Tips about Mousecellaneous, Souvenirs and Special Needs

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

On a recent trip I discovered that the new "Touch and Go" Key to the World cards (RFID) will work while in a lanyard pouch. However, if you have more than one of the new types of cards together in a pouch or hold them together, the sensors pick up both chips and cannot tell which is which. The cards work if you hold them up to the sensors one at a time, they just cannot be stacked together. - Mark

My new husband and I debated wearing Wedding Ears at Disney. We finally decided against them because of costs, weather, rides, etc., but we wanted people to know were on our honeymoon. No worries. The buttons we received at check-in were enough! Seriously, when going to Disney wear a button! And wear them with pride! Be honest, of course, but the mere symbol that we were celebrating our wedding was enough to have Disney making us feel even more special than we already did! The minute we put on the button, while leaving the Polynesian's Great Ceremonial House, we immediately had well-wishers congratulating us! - Emily Ebersole

If you are traveling with a car, and you have a handicap sticker/emblem, valet parking at the Deluxe Resorts is free. We had a temporary tag on our last trip and only found this out by accident one night when the Polynesian parking lot was full, but the guard saw the tag and directed us to the complimentary valet parking. We did take advantage of it after that, and it was nice to have the young valet men lift out the scooter for us! - Kathy Jo

Ever since my son was small, I have purchased Disney plush characters at home, at either a drug store or when The Disney Store has sales. I bring them hidden in our luggage and surprise him with one every day we're at WDW. He believes it's Disney magic that he gets a fun, new toy every day! He doesn't ask for as many toys from the parks and I save a ton of money not having to pay retail prices! - Nancy Cohan

A great way to save money is pre-purchase Disney souvenirs for your kids before you leave for your trip. You can then surprise them every morning with something new. Whether it just be a dollar store Mickey sticker book or a new t-shirt, your child will love it and you will save money! My mother did this on our 1998 trip and to this day I can remember receiving something every morning from a character. - Jessica Stahl

The $1 section of Target and Michaels craft stores always have Disney items. Check out your local Disney Store and Disneystore.com to buy items for the kids before you get there and present them as a gift. I am not going to lie, we still buy stuff at the parks, but give the kids a limit. Also if you drive like we do, check out the Disney outlets in St. Augustine and Orlando. - Michelle G.

I didn't buy our goodies to take home with us until the last day. I know it is tempting to buy everything right away, but if you wait, then when you do buy them, you don't spend more than the budget. - Heather

For someone who wants to visit the parks often and have a souvenir each time without spending a ton of money, postcards are the key! Postcards are like miniature art. Upon your return, they can be framed, made into a collage, or even turned into a border around the room. On the back, you can also write the date or even a message about unique details from that trip. - Crissy Stout

My husband uses an ECV to get around the parks. After several trips to the parks, we came up with an easy way to attach our hotel refillable mugs: a shoestring! Usually the basket in front of the ECV is full of other things, so attaching our cups with a shoestring or cup holder is essential. - Judy Shock

My gluten allergy was diagnosed less than a year ago and I was truly nervous about a vacation at Walt Disney World due to the fact I had so many gluten-filled favorites going into this trip. Why I ever worried is beyond me. Raglan Road, Be Our Guest (counter service), Art of Animation's food court, Le Cellier and many other locations were fantastic about my gluten allergy. Each location had knowledgeable servers and chefs, provided plenty of options and was quick about the service. But most importantly each location was discreet, which makes you feel normal again. My tip is always ask questions. I was provided with many more options than I ever thought possible and I did not feel as though I was a burden for asking! - Sara Lawer

Last time I went to Walt Disney World I bought a fleece shirt that had a "security tag" on it. Unfortunately, I did not realize until I got home that the cast member who checked me out never removed it. How frustrating! Do yourself a favor and double-check your clothes for those tags before leaving for home. - mkmouse

We reuse our popcorn containers we get from Disney. They come in handy for many things. Our main use for them is to cut up fruit, like watermelon or pineapple, and store the fruit in those containers. Then the kids can grab their fruit whenever they want some and it's already cut up. We also use them for markers and crayons, great storage containers. - Nicole Miller

Before our current trip to the World we were trying to come up with a way to tell each of our water bottles apart in the insulated bag that we carry to the parks. We decided to use six different color ponytail holders, which we placed around each bottle. No confusion as to whose bottle was whose! - Gerrie Springer