How do you make a two year old (barely) wait in lines for rides?

[micheluvscorgis]

Oh goodness. I wasn't so concerned about this until yesterday, which is when we took our family to a crowded Six Flags park (Elitches) for Father's Day. As you can imagine, there were some lines, but since we were in kiddie land the entire time, they were minimal...say, five minutes?

It was awful. Our DS Conrad, who is currently 22 months old, and who will be traveling to DW in November, when he will be just shy of 26 months old, was a nightmare. He would not stay put. There was a lot of running off. Thank goodness my father was there since I was also busy with our three year old DS, Beau, who was fine with the waiting but couldn't be left alone.

I am terrified of what we should do with him. I know there will be times when we'll all be able to go on rides, and he's quite enormous (in the 98% for height and a mere 25% for weight), so he may actually even be 40" tall by the time we have our trip.

Anyway, I need your help. In the case that four months doesn't somehow miraculously turn our little guy into a patient, stay-put, line-waiter , what on Earth do we do with him at DW?

The options I considered were 1.) buying one of those awful harness/leash things I have sworn NEVER to buy, and/or 2.) bringing our Kelty pack (a baby backpack), which he'll hate being in, much like the stroller, but he should mellow out after a little bit.

Any other suggestions are welcome, please!

Thanks so much!

-Michele

 

[FutureDis]

Honestly, we've bought our son a harness just for such a reason. Why do you object to it? My son's safety comes before anything else, and if that is what it takes to get the job done, then so be it. We've taught him to hold our hands when we walk, and he does a good job of that, but I know when he sees something and gets excited he tries to slip the hand. Fine in a situation when he runs a few steps and I can get him, but if he slips under a rail while we are in line and I can't get to him easily? I'd die if I lost sight of him at Disney like that. He's 2, and telling him to stop and come back just sometimes gets a look over his shoulder as he laughs... Be safe, not sorry. Anyone who has had a young child in that situation will understand.

Having said that, we bought a harness that looks like a stuffed monkey that he wears on his back. He picked it out and loves it. He asks to wear it around the house. We've not "gone out" with it yet, but I don't forsee any problems.

 

[MSSANDRA]

I think the harness may be more helpful in the open park than in line where he is sorta blocked in but if it helps make waiting in line a better experence too then by all means go for it.

Other ideas:
Lines at WDW are much more interesting that most theme parks. Find things to look at and talk about as you are passing by.

Play simple word games such as I see something blue or red.

Carry diversions: fruit snacks, or simple non-messy candy treats he only gets in line. A tiny car to hold, a tiny megna doodle, or even (no flames) bubbles to blow.

Encourage interation if there is another toddler near you in line.

AVOID LINES when possible. Be at the park at ropedrop, use fast pass, Extra magic hours if possible.

Good luck. November is quite a ways off for a 2 year old.
It might be much better

 

[Dreamer & Wisher]

Use Fastpasses to get you in shorter lines.

Go early in the morning before the parks get busy then go back to the resort for a nap.

Bring a small toy for your little boy to play with, like a small safe car, or little finger puppets.

Try one of the leash/backpacks they are cute and your son could pick out the animal he likes. We had the one that looked like a teddy bear.

The Kelty pack is probably a good idea since he can see all around him and you don't have to take him out until you board the ride.

There are also safe places to let him run around try Pooh's Playful Spot in Fantasy Land.

 

[cuppycake]

At that age, having a good touring plan (and getting to the park early) was a must for us!! It will help you have minimal waits in line. There is sooooo much to see in the Disney lines, that it's (for the most part) not at all like standing inline at an amusement park! Also, most of the lines move fairly constantly (you aren't standing still for long).

You can probably find the Unofficial Guide in your library (if you have the current year, you can have free online access to their touring plans). They also have touring plans in the book.

TourGuideMike.com also has excellent touring plans (and you can get a discount for being a disbaord member).

I know there are others....I'm sure someone else can help out with the names of them!

It might not be nearly as bad as you think!! We are good at the playing games aspect with my girls. "How many steps do you think it will take to get up there?" "How many people have red shirts"? "Let's see if we can find...Mickey, Pooh, or whatever is appropriate)

Happy Travels!!

 

[micheluvscorgis]

If we bring the Kelty Pack, we'll have to take it off when we ride the ride and retrieve it shortly thereafter. Would that even work?

