Tips about Magic Kingdom, Mousecellaneous, Planning, Rain and Souvenirs

ALL PARKS - My husband and I pass the time waiting in lines by playing handheld Yahtzee. We take turns setting a score for one another to beat and keep track of who is ahead in wins. When one of us is 10 games ahead, the other person owes the winner a favor. We've been doing this for several vacations and it still helps to pass the time. Next time we plan to get a similar game for our kids. - Pam Lau

ALL PARKS - We all LOVE LOVE LOVE seeing the kids in costume (Belle, Cinderella, etc.). We try to make a big deal about it when we see them dressed up and, truthfully, it is fun seeing them think they have fooled the adults into believing they really *are* the characters they are portraying. If your child is a sticker collector, bring a special book for all the awesome stickers they can get at each of the parks and hotels. Most places have their own special stickers that they give the kids. In the Magic Kingdom there are at least 6 different ones the kids can get (and there are probably many more. The kids all love getting stickers, but by the end of the night most stickers have gotten wet or wrinkled up. Ask the Cast Member for an extra one for the child's book. Chances are they will be *more* than happy to give an extra one, just for the sticker book or for your scrapbook! - Tip from a Magical Magic Kingdom Cast Member

ALL PARKS - For those who have little ones who don't like the "line ride" at the beginning of most attractions or for those who hate waiting in queues themselves, spotting Hidden Mickey's is a wonderful diversion. We made small index card booklets listing all "confirmed" Hidden Mickey's in each park, organized by lands and attractions. They fit easily in a pocket or daypack and can be decorated with character stickers. We took the one for the park(s) we were in each day and looked for HM's in line or checked to see where we could find them once on the ride. An added benefit was getting to meet the numerous other guests who asked what we were reading and pointing at. This decreased the frustration of line-waiting even more. I think we made many other HM fans and also took the opportunity to mention ALL EARS® to them. Hopefully we helped (in a small way) your goal of making the 25,000 subscriber mark! - Gavin Adams

EDITOR'S NOTE:: To learn more about Hidden Mickey's, go to: http://allears.net/btp/hiddenm.htm

An inexpensive rain-cover for the double strollers that the parks rent is a clear rain poncho that can be purchased for less than a dollar at Wal-Mart. I was able to snap the poncho in with the top cover of the stroller and then draped it over the sides and in front. The kids tucked the poncho around themselves and enjoyed the view as we strolled through the rain. - Patricia Moery

We just returned from a wonderful two-week trip to Disney and I have a great tip for anyone traveling with a stroller. We brought our own ultralight stroller, and along with it a plastic rain shield that covered the entire stroller. I cannot tell you how much this saved us during the many rain showers we had over our trip, since ponchos do not work well for a baby in a stroller. Even if it looked like there was a chance of rain I pulled the cover over our son's stroller before going into an attraction, and the seat never got wet. During one storm at Disney's Hollywood Studios, we were able to walk across the park to attractions that had no line, because so many people were staying put under shelters. We got the rain cover at Babies R Us and it is made by Graco, but is supposed to fit most strollers, and I am sure there are similar products out there. - Tanya Sheehan

We secured one of those D-ring keychain clips to the stroller handle with a Velcro strap. It was a handy place to hang all of our souvenir shopping bags that we would accumulate! - Jackie Beering

I was a lucky kid -- visited Disney three times before graduating high school... One of my favorite souvenirs from Disney is my sterling silver Doc charm. My sisters and I got silver charm bracelets while in elementary school, and whenever there was an "event" or trip we'd get a silver charm to commemorate it. I've since married and have three daughters of my own. The girls each have a silver charm bracelet and plan on adding another character charm for each of our visits to Disney. Who knows? Maybe someday we'll be adding charms to their daughters' bracelets! - Suzanne Vallillo

Whenever possible, park your stroller under a designated shelter. We parked both of ours outside during the Country Bear Jamboree, and were surprised by a total drenching shower that left about a quarter-inch of rain in our belongings and two very soggy toddlers for the rest of the day! - Mark Brown

