Tips about Kids, Mousecellaneous, Photography, Resorts and Souvenirs

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

This is a big one for the shutterbugs: leave the pile of lenses at home! Those pounds of lenses really add up. I took a photo kit that I would normally take when on vacation -- a five-lens kit with a flash -- and found it to be too much by the end of the day, and most of it went unused. For the second day I only brought two lenses with me. I used the extra space in my normal camera bag for snacks, rain jacket, socks. The exception is Animal Kingdom: if you want pictures of the animals, go ahead and take a telephoto. - John-Erik

My 4-year-old daughter wanted to find gifts for all 12 children in her preschool class. We went to the Disney shops and found sets of crayons in the shapes of various Disney characters. These crayons come 12-15 in a pack, so we broke up the set and gave each child their own special crayon. We added to that the crazy Mickey straws that we could purchase, or sometimes were given for free, at the food court at Port Orleans Riverside. Then, when we got home, we realized that we were able to scrounge together 12 Disney World shopping/gift bags! Each child was thrilled to have his/her own package direct from Mickey! - Evalynn Kuehner

I am an 11-year-old girl who has visited WDW at least 35 times, and I found the best Disney World product for us Disney nuts. It is the Walt Disney World Resort Scavenger Hunt. It is only $4.00 in the Magic Kingdom Emporium on Main Street. It has questions like: What is the name of the mill on Tom Sawyer Island? What are they auctioning in Frontierland? If you WANT to know everything about Disney, or think you DO know everything, then this is for you. My family and I thought that we knew Disney, but we were so wrong! I thought you would like to know about this awesome product. - Chris B.

I read the tip about using the WDW shopping bags for packing and had to add this -- I also bring home several of those from each trip and save them. When I have my garage sale each year, I like to give those to the kids who come in and buy a little toy or something. They are so excited to get the WDW bags and, of course, many of them have never been to WDW, so it is a special treat for them just to have that bag. - Diane

I am 35 and made my first trip to Disney two years ago. It was spectacular, and we are going for our fourth trip in October. I always get a gold charm for a charm bracelet I have had for years. I have a Mickey, Tigger and Tinker Bell charm. This year I am going to put the charms on their own special Disney bracelet. I hope it will become a family heirloom one day. - Lucretia German

ALL STAR MOVIES - If you stay at the All-Star Movies Resort, try to stay in the Mighty Ducks area. You are close to the buses for All-Star Music, which are less crowded, and you can choose either bus to return on. You can also choose either food court if one is too busy. The pool is close and not as crowded as the main pool. It is also quiet. The rooms facing the parking and trees are in the shady side of the building and are less expensive. - John Harman

By all means make sure you have that house key when you head out from home! We DID lock ourselves out of the house on one WDW vacation. We, like a lot of folks, have an automatic garage door opener and use that as our main means of entry into the house. We don't normally lock the inner garage door leading into the house. Well, because we were going to be gone, we decided to lock things up extra securely, so we locked the inner door and hard locked the garage door. As soon as that lock went "clunk" I realized that I don't even carry a house key! I asked my hubby and he had paired down his keys to the bare minimum, and guess what? He took the house key off! We growled at each other for a couple of minutes, then decided there was nothing we could do about it at themoment and went on our trip. When we got back, we broke a window in our back door, and had it replaced the next day. That was an extra $50 we sure didn't need to spend! - Carol Kelley

Have disposable cameras for your children to get their 'view' on their vacation experiences! - Madison

Have disposable cameras for your children to get their 'view' on their vacation experiences! - Madison

My tip is to stock up on disposable cameras before going to WDW (just don't pack them in your checked bags or the x-ray machines will expose the film). I recommend the Fuji QuickSnap cameras - they have a small hole on one end that works perfectly with a lanyard. The cameras they sell at the park don't have that. Having the camera on a lanyard around your neck means not worrying about leaving it behind, dropping it, or getting pictures of the inside of your fanny-pack, and it is always at your finger tips when you want to get a quick picture. - Cheryl K. Klein

After 5 trips to WDW, you start to realize that you are taking the same pictures over and over again! Here are a few suggestions of pictures you may not have taken yet!

*Try to take at least one picture per country in the World Showcase.
*Take a picture of the same spot twice. Once during the day, and once when it's all lit up at night!
*Take a picture of one of the shows or parades in progress and turn the camera to capture your little one's reaction!!!
*Aim up! Inside many of the resort lobbies and restaurants, you'll find themed ceilings that make very interesting pictures! We were waiting for the parade and I had my husband hold my daughter up above me and I was able to take a cool picture of her with the decorations strung across the street above as a backdrop.
*At Christmastime, you'll see Mickey and pals in several different outfits. See how many different outfits you can capture Mickey wearing. (At any given time you can catch the characters in "Park Appropriate" outfits, so you can do this anytime of the year.) - Alea Laughery

We just returned from our first trip to Disney World since having kids. I was a little anxious about how I would be able to make bottles for our 10 month old daughter at the parks--I didn't want to rely on trekking to the baby care stations every time. I found that at any counter service/quick service location in the parks I could ask for a cup of hot water to make a bottle--they must get this request a lot because everyone was ready and willing to hand over a hot cup of water (and for free of course). I just mixed in some of my own ice water with the hot and made the perfect bottle every time. It was a great time saver for us and kept our daughter happy. - Matt & Ellen Evans

When at WDW, no matter the time of year, there always seem to be a "wait" for something! We help pass the time with our 3 yr old by packing a deck of cards. While waiting for meals, Mickey's Philharmagic, parades, and even the boat back to the hotel, we'll play quick games of "Go Fish" or "Crazy Eights." She'll even make up her own games to help pass the time. It's truly been a lifesaver for an ansy little pre-schooler! - Alison Boeckman

When we returned home, I couldn't wait to get back all the pictures of the two of them together with the characters and their grandparents. We were very disappointed that the negatives for five of the rolls were damaged during processing. We were heartbroken that we didn't get one picture of the kids with Mickey or many of the other characters. Next time we will have our film processed while we are there. That way if there are any pictures that don't come out, we can be sure to go back and try again. Although it may cost a little more, we won't lose the memories. - Jennifer, Binghamton, New York