Tips for Disney Parks & Cruise Lines

A tip for UK visitors: In shops, kids struggle to work out the cost of something in British pounds, as they have to add the sales tax and then do the currency conversion. When ours were younger I made little conversion charts with the GBP equivalent (with sales tax added) of up to $20. As long as they can add up, they can then work out what things are going to cost from their spending allowance without having to ask Mum or Dad all the time. - Juli Williamson

I enjoyed your article, Disney World On Wheels. I have been "scooting" around Walt Disney World for more than a decade. Disney makes it easy to get around and the Cast Members are fairly well versed on the ins and outs of guests on wheels. I'd like to offer a tip for guests new to "scooting" at WDW. Let's face it. This is Florida and it rains, especially in the summer. Don't let a light shower slow you down. Before leaving home, pick up a child's poncho and a small bungee cord. Keeping the "tiller" (handlebars) of the scooter dry is important since it houses the electronics and charging port. "Dress" your tiller in the poncho. Drape the poncho over the tiller putting the ends of the tiller where your arms would normally come out. The hood opening should be facing you so that the control center of the tiller is inside the hood. Tuck the opening of the hood down inside the neck of the poncho to keep the controls dry. Secure the poncho around and under the tiller with your bungee cord. - Beth Christie

I enjoyed your article, Disney World On Wheels. I have been "scooting" around Walt Disney World for more than a decade. Disney makes it easy to get around and the Cast Members are fairly well versed on the ins and outs of guests on wheels. I'd like to offer a tip for guests new to "scooting" at WDW. Let's face it. This is Florida and it rains, especially in the summer. Don't let a light shower slow you down. Before leaving home, pick up a child's poncho and a small bungee cord. Keeping the "tiller" (handlebars) of the scooter dry is important since it houses the electronics and charging port. "Dress" your tiller in the poncho. Drape the poncho over the tiller putting the ends of the tiller where your arms would normally come out. The hood opening should be facing you so that the control center of the tiller is inside the hood. Tuck the opening of the hood down inside the neck of the poncho to keep the controls dry. Secure the poncho around and under the tiller with your bungee cord. - Beth Christie

runDisney veteran Laura Gilbreath offers a few tips for those wishing to register for the 2016 Disney Princess Half Marathon weekend events: The Glass Slipper Challenge and the Enchanted 10K will sell out the fastest. If you wish to register for one of those be prepared to register as soon as registration opens. All adults must register using their own Active.com account now -- you may no longer register another adult. (Adults can still register participants who are under age 18.) If you do not have your own Active.com account then it is highly recommended that you sign up for one in advance (it's free), as it will speed up the registration process. If you do have an Active.com account, try to log in before registration day to make sure you know your user id and password. You do not need to supply proof of time information as part of the registration process -- you will do that a couple of months later.

runDisney veteran Laura Gilbreath offers a few tips for those wishing to register for the 2016 Disney Princess Half Marathon weekend events: The Glass Slipper Challenge and the Enchanted 10K will sell out the fastest. If you wish to register for one of those be prepared to register as soon as registration opens. All adults must register using their own Active.com account now -- you may no longer register another adult. (Adults can still register participants who are under age 18.) If you do not have your own Active.com account then it is highly recommended that you sign up for one in advance (it's free), as it will speed up the registration process. If you do have an Active.com account, try to log in before registration day to make sure you know your user id and password. You do not need to supply proof of time information as part of the registration process -- you will do that a couple of months later.

Even though the price of a single bottle of water is now $3.00, there are 1.1 liter (51 oz.) bottles of water in some of the shops that are $4.50. They are a much better value than the single bottles sold at stands in the parks. And if you have any type of discount available to you -- such as Annual Pass, DVC, etc., you can get the 1.1 liter bottle for $3.60. - Mary Waite

Magic Kingdom - A not-well-publicized event that is fun to see for the little kids (and those kids at heart such as myself) is the opening ceremony at the Magic Kingdom. It occurs about 10-15 minutes before what Disney refers to as the "rope drop" (the time that they let people through the arches and into the park). The train arrives at the Main Street station above the floral displays with all the characters on board, with Disney music playing. They stop and wave to everyone waiting to enter the park. They let people through the turnstiles into the queue area about 20-30 minutes prior to the park opening. So get there a few minutes early if you want to see it. I believe it is worth seeing. - Mike

