Tips about Epcot, Kids and Theme Parks

I was reading in your toddler section about explaining to kids about "big" Mickey and wanted to share our trick. My husband and I are taking our children ages 4 and 1, and our niece age 3 to Disney World in January. To make sure they know what to expect when they see a "big" Mickey we've been attending our local bookstores monthly character story time where a "big" sized character is present each month. This has allowed the kids to see first hand what to expect. We are also planning a visit a regional amusement park for a day as a dry run of sorts to prepare for our week at Disney. - Laura Hulse

Our family loves WDW and between trips we really miss it. One way to bring back the fun is to play the Disney game during mealtime or car rides. Each person takes a turn giving one or two clues and the others must guess what the ride, hotel, place, character meal or activity for which the clues are related. For instance, I might say, "This place has a big dinosaur." The others might guess the dinosaur ride at Epcot or the dinosaur ride at AK. But the answer I was thinking about is the toy dinosaur at the All Star Movies. It's a great game that all can play and have fun. I've been stumped a few times by my 9 and 6 year old girls. - Kenna Washington

ALL PARKS - I found that if you get tired of waiting in long lines, and you don't mind splitting up your party ( maybe to 1, 2,or even 3) some attractions offer singles lines. These lines help fill up unused space. I tried this at Test Track and the normal wait time was 70 minutes. It took me 5 minutes on the singles line and I still got a seat with my parents. - Matthew

ALL PARKS - I found that if you get tired of waiting in long lines, and you don't mind splitting up your party ( maybe to 1, 2,or even 3) some attractions offer singles lines. These lines help fill up unused space. I tried this at Test Track and the normal wait time was 70 minutes. It took me 5 minutes on the singles line and I still got a seat with my parents. - Matthew

ALL PARKS - I found that if you get tired of waiting in long lines, and you don't mind splitting up your party ( maybe to 1, 2,or even 3) some attractions offer singles lines. These lines help fill up unused space. I tried this at Test Track and the normal wait time was 70 minutes. It took me 5 minutes on the singles line and I still got a seat with my parents. - Matthew

We always make sure we have a small or travel size magna doodle in our backpack. The kids can use it to draw a picture, play hangman, tic-tac-toe, anything of that nature. PLUS we always brought it out on the table at character meals & usually at least one character at each meal would sign it, doodle on it or ask my son a question on it. It is more interactive & versatile than a hand held game & it doesn't beep or make noise 🙂 - Missy

Lockers are available to rent at the 4 Theme Parks and 2 Water Parks. A Large Locker (17.5"h x 12"w x 16" d) is $10/day plus key deposit. The Small Locker (11"h x 9"w x 16" d) is $8/day plus key deposit. When visiting more than one park per day, simply return your locker key to receive your original $5 deposit. Then, present your receipt (plus the deposit) at the second theme park to gain access to another locker for the remainder of the day at no additional cost. Single-use, coin-operated lockers are located near Epcot, Disney's Animal Kingdom Park and Disney's Hollywood Studios bus Information booths. The cost is one dollar. Quarters must be inserted each time the locker is locked. Larger-sized luggage lockers (23"h x 16"w x 29" deep) are also available for rent outside the Main Gate of Epcot.

I always take a few of the bubble bottles with me. Then, when I'm in a long line or waiting for a parade or fireworks, I just start blowing bubbles. All of the little kids (and some of the big ones too!) are delighted to chase and pop the bubbles or just watch them drift by. It's so funny to hear the comments from guests who don't see me blowing the bubbles - they just think it's more Disney "magic." - Kymberli Oakes

My dh and I have used this idea on our past two trips with our young children (ages 5 and 2 at our last trip last week) We thought it was a sensible "duh" until we had tons of people tell us what a great idea it was. We even had several cast members comment on our "brilliant" idea.

If you are travelling with young children that sometimes would prefer to walk than ride in a stroller all day, tie bells to their shoes. You will be able to keep up with them and if they do get seperated from you, their jingling will alert you to where they are. We had bells tied on two or our children our last trip and used different bells on each of their shoes. Because of all the noise at Disney you don't really notice the constant jingling until it stops or you need to hear it! - Michelle

If you are traveling with a young girl, around 5, buy a Princess Hat! My niece got one on her last trip and the Cast Members made such a fuss over her. She wore it every day, in every park, and someone commented every day. The CM's asked if she was a princess. The taxi boat CM said to "stand aside, we have royalty coming on board." Goofy even bowed down and worshiped her. It really made her feel very special during the trip. - Holly

Have a special hat for everyone for each day at Walt Disney World. I have tried to relate it to the park where we will be visiting on each day. For instance animal print ears for Animal Kingdom day, international themes for Epcot days, fun pinwheels for Hollywood Studio days, and of course all things Mickey for Magic Kingdom days. Not only is this fun but it is a great way to keep track of your group. You know exactly what to look for when trying to spot your family. For night time visits to the parks choose something that will light up and keep them the same for all which will distinguish your family above everyone else in the dark. Be sure and take hats off during attractions so they don't bother or interfere with other guests.

EPCOT & DISNEY'S HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS - It is possible to see Fantasmic at the Hollywood Studios and IllumiNations at Epcot in the same night! The way to accomplish this is to watch Fantasmic sitting near an exit (or semi-close to one), go straight out of the park and when you get to the bus stops outside the park take the bus to the TTC (usually not very crowded at this time). When you get to the TTC take the monorail to Epcot. The night we did this we even wasted time waiting at the boat dock at the Studios and then decided to then try the TTC/Monorail approach. We made it to Epcot by 8:45 PM, in plenty of time to catch IllumiNations. - Christine

EPCOT & DISNEY'S HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS - It is possible to see Fantasmic at the Hollywood Studios and IllumiNations at Epcot in the same night! The way to accomplish this is to watch Fantasmic sitting near an exit (or semi-close to one), go straight out of the park and when you get to the bus stops outside the park take the bus to the TTC (usually not very crowded at this time). When you get to the TTC take the monorail to Epcot. The night we did this we even wasted time waiting at the boat dock at the Studios and then decided to then try the TTC/Monorail approach. We made it to Epcot by 8:45 PM, in plenty of time to catch IllumiNations. - Christine

Consider purchasing a clear backpack for your child. We got one for our granddaughter and packed it with a change of clothes for her and other necessities for the day. The security guards at the airport and Walt Disney World loved it. They just had to look and then sent us on our way. - Peggy

When we last visited the world, I got two "key" lights - the kind you attach to your key chain and squeeze when you need a bit of light to find your lock. I attached one to our backpack/diaper bag. It was always where I could find it and our 3-year-old had to just squeeze it for a bit of comfort. And it was too small to disturb the other guests and affect the theming. - Diane