Keeping kids entertained in lines...

[Taylor'sMom]

Just wondering how everyone else keeps their kids (particullary young ones, I'll be travelling with a 3,4 & 5 year old) entertained while waiting in endless lines for rides & attarctions?
I fell they get bored easily at ceratain attractions where the queues are outside or particullarly boring to the younger kids. I'm planning on travelling with a backpack, but the lighter the better!
Thus far I have stickers & mini bottles of bubbles. I also thought of color-copying some pages from some Disney Look-and-Find/I-Spy books or printing out some hidden picture pages (the Highlights magazine type) form the internet.
I'd love to hear everyone esle's approaches to both standing in slow-movine qeues and waiting in a seat/on a curb for an extended period of time (fireworks, parades, evening shows).
I kow it's easier for the older kids, as you can play word games such as naming a Disney character that starts with A, B etc. but for the younger ones it's tough!
Thanks!

 

[bigbabyblues]

We've never taken anything extra, we just look at things around us and point out what we seen on the walls, etc. They will play with light spinners and that kind of thing, if they have them with them.

 

[CastleCreations]

Hi, same here. I travel alone with a 4 and 5 yr old. I don't bring anything extra, for them in line. They know what to expect after the first line. That something good will happen if they just wait. There are usually other children around, and my kids will usually talk to them to pass the time. I would be afraid to bring bubbles. Others nearby, might not like them...people are strange...LOL

 

[Taylor'sMom]

haha, that's funny, casue i got the idea form someone that said the other kids WOULD like them cause they could play along and pop bubbles too. I gues syou're right though, if they started complaining to their parents, the PARENTS might not be thrilled with me...

 

[scrapbook35]

I've brought a stash of Happy Meal toys that I got cheap at a summer yardsale. We don't "do" Mcdonalds but couple times a year, so the little chachka toys are always new, and usually character (if not Disney) oriented.
I've also brought novelty playing cards, also character something or other that I stashed. I would go to a party store and go down the party favor aisle, and grab those cheapy plastic slinkies and stuff like that.

The best has been spray bottles though, But depending on when your going, it might not be hot enough. Just buy them at home and bring them, 'cause if it's hot, they're $16. to buy them there !

 

[beth_cam]

I stocked up on disney candies. found some cheap lollies where there was a disney cover over the lollipop and could clip onto their bags - didnt work as well as expected. I took fruit snacks - something I never give them at home so this was a big hit. We looked through their autograph books and talked about who else we hoped to see. I made my daughter a book from pages at themouseforless(?) and she had fun with that to record daily stuff,word searches, coloring pages etc. I gave them each a fanny pack in which my they carried their pennysaver books and their video game. The video games and the book for dd mostly got used at restaurants. We did lots of fastpasses. And got ate the snacks (ddp) in line a lot. I just dont remember the lines being that big of a deal...the times we went they were 2&4 , 4&6, 5&7 - this is the only trip we took video games and we may not bother with this upcoming trip as they weren't used enough to worry about the if something happened to them. I may give them each a digital camera this time though (they each have one that cost less than $20).

 

[tadamom]

I have bought some of the mini coloring things from the Disney Store and I will take bubble, lollilops, stickers and anything else I can find too! We also have a super small DVD player that fits in your hands that I am thinking about bringing too - haven't yet decided on that one.

 

[mom2aredhead]

it actually goes almost everywhere with us

along with a small plastic cow named mimi

gotta love toddlers

 

[powellrj]

bubbles are really a bad idea. Many people have posted over the years about allergy issues and having clothing ruined by bubbles being spilled on them.

 

[PollyannaMom]

I had the little bubble thing and forgot to use it. (Guess I'm glad - I had no idea they were an alergy issue!)

DS was 5.5 when we went, and for lines, we mostly -
played "I Spy"
pulled out the map and planned our next ride/show/meal, whatever
reviewed pictures on the digital camera

for waiting in restaurants, I had found these little credit-card size 3-D puzzles (at A.C. Moore, I think - It's a craft store around here.) You punch out the pieces and then follow a diagram to make an animal, spaceship, etc. (You would probably be doing the 3-year-old's, of course...) DS loved them, and they are super-light.

Gotta go, but will try to think of some more easy games for lines.

 

[pezpam]

DD(now 9, started going at 5) and I do a lot of talking. We might talk about school frustrations or just what ride she wants to go on next. I get a lot of mileage out of "What's your favorite thing so far?" and "What 3 things do you absolutely want to do before we go home?"

Car games go a long way, too. One game of Animals (I say an animal, you say one that starts with the last letter of mine, I do the same with yours, etc) can last for most of a long queue and when one game ends, you just start with a new topic - Names, Places, Disney Stuff, whatever. I Spy, 20 Questions, and such are good, too. Car games are nice because most can be played by kids of any age and in groups with any age mix.

Have fun!

 

[A&CsMom]

Last time we were there, there was a family in line in front of us for Turtle Talk with Crush, and what they did was the children who could read brought a "chapter" book (our family name for a long book with multiple chapters) to read themselves, and the Mom was reading an age appropriate "chapter" book to the younger children. I guess if you are not the type of family who likes to read this may not appeal to you, but we might just do that on our next trip -- it gives the kids something to look forward to in line (ie. what happens next in the book), plus it passes the time.

