Tips about Magic Kingdom, Packing and Planning

When traveling to Orlando from the UK you tend to get to Orlando about 3 p.m. By the time you get to your Disney hotel it's about 6 p.m., so instead of rushing to the parks we head to Disney Springs, pick up our park tickets at Guest Relations (this saves doing it the next morning when you want to hit the parks), then go and have dinner and do some shopping. We are then fresh for the next morning. - Ruth

Save the little bottles of bubbles you get at weddings and bring them with you to Disney. Our daughter keeps one in her fanny pack. She has stopped many a potential meltdown by blowing bubbles for a fussy toddler as we waited in line. It's portable pixie dust! - Karen B

I think most people going into the parks don't realize just how much they walk. I recommend stretching out all your muscles at the end of the day, holding the stretches for 20 seconds. Going hard a full day in Disney could leave you sore, especially if you're not used to walking 5+ miles a day. - Shannon Ashleigh

Just learned that if you go to a park prior to checking in to your Disney resort they will reimburse you for parking! Did this myself this past weekend when we stayed at Art of Animation and worked perfectly! Couldn't quite get up early enough to do check-in before park opening and I didn't want to waste any of my theme park time! - Mary

EDITOR'S NOTE: this is also true if you are going to purchase an annual pass that includes parking. Just bring your parking receipt to the Guest Relations window and they will credit what you paid for parking that day towards your annual pass.

On our recent Magic Kingdom visit my two children really wanted to get their faces painted. We first tried the Pirates' League in Adventureland, but it closed at 3:30 p.m. on the day we visited. However, we found a face painting area tucked away next to Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin in Tomorrowland. And the best part -- just keep your receipt, and they'll touch up your face paint throughout the day for no extra charge! - Laura Gjere

I was trying to come up with ways to contain my earrings and small pins for my upcoming trip, and not finding anything that I felt quite suited. Then I realized that I had several types of weekly pill carriers of various sizes. Sure enough, there was one "jumbo" one that had seven sections. Not only could I fit many of my small/medium-sized earrings, but my Fairy Godmother pin fit easily. The top of each section snapped securely in place, and now my jewelry can be neatly stored and easily accessible. - Grandeb

-- I bring along suction cups to stick to the bathroom walls. This gives everyone their own place to hang washcloths or other personal bathroom items.

-- A power strip gives everyone easy access to plug in their electronic devices instead of searching for an unused one in the room.

-- Lastly, we always have a spot in the room (a table or the spot next to the door) where we put the things we take with us each day -- for example, sunglasses, backpack, water bottle, celebration pin, jacket. That way when you are ready to walk out the door, you can just grab your stuff instead of scrambling around the room trying to make sure you remembered those things. - Traci Regan

-- I bring along suction cups to stick to the bathroom walls. This gives everyone their own place to hang washcloths or other personal bathroom items.

-- A power strip gives everyone easy access to plug in their electronic devices instead of searching for an unused one in the room.

-- Lastly, we always have a spot in the room (a table or the spot next to the door) where we put the things we take with us each day -- for example, sunglasses, backpack, water bottle, celebration pin, jacket. That way when you are ready to walk out the door, you can just grab your stuff instead of scrambling around the room trying to make sure you remembered those things. - Traci Regan

My husband and I go to Walt Disney World every year or so and have found a way to carry less to the parks, IF you are not going with children. We are seniors and don't want to carry a lot of packs, purses, etc. with us, so I bought a small cotton pouch (a little bigger than your keycard) with a neck strap. I carry my keycard, a few pills in tiny zipper top bags (the kind that extra shirt-buttons come in), ID, and that's about it! I find I really don't need more than that at the parks. It is also very lightweight, and I can tuck it down my shirt and out of the way. My husband carries the money, cards, etc. in his billfold. Works for us, and keeps our hands free! - Ruth

On our most recent trip we traveled by car from Michigan to Texas, Texas to Florida, and Florida back to Michigan. We used a plastic three-drawer container to load all of our toiletries. It made it really easy to unload and if anything leaked it was contained. It also helped with organization in our room at Disney. The over-the-door hangers do not allow you to close the bathroom door. It was great when we stopped at night at hotels, too. We only had to unload the one overnight bag, cooler and the container. - JoAnn Hollis

I just came back from a wonderful week in "the world" and have a tip I'd like to share. I brought along an inexpensive pair of slippers to keep in my hotel room. It was such a relaxing treat to have cozy slippers every morning and night to slip into! - Denise in New York

If you're not on the Disney Dining Plan, I recommend purchasing a Disney gift card to pay for all of your snacks and incidentals. I wish I had done this. We just got home and I have a very thick stack of credit card receipts for amounts ranging from under $3 to $10. It would have been much easier to just buy a $50 or $75 gift card and use that each time we purchased a drink, ice cream, etc. - Christy B.

I reuse empty prescription medicine bottles as travel bottles, after I remove the label. The larger bottles are best and are good for just about anything you need to pack, like earrings. The tops fit tight so they are safe while traveling. - Deborah Warren

The Walt Disney World Lost and Found department is amazing! My designer sunglasses flew off during Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and I thought they were gone for good. I called the Lost and Found department and described what day and location I lost them, gave a description of the glasses, and to my surprise, in true Disney Magic they were found! (Allow 24-48 hours for cast members to process your lost items.) - Michelle

EDITOR'S NOTE: You can report missing items at Guest Relations in the theme parks, but if you don't discover the item has been lost until you get home, try calling Theme Parks Lost & Found: (407) 824-4245. They're open seven days a week between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. EST. Give them a description of the item and where you lost it, and if it's been turned in, they'll let you know.

For those Disney fans who loved the SpectroMagic Parade in Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom and miss it as much as I do, you now have an opportunity to buy the music. The full 14-minute song is available for purchase in the iTtunes store for $3.99. My wife and I now have it on our iPods and enjoy taking a 14-minute trip to the Most Magical Place on Earth (without having to travel to Tokyo). - Patrick Markham