Tips about Photography and Resorts

Another great way to help someone reconnect you with your lost camera: write on a piece of paper, "If found, please call... " with your phone number. Then take a picture of the piece of paper and "lock" the image on your internal memory and each memory card you might be using. This way if either your camera or a separate memory card is misplaced, someone could take a look and hopefully give you a call! - Laura Conner

After frantically trying to figure out how to identify our camera if lost, I walked past a pet ID tag engraving machine and immediately thought, "Wow, that will work!" I got the smallest tag I could find, engraved our name and cell phone number on it, and hung it from the wrist strap. Problem solved and it was simple and cheap! - Lisa Bufo

Wilderness Lodge - Select resorts now have a Resort Photo Session that can be booked up to 30 days in advance of your stay. I just called and spoke to Sheri at the Wilderness Lodge Photo Pass Desk (it's in the lobby by the Mercantile) and was quoted the following: 20 minute private photo session at your resort. 2 Packages available: $49.95 includes sitting fee and 7 - 5x7's $99.95 includes above PLUS all the photos they took on a CD/ROM and the rights to the photo's so you can print them up later. I was told that they take no less than 50 pictures, so if this is a special occassion it might just be worth it to get the $99.95 package! - Elizabeth Kozdron

On our last trip to Walt Disney World, there were three families traveling together. My parents, my brother, sister-in-law and nephew, and my husband, three children and myself. We took almost 900 pictures among all of us. I am attempting to organize them in a timeline fashion. I thought I could just load them and then organize them by date/time taken. Unfortunately, all our cameras were not in sync. My sister-in-law lives in another time zone and my mom's camera was about five minutes off from mine. Needless to say, it is an organization nightmare right now... though I am enjoying looking at all the pictures! My tip would be, if you are travelling with a group and will be sharing all your photos, synchronize the times of your digital cameras at the beginning of the trip to make it easier to organize all the photos when you get home. - Elizabeth Doda

We're heading to the land of the Mouse tomorrow and of course, plan on lots of picture-taking. As soon as I purchase a memory card for my camera, I take a picture of a placard I've made up with the message: "If found, please call phone number 301-XXX-XXXX to arrange for return." Then I "lock" this picture on the card, so even when I move my pics to my computer, this one in particular remains. - Kelly S. Firmbach

Coronado Springs - We want to let "winter" vacationers know that the outdoor pools are heated. We stayed at the Coronado Springs Resort in October, and thought it was too cool to swim at night. One night I happened to see how cold the water was and to my surprise it was warmer than it was during the day. No one mentioned that the outdoor pools are heated! So fellow vacationers, enjoy the uncrowded pools under the stars, in the warm, warm heated pools. - Krista Hook

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

Old Key West - We just enjoyed a wonderful week at Disney's Old Key West. However, we wondered why we spent so much time (greater than 45 minutes on a couple occasions!) waiting for buses to take us to the parks. After inquiring (finally) with the concierge, we were told that if the bus filled prior to our stop at Hospitality House, the bus driver would automatically skip this stop and a bus would only stop when vacant. Our tip -- walk the extra three minutes to the Peninsular Rd. bus stop and enjoy an empty bus each time! - Jen Tesoriero

EDITOR'S NOTE: We are afraid that the concierge gave you some erroneous information. Buses at OKW make all of the stops since many times people will use a park bus (any park bus) as an internal shuttle to the Hospitality House as they all stop there last before heading out to a park. This is especially true in the mornings and around dinner time.

POLYNESIAN RESORT - I just returned from a magical nine days in the World. It could have just as easily been a disaster. As soon as I checked into my room at the Polynesian, I went to charge my cell phone. Unfortunately I realized that I had forgotten to bring my charger. I thought I'd be incommunicado for the entire trip. Since my husband and I often take our kids in seperate directions, I was really worried about how we would manage our days. Thinking it was a slim chance, I inquired at the concierge desk. What a pleasant surprise when they brought out a bin of about 20-25 cell phone chargers for me to look through and find the right one. I was able to borrow it a few times during my trip so that I always had my phone ready and charged. - Vicky

EDITOR'S NOTE: This is a great idea, but don't depend on it, as not all resorts can accommodate you like this. Go ahead, ask Senior Editor Debra Martin Koma how she knows...

Following on with the tip to change memory cards every day, in case you lose your camera -- I created a document on my computer with a note: "Please return memory card to..." with my address. I take a picture of that document on each new memory card. Hopefully if the camera is recovered I will at least get my memory card and priceless pictures returned! - Kristeen Kohrs

My advice to anyone bringing a digital camera to Disney World is to change your memory card every day! We lost our digital camera at Epcot last month, and it still hasn't been recovered. I do not miss the camera as much as the photos that were lost from my children's first three days at the parks. I can't say enough about the kind staff members at Epcot guest services. They did everything they could to help us recreate our lost photos. - Rebecca Sherfey

Wilderness Lodge - Just returned from a week at WL and they now have a photopass counter in the hotel as well as sessions (for a fee) with photographers for pictures around the lodge - Lesley

Since dresser drawers are few in the rooms, bring along one of those hanging closet organizers for each child with at least seven slots. You can place your child's shorts, t-shirts, socks, underwear, etc. in the cubes thus saving on drawer space. - Barbara D.

I just returned from a terrific stay at the Grand Floridian and wanted to share a unique experience if you're looking for something extra-special. My husband surprised me with an Intimate Dining Experience. It's a two-hour dining experience for up to four people, even if staying off-property, with a choice of locations throughout the resort, personalized menus and a butler. Ours was on a balcony of the Grand Floridian with a view of the lagoon and fireworks. It was arranged directly through the front desk at the Grand Floridian. - Denise D.

For those of you with the Wii game system, you can insert an SD card into the game and play games on the Photo Channel. You can view your photos as a slide show, draw on your photos, or send your photos to your Wii Friends. My son has fun with the photos he took at Disney by turning them into tile puzzles. The first time he did, I was unaware that the Wii had that capability, so to see his photos on the TV when he was playing the Wii was a little surprising to say the least! - Defessa