Today’s tip (or, rather, group of tips) are for parents of small children. Although my husband and I are very grateful to be beyond the days of toting diaper bags and pushing strollers, we remember well the strategies one must employ to navigate Walt Disney World with a toddler. Here are a few of my favorite stroller-related tips:

• Even if you don’t regularly use a stroller, most children will need one at least part of the day up to around the age of 4 or 5. My eldest daughter was still hopping in little sister’s stroller when she was 7 (good thing she’s skinny).
• While the WDW strollers are very comfortable and easy to push, they are rather expensive to rent–around $15/day for a single and $31/day for a double, last time I checked. If you’re driving, bringing your own lightweight stroller is a no-brainer. Even if you fly, it might be worth bringing yours from home. There are also several companies that rent strollers for the length of your stay, with pricing considerably lower than WDW offers. And if transportation is available, a trip to the local Wal-Mart or Target could yield an umbrella-style stroller for around $20-$30. Again, the price of a taxi might ultimately be worth it for the length of your stay. As a fun “pay it forward” move, you could offer your new stroller to an arriving family  with little ones on your departure.
• Always put an identifying item on your stroller. With rental strollers, it’s easy to confuse yours with someone else’s–especially when the “stroller fairies” keep moving those little beauties around the stroller parking area. But even with non-rentals, there will likely be another family nearby that has the same model as yours, so anything you can do to obviously identify yours will be helpful. We typically tied a colorful scarf or bandana on ours.
• Never leave valuables in your stroller unattended. (Do I really need to tell you this?)
• Look for designated stroller parking areas and use them. Don’t think that you can park it anywhere and expect to find it when you return. Let me assure you that it WILL be moved–probably within 2 minutes–to a designated area. As I mentioned, the “stroller fairies” mean business.
• Your stroller usage will vary among Parks. You may not need it at all in the Magic Kingdom if you have a bit older preschoolers. We find that in Fantasyland especially it is more trouble to go back and forth to the parking area than it is to simply forego the stroller. But you will undoubtedly need it in Epcot, as most attractions are spread out on more acreage.
• If you choose to rent a Disney stroller, hold on to your receipt. If you Park Hop,  simply turn in your stroller at one Park and show your receipt at the next to receive your stroller.
• Take a cheap plastic poncho as a rain cover for your stroller. If there’s even a hint of a chance of shower, put the poncho over the stroller before you get in that 60-minute queue, just in case. Trust me on this…you will thank me.

And my youngest daughter’s favorite tip comes in handy for those of us who no longer take along a stroller but still have kiddos that tire out at the end of the night: After the fireworks, it is perfectly acceptable to snag an abandoned rental stroller (there will be dozens) and give your child a ride back to the front entrance. Not only do her little legs get a break, but you’re helping Disney by returning the stroller to the rental area. Win/win!

Can I make a confession? I’m really glad to be out of the “take-a-diaper-bag-and-the-stroller-to-the-Parks” stage with my kids. Touring the Parks is a lot less cumbersome without all the extras a toddler requires. Still, if you’re in that phase of life, you understand that lugging a few extra items can be instrumental in ensuring a happy experience for your family at Walt Disney World.

So, might I recommend one additional item to stuff in your diaper bag? Thursday’s Tip: If you plan to stay at one of the Disney Parks until (or past) your toddler’s bedtime, take his or her PJs along to change into just before boarding transportation to return to your Resort. (Any restroom will do, but the Baby Care Centers in each of the Parks are a great place to do this. You might also considering bringing along a toothbrush or anything else you need for the nighttime ritual.) After a long day, most little ones will nod off when they feel the rhythmic movement of a bus or hear the gentle hum of a boat. It seems a shame to wake up your little pumpkin simply to put on his or her PJs in order to get the child back to sleep. Save yourself the hassle–and possibly a sleepless night–and do it before you leave the Parks. You’ll be glad you did!

This is one of my all-time favorite Disney photos. It’s my youngest daughter, just shy of two years old, on her very first visit. Just hours before, we purchased her very first ears and had her name embroidered on the back. Ah, sweet memories…

Playhouse Disney Live On Stage has closed for good…except that’s not exactly, precisely the story. See, it will re-open in March as Disney Junior. This is, of course, a reflection of the change taking place on the Disney Channel, as Playhouse Disney is being gradually shifted to Disney Junior.

Expect to see some new story lines in this perennial favorite among the preschool set. My guess is that the new Disney Junior show, “Jake and the Neverland Pirates” will play a significant role, since we’ve been seeing ads forit for the last few weeks on Disney Channel. I’m quite certain that Mickey Mouse Clubhouse will also remain. Early reports said that Handy Manny and Little Einsteins would also bet sticking around. (Personally, I would prefer to see these two replaced. I think they’ve seen their heyday. But the Disney marketing team failed to consult me. Hmmph.)

Looking forward to seeing what Disney Junior has to offer!

Both of my girls made their first trip to Walt Disney World before they were fully potty trained. The thought of jumping out of line and running to the nearest restroom every time nature called was unappealing at best (although we did our best to take them quickly to a restroom when possible). Our solution, and today’s Thursday’s Tip: put your child in a pull-up if there’s any doubt he/she can wait five minutes to use the potty.

Even if your child rarely wears pull-ups at home these days, vacations can disrupt your normal potty training routine. And sometimes the wait at the nearest restroom can exceed five minutes. Unless your child deeply objects, you will save yourself much grief by using this safety measure while touring the parks.

I am by no means recommending that you stop potty training and simply give up while on vacation! Instead, I like to think of  pull-ups as a little insurance policy, guaranteeing you won’t spend the day dealing with accidents.

I just came across an excellent guest column at AllEars.net about how old your child should be before you take him/her to Walt Disney World. As a mom whose three-year-old has already been three times, you probably know where I stand on the issue. (She was not quite two on her first trip.)

I love the writer’s take on the whole “Will they remember it?” issue. Um…why should that matter? Most of us don’t remember anything we did in our first few years–does that mean we didn’t do anything? (And, for the record, my three-year-old remembers it quite well, thank you very much. She daily recounts some attraction or event that happened on previous trips…and asks daily when we can return to our “Happy Place.”)

Are there reasons to wait? Absolutely. Do what feels right for your own family. But don’t let someone else’s nay-saying cause you to put off a vacation that your whole family can enjoy right now! You can read the full story here.