Tips about Epcot, Magic Kingdom, Mousecellaneous, Resorts and Special Events

Fort Wilderness - When I took my son over to Fort Wilderness for an afternoon pony ride, we were so disappointed when he couldn't ride because he was wearing open-toed sandals. It is required that kids wear closed-toe shoes to ride the ponies at Fort Wilderness. - Robin Jones

EDITOR'S NOTE: Parents should also wear closed-toe shoes.

Magic Kingdom and Epcot - My family and I just got back from Disney on June 8. We had a great time, but something I found very useful was that when we got to the park (around 11 a.m. -- we let the kids sleep in since we were at the park late the night before) the line for the monorail and ferryboat to Magic Kingdom was backed up to the ticket booths! So instead of wasting 30-45 minutes waiting to get on the monorail, we hopped over to Epcot since there was no line at all. We had 1:00 p.m. reservations at Crystal Palace at Magic Kingdom, but we had enough time to see Turtle Talk with Crush (kids loved it!) and take a family shot in front of Spaceship Earth. This is definitely worth doing instead of standing on line. - Pamela Matzner

Magic Kingdom and Epcot - My family and I just got back from Disney on June 8. We had a great time, but something I found very useful was that when we got to the park (around 11 a.m. -- we let the kids sleep in since we were at the park late the night before) the line for the monorail and ferryboat to Magic Kingdom was backed up to the ticket booths! So instead of wasting 30-45 minutes waiting to get on the monorail, we hopped over to Epcot since there was no line at all. We had 1:00 p.m. reservations at Crystal Palace at Magic Kingdom, but we had enough time to see Turtle Talk with Crush (kids loved it!) and take a family shot in front of Spaceship Earth. This is definitely worth doing instead of standing on line. - Pamela Matzner

Magic Kingdom and Epcot - My family and I just got back from Disney on June 8. We had a great time, but something I found very useful was that when we got to the park (around 11 a.m. -- we let the kids sleep in since we were at the park late the night before) the line for the monorail and ferryboat to Magic Kingdom was backed up to the ticket booths! So instead of wasting 30-45 minutes waiting to get on the monorail, we hopped over to Epcot since there was no line at all. We had 1:00 p.m. reservations at Crystal Palace at Magic Kingdom, but we had enough time to see Turtle Talk with Crush (kids loved it!) and take a family shot in front of Spaceship Earth. This is definitely worth doing instead of standing on line. - Pamela Matzner

Magic Kingdom and Epcot - My family and I just got back from Disney on June 8. We had a great time, but something I found very useful was that when we got to the park (around 11 a.m. -- we let the kids sleep in since we were at the park late the night before) the line for the monorail and ferryboat to Magic Kingdom was backed up to the ticket booths! So instead of wasting 30-45 minutes waiting to get on the monorail, we hopped over to Epcot since there was no line at all. We had 1:00 p.m. reservations at Crystal Palace at Magic Kingdom, but we had enough time to see Turtle Talk with Crush (kids loved it!) and take a family shot in front of Spaceship Earth. This is definitely worth doing instead of standing on line. - Pamela Matzner

Magic Kingdom - Watch the fireworks from Tomorrowland Transit Authority in the Magic Kingdom. It is a great view, plus they will often let you ride it around as many times as you want. This is especially good for people who do not like the noise the fireworks make -- you can't hear a thing! - Q.o.t.W.

Yacht and Beach Club - If you're staying at the Beach or Yacht Club and walking to and from Epcot here's a hint to make your trip easier. Most folks walk up over the ferry bridge. For two older adults who sit behind computers all day, that "up" part at the end of the day after walking all over Epcot was a killer. There is a path beside the overpass that goes down along the river. This seemed to us to be flatter and much easier when we were tired. - Jane and Al Boeck

Flower and Garden Festival For anyone who loves the Epcot Flower and Garden Festival as much as I do, here's a tip: Make reservations for the Akershus Princess Breakfast in Norway and arrive 20 minutes or so before your scheduled reservation time. As with all "in park" breakfast reservations, you get to enter the park before it is open to anyone. While this is nice at any one of the parks, it is especially wonderful at Epcot during this time of year. You can stroll around and take some beautiful photographs of the "floral sculptures" undisturbed by passers-by. - Laurie Sloane

ALL PARKS - I have been to Disney many times and always carry a bag of some sort with me for sunscreen, wallets, camera, ponchos, and other things of that nature. I found that a clear backpack will get you through the line at the security checkpoint quicker than it normally takes. Since security can see through the backpack they normally do not have to open it up. If you are worried about everyone seeing what you have in the clear backpack, than all you have to do is take a hand towel and pull it out before the security check point and, once through, place it in the backpack so that everything that you have cannot be easily seen. It also helps if you get a little wet and need to dry off. - Kelly Henrichsen

ALL PARKS - I have been to Disney many times and always carry a bag of some sort with me for sunscreen, wallets, camera, ponchos, and other things of that nature. I found that a clear backpack will get you through the line at the security checkpoint quicker than it normally takes. Since security can see through the backpack they normally do not have to open it up. If you are worried about everyone seeing what you have in the clear backpack, than all you have to do is take a hand towel and pull it out before the security check point and, once through, place it in the backpack so that everything that you have cannot be easily seen. It also helps if you get a little wet and need to dry off. - Kelly Henrichsen

ALL PARKS - We put small inexpensive inflatable bath pillows (about $.79 to $1.50 at most drugstores) in our parkpacks. When we go to see a show on a hard wooden or steel bench, or are stuck with only a concrete curbside seat to view the parade, we take out our pillows, blow them up, and voila -- a nice soft cushie for our tushie! - Michele Abbamondi

ALL PARKS - We put small inexpensive inflatable bath pillows (about $.79 to $1.50 at most drugstores) in our parkpacks. When we go to see a show on a hard wooden or steel bench, or are stuck with only a concrete curbside seat to view the parade, we take out our pillows, blow them up, and voila -- a nice soft cushie for our tushie! - Michele Abbamondi

ANIMAL KINGDOM LODGE - We arrived early at the Animal Kingdom Lodge for our dinner at Boma. As usual, we went straight through the lobby to the savannah to check out the animals. The guide there informed us that from 8-10 p.m., you could see the animals through complimentary use of night vision goggles at the animal overlook by the swimming pool. We checked it out after dinner -- it was fantastic! The guides have two night vision goggles for visitors to use, and wipe them down with antibacterial wipes whenever there's a change in families. It was fascinating and unique to look for the animals using the goggles! - hardroff

Epcot - I just wanted to let people with younger children know that Epcot is a great place to go with the younger set. My friends avoid this park with smaller kids thinking that it's over their heads! We went in January and found that to be completely untrue. In fact, that was our 5-year-old's favorite park! We found tons of characters that had hardly any lines, and both our kids (the other one is age 2) loved the countries' Kidcot stations. They loved having a mission to get to every station, and enjoyed all the sights and experiences along the way! - Janelle Kreiling

Epcot - I just wanted to let people with younger children know that Epcot is a great place to go with the younger set. My friends avoid this park with smaller kids thinking that it's over their heads! We went in January and found that to be completely untrue. In fact, that was our 5-year-old's favorite park! We found tons of characters that had hardly any lines, and both our kids (the other one is age 2) loved the countries' Kidcot stations. They loved having a mission to get to every station, and enjoyed all the sights and experiences along the way! - Janelle Kreiling