Tips for Disney Parks & Cruise Lines

I noticed in a recent Anita Answer column (http://allears.net/aa/anita.htm ) someone had asked about insulin storage. I have found a wonderful way to travel with my daughter's insulin. It's called a Frio Cooling Wallet. All one does is soak the wallet in cool water for 10 minutes or so, and it stays cold for hours, even days, depending on the temperature outside. There's no need to worry about ice again, and it's very stress-free, which is wonderful for traveling. It also comes with an outer sleeve that keeps everything dry when storing in a bag. They even have headbands and wristbands made of the same material, to help stave off body heat. - Elizabeth Shannon

EDITOR'S NOTE: ALL EARS(R) Editor-in-Chief Deb Wills uses the Frio Cooling Wallet when traveling and has found it quite handy and functional!

Go to Amazon.com and search on FRIO for a listing of products: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0002262E4/debsunoffiwaltdi

Magic Kingdom - If you ever walk past Space Mountain and it's been shut down for maintenance for a few minutes, jump on the Tomorrowland Transit Authority. As the ride passes by Space Mountain, the lights will be turned on and you can see what the coaster actually looks like. As a repeat visitor to Disney World, I thought it was just about the coolest thing I'd seen all day, and it made the idea of going on the ride a lot less scary. - Allie

All Resorts - The shower stalls at our hotel (Villas at the Wilderness Lodge) were quite slippery when wet. We did find out that housekeeping has a limited number of rubber floor mats available on request. They also have night lights available. - Naomi

My 20-month-old son is lactose-intolerant and I wanted to share the places that we went that offered Silk soy milk: Port Orleans (French Quarter and Riverside); Chef Mickey's; 50's Prime Time Cafe. Here is a list of other sit-down restaurants we ate at that didn't have any soy milk options: the Crystal Palace; Biergarten; Mama Melrose's; All Star Cafe; Planet Hollywood. Also, no counter service restaurants we visited had soy milk. I hope this helps anyone with a soy milk kid! - Tammy Rother

My 20-month-old son is lactose-intolerant and I wanted to share the places that we went that offered Silk soy milk: Port Orleans (French Quarter and Riverside); Chef Mickey's; 50's Prime Time Cafe. Here is a list of other sit-down restaurants we ate at that didn't have any soy milk options: the Crystal Palace; Biergarten; Mama Melrose's; All Star Cafe; Planet Hollywood. Also, no counter service restaurants we visited had soy milk. I hope this helps anyone with a soy milk kid! - Tammy Rother

When we traveled to Hawaii with my young sons, ages 4 and 7, I discovered a company that makes temporary "Lost and Found" tattoos with a space to write in your telephone number. Various bands, lanyards, cards or pins can get lost during a day in the parks, but a tattoo applied to your child's arm or hand is always there. And kids love them! There are also tattoos available for allergies, autism, Alzheimer's, etc. I always use these tattoos on my children when we visit Walt Disney World now. Even the teenagers will still wear them! - Becky

Here's a tip for if you're trying to make reservations for the T-Rex restaurant in Disney Springs. I incorrectly assumed that now that the restaurant is included in the dining options on the Disney website that I needed to make my reservation there. After I had tried finding a better reservation time for weeks, a Disney dining representative suggested I call the restaurant directly because the Disney website only has access to part of the reservations. The restaurant also takes its own reservations. I got exactly the time I wanted right through the restaurant! - Sue Snyder

A wonderful way to keep toddlers entertained is to purchase inexpensive disposable cameras for them to use. My son was 2 when he made his first visit to WDW. He loves having his picture taken and usually cries for my camera. Rather than risk losing or damaging my camera, I found disposable cameras at our local dollar store. I bought a package of four for $8. Needless to say, we have some priceless pictures! - Charlotte

A wonderful way to keep toddlers entertained is to purchase inexpensive disposable cameras for them to use. My son was 2 when he made his first visit to WDW. He loves having his picture taken and usually cries for my camera. Rather than risk losing or damaging my camera, I found disposable cameras at our local dollar store. I bought a package of four for $8. Needless to say, we have some priceless pictures! - Charlotte

Regarding Magical Express -- if, by chance, your accommodations change (we were bumped up from All-Star Sports to Port Orleans Riverside), don't assume that your luggage will make the move with you. On our first night, we got back to the room around midnight and found that our luggage wasn't there. We found out later that nobody had been informed that we'd been moved to a different resort than the original one on file. Now granted, the folks at Riverside were fantastic and were able to get our luggage to us within a half hour, but it was still a bit of an inconvenience that could've been avoided. I also found out that our departure information wasn't updated. Magical Express is an invaluable resource that we will definitely take advantage of again. People don't realize just how far away from the resort the airport really is. We just now know better so that "all our Mickeys will be in a row" next time. - Mark Greenwald

Regarding Magical Express -- if, by chance, your accommodations change (we were bumped up from All-Star Sports to Port Orleans Riverside), don't assume that your luggage will make the move with you. On our first night, we got back to the room around midnight and found that our luggage wasn't there. We found out later that nobody had been informed that we'd been moved to a different resort than the original one on file. Now granted, the folks at Riverside were fantastic and were able to get our luggage to us within a half hour, but it was still a bit of an inconvenience that could've been avoided. I also found out that our departure information wasn't updated. Magical Express is an invaluable resource that we will definitely take advantage of again. People don't realize just how far away from the resort the airport really is. We just now know better so that "all our Mickeys will be in a row" next time. - Mark Greenwald

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

One assumption we made that was incorrect was that you could take a bus from Disney Springs to the theme parks. You have to go back to one of the resorts and then go from there. Another tip is that if you are staying at Port Orleans, like we did, you are better off taking the boat to Disney Springs rather than the bus. It runs much more often. - Deanna M. Grebe

One assumption we made that was incorrect was that you could take a bus from Disney Springs to the theme parks. You have to go back to one of the resorts and then go from there. Another tip is that if you are staying at Port Orleans, like we did, you are better off taking the boat to Disney Springs rather than the bus. It runs much more often. - Deanna M. Grebe

Disney's Hollywood Studios - We discovered the delicious blue crab wonton appetizer at the Hollywood Brown Derby recently. It's a generous portion of crab, bundled along with cucumber, tomato and a slightly hot wasabi aioli in a deep-fried wonton wrapper. It was the perfect start to a wonderful meal. - Linda