Tips about Animal Kingdom and Mousecellaneous

ALL PARKS - For those who have little ones who don't like the "line ride" at the beginning of most attractions or for those who hate waiting in queues themselves, spotting Hidden Mickey's is a wonderful diversion. We made small index card booklets listing all "confirmed" Hidden Mickey's in each park, organized by lands and attractions. They fit easily in a pocket or daypack and can be decorated with character stickers. We took the one for the park(s) we were in each day and looked for HM's in line or checked to see where we could find them once on the ride. An added benefit was getting to meet the numerous other guests who asked what we were reading and pointing at. This decreased the frustration of line-waiting even more. I think we made many other HM fans and also took the opportunity to mention ALL EARS® to them. Hopefully we helped (in a small way) your goal of making the 25,000 subscriber mark! - Gavin Adams

EDITOR'S NOTE:: To learn more about Hidden Mickey's, go to: http://allears.net/btp/hiddenm.htm

ANIMAL KINGDOM - remember to bring "sippy cups" or straws for younger kids. An environmental policy prevents them from having plastic lids for cups or straws. For adults it's no big deal, but for younger kids and toddlers it can be problematic, especially after the other Disney theme parks where refreshments from lids/straws are readily available. - Rebecca Grohall

ANIMAL KINGDOM - The day we visited Animal Kingdom we experienced a steady downpour of rain all day long, as opposed to other days when it just rained in the late afternoon. The upside is that the animals come out when it rains, and we saw LOTS of them on the Kilimanjaro Safari. The downside is that there are practically no places to get out of the rain, and there were LOTS of running streams and fairly big puddles to meander around on the walkways. The result was thoroughly waterlogged walking shoes and socks, and some pretty disgruntled folks by day's end. If we had it to do over again, we would stay long enough to enjoy the Safari ride, but then leave the rest of the park for a nicer day, and head to Epcot's Future World while it is raining. - Mary Ellen and Joe Kelly

ANIMAL KINGDOM - I'd like to warn readers that they should check the train waits before heading up to Rafiki's Planet Watch at Animal Kingdom. We were there recently when only one train was running. What was supposed to be a 15-minute wait to return turned into a 45-minute wait. We nearly missed the parade and were lucky to catch the second pass through at Harambe just as we disembarked the train.