Tips about Epcot, Mousecellaneous, Old Key West and Planning

EPCOT - Outside the Imagination Pavillion. you'll find a whimsical *leap fountain,* where the water jumps from "pad" to "pad." It's not a play fountain, but children (and sometimes adults) can be seen trying to catch the water as it leaps around.

EPCOT - Outside the Imagination Pavillion. you'll find a whimsical *leap fountain,* where the water jumps from "pad" to "pad." It's not a play fountain, but children (and sometimes adults) can be seen trying to catch the water as it leaps around.

EPCOT - Take a look at the beautiful fountain outside the Imagination pavilion, it's slightly out of the ordinary. It's actually a *reverse* waterfall, with the water flowing up! Just watch it!

EPCOT - Take a look at the beautiful fountain outside the Imagination pavilion, it's slightly out of the ordinary. It's actually a *reverse* waterfall, with the water flowing up! Just watch it!

There are so many excellent guide books on WDW it would be hard to choose from the many available. Head to your public library, check some out, put those not on the shelf on reserve and look them ALL over before you decide to buy one. You might decide a general guide with great maps is for you or one on doing Disney with children or for seniors or for singles or one that rates the rides or gives you a great strategies for missing the crowds. Whatever you decide, you can easily order the book that best meets YOUR needs to take along from your local bookstore or online book dealer. The maps alone could easily make it worth your while and the info on things outside of WDW can be very valuable. I compared the various strategies for doing Disney and planned out some alternatives for avoiding lines that hit the things MY family wanted to see. I also discovered some interesting strolling musicians and odd little shops that I would have missed in the wild rush to do the rides. (Joy Kennedy)

I don't know how many folks travel with teens but I travel with my 16-year-old son. We usually stay at the All Stars and the only place for us to change privately is the bathroom. This can cause problems if you have had a shower and it's all steamy. So to solve the problem and give us a little more privacy, I go to the dollar store and buy a cheap white or colored shower curtain. Then I get two of the 3M hooks (with Command adhesive) that have the pull tab to remove them from the wall. We then hang the shower curtain between the sink area and the bedroom area. When we aren't using the area we hang the shower curtain on one hook. But when one of us wishes to change, we just hook the curtain up and we have a nice private area to change. I discovered this about 10 years ago when I was traveling with three kids. This way the two girls could change in one room and the two boys in the other. Editor's Note: We've checked out these hooks by 3M with the Command adhesive, and they seem to really work as the manufacturer claims: they are specially designed so that they won't mark the walls or remove paint, and they don't leave a sticky residue behind.)

As great as zipper-top bags are for holding snacks, you might want to think about hard plastic storage containers for them or something equally sturdy. I've witnessed a squirrel literally rip a hole in a reusable supermarket bag to get at the chips inside, no matter how many times we shooed him away. Anytime you're in a show or a ride with a long line the squirrels and birds have PLENTY of time to mess with your stuff that you've left in your stroller or scooter. - Aren

We have been searching for Hidden Mickeys at WDW, so to 'train' my husband for our last trip, I hid one Hidden Mickey a day for him to find before work. I only hid them in the bathroom because if he had to look all over the house before work, it wouldn't be fun! We both enjoyed this pre-trip practice, and I really think it paid off! He did 100 times better at spotting Hidden Mickeys once we got to WDW. A few words of advice for anyone who might want to try this: limit it to two weeks or less before your trip! Also, certain scrapbook stores sell Mickey punches; those were small and I could stick them anywhere! Other good ideas for Hidden Mickeys are placing anything in the three-circle shape, such as dots of cream connected to look like Mickey. There are many Hidden Mickeys like that at the World, so be creative! - Alea Laughery

We were in Disney World last month and noticed that there are new ways that the MagicBands interact with various attractions. At Rock 'n' Roller Coaster, there is an electronic poster in the queue that displays the name and home city of guests. At Mission: Space, there are video screens in the post-attraction room that will display the names of the guests who finished the ride, along with their hometown and their mission projection. At Space Mountain there are video screens along the moving walkway that display the names of the guests who finished the ride. At the end of "it's a small world," look for the video screen to display the names of the guests on the boat. There may be more attractions that may also implement this technology, so keep your eyes open in the queues and in the post-attraction areas. - Brian Kehoe

We were in Disney World last month and noticed that there are new ways that the MagicBands interact with various attractions. At Rock 'n' Roller Coaster, there is an electronic poster in the queue that displays the name and home city of guests. At Mission: Space, there are video screens in the post-attraction room that will display the names of the guests who finished the ride, along with their hometown and their mission projection. At Space Mountain there are video screens along the moving walkway that display the names of the guests who finished the ride. At the end of "it's a small world," look for the video screen to display the names of the guests on the boat. There may be more attractions that may also implement this technology, so keep your eyes open in the queues and in the post-attraction areas. - Brian Kehoe

Regarding two-way communication with other members of your party, we have found that texting works the best. It's too hard to hear my cell phone ring with all the noise of the parks, and it's also too hard to talk on the phone. So we just send each other text messages to set up meeting places, or to let the other person know if we're running late. - Kirsten Searle

Make up labels with your name, your resort and the resort phone number. Place these labels on your cameras (including disposables), video equipment and even kids' backpacks. If these items are lost, this will increase your chances of getting them back. - Timeless Tip o' the Week brought to you by www.themouseforless.com and Binnie Betten

Before buying the guidebooks, try your local public library. Most libraries have extensive sections of travel books. If your local library doesn't have the book you want, they might be able borrow it from another library. If you decide to buy a guidebook anyway, borrowing from the library first can give you a good idea which book or books are best for your needs. - Becky

Mini M&M's tubes are great for storing quarters (and pennies)! I buy the candy for my daughter and when she's done, I "steal" the tubes. Every few days, I fill one up with quarters, and put it in my WDW luggage. When we get to WDW, I'll put one of each (pennies and quarters) in my waist pack each morning, and I don't have to dig through my pockets for change. I also put change tubes in the car so we'll be ready to pay those pesky tolls. I'm ready to press some pennies, y'all! -Ksumn1

I have an important tip for all of you taking a trip during the fall rainy season. My husband and I went last fall and found that one pair of tennis shoes is not enough. If you get caught in a rainstorm, you might be fine in wet shoes the rest of the day, but when you put them back on later that night, it makes for uncomfortable dancing! Buy and break in that second pair of shoes so you have something to wear around while your wet shoes dry.Christie