more often. - Mike Sikorski

ALL PARKS - It's been said before, but the early bird gets the worm. Each morning we rose with the sun and were at the gates of our chosen park at opening. We literally cruised through on every ride, numerous times. (Expedition Everest five times in 20 minutes!) We were out of the parks by 10:30 each day. Our kids left vacation feeling like we had seen and done everything and we never noticed the crowds. We heard so many complaining about how horrible it was and we shared a private chuckle about our planning. - Michelle K

ALL PARKS - It's been said before, but the early bird gets the worm. Each morning we rose with the sun and were at the gates of our chosen park at opening. We literally cruised through on every ride, numerous times. (Expedition Everest five times in 20 minutes!) We were out of the parks by 10:30 each day. Our kids left vacation feeling like we had seen and done everything and we never noticed the crowds. We heard so many complaining about how horrible it was and we shared a private chuckle about our planning. - Michelle K

Epcot - I was also at Epcot on New Year's Eve 2012 along with Zamgwar and many thousands of others. We had done New Year's Eve twice before, both times at Hollywood Studios. If you want to ensure you get to ride the popular attractions with little wait, you should plan on being at the parks at least a half hour BEFORE the parks open. For special days like New Year's Eve, plan on spending 16 to 18 hours in the park so get plenty of rest the night before. My son and I were the first ones on Mission: Space while my wife and daughter went and got FastPasses for Soarin'. At 8:30 we were allowed to get new FastPasses and got them for Test Track, which was closed for most of the morning due to technical difficulties. Plan on doing attractions you might not normally do and try to rest when you can during the day. I caught some zzz's at the American Adventure. This was the first trip in almost 20 to the World that we walked the entire World Showcase and visited every country and saw all the movies. The only hiccup of the night was IllumiNations was supposed to start at 11:40, but was 10 minutes late starting. That threw off the New Year's fireworks as the "Countdown to New Year's" started at 12:10 a.m. on January 1, 2013. - Rob Ripper

Epcot - I was also at Epcot on New Year's Eve 2012 along with Zamgwar and many thousands of others. We had done New Year's Eve twice before, both times at Hollywood Studios. If you want to ensure you get to ride the popular attractions with little wait, you should plan on being at the parks at least a half hour BEFORE the parks open. For special days like New Year's Eve, plan on spending 16 to 18 hours in the park so get plenty of rest the night before. My son and I were the first ones on Mission: Space while my wife and daughter went and got FastPasses for Soarin'. At 8:30 we were allowed to get new FastPasses and got them for Test Track, which was closed for most of the morning due to technical difficulties. Plan on doing attractions you might not normally do and try to rest when you can during the day. I caught some zzz's at the American Adventure. This was the first trip in almost 20 to the World that we walked the entire World Showcase and visited every country and saw all the movies. The only hiccup of the night was IllumiNations was supposed to start at 11:40, but was 10 minutes late starting. That threw off the New Year's fireworks as the "Countdown to New Year's" started at 12:10 a.m. on January 1, 2013. - Rob Ripper

Disney's Hollywood Studios - We love to draw the characters at the Animation Academy in Disney's Hollywood Studios, and have struggled with carrying the pictures around the park all day. The inside tube from aluminum foil or plastic wrap works really well to keep the pictures from creasing or wrinkling. The drawings are great souvenirs to frame when you return home. - Teresa Palauskas

ALL PARKS - A great way to save time if possible is to go to the park without a bag. We could not accomplish this on every park visit, but when we would go to Magic Kingdom for a short visit in the morning or evening, we packed small necessary items (camera, lip balm, antibacterial gel) in my husband and son's cargo pockets, wore our Photopass and tickets around our necks and breezed into the parks. - Tanya

ALL PARKS - A great way to save time if possible is to go to the park without a bag. We could not accomplish this on every park visit, but when we would go to Magic Kingdom for a short visit in the morning or evening, we packed small necessary items (camera, lip balm, antibacterial gel) in my husband and son's cargo pockets, wore our Photopass and tickets around our necks and breezed into the parks. - Tanya

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

Disney's Hollywood Studios - Since its introduction as a regular feature several years ago, the Jedi Training Academy has become an extremely popular interactive experience at Disney's Hollywood Studios. As a result, participating in the activity, which is held several times throughout the day, can be challenging. Here are some tips to help you snag an spot for your child to become a Padawan and feel The Force:

• Arrive Early: Sign-ups for the Jedi Training Academy start as soon as the park's turnstiles are opened (this includes Extra Magic Hour mornings); if the park is scheduled to open at 9 a.m., they tend to open about 15 minutes prior. This should be your first stop once you enter the park -- the earlier you sign up, the earlier the show you will get into. Spots fill up very quickly and it is not uncommon for all spots to be filled by 10 or 10:30 a.m., depending on park attendance.
• Have Your Children With You: As part of the sign-up process the cast members need to ask your children a couple of questions to make sure they will follow instructions and be safe on stage. Cast members will also ask the children how old they are to verify they are between the ages of 4 and 12. For this reason, you need to have your children with you. Spots cannot be saved for children who are not present.
• Plan on Committing an Hour for the Show: When you sign up for a particular show you will be asked to return to the sign-up location 30 minutes prior to the show time. This is to ensure that all the children participants are present before heading to the stage. With the show lasting 20 to 25 minutes, this means that the whole Jedi Training experience will take almost an hour out of your day. You should take this into account when signing up. If you have a dining reservation let the cast members know. They are generally very accommodating with getting you into a show that will work for you.
• Show Viewing Areas: The viewing area at the stage is first come/first serve and does fill up. If possible, have one parent go with the child to the check-in area and the other adult go to the stage area to secure a viewing spot.
• Know the Alternate Process: Once all guaranteed spots have been filled for the day, cast members will begin to sign up alternates. THIS DOES NOT GUARANTEE THAT YOUR CHILD WILL GET INTO A SHOW, but it does give them the possibility of getting in if a child with a guaranteed spot does not show up. Alternates are numbered in the order in which they sign up and will be asked to return 20 minutes prior to any of the shows. An alternate must be present in order to be placed into the show and if multiple alternates show up, the lowest numbered alternate will get the available spot. For example, if alternates 3, 7, and 9 were present, number 3 will be placed into the show if a child with a guaranteed spot does not show up. Note that alternates can return for as many (or as few) shows as they want until they are placed into an available spot.

http://www.allears.net/tp/mgm/jedi_mgm.htm

Buy a post card for each day of your Disney vacation on the first day. Each evening write down the day's highlights and mail the postcard to your home address from the hotel's front desk or postal box in the lobby. When you return home, you'll have a day by day 'mini journal' of what you did each day. So many of us plan to journal every day but after a day or two forget about it. Postcards are quick and easy! - Judith