First Time 5 YO DD To Fly -- Any tips?

[disney longhorn]

Help! I am very nervous about my DD's first time on plane. She will be 5 1/2 when we go to WDW.

How should I prepare and what should I try to anticipate? I have even considered finding a really cheap flight to anywhere for a weekend to take her own just to see if she will get air sick. Any first time experiences to share?

Any advice or tips would be greatly appreciated.

 

[DizChick05]

Ok Ive had much experience so this will help.

1. tell her that sometimes the planes have little tiny bumps and that its really fun!!

2 bring a portable laptop or dvd player so she can watch movies and not even think about it.

3 naptime!! if you take an early flight, she might nap most of the time!! but dont count on it

4 bring a favorite toy from home and it will comfort her

5 bring a pillow and blanket from home

i hope these tips help!!!

also, expect the worst case senario, she gets sick. well what would you do to solve that, go into the bathroom and change her into fresh clothes. tell stewardess what had happend and she will understad because its is a young child and her first time flying. So it doesn't seem so bad after all does it!


I hope your daughter has a magical first time to disney world!!!!

 

[Maggie0507]

Earplanes

My daughter who is in her 20s will NEVER fly without these again.....

 

[disney longhorn]

Ok Ive had much experience so this will help.


also, expect the worst case senario, she gets sick. well what would you do to solve that, go into the bathroom and change her into fresh clothes. tell stewardess what had happend and she will understad because its is a young child and her first time flying. So it doesn't seem so bad after all does it!

Dizchick --

Thanks for the tips

In your experience, do most kids seem to do okay (i.e. no air sickness) or other way around? She has never had any trouble w/riding in the car and we tend to travel quite a bit for extending periods in the car.

I appreciate any feedback.

 

[Montana Disney Fan]

We were very nervous also on our first trip with our 5 yo and 3 yo. Here is what we did and they did awesome:

1. We all had our own backpacks. The kids' had books, snacks, water, games, crayons, etc...

2. We went to the airport and watched the planes land and take off. My wife and I acted very excited when the planes would take off and pretty soon the kids were begging to fly.

3. Know what you're doing. I fly a lot and was in total command during check in, security screening, and boarding. My wife later told me that the kids seemed comforted by the fact that one of us was in command and not confused, frustrated, or nervous.

4. Already mentioned above but the DVD player is a great idea. They cost about $150 now, come with headphones and carrying case, and can be used for many years to come. We borrowed ours but have since purchased one.

5. Finally, the most important tip. Bring a lot of $5 bills. That's the cost of wine, beer, and cocktails on the airplane j/k

I'm sure she won't get sick. Ours never have and they do just fine in a car like your DD does. Don't worry at all. Make it a fun part of the trip that she can enjoy and look forward to. That makes the trip home less sad.

Have fun. Your DD will be just fine.

 

[disney longhorn]

Thanks Montana for the tips.

I thought that I would just try and sneak on the plane a gallon of merlot in our carryon. Maybe I will go ahead and take extra cash in case we run out.

We already have a dvd player we purchased for our travels in the car and it does help to pass the time. Do they have restrictions on its use? We have flown a lot, but that was all pre DD, so I have never really paid attention. I always take a good book to read.

Thanks again for the tips.

 

[PixiePop]

My 5 1/2 yr son just flew for the first time. I also recommend a backpack filled with some of her favorite items and snacks. I also highly recommend getting the children's earplanes to help with take off and landing. Good luck!

 

[jndmommy]

We are flying in August with our soon to be 4 year old dd and 1.10 year old ds. I was wondering whether I should anticipate any problems with their ears popping or bothering them. I already plan on giving them dramamine before we leave, b/c they tend to get car sick on long trips. So I don't want to take any chances. Thank God the flight is just under 3 hours.

 

[ErinInCT]

