Tips about Kids and Packing

One of the things we always bring is a folding stepstool for the room that fits nicely in our luggage. Great for the little guys to use the toilet, wash hands and brush teeth without Mom and Dad's help. Also serves as a time-out chair when necessary. Yes, the resort may have some available for guests, but I don't want to be the 100th person asking and find they are already all loaned out. - Melanie Drake

My daughter brings all her old Disney stuffed animals with us and arranges them in the window of our room. This year I bought some battery-powered, multicolored lights (the ones used for a jack-o'-lanterns) to accentuate the stuffed animals. It was so fun to see. - Michelle

When our daughter, Megan, was small, she loved receiving Mickey Mouse stickers from cast members in the parks. When she was 5, we bought her some brightly colored sticker sheets of her own: love hearts, flowers and smiley faces. Every time she received a sticker, or any sort of attention from a cast member, she gave them a sticker in return. They loved it, and so did she! By the time our holiday was finished, she was giving out stickers to most of the cast members she met. It was so lovely, for us and for her, to see their faces light up, and she got lots of attention from cast members in return. - Alison

Start saving all your and your kids' old clothes -- the ones that are stained or a little torn, clothes that you don't wear any more or don't let your kids wear to school. Rather than discarding them, keep these clothes. For your trip to The World, take these clothes -- especially for the children. No one cares or pays attention to what you wear in the parks, and that way you won't have to stress out when eating meals or snacks. Spill away! Stain away! No being careful! When you get back to the room, throw that tee shirt or pair of shorts away. When you get home: Hurray! No laundry to do! - Andrea Fisher

Start saving all your and your kids' old clothes -- the ones that are stained or a little torn, clothes that you don't wear any more or don't let your kids wear to school. Rather than discarding them, keep these clothes. For your trip to The World, take these clothes -- especially for the children. No one cares or pays attention to what you wear in the parks, and that way you won't have to stress out when eating meals or snacks. Spill away! Stain away! No being careful! When you get back to the room, throw that tee shirt or pair of shorts away. When you get home: Hurray! No laundry to do! - Andrea Fisher

We aren't really big soda drinkers, so the refillable mugs aren't a good investment for us. However, we do like our morning coffee. I found disposable coffee cups with lids at the local dollar store. We make coffee in our room, take it with us on the way to the parks, then throw the cups away when we are finished. It's super-cheap and we aren't carrying around a cup all day! - Laura Briggs

My suggestion for those who wish to travel light when going through the parks is to pick dual-function clothing. For instance, you can get by without a bag in some cases by wearing cargo pants or shorts. Keeping small things in the pockets like sunglasses, small cameras, handkerchiefs for those hot days. Also if traveling with small children see if you can get by with a small child-size backpack with just the essentials: diapers, wet wipes, small snacks, one sippy cup, one change of clothes in a zipper-top bag. It is even better if you can attach it or hang it to a collapsible umbrella stroller. These cheaper options will give you peace of mind that if these items in the kids' small bags disappear while on a ride it is no big loss, as your important items are on your person in cargo pockets. Think with the minimalist approach and I'm sure the trip will be more enjoyable. - Josh Prouty

A tip for UK visitors: In shops, kids struggle to work out the cost of something in British pounds, as they have to add the sales tax and then do the currency conversion. When ours were younger I made little conversion charts with the GBP equivalent (with sales tax added) of up to $20. As long as they can add up, they can then work out what things are going to cost from their spending allowance without having to ask Mum or Dad all the time. - Juli Williamson

Magic Kingdom - A not-well-publicized event that is fun to see for the little kids (and those kids at heart such as myself) is the opening ceremony at the Magic Kingdom. It occurs about 10-15 minutes before what Disney refers to as the "rope drop" (the time that they let people through the arches and into the park). The train arrives at the Main Street station above the floral displays with all the characters on board, with Disney music playing. They stop and wave to everyone waiting to enter the park. They let people through the turnstiles into the queue area about 20-30 minutes prior to the park opening. So get there a few minutes early if you want to see it. I believe it is worth seeing. - Mike

If you are taking your own pillow(s) along with you to one of the resorts -- or any hotel for that matter -- put it in a colored pillowcase. I forgot to do this on my last trip to Walt Disney World and left my pillow behind because it was in a white pillowcase like the resort pillows. I contacted the resort when I got home later that day, but they weren't able to locate it, despite the fact that my pillowcase had eyelet trim on it and the pillow was a special feather pillow. - Lisa Cash

For all those folks writing about nightlight options -- Make sure your wall-mounted hair dryer is plugged in! Each room I've ever stayed in, regardless of pixie dust level, has the built-in night light feature. Though, as a retired teacher, I admit that the cyalume sticks (glow sticks) are always fun! - Scott Stuart

I have found that the battery-operated tea lights make great nightlights in hotels where the toilet is in a separate room from the sinks. Often these bathrooms don't have any plugs (the plugs are in the sink area, probably due to safety concerns about electricity and water). For me the tea lights provide just enough light to see to go to the bathroom at night. - Nancy Yetman

Bringing a night light for your room was a recent tip here. We pick up a tube of "swizzle stick"-sized glow sticks at our dollar store. You get about 10 sticks in the tube. Just activate two or three and drop them on the floor close to the walls. You will be surprised how much of a glow they give off. Kids love them and they help take away the scariness of a strange room, while lighting the way to the bathroom! - Brian Phillips

At many of the Disney Resort rooms the drapes don't always come together enough to ensure privacy, especially the ones that are right next to the entrance door or the ones on corner rooms. I always bring along a couple of clothespins to clip them together at night. Then I can use them to hang up wet bathing suits on the line over the tub, too. - Marlene Culver

At any Disney resort, the room at night can get pretty dark. The first time we visited I tried leaving the bathroom light on so my kids could see in the middle of the night if they needed to get up to use the bathroom. But sometimes with the fan that also runs, and the door a crack, it was too loud and too bright. Now I always bring a little night light to plug in right next to the sink area. Just the right amount of light for those who get up to light their way without tripping over suitcases or Mickey hats, and no noise from the bathroom fan to keep me up all night! - Karen P.