Tips about Food & Beverage, Kids, Mousecellaneous and Travel

Rick (in last week's AllEars®) had a good idea about using a Mickey antenna topper to help identify a rental car in the parking lot. Many cars no longer have antenna, however (mine does not). Another possibility is to use a magnetic bumper sticker. It's not quite as easy to see, but it will shorten your search once you're down to the right row. - A. D. Johnson

I would like to add a tip for finding your rental car or your own car in the WDW parking lot. I make a large Mickey head out of black construction paper and attach it to the inside of the back window of the vehicle. On the Mickey in large white letters is our family last name and state! This worked great in our earlier years visiting the parks when we did not stay in WDW resorts. - Robin

Even though my children (ages 11 and 8) have just returned from their sixth trip to WDW, there are still so many things we haven't done -- and not just the EXTRA things like the water parks. So now in addition to our must-do list, we put together a "New Things to Do" list. With each trip we try to do a few new things. This trip we tried California Grill and Teppan Edo, met Jiminy Cricket in Animal Kingdom, and actually used our rain ponchos in the rain! We are revising and adding to our lists for our next trip. - Janice Dion

Save yourself time and money on hydration while roaming the parks. My husband and I each have a CamelBak hydration pack (they have packs with only a beverage bladder or models with decent-sized backpacks for the rest of your Disney necessities). A trip to the resort ice machine, a little powdered drink mix and you're good for the whole day. Plus, the ice in the pack keeps you cool on a hot day, even through the insulated padding. You'll save the cost of the CamelBak in the first couple of days plus no time waiting in line for an expensive bottle of water! - Karen Henny

If you are travelling with young children and your airline allocates seats (rather than a "sit-where-you-like" policy), don't board the plane first with the other families and people with disabilities. It takes a long time for a plane to fill up. Instead, take another trip to the toilet, refill a juice cup and board the plane last. Then you won't have a lot of waiting on the plane! - Caroline from the UK

My children love looking for "hidden Mickeys." We have discovered a way to practice searching while at home. We realized that there are a number of hidden Mickeys placed in the Playhouse Disney show, "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse." Apart from the more obvious ones, there are other Mickeys in the backgrounds of scenes that are more subtle and fleeting, but every bit as legitimate. Sometimes we even go so far as to try to count how many we can find in each episode! - Chris Morris

To keep the thread, no pun intended, of lost glasses pins/screws going, here is a tip to keep from losing them in the first place -- put a drop of clear nail polish on the thread end of the screw and it will act like Loctite®. - Marc

I saw the tip from the reader regarding getting her husband's eyeglasses repaired at the Magic Kingdom watch store. On our trip in April, the screw in my mother's eyeglasses came out. We were staying on property and called the front desk to see if they would happen to have an eyeglass repair kit. They did and promptly brought it to our room-free of charge. My mother now carries it in her purse for any future accidents. - Tracie Smith

I don't know if it has been mentioned, but you can only make your online dining reservations if you have fewer than 10 people in your group. We have 14 in our group and I still had to call the group number to make our dining reservations. (For groups of 10 or more, call 407-939-5665.) - Melissa Speegle

When planning for The World we always leave a three-day window at the beginning and end of our trip, allowing us to check for the lowest airline rates before we book. We look at airports within a 1-1/2 hour driving distance from home to get the best airfare and always leave and return during the week rather than weekends to lower the rates. You might be surprised at the smaller airports that have direct as well as less expensive flights, as well as lower parking expenses. Also try to book an early morning flight to Disney allowing you to spend more time there. The same goes for your trip home -- book a late flight and have a late lunch/early dinner on your last day before heading to the airport. We always get asked by family and friends how can we afford to stay 10 days instead of seven but with proper planning and knowing a few tricks you too can become a "Disney Weasel" (my bride's name when planning our trip) and beat the Mouse for an extended stay! - JK

Travel from Tuesday to Tuesday. Airfare is consistently cheaper when you fly on Tuesdays. - jgdafamily

Always ask about discounts. Discounts for room reservations, dining, park tickets and tours are sometimes offered for AAA members, military, senior citizens, Disney Visa card holders, and Florida residents. It's always worth asking! - Justine Fellows

I check the airlines to see who is having the best deals. For our upcoming trip in August I bought tickets for $66 one way per person. We live in upstate NY so we are not close. Even though I get them a long way out I save a GREAT deal of money. - Dianne Spawn

My husband, 3-year-old daughter and I drove from New York to Lorton, Virginia, to catch the Amtrak Auto Train. I have to say that this was a very nice addition to our trip. We chose to reserve a bedroom, which included a toilet/shower stall within the room. When traveling with a toddler you need a bathroom at the ready. The room was just the right size for two adults and one child and the food options were fine. We chose to bring a portable DVD player and coloring books, both of which kept our daughter happy. If anyone is concerned about flying or would like the use of their personal car while in Florida, I highly suggest looking into the Auto Train! - Vickie Barca

Some trips to Disney may not include all members of your family, such as the special trip my cousin took her oldest daughter on due to meeting goals with the Girl Scouts. The younger daughter had to stay home. I just had to share what my cousin did for the one at home: She created a gift bag that contained one gift for each day they would be gone. She was allowed to open one gift per day. She was thrilled to receive a gift card to go out to dinner with Grandma, a bracelet, a picture frame with her and Mom in the photo and more! We got an update each night regarding which gift she discovered that day. This was a great way to show that we were thinking of the one left at home, and for her to have some magic of her own. - Shawna Mott