Some ideas:
- 1st of all, if your child does not get motion sickness then she is most likely not going to get sick! The plane ride is usually smoother then a car ride!
- Your child will take cues from you. If you act nervous, your child will be nervous. So be in control & calm! (This coming from a nervous flier but drugs help a lot!!!)
- My dd is 5 too. When we went last year I bought her a new Polly Pocket (Polly & Rick with beach stuff) which occupied her the WHOLE WAY! If your dd loves Polly Pocket they also have princess ones at the Disney Store which will really get her in the spirit! I brought a margerine tub & all the little pieces fit in there! Of course we lost Polly walking from the plane to the rental car but oh well! She served her purpose in getting us to FL. Hopefully another little girl found her & gave her a nice home! We still have Rick!
- My dd loves to draw & we buy her a little spiral notebook from the dollar store (she calls it her diary!) for her to draw pictures in. I also got princess stickers for her to decorate the pages. She loves using a pen so I let her so I didn't have to deal with crayons or markers.
- DD brought her own backpack (princess) to hold all of her stuff for the trip so you can fit a lot of distractions in there!
- I let dd have a lollipop to suck on as we took off to help with the ear pop thing but she did not seem to have a problem. I also had a straw cup (like a sippy cup but with a straw for older kids) with juice for her to suck if needed on take off & landing! She can also order juice when the drink cart comes around.
- On the way back dd was so tired from vacation that she slept the whole way home! Gotta love that!
- I may consider having dh bring his laptop so dd can watch a movie to kill the 2 hrs but honestly, btwn the Polly Pockets & the spiral notebook, she entertained herself just fine.

Some other tips for you - my dd loved pin trading. We bought cheap ones & traded them for princess ones. She loved EPCOT (I didn't think she would but it ended up being our favorite park). You can buy a passport for her to get stamped at each country. DD loved the kidcot stations & making the mask. We taught her how to say hello & thank you in each country & she loved interacting with the CM's. Plus after the princess breakfast all the princesses go to their respective countries & there was NO ONE around them so we got tons of time to talk & take pics! We got dd a GOH badge (princess one from laughingstore.com) & she loved when the CM's called her by name. She loved doing the penny presses (bring lots of quarters & pennies). We brought glow necklaces from home & she even wore hers during the day which made her feel more comfortable on the "dark" rides and acted as a night light in the room. We rode the monorail & asked to sit up with the pilot & she got a co-pilots license. I probably thought it was cooler then she did but it is still cool to sit up front! Just ask the CM at the monorail.

Hope this helps! Enjoy your trip!

 

[Princesa]

We had a new treat for each one (DS5 and DD3) to entertain them after takeoff. DD3 loves princesses and had never had any polly pocket type ones before. I found these at the Dollar Tree (thank you Budget Board!! ) and she dressed and undressed these all the way to FL! (By the way, I saw these there again just last week--Cindy, Belle, and Ariel) For DS5 we had a Crayola Magic Wonders Workbook. He was very tickled with this as he had never seen these before and he liked guessing what would show up, and showing off his command of the alphabet, etc.

We had fruit chewy snacks on hand for munching at take off and landing (mine don't really chew gum yet, so this worked great for us)

One word of cautiion....don't be too detailed with plane mechanics! Bumps in the air just like we go over bumps in the road is plenty of description....I could have kicked DH for being to descriptive...he almost got DS scared typical science type guy for you

Both my kids loved flying and ask when we can fly again! The couple behind DD3 and I got such a kick out of her shouting WHEEE!!! during take-off. And then just rolled laughing when we landed....DD looked out the window and very indignantly announced...Hey!!! This is NOT Disney World!!!

 

[MelodyMack]

GET THE DVD PLAYER...that's always my #1 tip!!! WE got stuck on the runway for an hour and a half just WAITING to take off oone time and the DVD player saved us! I can't tell you how many parents approached us, one woman with screaming twins even said "I'll give you $100 to rent that for the flight!"

Also, bring lots of snacks that you know your munchkin will like. Handheld games for the yonger kids (leapster, etc.) are a good idea, too. We brought benedryl just in case munchkin needed it, and bubble gum for back up in case her ears popped...we didn't need either luckily.

We worried about ours, and it turned out fine. They get excited about doing something new, so just treat the whole thing like a grand adventure and they'll follow suit probably.

GOOD LUCK!
Mel

 

[merfsko]

The first time we went down, I was 8 and my sister was 6...
We really didn't have big problems- we both chewed gum on the way up.
The worst part of a plane ride taking off and landing: I admit,at 14, I still hate it, and my stomache still chruns (but I've never been good at stuff like this *cough* Tea Cups *cough* Barnstormer *cough*)
Best piece of advice: Have him not look out the window on the way up/down, on the ride there, and f he's fine you're good to go on the reutn trip. If he gets sick or nauseous, you'll know about it on the way back (Have the airsick bag ready)
It probably we'll be a breeze, so Good Luck and tell us how it goes!