Thanks!


-Michele

 

[wrighter]

I feel your pain! Our DD was exactly the same. We did cave and get one of the monkey harnesses (or was it a bear?) that I also swore I would never use. It was helpful some of the time, but not so much in the lines. What did the trick for us was RingPops.

I know you're thinking your DS is too young for RingPops. At least that is what I originally thought about our DD. But I found that they were too big for our DD to chew, which was important because that meant no choking. And because they are on a plastic ring (not the paper stick like most others) I didn't have to worry about her biting the whole thing off. I have to tell you they were life savers. We certainly did try to avoid the long lines, but on occasion it was unavoidable. And we totally bribed her. Wait in line nicely, you can have a RingPop. (Normally we're not bribers, but on vacation we try to be "yes" parents whenever possible.) It WAS messy, though! We used a lot of WetWipes! Also, some wax paper is great for when you need to cover and stash it in your bag. It comes right off again the next time you need it.

We also found RingPops helpful on long bus rides back to the resort at the end of long days. While other kids were melting down, ours were quietly making huge sticky messes of themselves. I'll take a happy, sticky kid over a tantrum any day!

Good luck with whatever you decide! Lots of great tips on this thread already . . .

 

[JenLanDisney]

Waiting in line is tough for any age. But especially very active little boys.

When our DS was 26 months old, we went to Storyland, NH. He was having difficultly waiting. OK he was screaming that it was his turn. The thing that finally cured this behavior... He was carrying on in the queue for the tractor ride. My husband told him to stop or we'd leave the line. He didn't stop. We left the line. He has never cried again in line.

Even year later, he remembers why he had to leave the tractor line. We didn't punish him any further. In fact, we just sat down, calmed down and went on to the next ride.

 

[java]

We discovered I SPY is a game that kept our little guy happy. There are great things to look at in line and it kept him happy. Also if there is a very long one- they sell packs of lollipops(like 6 in a pack) mickey shaped heads. That was our fall back.

 

[PistonsFan]

We were always able to keep our son entertained at that age with snacks (that we only pulled out during lines) and like some others said the lines usually have some interesting things to look at. Also, definitely use fast pass.

 

[kwitcherkicken99]

Okay... we did WDW in April (spring break) with DS 2.5. He was on a harness (monkey backpack - which he doesn't mind wearing) and we took his Vtech kid proof camera with us. He plays the mind games on there more than he takes pictures.

The lines were crazy while we were there and FP weren't as available as everyone likes to make them sound... there was no way to avoid the madness! The camera worked wonders for us. DS would sit on the ground and move with the queue. The character greeting spot at EP had classic cartoons playing, and Kilimanjaro safari had videos playing too. There were a couple of times when DH and DS would just talk (as much as DS CAN talk...) Dumbo was the only line he broke down in... then he passed out and I carried him for 45 minutes.

Best of luck.

 

[Peanut&Piglet'sMom]

I had a rough time when my youngest was 17months old. Early terrible two's??? I can remember her having a fit while in line for the Safari in AK and the couple behind us using a mister fan on her to help us out and she was still freaking out!

Here are two that worked for me....

Lollipops were introduced during that trip. With my oldest, she was almost 3 before getting to have a lollipop....but out of desperation, we caved and gave the little one a pop! It helped us get through the wait on Dumbo. I've socked up once again for this trip. Found Disney Cars and Hannah Montana musical pops in Toys R Us!!!!! Whoo Hoo!

Bubbles - go to the dollar store and grab a pack of party size bubbles. For our August trip, I've found small ones that have a clip on it at Michaels. I'm putting them on my girl's lanyards to keep them entertained this year - and maybe help in entertaining another child or two as well. Yeah, my kids are older and should do OK....but better safe than sorry.

 

[*pixie*dust*]

Please don't bring bubbles to blow. It invades other peoples space and there are people with allergies.
I personally witnessed a "bubble incident" go very badly, ending in angry words and interference from CMs. Please leave the bubbles at home.

 

[tzolkin]

If we bring the Kelty Pack, we'll have to take it off when we ride the ride and retrieve it shortly thereafter. Would that even work?

There is nowhere to leave something when boarding an attraction and often you get off at a separate area from where you got on. You should be able to take the pack with you on every ride that doesn't have a height requirement. If it's the same type I'm thinking of, it will be too big to stow on the rollercoasters, so you will have to leave it in the stroller before you get in line.


