Tips about Epcot, Mousecellaneous and Special Needs

Here's a must-have! Take along a "plug-in" air freshener with your favorite scent. Not only does your room smell good, but you have a nice glow of a nightlight to keep from tripping over your suitcases at night. - Judy Shock

Whenever we go on vacation I always bring a power strip to charge all of our electronics (cell phone, camera, DVD player, iPod, etc.) The rooms never have enough outlets and are usually in an akward spot. This helps so much and you never have dead batteries. - Julie Pagano

During our recent family vacation to Walt Disney World, an inexpensive, blow-up travel pillow proved to be a "best buy". We used it as a moisture barrier when sitting on a damp park bench and lawn. My mother-in-law is 5' 2". She rented a scooter, but had to sit forward in order to reach the controls. The travel pillow took up the space between her back and the seat back. It became a seat cushion while sitting on cold, hard cement to watch a parade and the fireworks. It finally cushioned a sleepy head at the end of the day. - Michaela Crandley

This is for brides-to-be who are interested in planning their wedding at Walt Disney World, but who are not into the traditional Disney Wedding Pavilion: be aware that there are unique sites available for your ceremony and reception. When we mentioned to our Disney wedding planner that Animal Kingdom was our favorite theme park, she told us about a wonderful site in Harambe. Our daughter and son-in-law had a truly magical outdoor wedding ceremony in the candlelit Tamu Tamu courtyard with a fabulous dessert reception to follow at Tusker House. - Debbie Gneshin

For anyone who has celiac disease or wheat allergies in general, Tony's Town Square was a treat. Two of my traveling party have celiac disease and the chefs were amazing. So many options for gluten-free, including pasta and special gluten-free, dairy-free meatballs. We all ate like royalty the entire trip and can't wait to go back. - Richelle H.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Just about every table service restaurant at Walt Disney World will try to accommodate guests with special dietary needs.

If you have a personal walker, wheelchair or crutches you are currently using, and you want to rent an electric wheelchair at the theme parks, they will hold your personal devices in the rental area with your name on them, until you return and check your vehicle back in. They also have "courtesy wheelchairs" that you then can use to get to the buses or parking lots. This was good to know, as I was wondering what to do with my mom's walker once we rented an electric scooter. - Amy

Please do not feed the birds. We all know this is wrong, but many an enjoyable Disney lunch is ruined by this. Birds are not supposed to eat popcorn and turkey legs! - Bonnie C.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Disney does post signs to this effect and prints a gentle reminder on its paper napkins, but it bears repeating. It's very unhealthy to feed "people food" to the birds, squirrels and other animals around the parks.

Best Friends Pet Care is now taking online boarding reservations for repeat customers. To read more, go to: http://wdw.bestfriendspetcare.com/news/online-reservations-now-available-repeat-guests - Sheamus Hunt

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.

If you are planning to rent an ECV and have the use of only one hand, make sure you have a conversation about that when making the reservation. My family rented an ECV for my sister, whose right hand is paralyzed, and it never occurred to me to ask for an ambidextrous ECV. The "forward" mechanism was controlled with the right thumb, requiring her to use a digit on the left to PULL the mechanism toward her while steering. By the end of the trip, her left hand was really ragged! The fellow from the rental company suggested renting a motorized wheelchair powered by a joystick next time, but warned that the company doesn't like to rent them to people who don't already know how to maneuver them, as they are difficult to handle. I'll remember that next time. Nonetheless, the ECV made SO much possible for all of us on this trip. It was well worth the investment, operational difficulties notwithstanding. - Susan Barnaby

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

Every day, several cell phones are lost at Walt Disney World. When a phone is lost, you not only lose communications, you also lose the important phone numbers stored in them. Though the wireless companies encourage you to donate your old phones when you upgrade, I suggest that you hang onto one and its charger as a spare and toss them into your suitcase when you pack. Odds are that you'll never need to use it, but should the worst happen while you're visiting the Mouse, you might be able to switch your phone number to the old phone by contacting your carrier. In a couple minutes, you have a working phone again. If you subscribe to some kind of "Backup Assistant", you might also be able to download your contacts to the spare phone. (Note that only someone who is authorized on the account and knows the password can make that change.) It may not be the shiny new Blackberry that you just got, but that old Motorola Razr is better than no phone for that week. - Mike J.

Magic Kingdom - I read about another reader having problems making reservations for the Harmony Barber Shop. I called 407-WDW-PLAY and the cast member helped me immediately, there was no confusion. She also told me that there are some appointments available BEFORE 9 a.m., some days as early as 8:05 a.m. Might give you a head start on your Magic Kingdom day. - Marianne

I've always kept receipts and written records of all our trips to WDW, starting in September 1971. In the '90s when we bought our first computer I put it all in. I can tell you the dates, the resort and room number, room rate, who joined us and the highlights of each of the 62 visits (430 nights) that we have stayed in Disney resorts. I also include highlights of each trip, like meeting Miss America and Bob Hope in the Studios, my wife singing with Bob Jackson in the Cotton Co-op and all the other magical moments we have enjoyed. - Mike Shook