 

[disney longhorn]

Some ideas:
- 1st of all, if your child does not get motion sickness then she is most likely not going to get sick! The plane ride is usually smoother then a car ride!
- Your child will take cues from you. If you act nervous, your child will be nervous. So be in control & calm! (This coming from a nervous flier but drugs help a lot!!!)
- My dd is 5 too. When we went last year I bought her a new Polly Pocket (Polly & Rick with beach stuff) which occupied her the WHOLE WAY! If your dd loves Polly Pocket they also have princess ones at the Disney Store which will really get her in the spirit! I brought a margerine tub & all the little pieces fit in there! Of course we lost Polly walking from the plane to the rental car but oh well! She served her purpose in getting us to FL. Hopefully another little girl found her & gave her a nice home! We still have Rick!
- My dd loves to draw & we buy her a little spiral notebook from the dollar store (she calls it her diary!) for her to draw pictures in. I also got princess stickers for her to decorate the pages. She loves using a pen so I let her so I didn't have to deal with crayons or markers.
- DD brought her own backpack (princess) to hold all of her stuff for the trip so you can fit a lot of distractions in there!
- I let dd have a lollipop to suck on as we took off to help with the ear pop thing but she did not seem to have a problem. I also had a straw cup (like a sippy cup but with a straw for older kids) with juice for her to suck if needed on take off & landing! She can also order juice when the drink cart comes around.
- On the way back dd was so tired from vacation that she slept the whole way home! Gotta love that!
- I may consider having dh bring his laptop so dd can watch a movie to kill the 2 hrs but honestly, btwn the Polly Pockets & the spiral notebook, she entertained herself just fine.

Some other tips for you - my dd loved pin trading. We bought cheap ones & traded them for princess ones. She loved EPCOT (I didn't think she would but it ended up being our favorite park). You can buy a passport for her to get stamped at each country. DD loved the kidcot stations & making the mask. We taught her how to say hello & thank you in each country & she loved interacting with the CM's. Plus after the princess breakfast all the princesses go to their respective countries & there was NO ONE around them so we got tons of time to talk & take pics! We got dd a GOH badge (princess one from laughingstore.com) & she loved when the CM's called her by name. She loved doing the penny presses (bring lots of quarters & pennies). We brought glow necklaces from home & she even wore hers during the day which made her feel more comfortable on the "dark" rides and acted as a night light in the room. We rode the monorail & asked to sit up with the pilot & she got a co-pilots license. I probably thought it was cooler then she did but it is still cool to sit up front! Just ask the CM at the monorail.

Hope this helps! Enjoy your trip!

Wow! Thanks for all of the great tips. My DD loves Polly Pockets. They have them in Disney Characters? Do you think I can get them online? Haven't seen anything like it at DisneyDirect.com. Our local Diz Store closed down. Any other ideas where I might find these? What a great surprise for her on the plane--very magical

I hope our DD likes Epcot too. My DH and I love it. It's our favorite place to go, although I am sure we will like MK now that we will be able to enjoy it through DD eyes. I've read a lot about the monorail copilot and am definately going to try to do this.

If you can believe it, we are not leaving until May, but I really like to try and have all of my ducks in a row. Research, research, research.

Again, I appreciate your tips.

 

[disney longhorn]

Thanks for the tips Mel,

You reminded me of an incident that happened to some friends of ours. They were stranded as well and got friendly w/another lady on the same flight. She had two kids. They were delayed over 2 hours and the lady was protesting that she had used up all of her surprises and tricks during the delay--what to do for the actual flight now?

We will most certainly take our portable DVD --with several movies too!!

Thanks again

 

[disney longhorn]

Thanks Princesa for your tips,

I am going to go to the Dollar Store tomorrow and see if I can find any polly pockets--all of you now have me determined to find the princess ones!!

Thanks for all of your help.

 

[Clevera]

---Are we talking motion sickness?

For parents who don't use gum, a smart alternative is gummy candy (bears, worms) for the takeoffs/landings!!! This isn't really for distraction purposes, as it is primarily to ease with the pressure on the ears--that "popping" sensation.

Also don't forget to crank up the air flow located by the lights above your seats !!! Fresh air helps!

If you are on a flight that serves drinks, ginger ale or a clear cola (Sprite/Sierra Mist/Z Up) are good for motion sickness.

Take the barf bag with you as you get off the plane. With kids around that age, it is not during the flight that they get sick! It is most likely after coming to a stop or shortly thereafter (while disboarding).

---Are we talking about keepin' kids busy?

During a recent flight to the World, a mom sat with her child in front of us and brought out a Disney storybook and started reading out loud! This was not at all distracting--everyone around her quieted down to listen, too!

HAVE FUN!!

