Tips about Magic Kingdom, Mousecellaneous, Pins, Resorts and Souvenirs

Buy a post card for each day of your Disney vacation on the first day. Each evening write down the day's highlights and mail the postcard to your home address from the hotel's front desk or postal box in the lobby. When you return home, you'll have a day by day 'mini journal' of what you did each day. So many of us plan to journal every day but after a day or two forget about it. Postcards are quick and easy! - Judith

Coronado Springs - The Pepper Market at Coronado Springs is now doing a regular breakfast buffet. No ticket and stamping, it's just pay one price (I think it was $15) and it's all you can eat. - Juli Ruffing

EDITOR'S NOTE: The $14.99 buffet service was tested at Pepper Market earlier this year, and has apparently been implemented full-time now. We have updated menus here:
http://allears.net/menu/menus.htm#cs

Beach Club - We will be staying at the Beach Club in August. I recently called to add some room requests. When I requested a metal crib (the deluxe resorts used to have these, as opposed to the soft-sided Pack 'n' Plays), they informed me that they are no longer providing them. My son does not sleep well in Pack 'n' Plays. He is a tall 2-1/2-year-old. We requested a roll-away and will be transferring our son to a big boy bed this summer. The metal cribs were a nice feature that the deluxe resorts provided. - Sara

I was all set with extra batteries on our last trip, however finding a screwdriver was the problem. I will be packing one of the all-in-one screwdrivers I found at the dollar store next trip. - Jennifer C.

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.

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

We always like bringing pieces of WDW home with us. One of our favorite restaurants, Liberty Tree Tavern, sells the glass mugs that are used in the restaurant for only $5 each. We brought a few home with us and love using them. They make a fun, inexpensive souvenir that we actually can use every day. - Lori Craig

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.

For all of us bigger guys, Disney looks to have made XXL tees actually a XXL size again. In the past two years XXL tees were cut much smaller than a true XXL, so we can now get a shirt that fits again. - John Sloboda

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

I love to collect pins, but hate when I come home and they sit in a drawer. In order to display them I bought a stretched canvas (one that is used for painting) and fabric from the fabric store. I covered the canvas with the fabric and glued the fabric in the back so it stayed tight. I then put my pins on it and my lanyard, too. It is a nice way to display them while being cost-efficient (the entire project cost about $15). The fabric store even has all different kinds of Disney fabrics to make your board unique! - Julia G

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

I take PLENTY of pictures when we visit Disney.On our last trip.I had my camera case strap across my chest for most of the trip. I put pins to trade on it instead of wearing a lanyard. It was so much easier and I got a lot of compliments. - Missy F.