Tips about Kids, Mousecellaneous, PhotoPass and Souvenirs

Regarding that tip about not being able to combine PhotoPass cards, you can, but they all have to be uploaded onto one account. So the reader who shared that tip could have gotten all of her photos on one CD had all the different cards been uploaded onto one account, rather than each family member making their own account. - Justine Annucci-Bonomolo

Our children are too young to memorize our cell phone numbers so we came up with a solution in case they got lost while on vacation. We use our computer to create iron on transfers containing our cell phone numbers, using transfer paper that can be used in our inkjet printer. We iron a label on the inside hem of each shirt our children will wear while at WDW. This way we know that if we ever get separated from our children they can show the phone numbers to Disney Cast Members who can contact us immediately. - Cindy

Twenty-four members of our family just returned from a wonderful 10-day trip to the World. We accumulated 15 (no exaggeration!) PhotoPass cards along the way. Because we are all related, we just whipped out any old card whenever one was needed, not keeping track of whose card was whose. The problem arose when we returned home and the three of us who ended up with cards in our possession decided to upload the photos. To our dismay, we could share photos with each other but not combine our PhotoPasses onto one CD. This meant purchasing three CDs at $125 each in order to have all my own kids' pictures. The lesson: keep your own family's photos on your own card(s) so you can get them all on one CD when you return home. - Melanie Deware

If there are any tween parents out there I am sure they are familiar with the Club Penguin website for kids. My daughter, a huge Disney fan and a huge Club Penguin fan, was extremely excited to learn today that the two companies are partnering. The idea of getting a set of Mickey ears for her penguin caused her to jump with joy! Not too many details have been announced on their website but it looks like it will be a wonderful and safe way to get a little Disney magic from home to tide her over until our next trip. - Lori Stubbeman

We spent six days in the parks at Disney with three kids, 2, 5, and 7 years old. Late in our vacation, after several days of standing in line with grumpy, hot and tired kids, we figured out that if you get a frozen treat and take a break it makes the world of difference and extends the day. Toward the end we took two breaks to fight the 90-degree heat, but those were the smoothest days we had. It was well worth the cost of a frozen pop or five. - Tim Prouty

After finding out that the picture packages they bring to your table at some of the character meals have the PhotoPass number on the back, we asked the cast member who brought them to us if we could get the number. The first meal of our trip the cast member said that you had to purchase them. The second meal the cast member let us in on a great tip -- all you have to do is go to one of the PhotoPass stores and tell them the date and approximate time of your event and they can get that picture and put it onto your PhotoPass CD! I think this is great for those of us who plan to buy the CD and don't want to spend extra money on the packages they bring to the tables. We went to the PhotoPass spot in Epcot -- it took a little searching in the system but the pictures from 'Ohana and Chef Mickey's were added to our CD! - Kat Garcia

Fort Wilderness - When I took my son over to Fort Wilderness for an afternoon pony ride, we were so disappointed when he couldn't ride because he was wearing open-toed sandals. It is required that kids wear closed-toe shoes to ride the ponies at Fort Wilderness. - Robin Jones

EDITOR'S NOTE: Parents should also wear closed-toe shoes.

At Disneyshopping.com, you can customize polo shirts with embroidered characters and names up to eight characters long. For children and adults, the cost is only $12.50 per shirt! Check often and look for special codes on the site, and you can get an additional discount. With a 20% off code, I ordered seven shirts this past weekend for $82.50 including shipping. We're going to wear them on our next trip! - Dayshel Harwood

I spent most of a week visiting most every store on Disney property looking for a cell phone charm. All I seemed to come across were the Disney Mobile charms at more than $18 each. I finally found just what I was looking for -– a keychain! The keychain had four or five cell phone loops on the ring, and each loop held a metal charm representing a different WDW park. One loop had the castle; another, Mickey's sorcerer's hat; a third had Animal Kingdom's Tree of Life; and one had Spaceship Earth. On the keychain there also were two rubber charms: a Dreams Come True tag and Sorcerer Mickey. And this keychain with six charms cost under $8! I chose to use the castle and the sorcerer's hat, then added Mickey ears, Mickey's hand, and Mickey's red pants charms that I found in the "make your own charm bracelet" collection. Each of these charms has a lobster clasp that easily attached to the metal ring on the cell phone loop from the keychain. Yes, I probably spent more than the Disney Mobile charm, but instead of one charm, I now have nine to choose from! - Vicki Stephens

If your little ones are craving their favorite movie while on vacation, as my 2-year-old nephew (Toy Story 2) and my 5-year-old nephew (anything Power Rangers) were, bring along a portable DVD player. Many of the resort TVs have front plug-ins that will allow you to plug the DVD player to the large TV. They loved it. - Wendy J.

Regarding preparing the kids for Disney, this is what we're doing with our 4- and 6-year-olds: Following Super Nanny's lead, we've gone for goals. Having selected a collection of suitable rides, the kids have picked ones they would most like to go on. Now they are earning points to go on the rides (following a roller coaster track on a chart with pictures of the rides, and Disney characters trying to reach them). It seems to be working -- encouraging the kids to do their best, whilst giving them the idea that we aren't going quite yet -- got to get those points first! - Liz

We brought a travel-sized MagnaDoodle that we found especially handy at the water parks, where we would have a base camp, but would often split up to do different things. We would write messages to each other with the time and place we could be found. It actually became a fun game, as we got into giving clues to the names of the slides and rides. Overall, it was just a simple and fun way to communicate when you didn't want to have your cell phone with you. - Molly from Oregon

Before our recent annual family trip to Walt Disney World, our daughter and son-in-law built even greater happy anticipation in their 6- and 4-year-olds. Each evening, two of the children's cherished stuffed Disney characters would magically appear someplace in the house other than the children's bedrooms. Each character would be sitting on two one-dollar bills for the coming trip. So, there were one-dollar bills for the children and one each for Mommy and Daddy. One night, the characters had instructions for a treasure hunt. In the end, two of the dollar bills were found in the collar of Gus, their Golden Retriever. One was in Grandpa's pocket, and one was in Granny's pocket. This was done for the month before the trip, along with a special calendar on which the children crossed off one day every night. - Diane Schmitz

We just got back from Disney World today... please let your readers know that "Heelys" (skate sneakers) are not permitted in any amusement park in Florida. We were stopped by a Disney employee who informed us that we could be fined up to $150 by the sheriff! - Barbara Friedman

Here's a tip for traveling with a young child. We recently returned from Disney World with our grandson who turned 3 while we were there. I had taken his own toddler fork and spoon with us and it made mealtimes so much easier for him. The adult size cutlery is so big and cumbersome for such small hands. - Audrey G.