 

[Hunnybee]

I totally agree with the DVD player. My DH takes along a laptop to play DVDs -- it totally kept my son's attention for most of the flight.

Pre-9/11, I wrapped up lots of little surprises. The opening of them was half the fun! Now, they don't want you to have wrapped presents. But, you could put them in clear, decorated treat bags. I would take along 1 bag of "treats" for the trip down -- in my carry-on. In my checked suitcase, I'd have a bag of things for the return trip. That way we wouldn't accidentally open them all. Remember, treats can be snacks too -- fruit snacks, goldfish crackers, juice boxes, whatever they like.

My kids have both flown since around 15 mos. (DS is now 5 1/2 and has flown 4 times I think -- DD (1) has flown once) and have never gotten sick. One time my DD's ears hurt, but that was it. I bought EarPLanes for DS's first flight and ended up using them for DD a few years later. (I, on the other hand, won't fly without them!) Just be sure to have gum or a sucker for her to suck on/chew for takeoff and landing.

Be sure to have her pack her own carry-on with whatever things will make her happy -- sm. pillow, blanket, stuffed animals, favorite books, games, activities. I figure it's better to have too much stuff than not enough. We ended up packing most of the activities we took along for DS on our WDW trip in our suitcase for the return flight -- he just didn't need a whole lot. He watched a few movies, got a few treats, looked through the plane "magazine" and we were home (2 1/2 hour flight). Now the 2 1/2 hour car trip home from the airport was another thing! Check Disneydirect.com for clearance on luggage. DS has his own rolling backpack that he uses all the time for trips -- it has Pooh on it. We got ours at Target, so if they don't have anything on sale at Disneydirect, check around. Just MAKE SURE it rolls and has a handle to pull! That way she is in charge of her own "luggage". It made DS feel like a million bucks to be pulling his own suitcase around the airport.

I just went to Dollar Tree today and picked up a few things for DD's b-day treat bags (Disney frisbees, sidewalk chalk, flying discs, etc.) I also picked up a few things for DS's treat bag for our flight down to DW next May. I found Phonics and addition/subtraction flashcards. They had many different kinds (time/money, alphabet, etc.) with either Buzz, Pooh, Princess, or Barbie.
I definitely recommend checking there. Ours also had the GeoMag sets with magnetic balls and rods to make all sorts of cool things with. That might be fun to take along too.

When are you going in May? We'll be there the 6th through the 13th (then on to the Wonder for a 4-day cruise -- can't wait!!) celebrating DD's 3rd "Unbirthday". She really won't be 3 until July 22 of 2006, but I'm not doing FL in the middle of the summer. My midwestern blood would probably boil!!!

Have you seen the "Disneyland Fun" video? We rented it after someone recommended it on the boards several years ago before my DS's first trip. It is a great way to be introduced to the characters and some of the rides. It is a Disney sing-along songs video that shows the actual characters interacting with kids at DL. It's from the early 90s I think, but my son still loves to watch it. Now, he can talk about the rides because he went on them -- not just because they were ones he wanted to go on! I've since found a copy at a garage sale and we've practically worn it out!

Have a great time! Maybe we'll see you there!

 

[poohkinandpiglet]

I always give my kids a chewable decongestant (Sudafed) before we fly. It helps so the altitude doesn't bother them. I pack a backpack full of activities and snacks for my 5 and 4 year olds. I include:

Sticker/activity books
white paper/crayons for drawing
cd player with headphones ($10 Wal-mart)
Disney greatest hits CD's (DS age 5 loves this)
stuffed animal or other comfort item
small toys
gum
snacks

 

[scarboroughmom]

Try to buy goodies that don't have alot of small parts to them. They slide off the tray and are impossible to find on the floor. I have also "overpacked" for my kids on the flight. Too much stuff just overwhelms them and they don't enjoy any of it. I found the things that worked best were paper and markers, CD players, a deck of cards to play go-fish, and books for me to read to them. I haven't gotten around to the DVD players, and now Delta has the screens in every seat with the TV shows anyway.

 

[Ahrizel]

Thes best hint I can give you is not to let your nervousness transmit to her. You are nervous about the trip, but is she? If she isn't, approach it as a wonderful fun thing to do. The other posters have given many great ideas about handling the flight itself. My sister and I flew for the first time to WDW at 7 & 8 and had a wonderful time. It didn't occur to us to be nervous. I didn't find out until a few years ago that it was my mother's first flight! Remember for many kids flying is an attraction all by itself, just looking out the window amuses many kids-and still amuses many adults Have a great trip!