Tips about Epcot and Packing

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

Pack some bandannas in your suitcase. They don't take up much space and can be used for quick identification of your car in the parking lots (tie on the antenna), your rental stroller (tie on the handle), or your kids! Also handy as hats, napkins, entertainment (peek-a-boo, etc.). You can even sew matching bandannas for the family. - Timeless Tip o' the Week brought to you by www.themouseforless.com with the help of Jeannette and Carla

Whenever we visit the World, I always try to wear shirts that have something local from home, like a favorite sports team. Cast members and other guests from the same part of the country get pretty excited to see others from "home." We have had some great conversations and little "extras" from cast members that have resulted from just wearing one of my favorite T-shirts from home. - Paul B.

When packing for vacation, my husband, son and I use two large suitcases (plus our carry-ons). For the two large suitcases, we split all of our clothes in half. Half of everything goes in each suitcase. Most times, when the airlines lose luggage, they don't lose every piece belonging to one family. You should have half of your clothes when you arrive if you do lose one piece of luggage. I would much rather end up having to do laundry than spending my extra cash on all new clothes. - Lynn

For those who love to sleep with "white noise" but find the bathroom fan too loud, I use an app on my phone that has white noise. It lasts all night, and you can find this sort of app with a black screen so as not to be disturbed by the light. - Brenda

I have a great tip for those who must spend one night on the road on the way to WDW: Pack EVERYTHING (PJs, toiletries, clothes, etc.) for the first night and following day in backpacks for each person. Each person can carry his/her own pack into the hotel, and no one has to unload the suitcases from the car. This makes it easier on everyone both that night and the next morning, when someone (usually me!) would otherwise have to repack the trunk. This system also works well on the way home. - Donna

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.

ALL PARKS - In regards to having bags and whatnots inspected at the parks, the best thing is to have all pockets and pouches opened. Also, if you have a dayplanner or something similar, have that unzipped, too. When we went to Disneyland recently (to see the new Haunted Mansion Holiday), my husband was asked to open his dayplanner for them to inspect. When we park-hopped over to DCA, he was ready for the inspection process and dutifully had everything unzipped and ready to be looked at. - Milady

We put our dirty clothes in a duffel bag. We just use it like a hamper during the trip, and then you can wash the duffel bag along with the clothes afterwards. Plus, if you lose the duffel bag it's cheaper to replace -- though, for some reason, the airlines never lose that item. - Steve

ALL PARKS - I found that if you get tired of waiting in long lines, and you don't mind splitting up your party ( maybe to 1, 2,or even 3) some attractions offer singles lines. These lines help fill up unused space. I tried this at Test Track and the normal wait time was 70 minutes. It took me 5 minutes on the singles line and I still got a seat with my parents. - Matthew

I packed a pair of scissors that came in handy throughout the trip. I used them to open packages, cut off loose threads, and to take the tags off Disney merchandise my girls couldn't wait to wear. - Mary Kay Fenske

EDITOR'S NOTE: Remember that only scissors with blunt tips may be packed in your carry-on luggage. Scissors with pointed tips must be packed in your checked bags. For the latest list of prohibited and permitted luggage items go to the Transportation Security Administration's Travelers and Consumers web page at: http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtravel/prohibited/permitted-prohibited-items.shtm

EPCOT & DISNEY'S HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS - It is possible to see Fantasmic at the Hollywood Studios and IllumiNations at Epcot in the same night! The way to accomplish this is to watch Fantasmic sitting near an exit (or semi-close to one), go straight out of the park and when you get to the bus stops outside the park take the bus to the TTC (usually not very crowded at this time). When you get to the TTC take the monorail to Epcot. The night we did this we even wasted time waiting at the boat dock at the Studios and then decided to then try the TTC/Monorail approach. We made it to Epcot by 8:45 PM, in plenty of time to catch IllumiNations. - Christine

EPCOT & DISNEY'S HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS - It is possible to see Fantasmic at the Hollywood Studios and IllumiNations at Epcot in the same night! The way to accomplish this is to watch Fantasmic sitting near an exit (or semi-close to one), go straight out of the park and when you get to the bus stops outside the park take the bus to the TTC (usually not very crowded at this time). When you get to the TTC take the monorail to Epcot. The night we did this we even wasted time waiting at the boat dock at the Studios and then decided to then try the TTC/Monorail approach. We made it to Epcot by 8:45 PM, in plenty of time to catch IllumiNations. - Christine