Tips about Kids, Mousecellaneous, Photography and Resorts

PORT ORLEANS RIVERSIDE - The last night of our vacation at WDW was as magical as all the others. When we got back to Port Orleans Riverside, we stopped at the food court. My husband said he would be back in a minute. When he returned he told me they had carriage rides and we were going on one now. A beautiful horse named Rob took us on a gentle quiet ride around Riverside, down by the river and over to French Quarter and back. It was a cool evening and they had quilts for you to snuggle under during the ride. This was such a great romantic way to spend our last evening in the most magical place in the world. - Marylee Beitler

FORT WILDERNESS RESORT - I enjoyed your review of the Hoop Dee Doo Musical Revue. It brought back fond memories of our trip last December. Something I think worth mentioning for those going with kids are the pony rides. We traveled over a little early and enjoyed the ride. - Jim Morgenland EDITOR'S NOTE: The petting zoo is no longer operated at Fort Wilderness however, they do have pony rides for the younger children. Height and age restrictions are posted. Parents must walk the pony around a sandy path so be sure both parents and riders have closed toed shoes. Pony rides close at 5pm.

ALL RESORTS - Even if you have express checkout (where they hang your statement on your doorknob the morning of your departure saving you a trip to the front desk and a wait in line to check out) be sure to check your statement for errors! I always do this and have found errors such as overcharges, duplications, charges for things that were supposed to be free etc. A trip to the front desk, statement in hand, usually results in a quick fix. - Beth Eloheimo

ALL RESORTS - My wife and I just got back from Port Orleans Riverside and discovered a neat idea. All the TVs are in armoires. Tune into the daily happenings channel. They play just instrumental music in at least 60 minute groupings. Turn up the volume, close the cabinet door, and you have the Magic all evening long. On another channel they feature Disney Radio. Each evening from 7-10 they have audio stories. Again, just turn up the sound, close the door, and you've got more magic! - Jim Miller

ALL STAR RESORTS - When we stay at the All Star Resorts we like to make our room feel larger and also give our daughter more playing room. Simply push the two beds together against the wall and move the night stand and table between the beds and the door and these small All Star rooms become much more roomy. Just leave a note politely asking the housekeeping to leave the furniture the way you have arranged. - Amy Kearns

SHADES OF GREEN - With a military ID, you can purchase items at the Shades of Green Gift Shop that are VERY reasonably priced. For instance, we bought pins there for my son to trade in the parks: $3 for pins that are $6.50-$8.50 in WDW gift shops. - Joseph and Renee Witmer

SHADES OF GREEN - We stayed at the Shades of Green this past October during the National Car Rental Golf Tournament. The great perk of staying there was admission to the tournament was FREE! My husband got to see Tiger Woods in person for free. Needless to say we've made reservations for this year's tournament. - Connie Roberts

Pop Century - My wife and I just returned from a stay at the Pop Century Resort. We discovered that if we were trying to catch a bus from a park back to Pop Century and the lines were very, very long, we could sometimes hop on the Art of Animation Resort bus instead. (The stops are usually next to each other.) The walk from the Art of Animation, through the lobby, and across the short bridge to Pop Century took only a couple of minutes -- much quicker than the possible long wait we would have had for our own resort bus. - Rory Osborne

The only really important advice I would add to this [bringing other people's children] is to make a copy of the other child's health insurance information and also have a signed or even notarized letter from the child's parents stating they will be traveling with you, to where, and on what dates. Hopefully you will never need to use it, but you never know! - Tara Felicio

To help create a trip report complete with all rides and activities done throughout the day,take a digital photo of each ride sign before you ride and each place where you eat or snack. This will help you create a timeline of activities done throughout the day and in the correct order. If your camera has a clock on it you can have it listed in the photo as well. We usually can't remember which ride we rode and in what order. This helps greatly for us. - Laurie Hoffman

Our small kids don't care for sudden or loud noises. Take along a couple pairs of kid-sized ear plugs. They don't take up much room, but they make all the difference in the "world" to jumpy little ones! - Vicki Knuckles

At the beginning of each roll of film, take a photograph of an index card with your name, address and phone number, or even just your phone number, written in large letters. When someone develops the roll, they'll know who to contact. - Bill Wilson

On our last trip I applied a return address-sized label to each roll of film with our name, address, phone number, our dates of visit and resort visited. On one occasion I had to change film in the middle of an act that my child was invited to participate in. Later in the day I realized that I had absent-mindedly left the roll of film on the bench next to me. I was not worried, because I knew it was labeled. Later in the day I went to the park's lost & found (at Guest Relations) and described the roll. The Cast Member came back with it in no time. - Flybaby Deb

I wanted to let you know that some cameras end up LOST for good. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE write your name and hotel, or a phone number where we can reach you, on your cameras -- disposable or not. We would just LOVE to be able to call and let you know we found your camera! - A Concerned Cast Member

We also lost a camera at WDW, which was never recovered. They actually sent us someone else's camera once we got home, which I returned. Now, when we go to WDW, I put two or three of those self-stick return address labels on all cameras, equipment, and anything else I don't want to lose. It's an easy way to identify your stuff. - Disnemom