Tips about Food & Beverage, Mousecellaneous, Souvenirs and Travel

And with parents who have 2 kids and only one back seat, create a barrier, like a pillow or a stuffed animal and make it clear who's side is who's to help alleviate the crankiness and fighting of a long road trip. If you keep the kids occupied with games, singalongs, etc... they will have little time to fight. Happy road tripping! - Rebekah

For our drive from New Jersey to WDW, we get a few of those glow sticks/neclaces for when it gets dark. It's not too much light so it won't disturb the driver and the kids seem mesmorized by them. - Susan R.

I checked a wonderful book out of the library that we took along, called Along the I-75. It is hard to describe the book, but we found it full of information and it was fun to follow along page by page, mile by mile. I-75 runs from Detroit to Florida. We were able to have lunch at Colonel Sander's very first restaurant in Kentucky (home of the famous Kentucky Fried Chicken) because of this book. We never would have known about it otherwise. If you are going to be traveling on I-75, I would say this book is just as important as your WDW guidebooks! - T-Nina Hermann

I always prepare a "goody" bag for the drive for each kid. I start with a gallon zip lock bag & put their name on each one. Inside put in colored pencils (I do not use crayons as they melt in the hot sun on to your car seats) coloring book, stickers, a spiral notebook which they can use for coloring pictures & also as a "journal" for the trip recording each days events. I also add some mcdonalds happy meal toys with a Disney theme. - Anne Marie Cronin

I have found that having a EZ Pass on your car is very useful if you are traveling from the north. All toll roads bridges and tunnels south of Conn. accept EZ Pass and you just zip through only slowing down not stopping. They keep adding new roads bridges and tunnels, ie. Summner Tunnel and Ted Williams Tunnel and also the Tobin Bridge all in Boston. - Frank Groom

I have a road trip tip that we have used on several vacations - Books On Tape. We happened on to this a couple of years ago when someone loaned us a Harry Potter book on tape for our vacation. We have two boys 5 and 9. We have found that this is something the entire family enjoys. We actually look forward to getting back into the car! For this most recent trip I checked out several books on tape at our local library. It made the two day drive pass more quickly and it was absolutely free. If your library can't provide, check out the books on tape program at the Cracker Barrel Restaurants or visit your local Blockbuster. - M.Archer

My suggestion is to have each person bring a pillow to rest their head on and to get a little more comfortable during the ride. Teenagers, too, like to nap along the way! And we always make sure the digital camera is nearby. We've recorded many funny moments in the car and it's always enjoyable recalling them once we're back home! - Dolly King

We have driven to WDW 7 times from Indiana, a little over 950 miles. The most recent trip our son was 2 and to keep him occupied I purchased sticker books and coloring books that he received as "presents" throughout the drive. For the adults (there were 5 adults) I made travel Bingo games, license plate games, and make/model of the car games. We also played Disney trivia, name that Disney song, and where at WDW would you find...(restaurant, shop, attraction). This made the ride more fun and it seemed to go quicker. - Angie Grimes

For all those heading up or down the I-95 corridor. Georgia closes their Welcome Center and rest stops on Christmas. We learned the hard way--no rest areas, no open gas stations or restaurants (not even fast food) in the entire state! So if your are traveling Christmas Day, stop BEFORE you enter the state. - Linda Clark from Virginia

For the car cooler, I fill up 2 Tropicana 96 ounce plastic orange juice bottles with water and freeze them before the trip. This way, they serve as ice blocks, they don't melt in the cooler, and we pour the cold water out of the bottles on the way down to Florida to use as drinking water. - Jane Vander Loop

For the car cooler, I freeze bottles of drinking water & juice boxes and use these in my cooler in place of ice. You have your drinking water and no ice mess to contend with and more space in your cooler. - Charlotte from Ohio

The small Disney shopping bag is perfect for holding a raincoat. It packs easily into backpacks and can also even be threaded through a belt. Like others, I always save every shopping bag until we go home just in case we need it for something, but when we have to purchase a new raincoat, I'm always glad there is a little one stored in our room. - Lori Wedeking

I use the Disney shopping bags as gift wrap. If the item does not fit in the bag I cut the bag at the seam. I have even taped several bags together for a large box. Teamed with curly ribbon, kids love the Mickeys all over a package. - Patricia Towsley

I also have another idea for the Disney bags that you get when you buy something in the "world." I bring home all the bags and when I put my photo album together I use one of the bags for the cover of the album. That way I know exactly which album I'm looking for. - CapeGoofy5

Recently on a vacation to Walt Disney World, we noticed several refillable mugs left unattended and presumably left behind by mistake. Oftentimes cast members just tossed them in the trash. We brought address labels and added our cell phone numbers to the labels. We attached the labels not only to our refillable mugs, but also our camera and other valuable items just in case something got left behind. - Becky from Oshkosh