Tips about Kids, Magic Kingdom, Mousecellaneous, Resorts, Souvenirs and Strollers

On our last trip in May, my husband came up with an idea for some extra storage in our 2.5 year olds stroller. He took a standard sized bicycle bag and used plastic cable ties to secure it to the front of the stroller beneath the seat. It was a great place to store items that we didn't need to get at frequently, i.e a change of clothes for our toddler, first aid supplies, etc. We have a Graco Lite Rider, but I think this would work on most full size strollers. The bike bag did not interfere in any way with the strollers operation, and best yet, it did not have to be removed when the stroller was folded. It really helped us maximize storage and stay organized.

Something else that we found useful...we secured one of those d-ring key chain clips to the stroller handle with a Velcro strap. It was a handy place to hang all of our souvenir shopping bags that we would accumulate! - Jackie Beering

Whether you bring your own stroller, or rent one at the parks (and sometimes they sell out-megabummer!) figure out a way to "customize" yours. For example, having a colorful scarf you can tie around the handle. There will be numerous times you will have to pick your stroller out of a parking lot of strollers as you come out of a ride, and there may be many that look just like yours. - Mindie Lou

I wanted to thank you for a tip I read about on your website. We chose to go to Disney during the hurricane season and although the hurricane never came on land, we did feel its effects. It rained every day at 4 p.m. (more than the usual daily Orlando shower). We have a 4 year old who required a stroller and was extremely afraid of getting his clothes wet. Luckily I had read about the stroller cover you can purchase at Babies R' Us which protects the stroller from rain. It was a lifesaver. Alex and our items that were stored under the stroller, remained dry everyday. It folds away like those playhut tents into a small, flat circle. It was the best ten dollars we spent! Alex was happy and so were we. - Angie and Bill

Costco has an amazing backpack by Baby Innovations for around $25 that was fabulous. It has a zippered thermal side pocket that accommodated 4 juice boxes and a removable lunch container (thermal) that held a few more juice boxes, sandwiches and fruit snacks. It was well worth it, especially if you have kids who are young and/or picky eaters. - Lisa Cappabianca

I was reading in your toddler section about explaining to kids about "big" Mickey and wanted to share our trick. My husband and I are taking our children ages 4 and 1, and our niece age 3 to Disney World in January. To make sure they know what to expect when they see a "big" Mickey we've been attending our local bookstores monthly character story time where a "big" sized character is present each month. This has allowed the kids to see first hand what to expect. We are also planning a visit a regional amusement park for a day as a dry run of sorts to prepare for our week at Disney. - Laura Hulse

Our family loves WDW and between trips we really miss it. One way to bring back the fun is to play the Disney game during mealtime or car rides. Each person takes a turn giving one or two clues and the others must guess what the ride, hotel, place, character meal or activity for which the clues are related. For instance, I might say, "This place has a big dinosaur." The others might guess the dinosaur ride at Epcot or the dinosaur ride at AK. But the answer I was thinking about is the toy dinosaur at the All Star Movies. It's a great game that all can play and have fun. I've been stumped a few times by my 9 and 6 year old girls. - Kenna Washington

I shopped for months before the trip and purchased little items that were from Disney. At tag sales I found little Disney items that were from Happy Meals. By saving Kodak UPC codes I got 4 puppets for the kids. I found Disney coloring books at a discount store. Before the trip, I wrapped up a package for the children to open each day. That way we did not have to buy gifts each day. We allowed them to buy one gift at the end of the trip. - Sally O'Brien

Don't forget to mention that a trip to the Kennedy Space Center is worth it. It's only an hour's drive and the backlot bus tour for the $20 was well worth it. Wow, unbelievable what this day trip offered. Not a lot of walking (so go after a day of hard walking around WDW. - David

Since our daughter is almost 12 years old, she didn't want an autograph book or EPCOT passport this trip. We bought her the Pressed Penny book and set out to collect at least one penny from each place we visited. We found most of them, but then discovered that Guest Services and cast members in gift shops throughout EPCOT and MK have lists of where the machines are and what their pennies look like. This made it even easier for her to complete her collection! - Lisa Heisel, Succasunna, NJ

I love to collect the smashed pennies at Walt Disney World, but hated always fumbling through my wallet for the correct change (two quarters and one penny, preferably bright and shiny!). Now, a few months before my trip I start to put aside my quarters and pennies. I store them in empty film canisters and then just toss the canisters into my backpack. Now when I'm at the park I just pull out one of the little canisters of coins and have the change right at my finger tips with no searching. - KrisAnne Warren

When you see something you want at the parks/hotels, buy it - Too many times I said I'll buy it later and it was gone or I forgot where I saw it. - Anonymous

Save all your shopping at the World of Disney for one day. If you ship everything home, $8.95 for under $100 or $13.95 for anything over $100, you will save sales tax and not have to worry about packing everything in a suitcase!! This was a big plus for us. Discounts are sometimes available.

Suggest your child start a collection - whether it's key chains, postcards, or whatever. It may be a bit pricey (esp. key chains) but they can collect them or give them as presents. - Keely

Before you spend too much money in the gift shops in and around the world, I'd recommend checking out the character warehouse shop in the Beltz outlet mall. On our last trip, I found some identical items to the ones on sale in the world at 50 - 75% off! There was quite a variety of items, but as with most outlet mall shopping, you have to do some digging. Items available included themepark clothing, resort logo clothing, plush characters, pins, and lots of character themed clothing. - Boris Beckert

ALL RESORTS - Be sure and take plenty of one dollar bills for tipping the castmembers in your hotel. We stayed at the Beach Club and the castmembers there are so helpful & friendly that I found myself wanting to tip everybody!! I left an envelope for the maid everyday that I had printed on the computer with Disney graphics on the front that said "Merry Mousekeeping" for the maid. The maid did a super job!! I ordered from room service several times during our stay & the service was impeccable. Each time I was delivered my order promptly & the tray always had a fresh flower on it & plenty of food! - Margaret Wilkins