Tips about Kids, Magic Kingdom, Mousecellaneous, Resorts and Transportation

All Resorts - If you have diabetes, let the cast member know that you will need a special container for used medical supplies when you check in to your hotel. After checking in at Boardwalk, within 10 minutes housekeeping was at our door with a small haz-mat container. One less thing to worry about! - Judy Peek

I found that there is a Disney Gift Card app for iPhones. This keeps track of what's left on your cards, and what the transactions are. I believe that it is only available for the iPhone. To get it, just go into the App Store on your iPhone and search for "Disney Gift Card app." It's a free app. I downloaded it and put in the info for our wrist cards, and it showed our balance. Real easy. I'm loving it already! One thing -- you have to pick a character for each card. I do not think that you can have the same image for two cards. - Dave Adams

Wilderness Lodge - We are staying at Wilderness Lodge and have a room overlooking the pool area. We also have a couple of kids and tired grownups who like to nap during the afternoon. Unfortunately, Wilderness Lodge has a daily pool party blasting loud music, so be aware and request a garden view if this will be a problem for you. Luckily, we have our sound machine to help drown out the noise, but I wish I had known this. I might have stayed elsewhere. - Melanie Drake

EDITOR'S NOTE: The main pools at many Disney resorts feature similar afternoon parties and poolside activities, which tend to be quite noisy.

As a long-haul flying mum of four children (who have all flown from a very young age) I would like to add "KEEP CALM" to your tip list. If you get worked up about what 'might' happen, the chances are that the children will sense this and become nervous themselves. Treat every flight as if it is a perfectly normal way to travel and your child will soon become relaxed about flying. A distraction technique we used when our children were younger (and still do to a lesser extent today) was to have a 'goody bag' full of wrapped gifts. I used small things like toys, puzzles, colouring sets and candy all with a Disney theme and they were allowed to pick something from the bag every hour if they were good (UK to Florida flights can take more than eight hours!). I always included a few extra in case of delays, for friends made on the plane and to use on the final leg on the resort bus. - Debi

Parents who are traveling with little ones who have problems with their ears on planes might want to purchase EarPlanes. They are special ear plugs that help ease pressure during flight. They come in adult and child sizes. I had horrible issues with my ears when I was little and this was the only product that worked! Best of all they're only about $4/pair. - Emily Scotti

ALL PARKS - Just a reminder to check when counter service restaurants close. We were at Disney's Hollywood Studios three weeks ago, counting on eating our meal at one of the counter service restaurants. All were closed by 8:15, except for the one closest to Fantasmic, so we had to eat at Mama Melrose's and pay $150. It was a lovely meal, but we were on the dining plan and had carefully planned when to use our dining credits. - Ellen

If you have small children that wear diapers at night, we found it extremely helpful to bring their pajamas and diaper to the park and change them there. This was great on late nights and made it easy to put them to bed even if they fell asleep on the way to the hotel. - Kelley

Don't get stuck in the dark like we did. We rented a car for our honeymoon in Florida. We picked it up during the day. When night fell we were trying to navigate by map. Our dome light in our car did not work. So our next trip we will not forget to bring a small flashlight or most smart phones have a flashlight app. - Jennica McCoy Chryst

For those using Disney's Magical Express (DME) service, know in advance how many yellow Magical Express luggage tags you will need. If you plan on bringing two or more bags per person, let DME know when booking your reservation. They only sent me one tag per person about 30 days prior to our trip, when I needed two per person. - Jessica Brogley

Thank you so much for your WDW at large info! Like many others, I have tons of anxiety before amusement park visits, but your site put me at ease. Since it was so helpful to me, I wanted to share my experience at Disneyland Resort. I am a 310-lb. woman with large legs, hips and bottom, size 24/26. I was able to ride everything at Disneyland just fine. Yes, some rides such as Star Tours and Goofy's Sky School weren't super-roomy, but I fit with no problem. The tip of pulling out the seat belt before sitting down was very helpful. My advice: relax and go have a magical time! - Kate L.

ESPN Wide World of Sports now offers free high-speed internet throughout the complex including in the Baseball Quadraplex, Champion Stadium, Hess Sports Fields, the Jostens Center, HP Field House, Softball Diamondplex, Tennis Complex, Track & Field Complex and the ESPN Wide World of Sports Grill. Simply connect your laptop or mobile device to the Hotspot SSID: Disney-Guest, accept the Terms of Service and you will then be automatically connected to Disney's network and have the ability to surf the web, check your email, Facebook and Twitter. - Rick

Relatives of ours didn't hire a car before they set off on holiday from the UK. They decided to rent a few days into their holiday. They went to book through the USA website for a large rental firm, but then decided to check the prices on the UK site. They found it was cheaper to book through that, despite being in the USA themselves at the time. - Louise from the United Kingdom

I just love reading the "Magical Moments" section of the AllEars® newsletter. As a former Disney College Program cast member I would like to remind everyone that if a cast member goes above and beyond in their service, it is greatly appreciated if you go to Guest Relations in the front of the park to let them know that someone made your day extra magical. That way you can make that cast member's day magical, too! It is a great way to give back. - Amanda Atilano

ALL PARKS - You know how everyone always asks for the front on Space Mountain and Expedition Everest? Ride in the back for a fun time! On Space Mountain, you feel every little drop, it jerks you around a little more and the ride feels longer. As for Everest, the backward part feels more dramatic, and the drop whips the back end of the train up and feels way longer. First-timers, ride in the front. But once you're familiar with these mountains, ask for the back -- you're in for a wild ride! - Chloe Ferreira

I like to make my hotel room feel a little more special by bringing in a small bouquet of flowers. You can buy these at the local supermarket for a few bucks. I always bring an old vase from home (which I leave at the hotel when I return home) and have a nice smelling and beautiful thing to come back to at the end of every day. - Amanda Bohning