Tips about Epcot, Kids and Miscellaneous

Epcot - As a cast member who used to work at Sum of All Thrills in Innoventions East, I wanted to say that if you want the most thrilling ride available there, ask a cast member if they have any high score cards. They sometimes have a few available, and if not, someone might be able to help you design it. - D.

Epcot - I wanted to make people aware now that Soarin' is closed that Sunshine Seasons closes at 7 p.m. We were going to Epcot for the evening and were hoping to have dinner at Sunshine Seasons because they are so great for people with food troubles. Oh well, we will just have to go in earlier now. - Pam Sigler

Epcot - I wanted to make people aware now that Soarin' is closed that Sunshine Seasons closes at 7 p.m. We were going to Epcot for the evening and were hoping to have dinner at Sunshine Seasons because they are so great for people with food troubles. Oh well, we will just have to go in earlier now. - Pam Sigler

I've just finished reading the latest in a great series of books about the World -- Ridley Pearson's "Kingdom Keepers IV: Power Play." The Kingdom Keepers books are written for teens, but us older folks will love them, too. They're great suspense reads, and if you are familiar with and love WDW, you'll have all the settings visually in your head. If you're headed to Orlando, have your teens read them (preferably in order) before you go. They'll be searching out locations and will never get bored. - Maggie Rioux

After my son's first trip to Disney when he picked up a nasty stomach bug, we've since learned to pack a travel-sized hand sanitizer to carry with us inside the parks. We use it to disinfect hands not only before eating, but also after EVERY encounter with the characters. When you stop to think about all the children who are touching and kissing Mickey, it just makes sense. My son stayed well all the way through the subsequent two visits to Disney. I can't say for sure that's what kept him well, but it certainly couldn't have hurt! - Terri in Bermuda

I had a great fear of my kids wandering away from us, so I made them bracelets with my cell phone number on it. For my 5-year-old daughter I bought girly, shimmery beads, and for my son (who's 4) I bought sporty beads (football, soccer ball and baseball). I also bought beads with numbers on them. I made them each a bracelet/anklet and put my cell phone number in between beads. This way they each had a cute bracelet/anklet to wear! They were also small enough that others could not read the numbers as they were walking by. It really helped me with my anxiety of losing the kids! - Jessica

On our first trip to WDW with our twins, who believe in the theory of "divide and conquer" and often go off in two different directions at the same time, I was frantically searching for in-park safety tips. After reading about luggage tags it occurred to me our vacation packet from WDW included sturdy plastic luggage tags (for the Magical Express service). Since my kids were limited to a single rolling backpack each, I put the tags on their backpacks for the flight down, then removed them and attached them to their waistpacks for the park visits. The info cards were filled out with our names, my cell phone, and our resort name, then turned backwards inside the tags and tucked in a pocket. The kids liked having control of that "secret" information. I liked knowing that my kids or their packs could be easily returned by Cast Members if lost. As backup, I also brought along the laminated photo ID that our school issues to each child. I didn't have to use them, but knew they would stand up better to travel and weather than any wallet-sized picture. - Judy

We happened upon a wonderful mid-day break for our Chicago area family during our Christmas break trip to Walt Disney World. We stayed off property. The kids (8 and 6) were more excited about the monorail than they were about anything else at Epcot. To kill time until our FASTPASS+ time on Soarin', and to satisfy their curiosity, we took a ride on the monorail after lunch. It was a fun, air-conditioned trip that gave them a sensory break from the heat and intense sounds of touring, they got to see other parts of WDW and we were all totally refreshed when we came back to Epcot about half an hour later. It didn't cost us anything extra and it was just their speed! - Ruth Gauss

EDITOR'S NOTE: Please be careful of your timing. Monorails can be in holding periods or be delayed leaving you in a situation where you will not be able to make your FastPass+ time window.

Just returned from a trip to Walt Disney World with our five grandkids, ages 6/6, 5, 3 and 1 (and their parents!). I brought some small paper cups in a sandwich bag inside my tote into the parks to see if I'd use them. They came in handy a few times for sharing a water bottle, etc. amongst the kids. - Karen Jacobi

Epcot - We found that the Electric Umbrella restaurant at Epcot has free drink refills... not only for soft drinks but for apple juice as well, which worked out great for our little one. This is the only "quick service" restaurant we visited that didn't give us a juice box when we ordered her a kid's meal with juice. - Michelle P.

Epcot - We found that the Electric Umbrella restaurant at Epcot has free drink refills... not only for soft drinks but for apple juice as well, which worked out great for our little one. This is the only "quick service" restaurant we visited that didn't give us a juice box when we ordered her a kid's meal with juice. - Michelle P.

We visited Disney's Hollywood Studios last week with our daughters, 16 and 2. While my 16-year-old loved the park, my 2-year-old found it very scary. If you have a little one who is timid, you may want to prepare them for this park or skip it all together. The Star Wars theme and characters are everywhere here. We were standing in line to meet Disney Junior characters when Star Wars music started playing and the characters marched right by us. She was terrified. We had to get out of line. Then we were stopped by a few stormtroopers while leaving Toy Story Mania. She started crying saying she wanted to go home... I saw several children crying when they had to walk by Darth Vader or a stormtrooper... I like Star Wars. But the constant shows that you can hear throughout the park with ominous-sounding music, the sound of scary voices (Kylo Ren and Darth Vader), and intimidating (to a small child) characters were just too much. Hopefully they will keep it localized to just the Star Wars area once it opens. - Jennifer D.

To survive large crowds, I suggest that you go out early, at the time the parks open. Bring just a snack for breakfast if you can't manage to get up early enough to eat breakfast at your resort. You then will have 3-4 hours of park time before lunch. Since lunch is when the crowd volume really picks up, this is when you should go back to your resort to refresh and relax by the pool, or you could go shopping. Then go back to a park after you eat dinner. Leave the park before any fireworks shows to avoid long waits at the bus stops. Of course, if you want to experience more, then you will have to get out in the crowds. I've been so many years (at all times of year) and I've learned my lesson. The one thing that will drain your energy and make you more ill and fussy, is fighting a crowd daily. That's no vacation. Find time to rest and relax. - Melody Moore

As adults we all know what to expect on our trips to Disney. But for young first-timers it's going to be a lot of firsts: plane ride, bus trip, rides, characters, hotel stay, etc. To prepare my 2-year-old for our upcoming trip, I've had him start watching YouTube videos of other family vacations to the world. Many show the plane ride, buses, different rides and character meet-ups. Now he's starting to get excited to go see Mickey Mouse. - Rachel

Magic Kingdom - My son is afraid of fireworks, but we wanted to stay in the Magic Kingdom. A cast member directed us to the Baby Care Center. The walls are soundproof for nursing moms. There was a TV and lots of books to entertain him. My son didn't hear a thing, and the rest of the night was tons of fun! - Mary Locker