Tips about Epcot, Kids, Mousecellaneous, Souvenirs and Travel

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

Missed buying that souvenir before your trip ended? You can call Disney Merchandising and have any WDW park or resort item shipped to you. Call 1-407-363-6200. For Disneyland merchandise, call DelivEARS at 1-800-362-4533 to have it shipped via UPS. - Timeless Tip o' the Week brought to you by www.themouseforless.com and Mike C. and Jennifer

If you have the Disney Trivia game, you can take a few packs of trivia cards with you to Disney. Some of you may have a long road trip ahead of you, so the Disney trivia cards help you pass the time. You don't need the game board. Take a few stacks of cards and put them in a Ziploc bag.

Even if you fly to WDW, pack a stack of trivia cards anyway. Unless you're in a dark queue like Pirates of the Caribbean, you can pass a long wait quickly with trivia, and you may get an added side benefit... new friends in the queue line grateful for the diversion, too! - Timeless Tip o' the Week brought to you by www.themouseforless.com and Lori Wagner

Instead of signing up for each airline's weekly fare specials, visit www.smarterliving.com and subscribe to their weekly email. It gives you weekly fare specials from most airlines, including Southwest, in a single email. You can even customize your emails by choosing up to three departure cities in which you are interested -- then you'll only be notified of the fares departing from those particular cities. - Timeless Tip o' the Week brought to you by www.themouseforless.com and Jackie

Buy a Disney antenna topper in a bright color (basic black may not work) to help distinguish your rental car from the other 5,000 similar rental cars in the WDW lots. - Timeless Tip o' the Week brought to you by www.themouseforless.com and Catherine Lamey

If you're driving to Florida, try audio books. You can borrow them from your library. Or, buy them from Cracker Barrel, keep the receipt, and return it to any Cracker Barrel when you're finished. They'll refund you the purchase price less $3 for each week you've had the book. You can find Cracker Barrel locations on your way at http://www.crackerbarrel.com/trip.cfm?doc_id=47/ Books on tape can also be rented at www.booksontape.com/ - Timeless Tip o' the Week brought to you by www.themouseforless.com and its "List Mom", Binnie Betten

I just wanted to remind people to check any mugs they buy to see if they are microwave-safe. I purchased a Muppets mug as a souvenir and was surprised when I came home and discovered it is not microwave-safe! I love to heat water for tea in my microwave and I'm disappointed that I cannot use my new mug for that. - Kristine Stever

If you are driving to WDW, think about getting a small combination TV/DVD to entertain the kids -- watching Disney movies during the trip will get everyone in the spirit! - Laura B.

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

Last time we went to Disney, we did something that worked really well for us in terms of saving money. We told the children that they'd be able to pick out one gift each on a special shopping day at the end of the week at the Disney Marketplace. It saved us so much whining, "I want that!" and "Can I please have...?" If the children saw something they wanted, we simply wrote it down on a special Disney wish list. -- Jeanette

Advice for avoiding late and delayed flights:

1) Try to book early in the day. You are less likely to run into delays in the morning.
2) Try to take a direct flight. Connecting flights offer more opportunities for delays and missed flights.
3) Check in early. This decreases your chances of getting "bumped".
4) Do not fly on the hour or half hour. If you have a choice between a 9:30 flight and a 9:23 flight, take the 9:23 (this has to do with too many airlines scheduling flights on the hour and half hour). Pam Forrester

This useful website will give you gas pricing, hotel information, etc., for all exits along I-95 (which runs from Maine to Florida). This site is great for planning gas budgets, and finding where the lower priced hotels are along the way: Go to www.usastar.com - Click on "The I - 95Exit InformationGuide." -Amy

I put Velcro on the bottom of the antenna toppers, so I can attach them to places in my cubicle at work. I can now decorate for every season. My fellow workers think it is a great idea. It helps them remember their Disney trips. - Jack

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

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