Tips about At Large, Kids and Magic Kingdom

Save the little bottles of bubbles you get at weddings and bring them with you to Disney. Our daughter keeps one in her fanny pack. She has stopped many a potential meltdown by blowing bubbles for a fussy toddler as we waited in line. It's portable pixie dust! - Karen B

We recently took my nieces, ages 5, 9, 11 and 13, to Disney World. I went online and refreshed my memory on some string games (Cat's Cradle, Witches' Broom, etc) and took along several strings to play with. While standing in the longer lines I let the girls try their luck, two-person games for the older ones and easier things for the little ones. It kept the girls entertained as well as the little ones around us, and some of the parents, too! I gave away some of the extra strings I had to the other kids in line. So simple, but with all this technology no one thinks of the entertainment value of a loop of string anymore. And when it is time to get on the ride just slip it in your pocket until next time. - Suzanne Gould

I think most people going into the parks don't realize just how much they walk. I recommend stretching out all your muscles at the end of the day, holding the stretches for 20 seconds. Going hard a full day in Disney could leave you sore, especially if you're not used to walking 5+ miles a day. - Shannon Ashleigh

Just learned that if you go to a park prior to checking in to your Disney resort they will reimburse you for parking! Did this myself this past weekend when we stayed at Art of Animation and worked perfectly! Couldn't quite get up early enough to do check-in before park opening and I didn't want to waste any of my theme park time! - Mary

EDITOR'S NOTE: this is also true if you are going to purchase an annual pass that includes parking. Just bring your parking receipt to the Guest Relations window and they will credit what you paid for parking that day towards your annual pass.

On a recent trip to Disney my 5-year-old discovered several things she wanted to buy and, like most parents, we told her we would "think about it" as we moved on to the next part of our trip. Because I had my computer with me I was able to visit the Disney Store website the last night of our trip and order many of the things she had seen in the parks, as both Christmas and her birthday were coming up. I was thrilled to receive free shipping and knowing that I didn't have to try to "hide" these presents in our suitcases. But the icing on the cake was that several of the items were actually cheaper on the website than they would have been had we bought them at the park! - Kim Meyerholtz

On our recent Magic Kingdom visit my two children really wanted to get their faces painted. We first tried the Pirates' League in Adventureland, but it closed at 3:30 p.m. on the day we visited. However, we found a face painting area tucked away next to Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin in Tomorrowland. And the best part -- just keep your receipt, and they'll touch up your face paint throughout the day for no extra charge! - Laura Gjere

On our recent Magic Kingdom visit my two children really wanted to get their faces painted. We first tried the Pirates' League in Adventureland, but it closed at 3:30 p.m. on the day we visited. However, we found a face painting area tucked away next to Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin in Tomorrowland. And the best part -- just keep your receipt, and they'll touch up your face paint throughout the day for no extra charge! - Laura Gjere

I have enjoyed your "WDW at Large" pages. I was really sad to read that a lot of folks suffered through the La Nouba show because they really did not have to. We have been twice and each time when we booked we asked for the last row in the theater. There is an elevator to this level and there are regular chairs. Once they were with arms and I asked for one without arms and was given one without incident. I feel like these might be the best seats in the whole place as they allow you to see the whole theater. I hope this helps someone as your other posts have helped me. - Jennifer Stauch

Epcot - If going to Epcot with elementary school-aged kids, play Agent P! Even if you have never watched Phineas and Ferb, you should play the game. It made the World Showcase so much more interesting for my 8- and 10-year-olds. I enjoyed it also and my husband liked the fact that he could sit and have a beer at the Rose and Crown while we did our secret agent thing in the United Kingdom. - Margaret

Epcot - If going to Epcot with elementary school-aged kids, play Agent P! Even if you have never watched Phineas and Ferb, you should play the game. It made the World Showcase so much more interesting for my 8- and 10-year-olds. I enjoyed it also and my husband liked the fact that he could sit and have a beer at the Rose and Crown while we did our secret agent thing in the United Kingdom. - Margaret

My adult daughter got this idea when her daughter was 5 and it's worked for several trips. She rounds up all of her daughter's Disney-themed t-shirts and her Disney beanie babies (luckily we can drive to Walt Disney World) and brings them along on the trip. Each morning a special friend or two get to go to the parks with her daughter. She seldom HAS to have something she sees in a store. - Kim from Missouri

We just returned from a trip to Disney with my grandchildren. Of course, they want to buy everything. We found that by taking pictures of the item wanted (and the price) they could later go through the list and select the item they really wanted. It saved a lot of running around and they kids were able to "see" the items they were considering. - Stephen James

In reading the comments on the article about "Overcoming the Drop" (AllEars® Issue #735) it reminded me of a fun thing we do when the kids ride a new ride, especially one they have been scared to try. They "earn" a Disney pin for that attraction. We love picking out new ride pins with the kids and then love to show them off to friends and family when we return from our trip. - Jamie

When our son was much younger he always wanted another souvenir. Short of buying all of Disney World, we had a very small notebook and when he came upon another, "I need that!" we wrote all the information in his "souvenir handbook." At the end of the vacation he was able to go through the entire book and decide what he really wanted as his souvenir. After careful consideration he purchased his favorite. It stopped us from constantly having to say "no" and allowed him the control to really pick out the item that meant the most to him. Win-win situation! - Marti & Paul Linetzky

You can also ship baby items to your resort so they are there when you arrive. Address all boxes with the name the reservation is under, reservation number, date of arrival, and resort name and address. Do not send a month in advance as then you will risk boxes being misplaced but instead try to have a box arrive no more then a week in advance. When you check in let them know you have a box that was shipped and they will get that for you and arrange for it to be delivered to your room. Please note that some convention resorts might have a small fee for box shipments.