Tangerine Suites - Orlando Vacation Homes

My 10-year-old daughter and I just returned from a wonderful 10-day trip to Florida. We spent eight days in the theme parks. Before the trip I bought a nice wheeled backpack, equipped with rollerblade wheels, which are much quieter than the cheap plastic wheels. I attached a hook to a piece of fabric and let it dangle from the strap of my belt bag. When we were walking through the parks, I just attached the hook to the handle of the backpack. The backpack trailed after me everywhere we went. It was perfect!! My hands were free, yet I still had access to our jackets and ponchos for when things got cold or wet. Several Cast Members commented on this ingenious contraption. I'm surprised more people don't do that. Backpacks can get heavy on your back. I didn't even notice this one rolling behind me. When it was time to get on rides, I just unhooked it, pushed down the handle, and got on. I'll never go to Disney World again without my "backpack trailer."

When you get a FASTPASS, pay attention to the times on the ticket. Disney is apparently experimenting here. On a recent trip, FASTPASSES obtained at both the Jungle Cruise and Haunted Mansion stated that another ticket would be available five minutes later. FASTPASSES obtained at more popular rides still abided by old rules; e.g. the next FASTPASS would be available at the time the return window for the current FASTPASS opened. Also, the two-hour maximum wait time before obtaining another FASTPASS has, at least in some cases, been relaxed to just one hour.

For those following the "10,000 Steps" type program, I averaged 22,000 steps per day during a four-day stay last week, visiting each park. No wonder we were exhausted!

I read your review of Pal Mickey and the problem of him falling off the clip. On my trip last week to WDW my son and I purchased a Pal Mickey, and yes, it did keep falling off the clip -- very annoying. However, my son came up with a great idea. He took one of the black twisty ties that came with the box and used it to tie Mickey to the clip, thus we never had any more problems with Mickey falling off the clip again during our trip. You can put the tie on and tuck it under and it does not even show. This really solved the problem for us. Hope this helps someone else. We liked Pal Mickey and it seems that a lot of people were using him.

While wandering around Walt Disney World, I like to carry a small plastic tube for paper souvenirs. I use a plastic tennis ball container that has a lid -- other similar tubes will work well. This allows me to store maps, menus, napkins and any other paper items without them being crushed, wrinkled or soaked. I just put them under a few heavy books when I get home.

We had a fantastic time on our Disney vacation, but I am sure many others did not -- especially those folks who thought that noon was a good time to arrive at the Magic Kingdom. Remember my Golden Rule of Disney: always be at the entrance gate when the park opens. We took advantage of the one hour early park opening every day (Extra Magic Hour), and were finished with all major attractions and back at the hotel by 1 p.m. We'd spend a nice afternoon poolside and then return in the evening for a Priority Seating dinner and the show/parade. We did not use Fastpass once, and never stood in a line for more than 20 minutes, except for that misbehaving Test Track at Epcot.