Entertaining toddlers while in line

[ladyv]

One of the things I worry about is that DS will get bored/cranky in the ride lines. Any tips? Toys you bring, or activities you do to pass the time? DS is young - he'll be 21 months when we go. So his attention span is short. Thanks for all replies!

 

[MnMomW3Boys]

This is the reason we usually travel during non peak times

I am taking a bag full of goodies for the lines to entertain our 2 year old...if that doesn't work then my cell phone will entertain him a bit, and when that wears off my older boys will do a song and dance for him

 

[Big Kid]

When we took our 18-month old in January (thankfully short lines), the best entertainment we found was to feed him pretzels, then to ask him to give one back. He loved teasing us by pretending to hand one over or even put one into our mouths, then pulling it away at the last instant.

 

[Mouse House Mama]

Bubbles, fingerpaint, sidewalk chalk, a jumprope, some fo those bouncy crazy balls that you get in the supermarket vending machines, ice cream, a toy that plays music loudly (because you want to be able to hear it over the crowd), oh and a sword or lightsaber.
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Sorry but I couldn't help myself. I know those answers are just waiting to pop up here.
I would show your child the pictures on the camera, sing songs like itsy bitsy spider etc., definetly some snacks like pretzels and a drink or a lolipop if you are okay with that, and just talk to the child. Point out all the stuff around you etc. You'll have a great time. You just have to engage the child. When they are bored that's when the cranky starts. Good luck!

 

[jms531]

Bubbles, fingerpaint, sidewalk chalk, a jumprope, some fo those bouncy crazy balls that you get in the supermarket vending machines, ice cream, a toy that plays music loudly (because you want to be able to hear it over the crowd), oh and a sword or lightsaber.
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Sorry but I couldn't help myself. I know those answers are just waiting to pop up here.
I would show your child the pictures on the camera, sing songs like itsy bitsy spider etc., definetly some snacks like pretzels and a drink or a lolipop if you are okay with that, and just talk to the child. Point out all the stuff around you etc. You'll have a great time. You just have to engage the child. When they are bored that's when the cranky starts. Good luck!

I was so confused!! After each suggestion I was thinking no...noo....no!!....NO!!! I was in disbelief haha.

To OP, we just got back from the world taking a VERY active and impatient 23 month old and I have to say it went SOOO much better than expected!! I was hoping we'd make it through Fantasyland (we were there 7 days) and I was also TOTALLY prepared to make it through nothing and spend our days at the resort We were shocked when DD turned into a completely different child then we knew. On the busses she sat and didn't try to get down and run around (like last year 11 months) and after a line or two she understood that we had to wait to see something cool. Not saying she didn't get cranky a time or two but it wasn't a complete meltdown. Here are some things that might help:

1. USE FASTPASS!! You'll most likely be spending most of your time in Magic Kingdom in Fantasyland, which has a few FP lines. Snag a ticket and either go on a ride with a short wait or even let your LO play at Pooh's Spot for a while to tire his legs out so he won't mind waiting in line for a bit!

2. GET THERE EARLY! If you're at the parks at rope drop you can usually get everything in Fantasyland done by lunch-and might even be able to scoot over to Toontown to ride the Barnstormer (also short lines before lunch! This was DD's favorite and we rode it 4 times in a row with no wait!)

3. USE THE THEMING IN LINE TO YOUR ADVANTAGE! Almost every line has something to look at the whole way through-try to show your LO what's around.

4. JUICE & SNACK!! If we knew we were going to be waiting for a little while, we'd fill up DD's sippy cup and pull out the her snack to occupy her time. Juice is very hard to find down there so if that's all your LO will drink other than milk I would HIGHLY suggest shipping some little bottles to your room. At about $3 a bottle not to mention the hunt to find somewhere that sold it we were SOOOO wishing we brought our own juice! And as far as the snack goes we bought one of those containers with the top that they squeeze their hand through-it was a lifesaver!! We packed a box of fruity cheerios in our luggage and every morning I'd fill up the snack cup. I never felt guilty if she snacked the whole way through the line b/c at one cheerio a pop, it wasn't really adding up to much calorie wise but was just keeping her occupied!

