Tips about Kids, Mousecellaneous, Resorts, RFID and Souvenirs

If you travel with any individual, especially children, who is afraid of or does not like loud noise, purchase disposable foam ear plugs from a hardware store before leaving home. These are easy to take in and out, cheap (less than a $1.00 a pair) and can be kept in a pocket or fanny pack. Don't forget to purchase several pairs, just in case one pair is lost. - The DeHoff Family

EDITOR'S NOTE: We've mentioned this tip before, but it bears repeating

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

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

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

Antenna Toppers -- They make a good identifier for a rental car in a parking lot. - Monte Kremin

One of our favorite souvenir items from Walt Disney World is picture frames. We have gotten quite a collection over the years. It is a wonderful way to remember your trip and you can fill them with pictures of your trip and look at them every day. We also have a collection of magnets, license plates and beach towels. - Deb Curl

We have just returned from a week in Disney World with our almost 4-year-old granddaughter. With the help of PassPorter and AllEars® we were able to do it up right. Our own saving grace was purchasing a pair of "earmuffs" (sound protection earmuffs) for our princess. We kept them easily accessible on the top of our knapsack. The excitement, loud noises, fireworks and scary rides were a piece of cake. We saw and heard lots of little ones crying from the noise. Our granddaughter has always been scared of fireworks and we wanted to make the whole experience positive. She enjoyed everything and was so proud of herself that she wasn't afraid of anything, because nothing in Disney World would hurt her! - Diane Russell

This summer, my family decided to give back a little to the Cast Members who make each stay even more magical. Before leaving home, we printed (using print programs that are out there on the Web) character thank you cards. Each card had a different princess or Tinker Bell on it, and said something nice like, "We put your service to the test, and you're the best!" or "Thank you for making our vacation magical!" We added our family name, hometown, and "Summer 2004." We printed them out, and each member of our family got a sheet of their own to color. After coloring, we laminated them. Once in the park, we handed them out to Cast Members who we felt had gone above and beyond the call of "normal magic." Most of the Cast Members we handed them out to were so surprised and thanked *us*! We really enjoyed doing this, and I feel sure that it will be a new tradition for our family. - Ashlee Farris