Tips about Miscellaneous, Mousecellaneous and Souvenirs

Your tip about deodorant reminds me of a trip we took not too long ago. On our Epcot day, my husband realized at around noon that he forgot to put on deodorant. Luckily we weren't far from the France pavilion. The perfume shop sells fancy French men's deodorant! He was able to get some, and it smelled very nice. I actually liked it better than what he usually wears! It certainly was better than not wearing any, and we didn't even have to leave the park -- a bargain in my opinion! (And actually the price wasn't bad at all.) - An anonymous reader

If you don't like to carry a lot of cash, or use travelers checks (which can be a pain for small purchases), buy a Visa gift card at your local bank. It can be used as a credit card or as a debit card. What's nice is that, just like travelers checks, if it's lost or stolen you just call Visa with your card information (which you keep separately from the card) and they'll send you a replacement. I use it to pay for all our meals and gifts. It's a great way to keep track of your spending, too, since you pre-pay the card -- no debt to come home to! - Rebecca

When we go to get our traveler's checks and cash for our Disney trip, we always get a roll of quarters and a roll of pennies. We place them in a small convenient pocket in our park bag and whenever we see a smashed penny machine we are ready without having to search for 51 cents! - Glenn Vines

I would like to give your readers a tip about the Mail Order department at Disney. I have found that unless it is a "Disney Park exclusive", you are better to go home and shop around. My son went home dejected after our last trip due to the fact that we couldn't find the "air gun" that he played with at the Whispering Canyon Cafe. We were told that he could find it in Tomorrowland in Magic Kingdom. Well, we looked and looked but came up empty-handed. So, when we went home I did a search for the gun and found out what it was called. I later purchased the toy at our local Walmart for only $7. Disney had wanted $20. My advice: go home and hit the internet if you don't have to have it right that moment. - Dawn Clark

My son (who is now 11) and I go to a Disney park every year. We have visited Disneyland six times so far, Disneyland Paris once and we are going to WDW for the third time in September. He was only 2 on our first Disney trip. Each trip I purchase several t-shirts for the both of us. I always try and get at least one with the year printed on it. (They do a new style each year.) I have saved all of them. In 5 or 6 years I plan to have them made into a quilt. I will give him the quilt when he leaves for college. His first t-shirt is so tiny compared to the newer ones and I know they will just keep getting bigger! I hope that when he looks at it he remembers all of the Magical Memories we have shared at Disney. - Shellie Bandy

Disneyshopping.com has t-shirts with Disney characters that you can personalize and they are very reasonable. There are several designs to chose from and they can say whatever you want. "The Smiths' Magical Adventure" or "The Smiths on Holiday," for example. It's fun. - ErinNGreg

Here is a fun twist on that (wearing identical t-shirts) idea. My family recently went to WDW for our 10th trip together. We had t-shirts made at our local sports shop before the trip (for about $15 each). "WDW Trip #10" was on the front of the shirts. On the back, each person got to customize. They all said "I'm here for" and the person got to pick what they were most excited about to fill in the rest of the sentence. Mine said "I'm here for the safari!" What an experience! Cast members and other guests commented on our shirts all day! We felt like VIPs. It was one of my favorite Disney experiences. - Dsnygrl8!

If you plan on sending postcards, take advantage of the pack of 10 postcards sold throughout Walt Disney World and in resort gift shops. On our last trip in October, a pack of the Magic Kingdom cards cost $4. This is much cheaper than buying individual postcards. If I have leftovers, I just save them for our next trip since the images are standard fare (castle, characters, Splash Mountain...). I believe that there are different packs for each of the parks, too. I'll be returning to WDW next week with six postcards in hand. - Janice Dion

My sister, her family and I took a trip to WDW, and before we left my brother-in-law thought it would be neat if we bought T-shirts that everyone would all wear one day. We decided to purchase The Incredibles red logo T-shirt for everyone. It was a success. We wore them on our Magic Kingdom day and everyone kept saying, "Look! The Incredibles!" or "Hey, where did you all get the shirts?" I am sure they probably sold the shirts somewhere on property but we bought them at The Disney Store before we left home. It also helped keep track of everyone. We are now in the process of finding another style of shirt for everyone to wear one day on our upcoming October trip. - Amy

I recently returned from a Disney trip and wanted to let everyone know about a souvenir I brought home. It is the littlest photo album I have ever seen! It is on a key ring and holds 12 pictures, sized about 1.5" X 1.5". It has a cover with a picture of Mickey on the front and the castle and fireworks with Tinker Bell on the back, and it says "My Disney Vacation." It was very reasonably priced at about $4! There was at least one more style with Stitch on it. What a great way to keep 12 of your most magical memories with you all the time! - Kimberly Lawton

One thing I find myself doing... as I read along the fantastic tips shared in the ALL EARS® weekly newsletter, I copy and paste segments of the tips and email them to myself, so I do not forget them. Later, I scroll through my email and print out or save the important tip to a folder on my PC. I even go as far as making a brightly colored folder for my "Disney Information," which becomes my lifeline for all things related to any future trip. It is easily carried along on the trip when the time comes and has my notes, tips, dining reservations, hotel information, grocery store lists... you get the idea. - Bonnie from PA

Just to remind anyone who might read this before traveling to the US and will want to use a UK credit card... let the card company know you are going! On our first day at WDW our card got refused and we couldn't use it for the duration of our stay. We knew there was credit available when we left home and could have called the company from the US to find out what was wrong, but at quite a cost. When we returned home the credit card company said they had only blocked it as a security precaution. Luckily we had some Travelers Cheques as back-up. - Mark Burden, Dorset England

I was reading through your site for something new and fun at Disney that we hadn't done and that is a little less "Disney" so my husband might quit complaining about another trip to WDW. Well, I found it -- parasailing. After reading the reviews I decided to schedule two double tandem flights for two adults with two children, ages 7 and 10. Wow, was that great! The kids loved it and so did my husband and I. (Note: maximum combined weight is 300 lbs. per flight). We went to the Contemporary Resort marina, and the boat driver and instructor were both excellent at their jobs. - Crystal

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

Disney character toys are so expensive. We have found a great way to save money on our trip and let the grandchildren enjoy the characters on the way to Disney. We buy the toys on eBay for a fraction of the price, sometimes for as little as 99 cents plus shipping. I know it gives us more spending money and our grandchildren are just as happy. - Susan Smeltzer