Back from WDW & Transportation Cards

Well, I'm back from a three week summer vacation. We spent our first week down at Walt Disney World and then on to Siesta Beach for a week. After that, we headed up through Alabama, Mississippi, and Arkansas to land in Oklahoma for a few days to visit family. Then, we headed on over to a small town in Missouri near Joplin for a few days before heading back home. It was quite a vacation, but, it is good to be back home. And, now that I've had a week to rest after driving over 3300 miles all by myself, it is time for me to get back to blogging.

One of the things I really like to do at WDW is to pick up a lot of ephemera. Sure, I save the normal items like guide maps, room keys, and receipts. We take plenty of family pictures. But, what I also like is to pick up other items that most people don't think about saving, or better yet, don't even know is available for free at Disney. So, over the next few weeks, I'll be sprinkling in posts of some of the items I picked up while on vacation and hopefully give you some ideas and tips for your next vist to The World.

So, to get this started, we'll start with a neat souvenir that you can get pretty much as soon as you get to WDW. The item is a series of cards known as the Official Walt Disney World Transporation Collector Cards. I did a post on these cards on my previous blog, Destination: Disney, and, for convenience, I am reposting that blog entry below.

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From the September 6, 2009 Destination: Disney blog entry:


One of my recent favorite Disneyphemera items is the Official Walt Disney World Transportation Collector Card series. There are 18 cards total in this series covering the three WDW modes of transportation. The breakdown includes 12 monorail and three each of the boats and buses. These cards are fantastic looking by any standard. Bright, colorful, detailed, and educational. Each card has a beautiful illustration of a different WDW vehicle. And, it doesn't stop there. Each illustration also has a hidden Mickey! Go ahead, click on the images and see if you can find them.

Accompanying the vehicle is a different Disney character ranging from animation shorts to features to Pixar and even to our favorite Epcot character. The back of the each card has a trivia question relating to the Disney character as well as three facts about the particular mode of transportation. This is just a fantastic series.


Now, for the really good news. These cards are absolutely free. This is a great way to get your kids involved in the Disney magic early in the day before you venture to a park. All you have to do is politely ask one of the transportation cast members if they have any of the transportation cards. This also offers a great opportunity to strike up a conversation with the bus driver, boat captain, or monorail driver to find out more about the vehicles, WDW, and even about them and their job. This has become one of those magical moments for our kids. They love asking for the cards and get excited about seeing if they get a new one to complete their collection. In fact, it is very common for the cast member to give out one of each type they have to the kids. But, you better do this early in the morning as these cards usually go
fast. Happy collecting!