Tips about Epcot, Planning, Rental Car and Resorts
FORT WILDERNESS - On a recent trip to Disney, we stayed in a cabin at Fort Wilderness. We decided one evening to take a wagon ride around the campgrounds. In addition to seeing all the decorations the campers put up for the holidays (some of them are fantastic), we pulled up along the lake and were joined by a Cast Member with a boom box. After just a few minutes, the fireworks began at the Magic Kingdom right across the lake. The boom box gave us the music along with the fireworks. It was fantastic! The fireworks ride is not offered every night, so be sure and check with the Cast Members there. You cannot make reservations ahead -- just show up early and enjoy! - Vicki Stark
http://allears.net/btp/carriage.htm
We generally start planning at least a year in advance. I have a plastic tub that is labeled "WDW stuff." I place our heavy-duty hotel mugs in it so they are already packed. I also buy things throughout the year for the trip: toothbrushes, toothpaste, magic gloves and whatever else we normally use during our week-long trip. I also go to my local laundromat and pick up boxes of laundry detergent for $.50 a box. One box cleans two loads and is a lot cheaper than the hotel laundry dispenser. I also pack several dryer sheets in a freezer bag and place them in my suitcase. It keeps the clothes smelling nice and I have dryer sheets for use while there. One nice thing about the bin is that, for those times that we drive to WDW, we just put the lid on it and pack it in the van. After we arrive to the hotel we empty it out and use that as our clothes hamper for dirty clothes. It works great for those trips to the hotel laundry. - Sirena Penn
Epcot - If your kids aren't big enough to ride Test Track go into the gift shop/exit. I thought it was just a gift shop, and I was wrong. My 3-year-old was thrilled to be able to sit in a Hummer and a Saab. All he talks about are the cool cars he played in at Test Track. I am so glad I didn't walk by this attraction. - Robin from Deltona, FL
Epcot - If your kids aren't big enough to ride Test Track go into the gift shop/exit. I thought it was just a gift shop, and I was wrong. My 3-year-old was thrilled to be able to sit in a Hummer and a Saab. All he talks about are the cool cars he played in at Test Track. I am so glad I didn't walk by this attraction. - Robin from Deltona, FL
To find your car in the parking lot, whether it be your own or a rental, bring/buy one of the giant sunshades to put in the front window. This is great to help keep the sun from shining in the car all day -- but also it really makes it easy to find your car at the end of the day in the parking lot! We bought a great Disney one -- it folds fairly flat and packs easily in the suitcase! - Kelley Kriesel
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If you are able to choose your own rental, choose one with an out-of-state license plate. Then, when there are many cars of the same color and same make, you can identify your car by the state it is from. - Joyce Troxell
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I always ask for a rental car in an "unpopular" color -- I clarify this to the clerk by explaining that I don't want black, silver, or white. Red is okay, but green is great, because so few rental cars come in green! - Elizabeth Smock
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Like many folks do, we rent a car when visiting WDW. So many of these rentals look the same in the mega-sized parking lots. What my family does is make our rental stand out from all the others. I will tie a few streamers of orange surveyor's tape from the radio antenna and hang a gaudy colored bandanna from the rear view mirror. I have also tried tying a balloon from the antenna, but sometimes it popped before our return. - Pete Gerry
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When you have WDW resort hotel reservations, the cancellation policy on the confirmation says you must cancel five days before scheduled arrival or forfeit the deposit, equal to the first night's stay. What that actually means is that you must cancel six days ahead, because what they are looking for is for there to be five days between the time you call and the arrival date. For example, we found out the hard way that you can't call on Sunday to cancel a Friday reservation. - Rhame Nelson
ALL STAR MOVIES - We recently visited Walt Disney World with my 3-year-old granddaughter. We stayed at the All Star Movies Resort -- I had forgotten how large it was. We had debated over the need for the umbrella stroller but were very glad we had it, as getting to the food court and bus stop was quite a hike for little legs. The airline transported this stroller with no problem. -Donna R.
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Epcot - Don't forget the single rider lines at Test Track and Mission: SPACE, especially if you're just part of a couple. This is a GREAT way to ride quickly. Even when we have the kids, we'll each take the 9-year-old (the other kids are too small) and ride using the single rider line, then we switch... oftentimes it even beats out the child swap option because you don't have to stand in the regular line. - - Sarah
Epcot - Don't forget the single rider lines at Test Track and Mission: SPACE, especially if you're just part of a couple. This is a GREAT way to ride quickly. Even when we have the kids, we'll each take the 9-year-old (the other kids are too small) and ride using the single rider line, then we switch... oftentimes it even beats out the child swap option because you don't have to stand in the regular line. - - Sarah