Summer is approaching, and along with that the summer WDW rain spells. I thought it might be a good time to share this tip. If you will be touring the park with a stroller in tow, be sure to bring some type of plastic cover for it. Some baby supply stores sell covers made specifically for this, but we found cheap ponchos from the dollar store to work well, too. If you park your stroller outside to go into a show or ride, cover up your stroller. That way, if one of those famous rainfalls creeps up, your stroller won't be soaked when you're ready to put your little prince or princess back in it. - Lauren Swedenborg

Don't throw out those popcorn buckets! They make excellent protection in your luggage for small breakable souvenirs, such as glass ornaments.- Lori Welch

I have one more tip related to Mary Cronin's idea. I hate walking on my treadmill. Has anyone actually recorded the walk from Spaceship Earth to the American Adventure to play back while walking the treadmill at home? My tape would always have to include a stop at Boulangerie Patisserie in France! YUM! - "Jungle" Jim Sirks

I read Mary Cronin's advisory to walk in order to be in shape for WDW, and I couldn't agree more. My wife and I are in our mid-50s and we have always wondered just how far we really do walk while at WDW, so we bought a pedometer and I wore it on our trip October 18-25. On the 18th and the 25th, our walking was limited to three hours each day due to our arrival and departure from WDW. Our first full day, which included Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party, we logged 8 miles -- for the week we were just shy of 40 miles! Believe me, we do not race around the parks. We walk at a normal pace, and we were astounded at the total. Our advice: start walking. - William Kested EDITOR'S NOTE: ALWAYS be sure to break in any new pair of shoes/sneakers you have purchased for your trip.

Do lots of walking before you go to get in shape for walking at the World. This really pays off when you get there, in terms of stamina and enjoyment. We take family walks, and my husband and I also walk on a treadmill in the mornings. Just imagine you are walking from Spaceship Earth to the American Pavilion, or from the far end of one of the parking lot rows to the tram. If you're in better shape, you can pretend to jog from the rope at Tomorrowland to Space Mountain, or from the park entrance to Kilimanjaro Safari in Animal Kingdom. Even if your style of Disney touring is a relaxed stroll, you will benefit from any walking that you do before you go. - Mary Cronin

Coming from Canada, with a 45 percent (loss) exchange rate at the time, moneysaving ideas were a must for our trip in Fall 2002. Before our trip I had printed off coupons for every restaurant and store we planned to visit.. The more I saved, the more I wanted to save. I packed everything from cereal to laundry soap so that I would not have to buy it in Orlando at an already inflated price, and with a high exchange rate for me. The best savings I got was on water. We purchased a case of 30 bottles of water at our local Wal-Mart for under $8 (Can). To have bought that at WDW, 30 bottles @ $2.50 US = $75, then add our exchange rate to that and we would have paid about $130 Canadian. Since we anticipated a lot of outlet shopping, we each brought two large suitcases. The 30 bottles were spread out among them, so the weight was not an issue. (But honestly, for that kind of savings, I would have carried them on my back.) Next time though, I'll pack two cases of water. Your website was invaluable to us while planning our vacation. Our daughters (ages 7 and 9 at the time of the vacation) agree that we had a year of WDW fun and excitement before we ever left our home in chilly Nova Scotia. By the time we got to WDW, they were READY. Our most valuable expenditure was in time spent preparing for the trip. - Greg L. from Canada

A few months ago someone suggested taking a soft-sided cooler with Ziploc bags to use in your room in lieu of renting a fridge at $10 a day. We took the suggestion one step further. I purchased a cooler with a plastic liner, took it home and put it in our luggage. Lo and behold it fit perfectly, which meant we would not have to worry about leaking Ziploc bags. And by packing our unmentionables inside the liner we did not lose any precious packing space. It worked out wonderfully and we saved $110 in the process. - Vonnie