Tips about Epcot and Travel By Car

EPCOT - If you happen to be in Innoventions Plaza at night, be sure to look DOWN! The walkway is laced with fiberoptics that light up and slowly fade away, enchanting children and adults.

EPCOT - If you happen to be in Innoventions Plaza at night, be sure to look DOWN! The walkway is laced with fiberoptics that light up and slowly fade away, enchanting children and adults.

EPCOT - During the Flower and Garden Festival, the path leading to Test Track has a beautiful Butterfly Garden that features plantings designed to entice the winged beauties. It's a quiet spot not too far from Cool Wash misting station on the way toward World Showcase.

EPCOT - During the Flower and Garden Festival, the path leading to Test Track has a beautiful Butterfly Garden that features plantings designed to entice the winged beauties. It's a quiet spot not too far from Cool Wash misting station on the way toward World Showcase.

EPCOT - As you're crossing the walkway from Future World to World Showcase, you'll spy special lights and spouts built into the concrete on your right. Upon closer inspection you'll discover a spontaneous water fountain that sends water 20' straight up into the air. On hot days especially it's the perfect spot for kids (and adults) to cool down.

EPCOT - As you're crossing the walkway from Future World to World Showcase, you'll spy special lights and spouts built into the concrete on your right. Upon closer inspection you'll discover a spontaneous water fountain that sends water 20' straight up into the air. On hot days especially it's the perfect spot for kids (and adults) to cool down.

EPCOT - Outside the Imagination Pavillion. you'll find a whimsical *leap fountain,* where the water jumps from "pad" to "pad." It's not a play fountain, but children (and sometimes adults) can be seen trying to catch the water as it leaps around.

EPCOT - Outside the Imagination Pavillion. you'll find a whimsical *leap fountain,* where the water jumps from "pad" to "pad." It's not a play fountain, but children (and sometimes adults) can be seen trying to catch the water as it leaps around.

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!

My sister, Mom, 2 year old niece and 7 year old nephew made the trip WDW by car. I suggested, to get us in the mood for our vacation, that we play a game that was WDW based. We started with the letter A in the alphabet and everyone in the car named something at WDW that started with A ~ everything from Aladdin to Alligator was mentioned. Then we went to B and on and on until we were through the entire alphabet. We found this game to be so fun that we played it 3 more times. This really made the trip a lot shorter for all and got everyone in a magical mood. It is easy enough for any age to play and you will be surprised with some of the things you can come up with. - Tammy Barton

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

Want some help passing the time while traveling? Try Puzzlemaker from Discovery.com. (http://puzzlemaker.school.discovery.com/ ) You can make your own crosswords, word searches, math puzzles, and tons more! They can be easy or tough, and you can print them directly from the site or import them into a spreadsheet so you can add graphics for a bit of fun. I've made word searches easy enough for my kindergarten-aged daughter and hard enough for my grandmother.

On a family trip to WDW in 2002, our minivan A/C went out. We tried for one day of 100-degree heat to tough it out. I finally gave in to the pleading of the family and called Midas in Kissimmee. I found the price was about the same as getting it repaired at home. Also by getting the work done at a nationwide company the warranty was good anywhere. National companies allowed us to ride home in A/C comfort, and the work was done in one day. - David Jackson

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