Tips about Epcot, Kids and PhotoPass

Photopass pre-order! It's wonderful! And you save some money doing it, too. This is great for us, because I'm normally the one behind the camera. So it works really well to get some family shots. We had friends with us on the trip and we split the cost in half. - Faith Turner

Epcot - When your group is tired and thirsty, head to Club Cool in Epcot. You can sample Coco-Cola flavors from all over the world -- for free! - Natalie

Epcot - When your group is tired and thirsty, head to Club Cool in Epcot. You can sample Coco-Cola flavors from all over the world -- for free! - Natalie

When my daughters and I went to Disney World two years ago, we registered our PhotoPass before we left and gave my husband (who couldn't come on the trip) the password. He was able to see where we were each day as the photos were uploaded to the site. We stopped at as many PhotoPass opportunities as possible. It was wonderful. He could see how much fun we were having and that we were safe. They took so many great pictures we bought the CD when we got home. We are going again this summer and plan to do the same. - Denice Gartrell

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

Many attractions at WDW are tied to amazing stories, but some of the stories are not as popular as they once were. We recommend watching classic movies like "Swiss Family Robinson" and "Tom Sawyer" so young children can understand, appreciate and experience the attractions. Otherwise, climbing a tree house or rafting to an island may not have the same "magic" as it could. Also, as a mother of boys who are not as familiar with princesses, we watched "Snow White," "Cinderella" and "Little Mermaid" so they are familiar with the stories and could recognize the princesses more easily. - Sandy

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

The best idea I ever had was on our last visit with our 11- and 7-year-old grandsons. I bought the most inexpensive prepay phone I could find and $10 in minutes. I programmed my cell phone number in for one-button dialing and then programmed that phone's number into mine. We never lost the boys because we could call and find them if they got separated from us. We even let them do Tom Sawyer Island and similar attractions by themselves. We were able to call and let them know when it was time to return. This gave them a great feeling of independence and gave us a break. - SJPEC

We just returned from a fun vacation at Disney. We went when school was in session so my first-grader was asked to journal daily about what we did (school provided the journal). It occurred to me to bring his journal with him and have characters sign it. He then wrote before or after the autographs about his day and what we did. A great school project and a nice keepsake! - Lisa Kuehnle

Laura shares these PhotoPass tips:

-- Make sure that the picture is always taken with your own camera in addition to the PhotoPass camera. Our Tigger pictures were never uploaded. Everybody can make a mistake and the photographer forgot to scan our PhotoPass. We didn't realize until we got home.

-- Take the kids out of the stroller, but get one picture in the stroller. I absolutely love our picture of the kids in their strollers and my husband and I each pushing one. It shows exactly what the week looked like.

-- If your kids are sick of getting pictures taken, then try to get them to take one making silly faces followed by nicer faces. Or have them wave good-bye to the parks.

-- Absolutely, write down your PhotoPass number. I took a picture of ours with my phone and emailed it to myself.

-- Ask the person taking the pictures for suggestions or alternate spots with every picture. At Animal Kingdom this led us to find a gorilla hiding in a place that we never would have found on our own.

All Resorts - For young children who are too big for cribs, bed rails may be available upon request at Disney resorts. Be sure to ask at the front desk if you need them. - Megan

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

I loved the article on traveling to Disney with babies (AllEars® Issue #721, July 16, 2013). I agree with all the tips, and I have one of my own. We took our daughter to Disney World when she was 16 months old. As anyone with small children knows, diapers can be bulky to pack so we took enough to get us thru the first day. When we checked into the hotel (Caribbean Beach Resort) we called the front desk. A cast member gave us the phone number for a local pharmacy and we ordered diapers from them, along with a few other things like soda and water and snacks. They were delivered to our room that night, and it was a great experience. We went back when she just shy of 2 years old and did the same thing. I highly recommend this! - Jane Carlson