Keeping kids busy on plane and lines...

[DanaMark3boys]

Hi! My kids are 8,6 and 1. I am looking for some small things to keep them busy. I'm sure there is a thread somewhere but I did a search and couldn't find it.
Anyone have an ideas?
What do you bring along to entertain your kiddies?
Thank you!!

 

[Pesky]

Here's a recent link and I'm sure there is a bigger thread elsewhere:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=47867889#post47867889

Re line, searching for hidden Mickeys, planning your next ride, talking about your favorite parts of the day, etc. Some folks hand over iPhones, etc. for playing in line.

 

[Spunky946]

We use Ipads/ kindles and books for the plane ride and for the lines, we just talk and look at the stuff in lines. We generally use fast pass or don't get in lines that are more then 25 minutes or so.

 

[SA mom]

One thing that kept our girls busy was a mini barrel full of monkeys game. The barrel was about 2 inches tall and the monkey were about 1/2" in width. Those monkeys played all over WDW.

Other items: string (my daughters always have a piece of string in their pocket) and little pads of paper and pencils/pens.

We also write postcards while waiting in lines.

 

[monorailsilver]

Movies! That did keep them the best entertained.

But since I was always stuck with the youngest one I didn't get to enjoy the movie like my dh did...sigh...

Anyways, I use dum dum lollpops, gummy candy that I break even smaller. Yes lots of candy it keeps them quiet!

They have used their ds's in the past as well.

The activity books for the older ones. I think I even had one for my younger one. Either the pen uses water & they 'color' the page or the pens (marker) that colors the correct answer (can't remember what they are called).

I am not a fan of crayons/markers in general but I do bring them but I hold the box & give one out at a time & make the child hand me back the one they just used. They roll to easy.

I will say by the time does go by quickly (assuming it is an under 3 hour flight).

By the time you are allowed to put your tray down they are done looking out the window. And then the beverage cart comes out & they have just a short time to do other things (I am thinking the younger/toddler/baby age).

We also go thru SkyMall & play ispy.

 

[hardrocker1]

As for the plane, my boys both have I devices and we also have Kindles, our flight is only 2 hours and the only one I'm worried about is my 5 y.o. but I think his Ipod touch will hopefully do the trick.

As for lines, this is going to sound totally off the wall, but I wait in a lot of lines that aren't theme parks, banks, restaurants, etc....and my 5 year old is getting more mature now and gets embarrassed, but this is what worked when he was 4 and younger: I would ask him if he could hop on one foot, then I would do it too, we would see who could hop the longest, then we jumped rope in place and tried to outdo each other, then we played 'copycat' where I would do something like a jumping jack and he had to copy me, then I might football feet in place while blinking my eyes really fast, crazy things like that. He loved it and I'm sure it was entertaining for those around us, lol. One time at a fast food place, other kids joined in. Good to get the energy out and distracting from long waits too.

Blessings, Michelle

 

[Cynt]

As for the plane, my boys both have I devices and we also have Kindles, our flight is only 2 hours and the only one I'm worried about is my 5 y.o. but I think his Ipod touch will hopefully do the trick.

As for lines, this is going to sound totally off the wall, but I wait in a lot of lines that aren't theme parks, banks, restaurants, etc....and my 5 year old is getting more mature now and gets embarrassed, but this is what worked when he was 4 and younger: I would ask him if he could hop on one foot, then I would do it too, we would see who could hop the longest, then we jumped rope in place and tried to outdo each other, then we played 'copycat' where I would do something like a jumping jack and he had to copy me, then I might football feet in place while blinking my eyes really fast, crazy things like that. He loved it and I'm sure it was entertaining for those around us, lol. One time at a fast food place, other kids joined in. Good to get the energy out and distracting from long waits too.

Blessings, Michelle

Excellent idea Michelle. I have a super hyper nephew. He's all BOY and has to be moving, touching at all times. Never sits still. I think this will do the trick. Thanks.

 

[2binak]

For the plane: triangle crayons (they don't roll!), NEW coloring or activity books, bendaroos and a few new small toys. Movies for the older kids too. Be sure to bring things out one at a time so the kids don't get bored with everything at once and save some things for the flight home.

In line for the older kids: talk about what you've done, what they & you want to do next. If you have a smartphone, download a parks app and look through that with the kids.

In line for the 1 yr old: a few new small toys, small books & some snacks.

 

[vming]

Bendaroos, they make "people" who they take pictures of propped against locations (like flat stanley)with their ipod cameras and post to instagram, my older ones like playing cards games like 21, chinese jump rope for cats cradle, making lanyards. good luck!

 

[sb682]

DS3 looks forward to watching DVDs on plane/car trips, but he also does those Magic Pen coloring pads (usually sold in airport gift shops, I saw some at CVS the other day, and also at AC Moore), Color Wonder, and his toy cars and trains.

