How do you occupy your toddler while waiting in lines?

[crisi]

i can tell you what doesnt work....
threats... LOL each time i threathen to take him back to the room.. but my husband never will.. he caught on..
look into those cheapy walmart toys..
there was this ball thing with several balls inside.. when yu squeeze it turns colors.
this year im taking my sons nitendo ds..
some of the younger kid smight have a similar machine .. its made by v tech... charge it at night and when they start up.. give them the game.

But actually taking them back to the room usually DOES work.

So does making sure they are well rested and fed. Little kids get most impatient when they are overtired or hungry. And regular breaks to rest and eat drive home the whole "if you get too impatient in line, then there aren't rides at all."

Also, little kids CAN learn to wait in line - in some cases a lot more patiently than the grownups. Explain to them before you go that there will be times they need to wait their turn - mine always surprised me with how patient they could be when they understood they were waiting their turn. It was way better at two or three than it is now at nine and ten.

 

[Bruner1978]

Disney can be a great experience for children of all ages. A few things from a mom who has been to disney with a 7 month old...

1. Make sure you pack lots of extras...breathable clothing, formula or baby food (in case you aren't breastfeeding), baby sunscreen (I re-applied every hour!), easy to transport toys (mine loved to play with the fan/water mister we bought at disney and plastic keys), a stroller with a canopy, and hats.

2. Avoid carrying your child without a harness or pouch. I carried my daughter in a harness in front of me when she wasn't in her stroller. Your body heat will only make her heat up faster. Oh, buy in advance and break it in. Otherwise, your child might not be willing to get into it when the time comes. Also, it is important it is comfortable for both of you.

3. Take advantage of baby centers when feeding time and diaper changes come. This gives you a break from the bustle since they are quiet and darkly lit.

4. Buy sun burn detection stickers. They are available where sunscreen is sold at places like target and walmart. When we returned from our week, our daughter had a slight tan...no burn! Of course, I lathered her up constantly and kept a hat on her all the time. BTW, she is one to burn usually.

5. Take a break during the heat of the day. You can find a nice quiet place in the shade, go back to the hotel, make use of the baby centers. However, if you still want to explore during those hours, make a trip into one of the many inside exhibits. Just avoid going in and out of air conditioned buildings. That is hard on a baby.

Don't feel like you are doing the wrong thing by taking your baby to disney. Our daughter may not remember her first trip, but she loves looking at the pictures and hearing all the stories about it. It has made preparing her for this trip a little easier, too.

Good luck!

Thank you! That has helped a bunch!

 

[here757]

But actually taking them back to the room usually DOES work.

So does making sure they are well rested and fed. Little kids get most impatient when they are overtired or hungry. And regular breaks to rest and eat drive home the whole "if you get too impatient in line, then there aren't rides at all."

Also, little kids CAN learn to wait in line - in some cases a lot more patiently than the grownups. Explain to them before you go that there will be times they need to wait their turn - mine always surprised me with how patient they could be when they understood they were waiting their turn. It was way better at two or three than it is now at nine and ten.

LOL ya taking him back worked... but the threat of it didnt..

 

[mass02703]

I think that you will have a great time with a 9 month old. They are still easy at that age. We took our daughter last year at 6 months and she was terrific. Next week we are taking her back again at 18 months and I am very concerned. Since she has learned to walk, she wants to run everywhere, and does not want to be held. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for the best.

 

[smiles&grins]

We went in Sept with our 30 month old and it wasn't as bad as I was expecting. I packed a bunch of stuff in a bag and we barely used it. The doddle pad is great. Snacks and water. We looked at her autograph book and talked about what her favorite things were, the park maps - she could look at what she wanted to see next, looked at her and Daddy's pins. There is lots of stuff to look at when your in line not like a six flags. Do bring a change of clothes and if it's nice let them play at the play areas. My DD love the water spot by little mermaid and 20 mins of play did wonders for the next long line. One of the best tips I read was to spread the long lines out instead of back to back. Then you have stuff to talk about in the next line. My #1 tip - bring a little flashlight. Some of the rides are dark inside and can seem scary. We'd give her her princess light and she was never scared. When my 8 yo niece was scared my DD gave her the flashlight. My DD kept telling everyone if you need to you can use my flashlight and my niece used it more then my DD I think!!! Just remember it's suppose to be fun for all of you!!!

 

[LauraAnn630]

Im surprised to hear people dont like bubbles.
We took bubbles and very kid in the line loved them!

Well keep the bubbles at home next time.

 

[eeyore#1fan]

Thanks everyone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[polynor]

one of the things we did last time was to have one of us go forward with the line and the other one hang back a little and have him run back and forth between the two of us (giving us "needed" items) -- "go give daddy the mickey sticker" etc.

stickers also kept him occupied. we also got him his own badge holder where we would let him keep unused or invalid fastpasses (we get invalid ones for this purpose)

 

[aubriee]

Im surprised to hear people dont like bubbles.
We took bubbles and very kid in the line loved them!

Well keep the bubbles at home next time.

Some people are allergic to the stuff they are made with. They pop and get on people's glasses and camera lenses and are very hard to get off. Kids chase them, bumping into other people. There is a good chance the person in front of you might get wet and sticky from them. The bottle of solution is easily spilled and then makes a slippery mess. Really they are just not a good idea in crowded places like a queu where people can't get away from them. Some place off to the side I'd think they'd be fine.

 

[kwitcherkicken99]

This may be bit to spend, but my DS has a Vtech kid-proof camera that also has games on it. He sat in line and played the brain-building games while we waited our turn. He played memory and did puzzles on there.

Oh, and BTW... that camera is really tough! My DH put the camera on top of our car and drove off. About 1/2 mile down the road, it fell off, but it still works like a champ!

 

[Scurvy]

I would be careful with the ice cream in line...if the line goes faster than you plan, you may get to the front of the line and have to throw the ice cream away and that may cause your daughter to freak and not enjoy the ride!

I saw that happen over Spring Break. The poor child was hysterical because his parents took away his ice cream. The line moved much faster than I would have expected and I'm sure they thought they'd have time to finish it, but they didn't.

There was a man behind them in line and he had one of those Itzakadoozies (or whatever they're called - the tall swirly popsicles). He didn't finish his, either, so he put it back in the wrapper and stuffed it in his pants pocket! I don't know what he was thinking - maybe he intended to pull it back out and start eating it once he was on the ride - but I have to think he regretted that later, especially since the line moved more slowly once we were in the building and I didn't see him get it back out of his pockets for at least the next 10 minutes!

And I admit, I'm one of the anit-bubble people. I actually love bubbles, just not in line - I don't want them on my glasses or camera. Magna doodles, sticker books, toy cameras, and picture books all worked well for us when our son was small.