Walt Disney World is a magical place, but it isn't always a technical wonderland. Here's more on that and other tech notes from a two-week vacation to Orlando, where I grew up, with a four-day side trip to Disney World, where I once worked in my teens.

An iPod Touch is only as good as the available Wi-Fi. I know I went the cheaper route when going for an iPod Touch, which relies solely on Wi-Fi for wireless connectivity instead of the 3G mobile connection of an iPhone (which also has Wi-Fi). Still, I was surprised to find that Walt Disney World doesn't have Wi-Fi in its theme parks and only paid access in common areas of its high-end resorts and at Wide World of Sports. This is a problem if you want to use apps, many of which rely on Internet connectivity. So I left the iPod Touch in my family's room at a Disney value resort. (I later found out that there are a few hidden spots with free Wi-Fi in three of Disney's parks, probably bleed-over from an office.)

There are some cool Disney World apps. For iPhone users, "WDW Wait Times" is a handy user-generated app that lists the wait times for rides. Visitors simply update their iPhones as they pass the wait-time signs for popular rides such as EPCOT's Soarin' and Animal Kingdom's Expedition: Everest, and others who have the app benefit. Because "WDW Wait Times" relies on user input, its maker says it will always be free. Also handy was "WDW Dining," a 99-cent app that lists what's on the menu at Disney World restaurants and can be used off-line -- and thus was accessible to me back at the hotel.

Mickey wants you. While Disney is low-tech on Wi-Fi, it's totally high-tech on gate entry. A cynic would note that it's because money's at stake, over counterfeit tickets and unauthorized transfers. For the past three years, Disney theme parks have scanned visitors' fingerprints to match up with their tickets. It works, too. When my wife inadvertently scanned the wrong fingertip on a return visit, the automated system refused to admit her until she switched to the originally cataloged digit, even though she had her valid ticket ID card.

Your future awaits. While riding Spaceship Earth, the huge silver globe that greets visitors at EPCOT, your photo is casually taken. At the end of the ride, which takes you on a journey through communications history, you're asked several questions. You're then shown an animated video of your future with your face superimposed on a cartoon body. It's a hoot.

The best part, though, is that once you exit the ride, you can use adjoining computers to e-mail the video to yourself. Cool!

The Charge4All mat works like a charm. I wrote a month ago about this $40 gadget (www.charge4all.net, 1-800-323-9688), which recharges up to four electronic devices at once using one electrical outlet. It's a real boon when you need to recharge an iPod, cell phone, game system and more in a hotel room, where open outlets are in short supply.

"Scrabble" for the Nintendo DS is frustratingly addictive. I brought a few books, some magazines, an iPod with music and videos, and two game systems with a few dozen games on my vacation. Yet I spent most of my down time playing Electronic Arts' official video-game version of the classic board game for Nintendo's handheld system. The challenge on the expert level is unreal. In fact, I swear the computer cheats. And as I stared at a rack with five Es, I was disappointed to find out that our family's tradition of freely turning in three tiles of the same letter was not an official rule. I couldn't put it down.

Randy A. Salas • 612-673-4542