We went on EasyWDW's recommended park days and followed his touring plans. This was the off season, but we never waited more than 15 minutes for anything. And kids can be surprisingly patient when waiting for rides. DS never complained, and my younger brother (who is severely autistic) would gladly wait 30-45 minutes in the summer for a ride, but he gets antsy waiting more than 3-5 minutes anywhere else.

 

[stormer]

We bought the Hidden Mickey app for our last trip. My kids loved using it while we waited on lines or sat down to eat. They would check out all of the HM in the area. The app has a spot to check off all of the ones you find too.

 

[Timandalicia]

Hi! My kids are 8,6 and 1. I am looking for some small things to keep them busy. I'm sure there is a thread somewhere but I did a search and couldn't find it.
Anyone have an ideas?
What do you bring along to entertain your kiddies?
Thank you!!

Of course iPods. But what else? Food. Heck, I bring my kids hungry to Target and give them a bag of snacks. Also, do a google search for summer camp games. There are tons of them that don't require any materials or even movement. There is this counting game where the whole family has to count to 10, each taking a turn in random order, saying only one number, and if you say a number at the same time as someone else, you have to start over. We laugh our heads off. Looking up these games was the best thing we could have ever done for lines, and it keeps our family interactive in this age of Angry Birds.

 

[Christen99]

We are flying a red eye from CA with a two hour layover thrown for fun. My youngest (8) has only flown a few times as an infant, so doesn't remember it, and my oldest did a lot of flying until the youngest came along when he was 5.

The have done some really long car trips though, so they're used to longer travel which I hope will have helped. I hope lol.

For my youngest, I load his Nook with some new books because he is a voracious reader. I also get him a couple of quiet activities, such as a Lego Minifigure sticker book, Sudoku, crossword puzzles, etc. I also keep some snacks and gum on hand as well. He does have an iPad, but only uses is for 20 minutes per day so it's a huge novelty. I load movies on it, and there are educational apps on it, so he may watch a movie at some point. I think the plane will be a novelty, but I'm hoping the white noise will put the boy to sleep. Probably not, but I can hope!

This trip is a surprise, and today I bought a couple of copies of the Ultimate Disney Guide and a Hidden Mickey book to read as well.

 

[Lisa71]

Lots of new things to look at and play with and we take a red eye of we can so sleep can be an activity too!

 

[dragonfly08]

When my kids were little, for the plane I'd bring a few books, some crayons and a coloring book, and some small toys (mostly new stuff I picked up at the $1 area in Target). Now that they're a little older (6 and 9) I hand them an empty backpack and they're in charge of packing their own carry on. That way they have things they want (and I'll stash one or two tiny things in my bag as emergency back up!).

On line, we play I Spy, talk about the ride, talk about what we want to do later in the day, look for hidden Mickeys, etc. When they were stroller age I might have a small toy or two in my bag along with a few healthy snacks but these days they're old enough to do without, IMO.

 

[ryalluvdiz]

We fly from vegas so its a long 4.5 hour flight. When my boys were little I brought those tiny tubs of play-doh. It kept them occupied for a while.

 

[Mewissy]

Another idea for waiting in line is pipe cleaners. Kids can bend them into many different shapes. Plus, they are light weight and don't take up much space.

 

[aliceg]

I made a "Keychain of Fun" that I carried with me when we went to WDW last September for impatient moments with my children. It worked so well on vacation, it has become a permanent fixture in my purse. It has 5-7 different ridiculous keychains, like a Rubik's cube, a rollerskate, a mini Crocodile Dentist game, a mini pack of playing cards, a light-up turtle, etc., that I pass to my children if I can sense a boredom meltdown stewing. I rotate the keychains frequently to keep them fresh.

Of course, my kids are much younger than your older ones, but it may work for yours, too.

 

[mm1971]

Hi! My kids are 8,6 and 1. I am looking for some small things to keep them busy. I'm sure there is a thread somewhere but I did a search and couldn't find it.
Anyone have an ideas?
What do you bring along to entertain your kiddies?
Thank you!!

We download a couple of movies onto the Ipad (with headphones) for the plane ride and they also get to listen to music. We bring a few activity books/drawing pads and they always did well.

In line, we always just looked for hidden Mickeys or played small silly finding games to keep them occupied. When we first started going, we would have them point out something different int he theming of each ride and talk about it. Worked pretty well. If the line is really long, we may give them to=he Iphone to play on.

 

[Jodygirl]

I made a "Keychain of Fun" that I carried with me when we went to WDW last September for impatient moments with my children. It worked so well on vacation, it has become a permanent fixture in my purse. It has 5-7 different ridiculous keychains, like a Rubik's cube, a rollerskate, a mini Crocodile Dentist game, a mini pack of playing cards, a light-up turtle, etc., that I pass to my children if I can sense a boredom meltdown stewing. I rotate the keychains frequently to keep them fresh.

Of course, my kids are much younger than your older ones, but it may work for yours, too.

This is an awesome idea! I think I will have to look for some of these before we go in three weeks. Can I ask where you bought some of them at?