Tips about Magic Kingdom, Planning and Travel By Car

BE CAREFUL! I've seen a few people posting recently about receiving tickets for toll booth violations when renting a car. I thought a warning might save some people from getting caught and having to pay a much higher fee for that toll booth they miss. Some of the newer tolls in Florida (Orlando area at least) make it really easy for people who aren't from the area to miss them. They have those new overhead scanners that just go across the highway. People who have the Sunpasses just keep driving on the highway and their toll gets deducted. If you don't have a Sunpass you have to go over to the toll booths, but the problem is that they look like exits. The fines I've seen range from $11 to $25, which means an awful hefty toll that should have cost about $1. Make sure you know exactly what route you will be taking, and exactly how much the tolls will be. If you end up getting to your destination and realize you somehow didn't pay a toll you expected, I believe you can call and make a credit card payment and avoid the ticket. They have always (for a long time) had some toll booths that aren't manned so you need exact change. Besides those I heard that at certain times to save money even the previously manned toll booths might not have the manned booths opened. So make sure you have change in case you hit one of those. - rosebud

I found a tip that sounds really good especially if you are traveling with little ones. Get a pizza box for each child and you can store crayons, paper and color book in there and they can use the box as a desk when riding in the car. Crayons don't roll around the car and when done it all goes back into the box. I think you could just go to your local pizza store and ask for a clean unused box. - Suzy Kozicki

Our most recent trip to Disney was a very busy one between extra activities and dinner reservations. Before leaving home, I prepared a schedule, which upon arrival I posted on the fridge (we stayed in a villa) with magnets I brought from home. This way, everyone knew where and when they needed to be somewhere. - Ann

To locate my rental car without an antenna more quickly in the lot we take along our Baltimore Ravens flag that attaches to the car window. It is one of those flags hung on a plastic holder that gets rolled up in your car window. You roll the window down, place the flag's holder on the window and then roll the window back up. I know I have seen them with the American flag, sports teams and state flags. It is easier to spot the car since not too many cars have these and it is higher than the car's roof. - Kathie Sweeney

Rick (in last week's AllEars®) had a good idea about using a Mickey antenna topper to help identify a rental car in the parking lot. Many cars no longer have antenna, however (mine does not). Another possibility is to use a magnetic bumper sticker. It's not quite as easy to see, but it will shorten your search once you're down to the right row. - A. D. Johnson

I would like to add a tip for finding your rental car or your own car in the WDW parking lot. I make a large Mickey head out of black construction paper and attach it to the inside of the back window of the vehicle. On the Mickey in large white letters is our family last name and state! This worked great in our earlier years visiting the parks when we did not stay in WDW resorts. - Robin

Don't be afraid to use GoLynx, the public buses serving Orlando. Using the No. 50 gets you to Seaworld and I-Drive from the Ticket and Transportation Center and Disney Springs. The No. 111 is a direct bus to the Florida Mall. It's cheap, reliable and punctual, and way cheaper than shuttles or taxis. - Diane

Know the theme park closing schedule and schedule your non-hotel dinners before the buses make you route to Disney Springs to get back to your "home" hotel. We went from Boma (Animal Kingdom Lodge) to Disney Springs and back to All Star Music. That occurred starting at 10:45 p.m. We didn't make it to bed until just before 12:30 a.m. Fortunately we didn't have to be at Typhoon Lagoon until 10 a.m. the next day. - Rudy Costa EDITOR'S NOTE: Sometimes it is in your best interest to use the taxi service for late evening transportation from resort to resort. Cost is usually under $20.

Magic Kingdom - We have a GREAT spot for the afternoon parade in the Magic Kingdom but you have to get there early. After you cross over the bridge into Liberty Square there is a little cart where they handpaint umbrellas. Well, next to that cart is a much larger umbrella mounted into the ground -- SHADE! Even Lady Tremaine, Drizella and Anastasia thought it was a good spot -- while we were viewing the parade in June, they stopped and told us we were the smartest peasants they had seen all day. How kind!! Then the last float in the parade stopped right in front of us and all the characters came off to dance and interact with the crowd. It was awesome!! I am sharing this with everyone on one condition - you have to promise to let us have our spot when we are there next June. - Sharon Stieg

My family has been going to WDW since 1971, so needless to say there are occasions when we are looking for things to do that are outside of the parks, but still in the World. After I read Jack Spence's article on thinking "outside the box," my family came up with this idea that we are going to do over the Labor Day weekend. Prior to our trip we will put the names of the three monorail resort hotels in a hat and each of us will draw a name. Then, on our first evening, after dinner, we will ride the monorail, stopping at each resort hotel, and the person with that hotel name will get to select a "dessert" at a quick stop location to share with the group back in our hotel room. No one knows what was selected and it continues the party well into the evening after leaving the parks. - Betsy Vancura

Magic Kingdom - I recently found out a service that the Magic Kingdom watch store offers. My husband's pin fell out of his glasses. The nearest glasses store was 20 minutes away and we did not have a car. I asked the front desk if there was a watch store in one of the parks. They directed me to the one in the Magic Kingdom. I thought maybe a watch store would have the tools to put the pin back in. The store told me to bring the glasses over. The man had the tools and many pins to try. He fixed the glasses free of charge. We were so, so happy! - Teresa Norman

Everyone knows that when you arrive at Disney you want to see everything. It is extremely difficult to predict what the crowds will be like and how fast or slow lines will be moving, though. No one wants to be disappointed by missing out on the one thing they wanted to do the most. We traveled to Disney with my sister's family (at the time they had a 2-year-old) and my family (three children ages 5, 7 and 9). Each night we would sit down and look at the map for the park we were going to the next day. Everyone got to pick one thing that was tops on their list to see (usually there would be duplication) and then everyone got to make two other suggestions. We then ranked them, so everyone's top priority was on the list and then other suggestions, depending on their number of votes, got put on the list after that. Therefore, everyone got to do at least the one thing they were looking forward to doing the most and usually one or two more things that were high on their list. It did take some advanced planning but was well worth it. It also made the kids feel like they were making a significant contribution to the vacation planning. - Heidi Koll-Pio

All Florida toll road information can be found at http://www.sunpass.com/. There is even a toll road calculator there. - Aaron M.

My tip is to take a deep breath, relax, and let the magic come to YOU. So many people go to Disney World frantically searching for it and hunting it down, meanwhile they're missing it! It's passing them right by. The most magical moments happen when you least expect them. Experiencing the magic that happens shouldn't be stressful. It shouldn't be work or effort. People who have never been, hear so much about other people's experiences and memories. My tip for them is don't go looking for those particular things that you've heard about. So much can happen there -- let your OWN memories happen. Forget about what other people experience. You'll have your own stories to tell when you get back. And for people who have been a million times, they might go back trying to recapture the fond memories they've had from past trips. So my tip to them is keep those experiences as fond memories and every time you go back, create NEW memories. Just let the magic happen. Don't force it and don't rush it, because believe me, it WILL happen. - Twincess

Just wanted to mention that readers of this newsletter in the UK can use MouseFanTravel.com to get quotes or book trips to WDW (as well as those readers in the US). The prices are very competitive and often better offers or packages are available than here in the UK. It seems that some of the deals that Disney offers are not recognised by UK travel agents. - Mark Burden, Dorset, UK