Tips for Disney Parks & Cruise Lines

MVMCP - AllEars offers some tips:

-- Take advantage of the 4 p.m. entry into the Magic Kingdom. Your Christmas Party ticket will get you into the park, no need to use a day on your general admission tickets.

-- Watch the Castle Lighting Ceremony shortly after dusk (check your guide map for the time).

-- Take advantage of the special Character photo opportunities that seem to change each year. 2016 includes Zootopia's Nick and Judy, Sandy Claws, all 7 of the Dwarfs, Princesses with their Prince. -- The Treat Stations have special gluten-free and sugar-free cookies available upon request. You can also get sugar-free hot chocolate.

-- There is a new castle show - Mickey's Most Merriest Celebration.

-- Find someplace other than Main Street (which gets very crowded) to watch the parade, which begins in Frontierland.

-- Attraction wait times are generally lower later in the evening.

Over the years, our tween daughter has filled a few Disney autograph books and is (in her words), "too old for that now!" But her younger brother still likes to get character autographs. So, for her birthday celebration trip I found an 11x14 (easy enough to carry in a backpack), white "signature" photo mat. (You can find these in any discount store, usually in the wedding or scrapbooking sections.) She had characters and family sign it. Inserting one of her favorite photos from the trip, we now have a nice memento and a personalized art piece for her room. - Maura

When we get to the 30-day mark before a trip, the special countdown panties come out! My aunt and mom made iron-on transfers with pictures of Disney characters next to a number (1-30). They ironed them onto the back of underwear for us. Everybody has different characters on different days, so the question of the day becomes, "Who are you wearing today?" Once they're washed and folded, the underwear goes back into the storage box until the next countdown hits 30 days! - Michelle Price

This tip is for all fans with video cameras. On our recent Disney trip we filmed a total of six video cassettes, which we packed in our check-in luggage as we usually do. When we played them at home, we found that four of the six tapes were blank. We called a professional photographer who told us that they were erased when they went through the airport scanner and there was nothing we could do to recover them. His advice is to ALWAYS carry on your video cassettes in a clear plastic bag, hand them to security and ask them to check them without putting them through the scanner. Please, please follow this advice to avoid the heartbreak we experienced! - Tracy

This works brilliantly if you are going to Epcot or the Studios, staying at a Disney resort and have a car. Drive to the theme park early so you can park right at the front. Spend the morning in the park, then return to your resort for a swim/nap, using the resort bus service. Later, go back to the park on the bus and enjoy the evening entertainment (Fantasmic/IllumiNations). When everyone is trying to get on to the bus to go home, simply stroll to your car, which is easy to find as it is right at the front of the car park. Saves loads of time waiting for a bus. - Tasha Salisbury

This works brilliantly if you are going to Epcot or the Studios, staying at a Disney resort and have a car. Drive to the theme park early so you can park right at the front. Spend the morning in the park, then return to your resort for a swim/nap, using the resort bus service. Later, go back to the park on the bus and enjoy the evening entertainment (Fantasmic/IllumiNations). When everyone is trying to get on to the bus to go home, simply stroll to your car, which is easy to find as it is right at the front of the car park. Saves loads of time waiting for a bus. - Tasha Salisbury

Epcot - Let me start by saying, like so many others, I always look forward to your newsletter. After reading one of the "tips" this week, I was reminded of a really special Father's Day gift we did for my husband the last time we were in Disney. (Father's Day just happened to be during our trip) I purchased a khaki hat with the little Mickey on the front and we took it to every country in Epcot and had them write "Happy Father's Day" in their native language. They were all more than happy to do it for us & thought it was the neatest idea they ever saw. Now there is a special keepsake for my Disney loving hubby! - Sheri H.

