Although my situation was a bit different due to the fact that I had three more adults with me, I went to the World last October with my 8 and 12 year old nephews and my 10 year old niece. Here are some tips:
Make sure you get a medical release signed by a parent for each of the kids in case of emergency.
Have the kids read the book Disney for kids, by kids-it was wonderful!! I had my "charges" read it a couple of months ahead of time and encouraged them to write down the top five things they wanted to do in each park. That way I could plan in advance including their choices.
Have a meeting or two before you even reach Disney...even if it is by email. Let the kids know the rules you have set out ahead of time-for us, we had a "no soda" rule before dinner and bedtimes were always spelled out....This leads me into my next tip-
PLAN,PLAN,PLAN!! I think I went overboard a bit but with kids I'm not sure if there's such a thing. Yes, be flexible but have a plan in place before you even step on Disney ground. I had bedtimes and wake times printed up on a schedule and went over each day the night before. We also had a list of things that each child needed to bring with him/her that day depending on what we were doing: waterpark-bathing suit, camera, snacks, etc. Each child had to check off with an adult (we were lucky to have at least one adult per child and each child got an adult buddy for the day to ride with and be "responsible" for!) before we left our rooms.
Take LOTS of pictures!!!! I know you know this already but this is such a precious time with your nephew(s)and niece(s) especially if you don't have kids of your own. I spent so much time with my oldest nephew especially (did an E-night with just him) and it thrills me to remember him at such a vulnerable age being able to act like a kid!
Send an email postcard to Mom/Dad when you are in Epcot.
Definately liked your idea about pointing out who to go to in case of getting lost...this happened to us with my 8 yr. old nephew after we got of the POC!! Scared me to death!! We stopped in a store and he kept going to the next ride! Luckily, when he found himself without his party, he walked up to a CM and told them he was lost and was just on a boat ride with pirates!
Make sure you keep track of Passes especially with the Fastpass-kids can lose them very easily.
(Another story...)
Have a wonderful time!! IVY
