Tips about Epcot, Magic Kingdom, Mousecellaneous and Photography

EPCOT - Take a look at the beautiful fountain outside the Imagination pavilion, it's slightly out of the ordinary. It's actually a *reverse* waterfall, with the water flowing up! Just watch it!

EPCOT - Take a look at the beautiful fountain outside the Imagination pavilion, it's slightly out of the ordinary. It's actually a *reverse* waterfall, with the water flowing up! Just watch it!

As great as zipper-top bags are for holding snacks, you might want to think about hard plastic storage containers for them or something equally sturdy. I've witnessed a squirrel literally rip a hole in a reusable supermarket bag to get at the chips inside, no matter how many times we shooed him away. Anytime you're in a show or a ride with a long line the squirrels and birds have PLENTY of time to mess with your stuff that you've left in your stroller or scooter. - Aren

As great as zipper-top bags are for holding snacks, you might want to think about hard plastic storage containers for them or something equally sturdy. I've witnessed a squirrel literally rip a hole in a reusable supermarket bag to get at the chips inside, no matter how many times we shooed him away. Anytime you're in a show or a ride with a long line the squirrels and birds have PLENTY of time to mess with your stuff that you've left in your stroller or scooter. - Aren

We have been searching for Hidden Mickeys at WDW, so to 'train' my husband for our last trip, I hid one Hidden Mickey a day for him to find before work. I only hid them in the bathroom because if he had to look all over the house before work, it wouldn't be fun! We both enjoyed this pre-trip practice, and I really think it paid off! He did 100 times better at spotting Hidden Mickeys once we got to WDW. A few words of advice for anyone who might want to try this: limit it to two weeks or less before your trip! Also, certain scrapbook stores sell Mickey punches; those were small and I could stick them anywhere! Other good ideas for Hidden Mickeys are placing anything in the three-circle shape, such as dots of cream connected to look like Mickey. There are many Hidden Mickeys like that at the World, so be creative! - Alea Laughery

Always keep your used film separate from your camera or video camera. While on our first trip to Disney World... at Epcot we misplaced our camera... One plus that my wonderful husband had thought of and I hadn't... after we finished a roll of film, he would put it in his pocket. The next day when I called the main lost and found, they had our camera... Even if we had never gotten that camera back, though, most of our precious memories of our first trip to \"The World\" were safe and sound. - Ruth K.

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

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

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

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

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

My wife and I, on our last trip, collected photos of specific things at Walt Disney World. We took pictures of all the trash cans in each "land" (or area) of each park since each are themed to a particular area. We also were there for the Epcot Flower and Garden Festival, so we attempted to get photos of every topiary. When we go in stores, if they sell hats, we always take pictures of each other wearing funny hats. Some other ideas are: signs for rides, Hidden Mickeys, food, Cast Members from each attraction or area, birds and other wildlife, and fountains. Pick your own theme. If you like a particular character, take pictures not only of live characters, but of merchandise, signs, statues, and/or shops that show that character. There is so much detail in the parks and resorts, that you can choose what you are interested in and find plenty of photos. Children would enjoy this, too. You could discuss ahead of time what kinds of pictures they would like to shoot and then give them a disposable camera for them to "hunt" for their item. After you get home and get film developed, you can see WDW from your children's perspective. Often they'll catch things adults overlook. John Daniell

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.