Epcot - Let me start by saying, like so many others, I always look forward to your newsletter. After reading one of the "tips" this week, I was reminded of a really special Father's Day gift we did for my husband the last time we were in Disney. (Father's Day just happened to be during our trip) I purchased a khaki hat with the little Mickey on the front and we took it to every country in Epcot and had them write "Happy Father's Day" in their native language. They were all more than happy to do it for us & thought it was the neatest idea they ever saw. Now there is a special keepsake for my Disney loving hubby! - Sheri H.

Epcot - Let me start by saying, like so many others, I always look forward to your newsletter. After reading one of the "tips" this week, I was reminded of a really special Father's Day gift we did for my husband the last time we were in Disney. (Father's Day just happened to be during our trip) I purchased a khaki hat with the little Mickey on the front and we took it to every country in Epcot and had them write "Happy Father's Day" in their native language. They were all more than happy to do it for us & thought it was the neatest idea they ever saw. Now there is a special keepsake for my Disney loving hubby! - Sheri H.

Epcot - Let me start by saying, like so many others, I always look forward to your newsletter. After reading one of the "tips" this week, I was reminded of a really special Father's Day gift we did for my husband the last time we were in Disney. (Father's Day just happened to be during our trip) I purchased a khaki hat with the little Mickey on the front and we took it to every country in Epcot and had them write "Happy Father's Day" in their native language. They were all more than happy to do it for us & thought it was the neatest idea they ever saw. Now there is a special keepsake for my Disney loving hubby! - Sheri H.

As United Kingdom visitors we are not used to adding sales tax to the cost of purchases (and then we've got to work out the exchange rate as well) so to make it easier for the kids to work what their souvenirs are costing in UK pounds I make a little conversion chart for them once I have our currency. I add the sales tax and apply the exchange rate to amounts from 10 cents to $1 (in 10 cent increments), $1 to $10 (in $1 increments) and $20 and $30. They are about credit card sized, so I laminate them and they keep them in their own wallets. Then in a shop they only have to look at the ticket price and the chart tells them what this is in pounds, the only math they have to do is add the $10 amount to the $2 amount to get $12. As there are three of them this saves me spending my shopping time doing sums! We also give them their own money to spend but only $10 a day so if they want to make small purchases they can without constantly asking for cash. For bigger purchases they still have to come and negotiate with me or Dad. We did both of these on our last visit in 2003 and it was a great success so we'll be doing it again this year. - Juli

MNSSHP - If you are going to Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party and are usually the type who does NOT stake out a place for the parade, make an exception for this party. We got a spot in Frontierland just as they were putting up the ropes for the second parade. For the next half hour we watched the "people parade" going by and it was great fun to see all of the costumes worn by guests as they passed by. And make sure you watch the gravediggers behind the Haunted Mansion float. They were the highlight of the parade for us. - Sue VanVleet

MNSSHP - If you are going to Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party and are usually the type who does NOT stake out a place for the parade, make an exception for this party. We got a spot in Frontierland just as they were putting up the ropes for the second parade. For the next half hour we watched the "people parade" going by and it was great fun to see all of the costumes worn by guests as they passed by. And make sure you watch the gravediggers behind the Haunted Mansion float. They were the highlight of the parade for us. - Sue VanVleet

Epcot - While paying for a purchase for my wife at Morocco in the World Showcase, the cast member asked if I would like to have her name, written in Arabic, on the inside of the box? It gave me an idea. I purchased some Disney stationery and went to every country asking for a cast member to write my wife's name in their native language. They all cheerfully did this! Then I placed it in a Mickey frame. Needless to say it was a very inexpensive gift and my wife loved it! - Gene Scott

Epcot - While paying for a purchase for my wife at Morocco in the World Showcase, the cast member asked if I would like to have her name, written in Arabic, on the inside of the box? It gave me an idea. I purchased some Disney stationery and went to every country asking for a cast member to write my wife's name in their native language. They all cheerfully did this! Then I placed it in a Mickey frame. Needless to say it was a very inexpensive gift and my wife loved it! - Gene Scott