Tips about Epcot, Health and Planning

My husband has to wear glasses every day of his life. He has a pretty strong prescription and cannot wear contacts on a regular basis, because they really bother his eyes. On a previous trip to Disney, he wore his glasses as usual, but had difficulty getting the 3-D glasses to fit over his prescription lenses. This caused him not to be able to see any 3-D effects in the attractions throughout the park. On our visit in April of this year, he wore daily disposable contacts, which he can do for about a week or so without having a problem. He was able to wear the 3-D glasses and see all of the 3-D effects like the rest of the audience. He really enjoyed these attractions this time. It also seemed to help him if we could sit as close to the middle of the theater as we could get. Since he wore the contacts, he was also able to wear normal sunglasses and did not have to keep switching between his prescription glasses and his prescription sunglasses all day. - Angie Hashemi

Being an eye doctor, I thought I would add some advice concerning the 3-D movies in the Disney parks. If you are monocular (one eyed), then you can't see true 3-D or if you have amblopia (lazy eye), your depth perception will be greatly reduced. We must have binocular vision to take full advantage of 3-D in stereo vision. Therefore, if you have these eye conditions, you might as well go ride Peter Pan while your family enjoys the show! - Scott Keating

If you are going to Disney to celebrate a wedding, I have some suggestions of what to bring from home. I was told to bring white chalk just in case the bride's dress gets [dirtied] by the seagulls. (It happened to my niece at a beach wedding.) My daughter-in-law used the chalk when something spilled on her dress, but other options include Wite-Out or a Tide to Go pen. Another good idea is to pack a needle and thread in case buttons are loose on tuxes, etc. - Jean

For those who wear eye makeup at WDW, I highly suggest using waterproof mascara. I know from experience that if you get soaked on a ride, you do not want mascara running in your eyes. - Callie

ALL PARKS - I have been to Disney many times and always carry a bag of some sort with me for sunscreen, wallets, camera, ponchos, and other things of that nature. I found that a clear backpack will get you through the line at the security checkpoint quicker than it normally takes. Since security can see through the backpack they normally do not have to open it up. If you are worried about everyone seeing what you have in the clear backpack, than all you have to do is take a hand towel and pull it out before the security check point and, once through, place it in the backpack so that everything that you have cannot be easily seen. It also helps if you get a little wet and need to dry off. - Kelly Henrichsen

If you're sensitive to loud noises, know that foam earplugs are available at any first-aid station in the parks. They were a lifesaver for me because I have tinnitus and couldn't handle the Fantasmic show in the Studios (oh, so loud for kids, too). - Wendy J.

We brought a travel-sized MagnaDoodle that we found especially handy at the water parks, where we would have a base camp, but would often split up to do different things. We would write messages to each other with the time and place we could be found. It actually became a fun game, as we got into giving clues to the names of the slides and rides. Overall, it was just a simple and fun way to communicate when you didn't want to have your cell phone with you. - Molly from Oregon

ALL PARKS - We put small inexpensive inflatable bath pillows (about $.79 to $1.50 at most drugstores) in our parkpacks. When we go to see a show on a hard wooden or steel bench, or are stuck with only a concrete curbside seat to view the parade, we take out our pillows, blow them up, and voila -- a nice soft cushie for our tushie! - Michele Abbamondi

Along with remembering allergy medication, it is a good idea to pack cold medications in general. With all the places our hands touch, and all those little lips kissing Mickey's nose, someone is bound to share a cold! We learned it the hard way, having to pay inflated prices for cold medications in the resort gift shop. Also, keep in mind that there are non-liquid versions of children's medications available now (chewable tablets, strips, etc.), which are easier to pack with the liquid restrictions on flights. We were able to easily pack children's chewable Tylenol, Triaminic cold/cough strips, and Mucinex expectorant (powdery form, poured on the tongue). They condense very easily when removed from their boxes and put in zipper-top bags, and there is no worry of spillage within luggage. - Rhoda Smith

We just returned from Disney and my tip to all of those visiting with allergies: Bring your allergy medication/prescription with you. Just because things are not in bloom where you live, remember there is always something in bloom at Disney! We never thought about bringing allergy medication because we weren't using it here and had to pay up the wazoo there for it. - Siobhan Atwood

Epcot - I just wanted to let people with younger children know that Epcot is a great place to go with the younger set. My friends avoid this park with smaller kids thinking that it's over their heads! We went in January and found that to be completely untrue. In fact, that was our 5-year-old's favorite park! We found tons of characters that had hardly any lines, and both our kids (the other one is age 2) loved the countries' Kidcot stations. They loved having a mission to get to every station, and enjoyed all the sights and experiences along the way! - Janelle Kreiling

Epcot - I just wanted to let people with younger children know that Epcot is a great place to go with the younger set. My friends avoid this park with smaller kids thinking that it's over their heads! We went in January and found that to be completely untrue. In fact, that was our 5-year-old's favorite park! We found tons of characters that had hardly any lines, and both our kids (the other one is age 2) loved the countries' Kidcot stations. They loved having a mission to get to every station, and enjoyed all the sights and experiences along the way! - Janelle Kreiling

We just got back from Disney World today... please let your readers know that "Heelys" (skate sneakers) are not permitted in any amusement park in Florida. We were stopped by a Disney employee who informed us that we could be fined up to $150 by the sheriff! - Barbara Friedman

For all WDW visitors from the UK -- try to find jet-setting friends who will bring you home US coins, quarters especially, because when you land at Orlando they're jolly useful for tolls. Saves having to worry about splitting paper money when you're tired and the kids can't wait to get to Mickey! - Rosie, Northampton, UK

All Star Resorts - My husband, 4-year-old son and I just returned from a fantastic 10-day WDW trip and one of the best things we did was ship a small coffee pot with filters and coffee packets to our All-Star resort ahead of time since they do not provide coffee pots in those rooms. What a treat it was to just wake up and make our own personal pot of coffee each morning. The 4-cup pot at Walmart was only $19.99, and the filters/coffee were inexpensive. - Laureen EDITOR'S NOTE: The Family Suites at Art of Animation and All Star Music have coffee pots.