And last but not least-RELAX! I think they sense when we're stressed and follow suit...which led to MY meltdown one day in Epcot A moment I'm not proud of but will go down in our Disney history!

Have a good trip-even with the added work the memories can't be beat when they're this age

 

[Fall1]

This is a great thread for tips...thanks OP!!

 

[kwitcherkicken99]

My almost 3 yr old has a kid-proof camera (VTech - great investment). It has games on it that my son played while we were in line. It worked like a charm for Barnstormer and Winnie-the-Pooh. He passed out (from exhaustion) in line for Dumbo, so that was a fun way to kill an hour.

 

[Perditamarie]

Bubbles, fingerpaint, sidewalk chalk, a jumprope, some fo those bouncy crazy balls that you get in the supermarket vending machines, ice cream, a toy that plays music loudly (because you want to be able to hear it over the crowd), oh and a sword or lightsaber.
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Hahahahaha....you got me too! My jaw was on the floor!

We did snacks/drinks, but mostly talked about what we just did or looked at our pics in the camera.

 

[TKL SHOP]

Bubbles, fingerpaint, sidewalk chalk, a jumprope, some fo those bouncy crazy balls that you get in the supermarket vending machines, ice cream, a toy that plays music loudly (because you want to be able to hear it over the crowd), oh and a sword or lightsaber.
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Lol...that was funny, the only thing I caught on to was, uh how are the going to play bouncy ball in line, they will be knocking people over,...maybe I am one who would bring fingerpaint and chalk, since I didn't even bat an eye at the though...duh! Funny...

 

[RMulieri]

Honestly so many of the lines are themed and have so much to look at.My 4 yr old who hates lines was so busy lookingaround, I didn't need to do anything else. But we do a lot of "I spy" and rhyming games in the car or long rides.

 

[IntercomGroupPage]

We just played each ride by ear, if there was a long line, we avoided it.

Getting there early and Fast Pass helps a lot.

 

[crisi]

I'm going to agree with the "avoid lines as much as possible"

You may be surprised - between Fastpass, arriving at opening, having a touring plan - you really won't need to pull out the magnadoodle.


Word games are helpful - playing "I spy" (I spy with my little eye....something green) works at that age.

 

[pilotwife_02]

Thanks for the suggestions! I will have two toddlers (2 and 3 years old) to occupy. Thankfully my ILs are coming too so we can double team each child.

 

[LauraP22]

I worried way too much about my 24 month old in lines this past September and he wound up being fine. He spent most lines dozing in our arms, looking at all the decorations and people watching. It was super easy

 

[kimberleeJohnston]

Bubbles, fingerpaint, sidewalk chalk, a jumprope, some fo those bouncy crazy balls that you get in the supermarket vending machines, ice cream, a toy that plays music loudly (because you want to be able to hear it over the crowd), oh and a sword or lightsaber.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.


Sorry but I couldn't help myself. I know those answers are just waiting to pop up here.
I would show your child the pictures on the camera, sing songs like itsy bitsy spider etc., definetly some snacks like pretzels and a drink or a lolipop if you are okay with that, and just talk to the child. Point out all the stuff around you etc. You'll have a great time. You just have to engage the child. When they are bored that's when the cranky starts. Good luck!

Hahahaha...so funny! Crazy bouncy balls and sidewalk chalk! lol

 

[leeserw]

Okay, you got me Mouse House Mama - I thought you had lost your mind!

 

[Wrightfamily]

I'm taking my toddler in 9 more days.

 

[Mouse House Mama]

 

[aestapa]

With our youngest, I took my sling (Hotsling) when he was just under 2 and just after he turned 2. It was nice in lines because he was at the same level as DH and myself...and when he got bored, we danced a little. I noticed that he would get frustrated when he couldn't see the fun stuff. I guess if we were standing in line and all we could see was bermuda shorts and skinned knees we'd get restless too!