Tips about Mousecellaneous, Resorts, Souvenirs and Travel

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

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

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

A relatively unknown airline benefit is that if one person in the party has elite frequent flier status on an airline, the entire party can usually get free checked bags! If one member of your family travels for work or otherwise has enough to get even the base tier, ask the airline about this or read the website. I know, for example, that American Airlines lets up to 10 companions traveling with an "elite" frequent flier get a free checked bag, and anybody in the same party with a ticket can go through the priority check-in and security lines, too. - John-Erik

I made a scrapbook of a WDW trip and on the book itself I used the road map that we used to drive there. At the starting and stopping points I put car stickers, traced the route in a red marker, and added interesting sites along the way. It makes a beautiful cover! - Michelle

A favorite stop for my 9-year-old daughter and me is the Basin bath shop in the Marketplace. Basin has very few locations around the country and has some of the best bath products. Our favorite is the "Mix Your Own Bath Crystals" section. For around $3.50, you receive a tube (1.25" x 5.5") that you fill with the bath crystals of your choice. They have a "buffet" of colors and scents for you to mix and match. It's a fun souvenir for "Mom and Daughter." They also sell an array of made-on-premises soaps cut straight from the bar, massage oil cakes for all ailments, and tons more. This shop should be a definite quick stop. - Maria Heuskin

All Resorts - I'm sure that many people, like myself, are light sleepers and wake up at the slightest noise. As you may well know, even the Deluxe resorts at Disney World are plagued with their share of noises, and for me nothing ruins a vacation more than not getting enough sleep. What I've found to be extremely helpful in getting a good night's sleep is to bring along a cheap pair of foam earplugs. I put them in right before bed and sleep soundly the whole night. I've found them in stores such as Target, but you can also get them at your local pharmacy for only a few dollars. - P.F.

I purchased Disney valentines on sale after Valentine's Day to make customized luggage tags. I cut off the Valentine's message and stuck the picture on the back of business cards that were made on the computer with our name, cell phone number, and destination address (in case the luggage got lost and had to be delivered). I used the self-adhesive laminating pouches from my local mart, but most office supply stores/copy places have luggage tag sized lamination materials. - Deb Ruscitelli

We drove to WDW from Pennsylvania with our two daughters, age 7 and 8. We knew the drive would be long and monotonous and although we were prepared with handheld games, DVDs, books on CD, and an array of activities, we knew we would ultimately hear the "Are We There Yet?" questions or, worse yet, the two girls arguing over everything from who was invading whose space to fighting over where to eat, etc. We came up with this plan: Each girl was given a roll of quarters. For every time they asked "Are We There Yet?" one too many times, or fought with each other a little too much, or just pushed Mom and Dad too far, we would take one quarter away. Any quarters the girls had left were theirs to use in the arcade of our resort at WDW. Amazingly enough, neither of our daughters lost one coin the whole trip and Mom and Dad weren't driven nuts in the car either! - Helen Kohr

I personally think Disney pins are a bit too expensive (and the clothes, too). Well, the answer to my problem was found on a trip to the Belz Outlet Mall right outside of WDW. We decided to stop at a shop called Character Warehouse. I ended up finding a few cheap shirts for about $5-$6 that sold for about $13 at WDW! And I also found Disney Pins for $.99! Some were even LIMITED EDITION! So, if you are a bargain hunter, this is a must-see! - Rachel
http://allears.net/btp/cware.htm

Just a word to Canadians traveling to WDW... We were looking forward to taking advantage of the Resort Airline Check-in service at WDW resorts for our trip home so we could travel hassle-free with our boarding passes in hand. However, we were disappointed to find out that even though we were traveling with Delta, and our first stop was New Jersey, we are still considered an international flight and international travelers (though welcome to use Magical Express) cannot get their boarding passes and have their luggage checked through. We would have appreciated knowing this ahead of time, but we had a great trip nonetheless. - Lori

Use your camera phone to take pictures of items you think you want. First, take a picture of the sign of the store where it is located. Then take pictures of the item and the tag of the item. Review nightly or at the end of your trip. Best of all, you can buy it from Disney Mail Order Merchandise when you're back home if you forget! - Crissy Stout

Adam and a number of others observed a slight problem with last's week tip on jet lag: I was just reading through the newsletter about time changes. While the information is correct about adjusting your body clock, the reader indicates that Florida is five hours behind the UK... that part is also correct. However, when you wake up in Florida at 7 a.m., your body does not think it is 2 a.m... it thinks it is noon. We in Hawaii would actually be five hours behind, and have trouble getting up early.

My husband and I were getting married at Disney World and wanted to have one of our wedding photos framed with all the character signatures -- as if they were our guests at our wedding. We went to a local frame shop at home and had the person make a photo mat large enough to fit a 4x6 and all the characters' signatures. It worked perfectly and we carried it in a huge Disney shopping bag that a Cast Member had given to us. We were able to fit Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Cinderella, Belle and Beast, Mary Poppins and Bert, Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum, Snow White, Aurora, Minnie and many others on the back of the mat (and only my husband and I know they are there). It was a challenge to get all of them and a goal magical to accomplish! They usually have these types of mats at any craft store as well, and you can have them cut the way you want -- small or large. - Rob and Amy