Tips about Epcot, Magic Kingdom, Mousecellaneous, Old Key West, Planning and Souvenirs

Last time I went to Walt Disney World I bought a fleece shirt that had a "security tag" on it. Unfortunately, I did not realize until I got home that the cast member who checked me out never removed it. How frustrating! Do yourself a favor and double-check your clothes for those tags before leaving for home. - mkmouse

We reuse our popcorn containers we get from Disney. They come in handy for many things. Our main use for them is to cut up fruit, like watermelon or pineapple, and store the fruit in those containers. Then the kids can grab their fruit whenever they want some and it's already cut up. We also use them for markers and crayons, great storage containers. - Nicole Miller

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

Magic Kingdom - During our recent trip to Walt Disney World, my son enjoyed playing Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom. The only problem was carrying the cards and sorting through them. We saw several folks carrying binders with the clear sleeves used for baseball cards. A great idea. It keeps the cards "organized" and keeps them clean. You can see all your cards, and know which ones you need when trading. Since getting home, we have put our cards into a binder and are ready for our next visit. - Joelle Rehberg

Magic Kingdom - On a recent trip we viewed the Magic Kingdom fireworks from just outside the entrance. We enjoyed a park bench to ourselves and had a lovely view of the display over the train station. Immediately afterward, we headed for the buses and with our "head start" easily caught the first one back to our resort. - Susan Reynolds

I just placed a merchandise mail order online and the cast member was able to offer me an annual pass discount as long as I emailed or faxed her a copy of my pass. - Michael Landman

Girls who have long hair, when showering, need one towel for their body and one for their hair. To "go green" and save on hotel laundry, bring a turban made just for your wet hair. They can be bought in most big chain stores and online for a few dollars; they are small and dry in no time, cutting way down on the towels your family uses! - Patty

I always bring the small 3-ounce bathroom cups when I travel. They are great to use in the hotel when brushing your teeth. I have a 5-year-old son and sometimes the hotel provides glass drinking cups. Not a good thing for those little hands. The paper cups avoid any chance of him breaking the glass in the bathroom sinks. I also carry them around in the parks, too. They are great for handing out little snacks like gummy bears or goldfish crackers and make sharing a bottle of water easy as well. - hbryfogle

I always bring a cheap hand pump soap with me to use in my resort hotel. I hate using bar soap, especially since I share my hotel room, and it just never feels "clean" enough for me. I purchase a 99-cent hand pump soap before I go and put it in our resort bathroom upon arrival. I'll tell you, it beats using the slippery little Mickey soap bar the Disney resort hotels provide! - Kim

It has been many years since our first trip but I wanted to share a very valuable tip. Before you go, log onto Disney's website and order or print the park maps and study them extensively before your trip. I had read about the crowds and knew that if we didn't half way know where we were going, we would be lost. I studied the routes to the rides that we wanted to ride first, the restaurants we wanted to eat at and of course where the bathrooms were located. These parks are huge and knowing which way to start was super helpful. - Mindy

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

I was all set with extra batteries on our last trip, however finding a screwdriver was the problem. I will be packing one of the all-in-one screwdrivers I found at the dollar store next trip. - Jennifer C.

I found that there is a Disney Gift Card app for iPhones. This keeps track of what's left on your cards, and what the transactions are. I believe that it is only available for the iPhone. To get it, just go into the App Store on your iPhone and search for "Disney Gift Card app." It's a free app. I downloaded it and put in the info for our wrist cards, and it showed our balance. Real easy. I'm loving it already! One thing -- you have to pick a character for each card. I do not think that you can have the same image for two cards. - Dave Adams