Tips about Magic Kingdom and Photography

ALL PARKS - While standing in lines for rides that might have a long wait, my children bring along a deck of cards and take turns playing magician and guessing which card the other one picked. They also have a note pad each to write on and I get them to write down their favorite part of the day so far. Having some small snacks on hand also helps to keep them from getting bored. We bring animal cookies, crackers etc. -- nothing that is too messy. - Jackie Pluim

CHRISTMAS - My one tip would be for anyone who is thinking about going to the taping of the Christmas Parade -- DON'T, unless you want to totally waste a day of your vacation. They bring the first group in and don't make them move. The second group comes in and they are way in the back. I stood there from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m. and was not in any film. I even wore my red Christmas party sweatshirt and Minnie Santa hat. It was certainly hot! If you don't want to stand around and get pushed around don't go. - Bonnie Lock

MAGIC KINGDOM - For you Disney Princess enthusiasts, to ride Cinderella's particular horse on Cinderella's Golden Carrousel, look for the white horse with a gold ribbon tied around its tail. To help locate this mighty steed, ask a Cast Member. - Dee Dee Scarborough

Make an index card with your name, cell phone number and/or e-mail address, and take a picture of it on each digital camera media card. This way, if the camera is lost, someone may see the first picture and be able to contact you. (Don't use your home phone or address in case it is found by someone who may use that info to break into your home while you're away.) You should also keep the index card in your camera bag in case it is lost. - Bret Sohl

Always, always, after purchasing a disposable camera, make sure the first thing you do is put your name and cell phone number or hotel information on it! Even easier is an address label. They only make so many different brands of these cameras and they all look alike! Along the same line is to put your child's name and hotel information on the autograph book! If the Fairy Godmother hadn't written my child's name one year, we would have lost her book forever! If you're lucky enough that it is turned in to Lost and Found, claiming these items will be a lot easier. We've lived and learned! - Janet H

ALL PARKS - When a Cast Member asks you how many people are in your group, tell them the ENTIRE number in your group. The Cast Members are trying to group your entire party onto the ride at the same time. If you tell them a number less than your party, don't be surprised when your party gets split up. (You might be asked by up to three different Cast Members for your party size.)

Magic Kingdom - If you ever walk past Space Mountain and it's been shut down for maintenance for a few minutes, jump on the Tomorrowland Transit Authority. As the ride passes by Space Mountain, the lights will be turned on and you can see what the coaster actually looks like. As a repeat visitor to Disney World, I thought it was just about the coolest thing I'd seen all day, and it made the idea of going on the ride a lot less scary. - Allie

A wonderful way to keep toddlers entertained is to purchase inexpensive disposable cameras for them to use. My son was 2 when he made his first visit to WDW. He loves having his picture taken and usually cries for my camera. Rather than risk losing or damaging my camera, I found disposable cameras at our local dollar store. I bought a package of four for $8. Needless to say, we have some priceless pictures! - Charlotte

When we go to WDW I want my kids to look nice; after all, they are in more pictures on vacation than at any other time. This means that they will wear good clothes into the parks. Of course, my kids are as messy as the next, so I always carry a tube of stain stick around with me. This way, I can rub it on as soon as the kids make a mess and their clothes are pretreating while they are wearing them. This has really saved us from a lot of ruined clothes! - Jenny Longwell

ALL PARKS - As a teacher I have found the park maps to be a wonderful way to teach map skills to my first graders. I always make sure to pick up a handful for my students. I also laminate them and put them in our reading basket. Even laminated, they get a lot of wear. Too bad...I guess I'll have to go back for replacements! - Rae Vautrin

ALL PARKS - When visiting the Disney parks, I usually like to pick up an extra guide map or two. I use them to decorate my cube walls at work and will also give extra copies to friends and family who may be planning their own trip in the near future. This helps them get a better idea of the park layout and make plans. - Kerry Kollasch

In response to Betsy Vancura's scrapbook idea, since every couple of years we take an "adults only" vacation at Disney, we also wanted to try something different for our scrapbook. We tried beers in every country at Epcot (not all in one day!). Most of the beers were very good. We then had our picture taken with the server in that country, next to the stand. Some of the Cast Members actually peeled the label off the beer bottle for us to keep and we added that to our pictures as well. The last country was Germany and we bought the stein to take home. I've heard of someone else who did "wines around the World." It is a lot of fun for adults and gives you the opportunity to enjoy many different tastes. - Dawn Hewitt

After doing Disney for years and years we decided to do a photo scrapbook of Disney Dining... We started doing just the desserts everywhere we ate; now we've added other edible items of interest and fun. We're hoping to add some Happiest Celebration desserts to the album in May! - Betsy Vancura

ALL PARKS - My tip is for keeping track of your hats while on rides or shows at the World... I bought some carabiners that we put on the strap of our fanny packs. I learned the hard way to put it through a part of the strap so that the carabiner is trapped and can't fall off when you take the fanny pack off. When we step inside at WDW, we both take off our hats, and snap them to the carabiner on our fanny packs -- it's easy to keep track of, and we don't worry about losing our hats or leaving them behind. We even do this on the rides, and find we can ride most things with our fanny packs (and hats) left on our waist. For wet rides, we put the hat over our fanny pack, and it helps keep splashes off. - Jill Neill

We had our first "magical" visit in February. One of the things I wanted to ensure was that as much of the "mouse magic" as possible was recorded on digital pictures and digital video. Before leaving home I tried several options for having both cameras instantly accessible, but not cumbersome. The best system for me: I had my camcorder attached to the carrying strap (at its shortest length) that came with the camera. Using a carabiner, I attached the hand strap of my digital camera to the camcorder's carrying strap. I hung this setup around my neck and had instant access to both. In addition, I was quickly able to release the digital camera if one of the other adults wanted some still shots of what I was videoing or of something else that was going on that I was not capturing on video. We not only have some wonderful video, but some great pictures for scrapbooking. - Jess Chapman