Tips about Magic Kingdom and Packing

MAGIC KINGDOM - The girls and I bought some glow in the dark nail polish and painted our nails and a glow stick and painted our faces. It was fun to glow in Haunted Mansion and on Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin. - Beth Ratliff

ALL PARKS - My husband and I pass the time waiting in lines by playing handheld Yahtzee. We take turns setting a score for one another to beat and keep track of who is ahead in wins. When one of us is 10 games ahead, the other person owes the winner a favor. We've been doing this for several vacations and it still helps to pass the time. Next time we plan to get a similar game for our kids. - Pam Lau

ALL PARKS - We all LOVE LOVE LOVE seeing the kids in costume (Belle, Cinderella, etc.). We try to make a big deal about it when we see them dressed up and, truthfully, it is fun seeing them think they have fooled the adults into believing they really *are* the characters they are portraying. If your child is a sticker collector, bring a special book for all the awesome stickers they can get at each of the parks and hotels. Most places have their own special stickers that they give the kids. In the Magic Kingdom there are at least 6 different ones the kids can get (and there are probably many more. The kids all love getting stickers, but by the end of the night most stickers have gotten wet or wrinkled up. Ask the Cast Member for an extra one for the child's book. Chances are they will be *more* than happy to give an extra one, just for the sticker book or for your scrapbook! - Tip from a Magical Magic Kingdom Cast Member

ALL PARKS - For those who have little ones who don't like the "line ride" at the beginning of most attractions or for those who hate waiting in queues themselves, spotting Hidden Mickey's is a wonderful diversion. We made small index card booklets listing all "confirmed" Hidden Mickey's in each park, organized by lands and attractions. They fit easily in a pocket or daypack and can be decorated with character stickers. We took the one for the park(s) we were in each day and looked for HM's in line or checked to see where we could find them once on the ride. An added benefit was getting to meet the numerous other guests who asked what we were reading and pointing at. This decreased the frustration of line-waiting even more. I think we made many other HM fans and also took the opportunity to mention ALL EARS® to them. Hopefully we helped (in a small way) your goal of making the 25,000 subscriber mark! - Gavin Adams

EDITOR'S NOTE:: To learn more about Hidden Mickey's, go to: http://allears.net/btp/hiddenm.htm

We fly from the DC area to Walt Disney World at least once or twice every year, and we pack our "half-boosters/backless-boosters" in a super large hockey bag. We throw the seats in the hockey bag when we get to the airport and check the bag with our luggage. We unpack the bag at the rental minivan and we are on our way! - Joanne Zeidman

Don't count on the weather forecast being accurate for your whole trip. We visited the week before Christmas. Checking the weather the day before we left, it said the high each day would be about 70 and the low about 50 (give or take a degree or two). After we arrived, the temperature was a little cooler than we expected. This wasn't too bad since we had sweatshirts packed for the evenings. The next couple of days, however, it was really cold even in the afternoon. We absolutely froze our tails off after the sun went down! If you're going during the winter, and in particular during the holidays when the parks are open until late in the evening, take long underwear and winter jackets even if it appears you won't need them! Better to have them and not need them than to not be able to enjoy the parks due to the cold! The weather can change in a hurry. - Sandy Tidwell

When packing for each child, I roll up a pair of shorts, a matching shirt, matching socks and underwear, put them into a quart size zip lock baggie and squeeze the air out of it. It takes up very little room, the clothes stay relatively wrinkle-free, and best of all in the morning when we're in a hurry to make the bus the kids just grab a bag. No one has to look for the right shirt or matching socks (as long as the socks match each other i'm happy). - Edith Raible