My kids were surprisingly good. As others have said, most of the lines are interesting and those that weren't my kids were content discussing our day and eating snacks. Our first trip I brought a ton of stuff to keep them occupied in lines (pipe cleaners, stickers, etc), but after the first day or two realized that we didn't need them. We really did not wait more than 10 minutes or so for anything. We go at rope drop/EMH and do the most popular attractions first. Later in the day we use fastpasses and otherwise only ride attractions with short wait times.

 

[wendy774]

My dd was a very active 16 mo when we went and I was worried about the same thing. She hated the harness so that was not an option. My advice is to use Tour Guide Mike. It worked great for us and the most we had to wait was maybe 10 minutes in a FP line. When we had to wait that little time we kept her occupied with little boxes of raisins.

Wendy

 

[Schmeck]

If the child likes to take off, why would bubbles be a good idea? He'd just go chasing after the stray ones, and parents can't move through a queue as quickly as a little one can duck under the chains.

Also, some people are allergic to bubble solution, it can stain fine clothing, and makes a nasty mess if spilled. Bubbles sting when they get in your eyes, and mess up camera lens too. Save the bubbles for open areas, not crowded queues!

 

[TinaLala]

So this will tell you how 'into' Disney we are. For as long as I could remember we play the Guess Who I am game. You give 3 clues about a Disney character without giving the name of the movie/show their in or their name. Then each person gets one guess as you go around in a circle. This helped the girls with their 'stranger description' so to speak - they could describe things in detail because they were really thinking outside the box.

We also play Guess What Movie and hum or sing a song and you have to figure out the movie. SING - sorry I'm a Girl Scout Leader and there's never a bad moment to sing! or to teach them something - their months, days of the weeks, capitals, states.

There's the usual I Spy games. You could hit Target/WalMart for those mini keychain games. There's always mini coloring books and crayons. Teach him his ABCs, how about a book? What about matchbox cars or polly pockets -those always build imagination and creativity?

I don't do bubbles because the soap gets in the eyes and it's slippery. I don't do snacks or water because then - "I have to go potty!" and you're out of line.

 

[sau418]

We were there 3 weeks ago with DD 24m and DD 34m. Two things that really worked for us I SPY, make it simple and get there at rope drop. We were at MK three mornings when the girls were full of energy and rode everyride in fantasyland well before noon. I never thought I would say this, but go to Dumbo first, that and Aladdin seem to have never ending lines, we hit them first and were on and off on our merry way with no meltdowns in line.

Another thing we did that I had read here was to avoid the EMH parks, so if MK has EMH in the evening go to that park the following morning.

We did not want to feed the girls all day to keep them happy in line, but if there was a line that was long we would break out a small snack. (we packed snacks that they do not normally get at home so it was a treat in itself).

 

[Colleen27]

When my very active DS was young, I bought some clip-on travel toys from KMart or somewhere like that. We had a magna-doodle, one of those funny looking guys with the iron shaving hair and magnet sticks, a sticker book that I made a strap for, ans a couple other thinks that we could clip onto his belt loop to play with without fear of losing them. Because we had several toys and only got them out when we needed him to be fairly still/quiet, they were enough to keep him entertained.

 

[brymolmom]

I think that distractions, games, snacks (ones that can be doled out one at a time to make it last - like M&m's or Goldfish) are all great ideas. AND, I think it'll likely be lots easier than the other park. However, that being said - I say - don't wait in any significant ones. Get there at rope drop EVERY DAY and grab as many fastpasses as you can and then when the lines start to form - go to only 'shows' that don't have real lines and then use your fastpasses. When you're done - you're done. This way, in November at least (excluding Thanksgiving week), you can accomplish a LOT of what you want to do with little to no lines.

Other than that...How about starting a lot of talk, etc. about it now? When in line at the grocery store say 'this is just what we'll have to do in WDW to get on the very fun rides, but we need to be very patient or we won't be able to ride it'. I think that 22 - 26 months is old enough to start understanding the basics. You could also BRIBE him with a treat if he waits in the line like a good boy or, the alternative, tell him that if he isn't good - you'll leave the line - and follow through. If it got real bad that's what I would do - but I'm a mean one!