Tips about Epcot, Kids, Magic Kingdom, Mousecellaneous, Planning and Theme Parks

We were in Disney World last month and noticed that there are new ways that the MagicBands interact with various attractions. At Rock 'n' Roller Coaster, there is an electronic poster in the queue that displays the name and home city of guests. At Mission: Space, there are video screens in the post-attraction room that will display the names of the guests who finished the ride, along with their hometown and their mission projection. At Space Mountain there are video screens along the moving walkway that display the names of the guests who finished the ride. At the end of "it's a small world," look for the video screen to display the names of the guests on the boat. There may be more attractions that may also implement this technology, so keep your eyes open in the queues and in the post-attraction areas. - Brian Kehoe

Regarding two-way communication with other members of your party, we have found that texting works the best. It's too hard to hear my cell phone ring with all the noise of the parks, and it's also too hard to talk on the phone. So we just send each other text messages to set up meeting places, or to let the other person know if we're running late. - Kirsten Searle

Make up labels with your name, your resort and the resort phone number. Place these labels on your cameras (including disposables), video equipment and even kids' backpacks. If these items are lost, this will increase your chances of getting them back. - Timeless Tip o' the Week brought to you by www.themouseforless.com and Binnie Betten

MAGIC KINGDOM - When two showings of a parade are offered at the Magic Kingdom in an evening, the second is almost always much less crowded and just as nice! - Timeless Tip o' the Week brought to you by www.themouseforless.com and Mike Boyer

Before buying the guidebooks, try your local public library. Most libraries have extensive sections of travel books. If your local library doesn't have the book you want, they might be able borrow it from another library. If you decide to buy a guidebook anyway, borrowing from the library first can give you a good idea which book or books are best for your needs. - Becky

For younger first timers, get a recording of the music from "dark rides" (Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean, etc.) and have them get used to it. This worked great with my son, who was very apprehensive of the dark. When we got to the ride and he heard the songs, the familiarity made it a lot easier for him to be brave for that first ride. Most of those rides he "knew" from the music became his favorites. - Timeless Tip o' the Week brought to you by www.themouseforless.com and Annie

If you have young children and are going to a late parade or fireworks, bring a pair of pajamas with you. Or, if you are going back to your hotel beforehand, you can change there. Have the kids put on their pajamas before the parade. Most kids (mine anyway) fall asleep before we return to the hotel. This way, you can just put the kids into bed and not have to worry about waking them up to change into sleepwear. It has saved me from many nights of "I've had my 'nap', now I want to play!" -Michele

Mini M&M's tubes are great for storing quarters (and pennies)! I buy the candy for my daughter and when she's done, I "steal" the tubes. Every few days, I fill one up with quarters, and put it in my WDW luggage. When we get to WDW, I'll put one of each (pennies and quarters) in my waist pack each morning, and I don't have to dig through my pockets for change. I also put change tubes in the car so we'll be ready to pay those pesky tolls. I'm ready to press some pennies, y'all! -Ksumn1

My husband and I are big postcard senders. Not only do we send them to family and friends, but love to have them sent to us! We have a postcard collection up on the wall in our TV room like a border. They wrap around almost three times! We started sending our almost 3-year-old daughter a postcard about our trips even if she is with us. During my last little bit of shopping I found an Alice, Mad Hatter, and White Rabbit in a Tea Cup ride postcard to send to our daughter. I wrote on it what a wonderful time we had with her, that this was her favorite ride, and a few other trip memories. I sent it out on our last day and when she received it, she went bananas! It was like reliving the whole trip! - Jane

I have an important tip for all of you taking a trip during the fall rainy season. My husband and I went last fall and found that one pair of tennis shoes is not enough. If you get caught in a rainstorm, you might be fine in wet shoes the rest of the day, but when you put them back on later that night, it makes for uncomfortable dancing! Buy and break in that second pair of shoes so you have something to wear around while your wet shoes dry.Christie

I will not travel without Ziploc bags, scissors, thread, first aid supplies, a list of everyone's phone numbers, medical cards, an old pair of prescription glasses (in case I break the ones I wear), clothes pins for the hotel room curtains, earplugs (to block out the snoring husband!) and two small flashlights. One other thing I must take is extra instant coffee, creamer and one of those gizmos that will heat just one cup of coffee rapidly. Lynette

EPCOT - Get a Kids' Guide to Epcot. It's a small, square, blue booklet, found near the turnstiles or at Guest Relations. There's a place for the child to write his/her name, date of trip, and a list of the people they traveled with. For each ride/attraction, the booklet describes in a sentence or two what to expect at the attraction. There's a small box next to each attraction listing, so that kids can put a checkmark when they visited an attraction. Or, they could use these boxes to check off what they wish to see.

EPCOT - Get a Kids' Guide to Epcot. It's a small, square, blue booklet, found near the turnstiles or at Guest Relations. There's a place for the child to write his/her name, date of trip, and a list of the people they traveled with. For each ride/attraction, the booklet describes in a sentence or two what to expect at the attraction. There's a small box next to each attraction listing, so that kids can put a checkmark when they visited an attraction. Or, they could use these boxes to check off what they wish to see.

EPCOT - Get a Kids' Guide to Epcot. It's a small, square, blue booklet, found near the turnstiles or at Guest Relations. There's a place for the child to write his/her name, date of trip, and a list of the people they traveled with. For each ride/attraction, the booklet describes in a sentence or two what to expect at the attraction. There's a small box next to each attraction listing, so that kids can put a checkmark when they visited an attraction. Or, they could use these boxes to check off what they wish to see.

EPCOT - Get a Kids' Guide to Epcot. It's a small, square, blue booklet, found near the turnstiles or at Guest Relations. There's a place for the child to write his/her name, date of trip, and a list of the people they traveled with. For each ride/attraction, the booklet describes in a sentence or two what to expect at the attraction. There's a small box next to each attraction listing, so that kids can put a checkmark when they visited an attraction. Or, they could use these boxes to check off what they wish to see.