The book Lois is reading is 'The Boathouse Conspiracy.'
The ventriloquist doll that Hal uses is 'Dennis', a ventriloquist doll that appeared in the TV series 'Goosebumps' (Night of the living dummy II) based on R.L. Stine's novels.
Brooke Anne Smith and Justin Berfield were in a Previous Disney film in (2001), Max Keeble's Big Move.