Any tips for occupying a toddler on ride lines?

[jacksmommy]

We've never had to do this type of waiting with my DS before so I am looking for some good ideas for ride lines next week. I was thinking stickers, bubbles, playdoh,,, that's all I've got!

[dawnn12]

if you have a acmoore or michaels craft store near you they have these book that you can color with water (and it gives you the brush..fill up at a water fountain)and when it dries he can do it again ...the books i have for my kids have at least five different pics in them what kid doesnt like to play with water and if he gets it on him it will dry and not be a mess

[RMulieri]

I say no to bubbles.they can stain on clothing and other people in line do not like it.i had 4 kids behind me blowing bubbles non stop for 30 mins.My hair was wet,my clothes wet (and stained) .we have played I spy, pipe cleaners to bend into shapes,Guessing games.

[brekin67]

We take colored pipe cleaners. The kids enjoy making things out of them, and they are easy to transport.

[camdensmom]

I buy flash cards at the dollar store and punch a hole in the top. I then use a metal clip to attach them together, but you could tie them with string. Just helps to avoid 52 pickup.

They also sell small etch-a-sketches and mini magna doodles.

[mickey&arielsmom]

I brought Dum Dum suckers and Smarties. My youngest has a sweet tooth. :)
We also told Disney stories waiting in line. Their favorite is the story of Brer Bear, Brer Fox, and Brer Rabbit. They also like hearing Cinderella, Snow White, etc.

[Villainess]

We play I spy and usually the lines have things to keep them entertained. I also ask questions about what we have already done that day or trip and what we will be doing.

[missiebland]

They have hand held coloring books with large sized crayons attached. Easy to pop in my purse and pull out at restaurants in the car...etc. My daughter is 3 and likes dolls and such. I tend to pack a diff lil figure in my purse each day. She plays with these while waiting.princess:

[Mom23Disneybelievers]

We used any waiting time to take a snack and water break. Granola bars, raisins, pretzels.
I spy...my kids never get tired of it.

[tiggerx3]

We pack snacks and give them to our DD in long lines. But, we do a lot of talking in line about the rides we were on earlier and what we want to do next. There's a lot to look at in lines too. We'll point out different things on the walls or ask our DD to look for a certain characters or items themed to the ride. We even talk to kids in front or back of us.
Being as you're going before presidents week, you may not have too long of a wait in line. JMO.

[kimmylaj]

subscribe to tour guide mike, get there early and skip most of the lines. i always thought i was a fairly good tourer but seriously with tgm we never waited more than 10 minutes and usually less. it is worth it just for the least crowded park days. i hate to sound like an ad but i wouldnt think of going without subscribing ever again

[verlee]

I think you may have less trouble with this then you think. I have a very active ds3. He has very little patience. But, in Disney he did just fine.
Why??????

I think because there is always something to look at and watch. The lines are very themed. Also, he knew we were in a line for something he wanted to do. I explained to him that if we left the line, we would not be able to do what he wanted i.e. meet winne the pooh or ride Buzz light year. I did have suckers/snacks and we told some stories. However, I was suprised how little I needed to distract him. [A little disclaimer: we did not get into lines with waits over 30 min. If we did not have a fast pass and there was a long line, we did not go on that ride. We tried to get to the parks as early as possible and do all the essential rides and get fast passes. The rest of the day was open for what ever we could do without much wait.]

I even think waiting in line in WDW was a good learning experience for him. We were in the grocery store and he said "We have to wait our turn, it's not our turn yet". He never said that before we went to disney! :faint: Thanks for teaching my son patience disney!!:lmao:

[sandiegosusie]

I always buy a new Disney Pez with refills. They have them at the .99 cents store right now where I live. Every character! My kids love these because they don't get them anywhere else but Disney.

[princess&her4princes]

Snacks and Fastpass!!!!:thumbsup2

[natnelliesmom]

I found that carrying junk around to entertain my kids with was a hassle! Just try to find that little action figure when your kid dropped it several people back in line!!!
We just try to use fast pass carefully and try to avoid the longer lines.
My DDs are very good at making friends with the other kids in line though. There would often be a little group of kids from the groups waiting around us, that would gather and chat or play little games together.
We tend to be friendly people- so our kids are not nervous about talking to other little kids.
It's amazing how fast they get used to waiting in lines too! The first few are tough but then they realize that once the wait ends there is something great to do!
It's not that bad.
-Sarah

[natnelliesmom]

I say no to bubbles.they can stain on clothing and other people in line do not like it.i had 4 kids behind me blowing bubbles non stop for 30 mins.My hair was wet,my clothes wet (and stained) .we have played I spy, pipe cleaners to bend into shapes,Guessing games.