Magic Kingdom - A not-well-publicized event that is fun to see for the little kids (and those kids at heart such as myself) is the opening ceremony at the Magic Kingdom. It occurs about 10-15 minutes before what Disney refers to as the "rope drop" (the time that they let people through the arches and into the park). The train arrives at the Main Street station above the floral displays with all the characters on board, with Disney music playing. They stop and wave to everyone waiting to enter the park. They let people through the turnstiles into the queue area about 20-30 minutes prior to the park opening. So get there a few minutes early if you want to see it. I believe it is worth seeing. - Mike

If you are in the World now or will be soon, keep your eyes open. We saw two bald eagles last week on World Drive, between Buena Vista Drive and the Epcot exit. The next day I saw one at the entrance to the Wide World of Sports complex. Beautiful birds and my phone's camera did not do them justice. - Michael S.

My tip is for fans of the trading pins. I have a lanyard and pins that I wear daily at school (I am a teacher). I had the problem of the pin backs coming off and losing my precious pins. I've solved the issue by using an eraser from a mechanical pencil. They can be purchased cheaply at local stores and I have yet to lose a pin that is backed by an eraser. - Angela

Something we tried this last time we stayed at the Boardwalk Villas was to bring a water purifier that you connect to the kitchen faucet. This worked amazingly well! We didn't have to haul or buy a whole bunch of water bottles for our trip, you just keep refilling a glass or reusable container. You don't have the waste of the plastic bottles or have to drink the nasty-tasting Orlando water! Just write down a reminder to take your purifier off the faucet before you leave. When you get home, connect the purifier back to your own kitchen faucet! - Tammy

When making dining reservations using the Disney website make sure you log in before you select your reservation time. I lost two reservations to 'Ohana (on two separate occasions) because after I selected the reservation time the system prompted me to log in. Once I logged in, the system did not hold the reservation that I selected. Very disappointing! I sent a message to Disney regarding this problem and their solution was to be sure that you are logged in prior to searching for a dining reservation. - Sarah Kelley

If you have planned multiple trips to Walt Disney World with tickets linked to your My Disney Experience account, be sure when you check in that the CORRECT ticket is linked to that stay. For example, I bought a 1-day ticket to use in November after a Disney cruise, but before that I had booked a 7-night package with tickets in June. Both were linked to my account. (It asks you who the ticket is for when you buy it online at disneyworld.com.) When I went in June, my 1-day ticket was used inadvertently, and then 6 days were used from my ticket that came with my package. I discovered this when I went to use that 1-day ticket in November. Of course, the 7th day from my package ticket had expired, since more than 14 days had passed, so I had to buy ANOTHER 1-day ticket to use for November. WDW told me to make sure when checking in to specify which ticket you want to use for your MagicBand. I guess it's not obvious you would want to use a 7-day ticket for a 7-day stay. If you make multiple trips to WDW a year like me, you may run into this trouble. - Jill Benicewicz

Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party - Just wanted to let everyone know a couple of things about the Villains Sinister Soiree (an add-on to Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party). First, it's awesome! Next, you need to get a lanyard. Most cast members we asked had no idea what we were talking about. You need to go out past where they check your bags when you enter. There is a little gazebo before the bag check. That is where you pick up your Villains passes, then you head up to the castle for check-in. We went a half-hour early, which gave us more time with the characters. It was a great, great time! Would do it again and again! - Amy F.

Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party - Just wanted to let everyone know a couple of things about the Villains Sinister Soiree (an add-on to Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party). First, it's awesome! Next, you need to get a lanyard. Most cast members we asked had no idea what we were talking about. You need to go out past where they check your bags when you enter. There is a little gazebo before the bag check. That is where you pick up your Villains passes, then you head up to the castle for check-in. We went a half-hour early, which gave us more time with the characters. It was a great, great time! Would do it again and again! - Amy F.