 

[Perditamarie]

What about looking for hidden mickeys or playing 20 questions or that 8-ball game or having a snack or juice box. I like the ideas about having conversations about what to do next or what they've like so far and also reviewing pics on the digital camera...my kids love doing that. I think you could make yourself crazy packing a bunch of stuff just for lines.

 

[LilGMom]

The only thing I have ever taken with us for line entertainment has been Cheerios. We started taking the kids when the oldest was ten months old so he is a pro at line waiting now (he's five). We will talk about what we've already done during the day, what else we want to make sure we do, where we are going to eat our next meal, look for hidden Mickeys, "I spy", etc.

 

[dwaddict]

My DS is 8, he has tourrettes, adhd, and is ocd, the map was the best thing for him to have in line. He loved to look at it and it made him feel more in control of his surrondings! We also took his gameboy, wich worked great waiting on busses and on the bus rides!
I had bought bubbles, but I guess I will leave those at home. I would have never thought about an allergy to bubbles! I have bought some disney themed candy, found some great light up lollipops and glow sticks at the dollar store!! More concerned this go around about DD2, than DS. It truly seems to be the happiest place on Earth for him as he had almost no ticks whatever at Disney this past trip.

 

[tjmw2727]

We never brought anything for lines - they move pretty quickly and if you use fast pass you can cut down lots of the waiting. Usually the queues are entertaining and we would chat and plan out the day. I would bring a few small things just in case but you may find after a day or two you won't need them.

For parades and shows like fantasmic we plan for a snack so they have something to do and look forward to. Waiting for a parade would usually be an ice cream or soda and popcorn. Waiting for fantasmic is often counter serve dinner.

TJ

 

[Experiment113]

My kids were 2 & 7 when we first went. Gave them each a springy keychain thing they can wear on their wrist. Found tiny tick tack toe boards (maybe 2 1/2 inches max) at dollar store and attached these to keychain. They played with these by themselves, with us or with other kids. Also got tiny (like 1 1/2 inch big) flashlight to attach to key chain too. Great for when ride is dark. Another hit was tiny play camera (again not more than 2 inches big) from party store. It had slides of animals inside when you pushed the button. Kids liked to just look at pictures. Youngest pretended to be taking pictures every time I took a real picture. A few rolls of the candy Smarties were also a favorite. We kept everything small so that it would fit in my fanny pack or hubby's pocket when the kids weren't wearing them on their wrist.

Took along stickers of characters I new we would meet (Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Pooh & friends, Princesses, etc.) While waiting in line, put the corresponding sticker on the page in your autograph book. My youngest can then look at his autograph book and know some of the signatures himself. (He had no interest in looking at it otherwise unless someone read him each name every time.)

Everyday I would also take along one new dollar store item for each kid that I would pull out if/when we needed a distraction: puzzle the size of a deck of cards, small sticker books, finger puppet. I figure my stress level stays low as long as the kids are happy. Sometimes I didn't need to get it out until waiting in line at the end of the day for that bus.

 

[Hannathy]

I don't know about anyone else but looking at the brochure, talking about where to go next or what to eat,what the ride will be like and "If you can't wait patiently we will get out of line" has always worked for us! There is no way I'm carrying a bunch of junk around all day to entertain them. It isn't needed. A child can survive 20 minutes without being entertained. No one likes waiting but it goes with the territory. Waiting at shows we usually get a drink or snack, or like someone said a meal to take in and eat while waiting.

 

[meandtheguys2]

I don't know about anyone else but looking at the brochure, talking about where to go next or what to eat,what the ride will be like and "If you can't wait patiently we will get out of line" has always worked for us! There is no way I'm carrying a bunch of junk around all day to entertain them. It isn't needed. A child can survive 20 minutes without being entertained. No one likes waiting but it goes with the territory. Waiting at shows we usually get a drink or snack, or like someone said a meal to take in and eat while waiting.

No kidding...we carry around enough stuff as it is. I will say, that pin watching, and scouting for CMs with pins keeps my crowd occupied, also.

 

[egoldber]

We never brought anything for lines - they move pretty quickly and if you use fast pass you can cut down lots of the waiting. Usually the queues are entertaining and we would chat and plan out the day. I would bring a few small things just in case but you may find after a day or two you won't need them.

For parades and shows like fantasmic we plan for a snack so they have something to do and look forward to. Waiting for a parade would usually be an ice cream or soda and popcorn. Waiting for fantasmic is often counter serve dinner.

Yup, this is us almost exactly. I just refuse to stand in line more than 15 minutes and with the carefully planned use of fastpasses its not really been an issue. For the little bit we do have to wait in line, we mainly just chat, talk about what we'll do next, where to have lunch, etc. My DD5 is also EXTREMELY gregarious and she'll strike up a conversation with pretty much any kid of a similar age around her in line to pass the time.

We also don't camp out for parade spots. We walk up a few minutes before the parade starts. We don't get a great close seat (unless its extrmely unbusy) but DD doesn't seem to mind as long as she can see. We also do sometimes snack while we wait. And eating dinner at Fantasmic is a great way to pass the time.