I totally agree! Bubbles are a BAD idea! Next thing you know your kid- or others are chasing the bubbles out of the line and down the street!
Not to mention all the people you'll annoy around you.
-Sarah

[NMMickeymom]

My kids always liked looking through the pictures we took earlier on the camera. Also gave me a chance to do a quick sort. When we have the video camera, we would also play back things we had seen earlier in the trip. You can also take silly pictures and giggle about them in line. :laughing: (As long as the battery is fully charged!). In general, engaging the kids (however you do it) and not expecting them to just stand patiently works wonders!! :yay: I would agree that planning is very important. We skip Dumbo if it is too busy, fast pass Peter Pan, etc..... Small World and People Mover were favorites when DD's were young as they rarely have lines. At 5 and 7 they still talk about liking the people mover:confused3 !! Enjoy! Toddlers can add such "wonderment" to a Disney Vacation. pixiedust:

[RoadTripFanatic]

Please do not bring bubbles. I love bubbles but I do not want anyone blowing bubbles on me while I stand in line. Plus chances are they will spill the entire container the first time you get them out. If your really unlucky they will spill them on the people standing in line or on themselves. It's not good. Playdough is no a good idea either. They have no where to work with it. If you put it on the ground it's going to get nasty really quick.

Be sure to carry small easy to put up quickly toys. The mini-magnadoodles and etchisketch? mentioned earlier are great ideas! So are colored pipe cleaners. I would vote for color wonder markers and small books. These are great! There is no mess and they are easy to transport. I honestly don't think you will need tons of stuff. You don't want to carry a lot of stuff while you are in the park. One thing I found that was great was to buy a journal and a pen for them to color with while in line. In fact DD started making "autographs" in her autograph book to keep her occupied. It worked great.

[aubriee]

We've never had to do this type of waiting with my DS before so I am looking for some good ideas for ride lines next week. I was thinking stickers, bubbles, playdoh,,, that's all I've got!

Stickers would be fine, but please do not bring bubbles or playdoh. Some people are allergic to that bubble mixture, plus they get all over everyone around them making their clothes stained and sticky. They also land on people's glasses and camera lenses and I assure they would not appreciate it. There is also the fact that your kid and others kids may try to chase them, running into other people.

How about small bags of snacks, pipe cleaners, little story books, etc?

[LADYnTRAMP]

I'm planning on bringing my plain old red viewmaster and a few Disney reels in my backpack for our grandkids to look at while we're all waiting in line. It's pretty lightweight and a few reels is nothing to pack. I'm not carrying alot in my backpack so I don't think it should be a problem. Ofcourse, you have to have enough light in line to be able to see and enjoy the pictures. I thought of this idea recently and ran it past a few other people who thought it was a good idea too.

[everylastbreath]

Walk really slow... found that as long as my GS (3) was moving he was fine, so we just walked slow and the line kept moving so we took very small steps.

[3girls4me05]

I echo others that the waits were minimal with planning and there was lots of look at. We did have a princess play cell phone that was a great distraction in line. We would pretend the character from the ride was calling them and telling them about the fun they were to have on the ride.

[jpkkld]

Great ideas here! How about postcards? Bring 1 or 2 each day, with a small sheet of stickers and make a postcard for Grandma or a cousin or a neighbor. Just a hi, we're in line for x, having a great time! and stickers. Or bring a mini box of crayons and have your ds draw a picture. And bring preprinted address labels so you don't have to bring an address book.

[Keegansmommy]

I agree snacks and fastpasses. There were also 3 adults so if it was a long line (especially for characters), one person waited in line until it was almost our turn.

[Disneymom2266]

We've never had to do this type of waiting with my DS before so I am looking for some good ideas for ride lines next week. I was thinking stickers, bubbles, playdoh,,, that's all I've got!

color wonder books by Crayola. It only writes on the" Magic" paper. Or a small size etch a sketch.

[katyjeka]

Your ds will probably be surrounded by other little ones, and that will be all the entertainment he'll need. Its such a magical place with small kids, that I bet you'll find he even enjoys waiting in line, really. I agree with the above poster, fastpass, arrive early, and do a lot of planning, you'll then have little waits. Have a super time.